Peugeot Totally Explained

Everything about Peugeot totally explained

ť :For the article about the bicycle manufacturer, see Cycles Peugeot.

Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën. It is the second largest automaker in Europe, behind Volkswagen. Peugeot's roots go back to pepper, salt and coffee mill manufacturing as early as 1842 and then later bicycle manufacturing at the end of the 19th century. Its world headquarters are in Paris, Avenue de la Grande Armée, close to Porte Maillot and the Concorde Lafayette Hotel but the Peugeot company and family is originally from Sochaux, France. Peugeot retains a large manufacturing plant in Sochaux which is also home to the . The company also sponsors the Sochaux football club, founded in 1928 by a member of the Peugeot family: the club' s arms contain a lion logo similar to Peugeot's.

Company history

Early history

The Peugeot family of Valentigney, Montbeliard, Franche-Comte, France, began manufacturing coffee grinders in the 1800s. Although the Peugeot factory had been in the manufacturing business since the 1700s, the company's entry into the world of wheeled vehicles was by means of crinoline dresses, which used steel rods, leading to umbrella frames, wire wheels, and ultimately bicycles. Armand Peugeot introduced his "Le Grand Bi" penny-farthing in 1882 and along with a range of other bicycles. Peugeot bicycles continued to be built until very recently, although the car company and bike company parted ways in 1926.
   Armand Peugeot became interested in the automobile early on, and after meeting with Gottlieb Daimler and others, was convinced of its viability. The first Peugeot automobile (a three-wheeled steam-powered car designed by Léon Serpollet) was produced in 1889; only four were made. Steam power was heavy and bulky and required lengthy warmup times. In 1890, after meeting Gottlieb Daimler and Emile Levassor, steam was abandoned in favour of a four-wheeled car with a petrol-fuelled internal combustion engine built by Panhard under Daimler licence. The car was more sophisticated than many of its contemporaries, with a three-point suspension and a sliding-gear transmission.
   More cars followed, twenty-nine being built in 1892, forty in 1894, seventy-two in 1895, 156 in 1898, and fully three hundred in 1899. These early models were given "Type" numbers with the Type 12, for example, dating from 1895. Peugeot became the first manufacturer to fit rubber tires to a petrol-powered car that year (solid tires). Peugeot was also an early pioneer in motor racing, entering the 1894 Paris-Rouen Rally with five cars (placing second, third ) (despite an average speed of and taking the 31,500 franc prize. This also marked the debut of Michelin pneumatic tyres in racing, also on a Peugeot; they proved insufficiently durable. Nevertheless, the vehicles were still very much horseless carriages in appearance and were steered by a tiller.
   1896 saw the first Peugeot engines built; no longer were they reliant on Daimler. Designed by Rigoulot, the first engine was an horizontal twin fitted to the back of the Type 15. After placing nineteenth in the 1902 Paris-Vienna rally with a racer, and failing to finish with two similar cars, Peugeot quit racing.
   A more famous name, Ettore Bugatti, designed the new four-cylinder Bébé of 1912. It proved faster than other cars of its time, and Boillot won the 1912 French Grand Prix at an average of, despite losing third gear and taking a twenty minute pit stop. In May 1913, Goux took one to Indianapolis, and won at an average of, recording straightaway speeds of . In 1914, Boillot's 3 liter L5 set a new Indy lap record of, and Duray placed second (beaten by ex-Peugeot ace Réné Thomas in a Delage). Another (driven by Boillot's brother, André) placed in 1915; similar models won in 1916 (Dario Resta) and 1919 (Howdy Wilcox).
   For the 1913 French Grand Prix, an improved L5 (with engine) was produced with a pioneering ballbearing crankshaft, gear-driven camshafts, and dry sump lubrication, all of which soon became standard on racing cars; unfortunately, Zuccarelli was killed during testing on public roads, but Boillot easily won the event, making him (and Peugeot) the race's first double winner. For the 1914 French GP, Peugeot was overmatched by Mercedes, and despite a new innovation, four-wheel brakes (against the Benz's rear-only), Georges proved unable to match them and the car broke down. (Surprisingly, a 1914 model turned a lap in practice at Indy in 1949, yet it failed to qualify.) Peugeot was more fortunate in 1915, winning at the French GP and Vanderbilt Cup. the first mass-produced car to have it. Soon afterwards the Depression hit; Peugeot sales decreased but the company survived.
   In 1933, attempting a revival of fortune, the company unveiled a new, aerodynamically styled range. In 1934 Peugeot introduced the 402BL Éclipse Décapotable, the first convertible with a retractable hardtop — an idea followed later by the Ford Skyliner in the 1950s and revived in the modern era by the Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder in 1995. More recently, many manufacturers have offered retractable hardtops, including Peugeot itself with the 206 cc.
   Three interesting models of the thirties were the Type 202, Type 302 and Type 402. These cars had curvaceous bodies, with headlights behind sloping grille bars, evidently inspired by the Chrysler Airflow. The 2.1 liter Regular production began again in mid-1946, and lasted into 1949.

Post World War II

In 1946,
The company began selling cars in the United States in 1958, and in 1960 introduced the Type 404, which used a version of the 403 engine, tilted 45^o. The 404 proved rugged enough to win the East African Safari Rally, in four of the six years between 1963 and 1968.
More models followed, many styled by Pininfarina. Like many European manufacturers, collaboration with other firms increased; Peugeot worked with Renault from 1966 and Volvo from 1972.

Take over of Citroën and formation of PSA

In 1974 Peugeot bought a 30% share of Citroën, and took it over completely in 1975 after the French government gave large sums of money to the new company. Citroën was in financial trouble because it developed too many radical new models for its financial resources. Some of them, notably the Citroën SM and the Comotor rotary engine venture proved unprofitable. Others, the Citroën CX and Citroën GS for example, proved very successful in the marketplace.
The joint parent company became the PSA (Peugeot Société Anonyme) group, which aimed to keep separate identities for both the Peugeot and Citroën brands, while sharing engineering and technical resources. Peugeot thus briefly controlled the valuable racing brand name Maserati, but disposed of it in May 1975 out of short term financial concerns.
Both Citroën enthusiasts and automotive journalists point out that the company's innovation and flair took a marked downturn with the acquisition. The Citroën brand has continued to be successful in terms of sales, and now achieves over a million units annually.

Take over of Chrysler Europe

The group then took over the European division of Chrysler (which were formerly Rootes and Simca), in 1978 as the American auto manufacturer struggled to survive. Further investment was required because PSA decided to create a new brand for the entity, based on the Talbot sports car last seen in the 1950s. From then on, the whole Chrysler/Simca range was sold under the Talbot badge until production of Talbot-branded passenger cars was shelved in 1986.
   The flagship of this short-lived brand was the Tagora, a direct competitor to PSA's 604 and CX models. This was a large, angular saloon based on Peugeot 505 mechanicals.
   All of this investment caused serious financial problems for the entire PSA group; PSA lost money from 1980 to 1985. The Peugeot takeover of Chrysler Europe had seen the aging Chrysler Sunbeam, Horizon, Avenger and Alpine ranges rebranded as Talbots. There were also new Talbots in the early 1980s—the Solara (a saloon version of the Alpine hatchback), and the Samba (a small hatchback to replace the Sunbeam).
   In 1983 Peugot launched the popular and successful Peugeot 205, which is largely credited for turning the company's fortunes around.
   In 1984 PSA developed its first contacts with The People's Republic of China, resulting in the successful Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile venture in Wuhan.
   In 1986, the company dropped the Talbot brand for passenger cars when it ceased production of the Simca-based Horizon/Alpine/Solara models. What was to be called the Talbot Arizona became the 309, with the former Rootes plant in Ryton and Simca plant in Poissy being turned over for Peugeot assembly. Producing Peugots in Ryton was significant, as it signalled the very first time Peugeots would be built in Britain. The Talbot name survived for a little longer on commercial vehicles until 1992 before being shelved completely.
   As experienced by other European volume car makers, Peugot's U.S. and Canadian sales faltered and finally became uneconomical, as the Peugeot 505 design aged. Several ideas to turn around sales in the United States, such as including the Peugeot 205 in its lineup, were considered but not pursued. In the early nineties, the newly introduced Peugeot 405 proved uncompetitive with domestic and import models in the same market segment, and sold less than 1,000 units. Total sales fell to 4,261 units in 1990 and 2,240 through July, 1991. This caused the company to cease U.S. And Canada operations after 33 years. There are currently no known plans to return to the American market.
   Peugeot currently sells vehicles in Mexico.Peugeot Mexico

   Beginning in the late 1990s, with Jean-Martin Folz as president of PSA, the Peugeot-Citroën combination seems to have found a better balance. Savings in costs are no longer made to the detriment of style.
   On April 18, 2006, PSA Peugeot Citroën announced the closure of the Ryton manufacturing facility in Coventry, England. This announcement resulted in the loss of 2,300 jobs as well as about 5,000 jobs in the supply chain. The plant produced its last Peugeot 206 on December 12 2006 and finally closed down in January 2007.
   Peugeot is developing a diesel-electric hybrid version of the Peugeot 307 that can reach 80 mpg. It is a 2-door cabriolet and is currently only in the concept stages, but if it reaches production would be one of the more fuel efficient cars available.. Peugeot will make a new car in 2008 with the name Peugeot 407.

Motorsports

Peugeot was involved in motorsport from the earliest days and entered five cars for the Paris-Rouen Trials in 1894 with one of them, driven by Lemaitre, finishing second. These trials are usually regarded as the first motor sporting competition. Participation in a variety of events continued until World War I, but it was in 1912 that Peugeot made its most notable contribution to motor sporting history when one of their cars, driven by Georges Boillot, won the French Grand Prix at Dieppe. This revolutionary car was powered by a straight-4 engine designed by Ernest Henry under the guidance of the technically knowledgeable racing drivers Paul Zuccarelli and Georges Boillot. The design was very influential for racing engines as it featured for the first time DOHC and four valves per cylinder providing for high engine speeds, a radical departure from previous racing engines which relied on huge displacement for power. In 1913 Peugeots of similar design to the 1912 Grand Prix car won the French Grand Prix at Amiens and the Indianapolis 500. When one of the Peugeot racers remained in the United States during World War I and parts couldn't be acquired from France for the 1914 season, owner Bob Burma had it serviced in the shop of Harry Arminius Miller by a young mechanic named Fred Offenhauser. Their familiarity with the Peugeot engine was the basis of the famed Miller racing engine, which later developed into the Offenhauser, or "Offy" racing engine.
   The company has had much success in international rallying, notably with the durable Peugeot 504, the four-wheel-drive turbo-charged versions of the Peugeot 205, and more recently the Peugeot 206. The 206 rally car had significant success in the rally championship, beating the Subaru Impreza, Ford Focus and Mitsubishi Lancer, cars which had traditionally dominated the sport. The 206 was retired practically unbeaten after several successful years, and replaced with the comparatively disappointing Peugeot 307 cc.
   Throughout the mid-1990s, the Peugeot 406 saloon (called a sedan in some countries) contested touring car championships across the world, enjoying success in France, Germany and Australia, yet failing to win a single race in the British Touring Car Championship despite a number of podium finishes under the command of 1992 British Touring Car Champion Tim Harvey.
   The British cars were prepared by Prodrive in 1996, when they sported a red livery, and by MSD in 1997-1998, when they wore a distinctive green and gold flame design. Initially the 406's lack of success was blamed on suspension problems, but it's now clear that the team was underfunded and the engine lacked power.
In 2001, Peugeot entered three 406 coupes into the British touring car championship to compete with the dominant Vauxhall Astra coupes. Unfortunately the 406 coupe was at the end of its product life-cycle and wasn't competitive, despite some promise towards the end of the year, notably when Peugeot's Steve Soper led a race only to suffer engine failure in the last few laps. The 406 coupes were retired at the end of the year and replaced with the Peugeot 307—again, uncompetitively—in 2002.
   Peugeot won the Manufacturers title of the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986 with its 205 T16. Peugeot won the manufacturers championship again in 2000, 2001 and 2002 with the 206. Peugeot won the grueling Paris Dakar Rally each year from 1987 to 1990.
   In the 1990s the company competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours race, winning in 1992 and 1993 with the 905. After early problems with reliability and aerodynamics, the 905 was also successful in the World Sportscar Championship, winning eight of the 14 races across the 1991 and 1992 seasons and winning the team and driver titles in 1992. Peugeot returned to sportscar racing and Le Mans in 2007, with the diesel-powered 908. Peugeot is also involved with the Courage C60 Le Mans racing team.
   The company has also been involved in providing engines to Formula One teams, notably to McLaren in 1994, to Jordan for the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons, and to Prost for the 1998, 1999 and 2000 seasons. Peugeot's F1 interests were sold to Asiatech at the end of the 2000 season.

Peugeot model numbers

Peugeot chooses the names used on its models in the form x0y or x00y, where x describes the size of the car (and hence its class) and y describes the model number (the higher the number, the newer the model). Thus a Peugeot 406 is bigger and newer than a Peugeot 305. This rule has its exceptions: for instance the Peugeot 309 was produced before the Peugeot 306—the out-of-step number signified the 309's Talbot underpinnings rather than it coming from a Peugeot lineage. Variants are also excluded: the 206 SW, for example, is about the same length as a "40y" car.
   This tradition began in 1929 with the launch of the 201, which followed the 190. All numbers from 101 to 909 have been deposited as trademarks. Although in 1963 Porsche was forced to change the name of its new 901 coupé to 911, certain Ferraris and Bristols have been allowed to keep their Peugeot-style model numbers. An unsubstantiated explanation for the central '0' is that on early models the number appeared on a plate on the front of the car, with the hole for the starting handle coinciding with the zero. More recently, on the 307 cc and the 607 the button to open the trunk is located in the '0' of the label.
   For specific niche models such as minivans or SUVs, Peugeot is now using a four digit system, with a double zero in the middle. It was tested with the 4002 concept car. The 1007 used this system when it was launched in 2005, and the new Peugeot Crossover SUV is named 4007.
   Peugeot has also announced that after the 9 series, it would start again with 1, producing new 201, 301 or 401.
   Peugeot has produced three winners of the European Car of the Year award. ť 1969: Peugeot 504

   1988: Peugeot 405 ť 2002: Peugeot 307

Other Peugeot models have come in either second or third in the contest. ť 1980: Peugeot 505

   1984: Peugeot 205 ť 1996: Peugeot 406

   1999: Peugeot 206

Other products

Peugeot also produced bicycles starting in 1882 in Beaulieu, France (with ten Tour de France wins between 1903 and 1983) followed by motorcycles and cars in 1889. In the late 1980s Peugeot sold the North American rights to the Peugeot bicycle name to ProCycle in Canada (also known as CCM and better known for its ice hockey equipment) and the European rights to Cycleurope S.A.
Peugeot remains a major producer of scooters, mopeds and bicycles in Europe.

Pronunciation

The common French pronunciation of "Peugeot" is . In England it's usually "PERzho", while Americans pronounce it /puːˈʒoʊ/ "pooZHO" or /ˈpjuːʒoʊ/ "PYOOzho". Peugeot cars have been given the nicknames: 'pug' and 'pugs' in the UK. In Malta some people pronounce "Peugeot" as PUGU. In those parts of North Africa that were colonised by the French—Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco—"Peugeot" is often pronounced in the same way as the word "bijou" ("jewel"), both because of the sometimes indistinguishable quality of vowels in Arabic when translated into French, and through affection.

Vehicle models

Numbers

Concept cars

607 Feline

Quark

907 RC

908 RC

307 cc Hybrid HDi.

4002

Peugeot 20Cup

Peugeot 308 RC Z

Others

Type 15

Peugeot D3A

Peugeot D4A

Peugeot J7

Peugeot J9 minibus

Peugeot J5

Bipper

Boxer

Expert (see )

Partner

VLV

Peugeot Boxer minibus

Peugeot Pars (also known as Persia)Further Information

Get more info on 'Peugeot'.

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