Peugeot 404
The Peugeot 404 was a D-segment (large family car classification) produced between nineteen sixty and nineteen seventy five. Manufactured by the French based car makers Peugeot, the 404 was designed by the Italian automobile designers Pininfarina. The car was produced in Europe until nineteen seventy eight, with the 404 still produced in Kaduna (Nigeria) until nineteen eighty nine under license. One point eight million 404s were produced in France, whilst a further two point eight cars were manufactured under license for the developing markets where the car proved very successful.
The initial 404 line up included the five door estate, four door sedan and two door pickup body styles, with two door convertible and coupe variations added to the line up within two years of production. Available with both petrol and diesel engines, the petrol engine had a capacity of one point six litre, and the diesel one point nine. Fitted with a four speed manual transmission, the 404 also offered a three speed automatic transmission as an additional option. The car proved very popular as taxis due to its value, reliability and looks.
The extremely popular car magazine “Autocar” ran road tests for the Diesel Peugeot 404 in nineteen sixty five. The parameters measured included top speed, acceleration and fuel consumption. The diesel car reached eighty one miles per hour, and could accelerate to sixty miles per hour in twenty five seconds. It could travel just over thirty two miles per gallon of fuel. The petrol fuelled car was also tested, and was notably faster than the diesel, and shared the same fuel consumption.
Nissan, Chrysler Look to Share a Mid-Size Car
Nissan and Chrysler have been talking a lot this year.
Last winter, the two companies hatched a plan where Nissan would build a small car for Chrysler that the American automaker would sell in its Latin American market. Later, Chrysler agreed to supply a truck platform that would underpin the next generation Nissan Titan, the Japanese automaker’s big truck. The Titan platform will share the same platform as the Dodge Ram, but with a different body.
Most recently, a fresh bit of news regarding Nissan and Chrysler surfaced: the two automakers are now talking about having Nissan build Chrysler’s next generation of mid-size sedans at a Nissan-owned factory in Tennessee. Although the talks haven’t yielded a concrete agreement, they are suggesting an interesting trend: Nissan and Chrysler are in the process of forging a strategic business alliance.
For Nissan, this move isn’t something new as French automaker Peugeot owns a significant portion of its business. Conversely, Nissan also owns a significant chunk of Peugeot, with both automakers run by one individual, Carl Ghosn. Ghosn rescued Nissan from the abyss in the 1990s when that automaker was floundering and in danger of collapsing completely. The relationship between Peugeot and Nissan is historical and has succeeded because of Ghosn’s expert guidance.
Chrysler isn’t a stranger to forging its own international alliances having had a long relationship with Mitsubishi that began in the 1970s and continued for more than 25 years. In 1998, Chrysler Corporation was purchased by Daimler, but the DaimlerChrysler entity never succeeded before Daimler sold off Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management in 2007.
Today, Chrysler is suffering billion dollar losses thanks in part to an almost overnight shift in consumer tastes from their mainstay products – large trucks and SUVs – to smaller cars. Unfortunately for Chrysler, the latter category is its weakest link with just one car that can get 30 mpg on the highway. Hooking up with Nissan, who wants to expand their visibility worldwide, makes sense — a move that will benefit both automakers and bring a better selection of quality vehicles to the market.
As far as Peugeot is concerned, a Nissan-Chrysler alliance could spell “opportunity” for them. Peugeot pulled out of the US market in the 1980s and would like to get back in, a move that might be accomplished if the automaker crafts its own alliance with Chrysler.
Will Diesel Hybrid Vehicles Be the New High Mileage Green Car?
Peugeot will be the first manufacturer to sell a small family car with a diesel electric-hybrid power unit. It will be a version of the new 308 model and will be on sale before the end of the decade. Peugeot does not sell in the US, but has watched the sale of hybrids such as the Prius in Europe and elsewhere. Toyota has sold about 5,000 Prius cars in the UK and more than 22,000 Prius cars in Europe. The Peugeot diesel hybrid is projected to average more that 70 mpg. It will have the lowest carbon dioxide emissions of any car except a pure electric car. Peugeot has declined for the present to quote a price stating that they are working to reduce the cost.
Meanwhile over in Japan, Toyota purchased a 5.9 share in Isuzu. Taking advantage of Isuzu’s expertise in diesels, Toyota plans to combine its Synergy hybrid drive system with a diesel engine. A Toyota subcompact with this system is reported to be available by 2010. In the US, you may has seen a diesel hybrid-electric vehicle and not realized it. City transit buses, military ground vehicles, garbage trucks, delivery trucks and etc. have been using diesel hybrids for years.
Since diesel engines run optimally at steady speed highway driving, trucks are a natural for diesel engines. Thus, the combining of the diesel engine with a electric drive system is of great benefit to the heavy trucks that must also navigate city streets with its stop and go traffic. Other manufacturers, besides Toyota and Peugeot, are also working on developing their own diesel power hybrid vehicles. They include Citroen, Ford, Opel and Volkswagen. Until 2007, most diesel fuel sold in the US is the high sulfur variety which which is starting to be phased out by law in 2010. Now cleaner diesel fuel is starting to be available nationwide. This in turn is motivating the above mentioned manufacturers to develop diesel hybrid-electric vehicles.
This new diesel fuel is an ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel with a sulfur content of less than 15 part per million. By 2010, it will take more than 53 new trucks to equal the emissions of one 1988 truck. With the increased production of clean diesel fuel, most analysts predict that diesel sales will account for more than 10 percent of the US vehicle sales by 2015. Also, since diesel fuel is less flammable and explosive than gasoline, approximately 60 percent of US school buses are powered by diesel.
In addition, diesel vehicles usually get 20 to 40 percent more miles per gallon than gasoline vehicles. According the US Environmental Protection Agency, America could save up to 1.4 million barrels of oil per day if one third of US vehicles were diesel powered. This is the amount of oil currently imported from Saudi Arabia. These figures are for pure diesel vehicles. A diesel hybrid-electric vehicle would save even more on oil.
Finally, diesel drivers have the option of fueling their vehicles with blends of biodiesel. This is a domestically produced fuel that further reduces US oil dependence. By turning to a diesel hybrid-electric vehicle, American can save money at the pump without having to sacrifice power and performance that drivers have come to expect and rely on.