12 Apr 2017 – Driven To Write

Lion of Beauty – 1997 Peugeot 406 Coupé

A Suave Swansong. The 406 Coupé embodied values which had seen a Franco-Italian marriage survive and prosper for a generation. Sadly, it wasn’t to last.

At some unspecified point during the 1990’s something quite seismic took hold within Automobiles Peugeot. A profound cultural shift which saw a gradual jettisoning of not only the marque’s highly regarded engineering principles but also its reputation for dignified styling. Their long-standing association with carrozzeria Pininfarina was unravelling. PSA President, Jacques Calvet, believed to have been irked by the attention Patrick le Quément’s Billancourt studios were receiving, pressed Peugeot Style Centre chief, Gérard Welter for more visual excitement; a move which saw Welter poach rising star Murat Günak from Mercedes-Benz in 1994. Continue reading “Lion of Beauty – 1997 Peugeot 406 Coupé”

Postcard From Schleswig 5

Or Wanderup, to be more precise. It is about 7km from Flensburg. Making a change from the more prevalent Ruesselsheim cars is this Taunus 1600 seen there (by me).

From 1970 Ford paired the Taunus with the British Cortina. Arguably the Taunus name sat better with the car’s image than the somewhat/extremely pretentious Cortina moniker. Continue reading “Postcard From Schleswig 5”

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