1979 Peugeot 504 Diesel - Very Nice, Very Expensive

The 504, in my opinion, was the most significant Peugeot of all time. Introduced in 1968, Peugeot built over 3 million of these cars through 1983. There were gas and diesel versions. The body styles included sedans, station wagons, pick up trucks, crew cab pick up trucks, coupes, cabriolets, and probably a few more variations that I don't know about. It was built in in Africa, South America, the Middle East, Australia (where, oddly, it was built by Renault under license form Peugeot) and Asia (Where it was built in China as a pick up truck right up until 2009.)

It found its way on to the streets of New York as a taxi and drove through the deserts and jungles of Africa.

The Peugeot diesel engine was used by Ford of Europe in their Granada and Sierra cars, in the Mahindra Jeep like vehicles, in Leyland / DAF vans and other cars. They also found their way, along with the suspension, into the Paykan, the Iranian version of the Hillman Hunter. It was also used in the P4 military vehicle.

In short, it was a car that was respected and loved everywhere... Except in the US, where it was a sales / marketing and PR disaster.

Peugeot was positioning itself as a near-luxury car in the US. It was going head to head with BMW, Audi, Volvo, and Saab. Peugeot assumed that the 1970s oil crisis, along the new higher prices of gasoline, would send US consumers into showrooms looking for diesel cars, as it had done in Europe. It didn't. While BMW, Audi and Volvo introduced a few token diesels in the US, Peugeot basically bet the the farm on them. They lost the bet. Diesels never caught on in the US and Peugeot dealers were stuck with cars no one wanted. Near-luxury car buyers could afford the higher prices of gasoline and had no desire for slow, smoke belching diesels. The few buyers in this market segment who wanted a diesel usually went with a Mercedes Benz car as it was a better known name.

This 504 is in remarkable condition. It has 119,000 miles on it and the seller says everything works. Like most cars of the 1970s, Peugeots rusted badly. This one appears to be rust free.

The asking price for this car is a sky high $9,909.00. That's more than I'd pay for an old Peugeot, gas or diesel. But, if having a funky old diesel means something to you and having one of the nicest ones in North America means even more, this car might be worth the price.

Located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, click here to see the eBay listing.

1981 Toyota Celica Sunchaser

I remember seeing one of these in 1981. It was in a Toyota showroom in Albany, NY. That was the only time I ever saw one "in the flesh".

The convertible conversion was done by the Griffith Company. The Griffith Company was owned by Jack Griffith. That's the same Jack Griffith who dropped Ford V8s into TVR Granturas and created the pretty spectacular TVR Griffith in the 1960s.

The Sunchaser was created with the blessings of Toyota and sold through Toyota dealerships with a full factory warranty. Built for roughly 3 years, there were, depending on the source, somewhere between 2000 and 3000 built in total.

The conversion was similar to a number of convertibles of the day (i.e Baur BMW). The roof immediately behind the windshield to the edge of the B-Pillar was removed and a removable fiberglass targa top was installed in its place. The B-Pillar and a section of the roof was left in place and a fold-down vinyl top covered the rear portion of the interior. The undercarriage was also heavily modified. When introduced, the Sunchaser was praised by testers for its structural rigidity.

This Sunchaser is in remarkable condition. The body looks great. My only complaint is the graphics going down the side, but those could be original and are definitely period correct, so I guess they should be left on.

The interior is one of the nicest I've seen in any old Celica. It even appears to still have the factory AM/FM radio.

There are similar styled convertibles available; the Lancia Beta Zagato, the above mentioned grey market Baur BMWs, the Jaguar Cabriolet, etc. All, in their own way, are great cars with better "names" than Toyota. None, however, have the legendary dependability and easy, inexpensive parts availability like the Celica has. There's a lot to be said for that.

The bottom line is, this is a classy, very rare, handbuilt convertible that you could drive everyday if you wanted to.

Located in Cumming, GA, click here to see the eBay listing.

A big thanks to JaCG reader, Russ, for sending me the link to this car!

Need Parts For Your 1967 SIMCA 1000?

Here's something for all you Simca fans...

This is a 1967 Simca 100 GLS. It looks to be too far gone to restore, but it might yield some usable, hard to find parts.

The last line in the ad made me laugh... The odometer on this car reads 88 miles. In closing his ad, the seller writes, "It is safe to assume the odometer reading of 88 miles is incorrect."

Located in Waco, TX, click here to see the eBay listing.

Dean Cain Tattoo

Dean Cain is a marvelous American actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman on the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Dean Cain has a single known tattoo design which is located on his inner left ankle and is the Japanese Kanji character for "Tanaka", his family name.

Naomi Campbell Tattoos

Naomi Campbell is a stunningly sleek sexy British model, known for her exotic look and quick temper.

Naomi Campbell has no confirmed tattoos on her body, however she has been spotted with a couple of temporary designs of a flower bracelet around her left bicep and left ankle.

It has been rumored that Naomi Campbell has a small real tattoo of the letters "FB" located on one of her arms.

Busta Rhymes Tattoos

Busta Rhymes is a fabulously talented Jamaican-American rapper, songwriter and actor, known for his unique blend of over the top rapping style.

Busta Rhymes has many tattoos on his body, most of which are of the tribal variety, located on both of his arms.

He has two nearly complete sleeves which are comprised of several tribal hooks, along with some flame and script designs as well.

Checkout these pictures of Busta Rhymes and his many tattoo designs.

Nicolas Cage Tattoos

Nicolas Cage is a brilliantly captivating American actor, known for his leading role in a slew of blockbuster movies including Leaving Las Vegas and National Treasure.

Nicolas Cage has been spotted with several tattoos, many of which are presumed to be fake designs for movie roles. He is suspected of only having one real tattoo, which is of a monitor lizard wearing a top hat, located on his upper back.

Some of his other tattoos include, a demon and flaming skull on his left shoulder and bicep, plus woody woodpecker on his right bicep.

Enjoy this pictures of Nicolas Cage and his tattoo designs.

A.J. Burnett Tattoos

A.J. Burnett is a fantastic Major League Baseball pitcher who has spent most of his career with the Florida Marlins and New York Yankees.

A.J. Burnett has quite a collection of tattoos on his body, mainly on his two arms where he has two partial sleeves.

Some of his tattoos include, Bruce Lee on his triceps, the zodiac symbol of Pisces on his left wrist/hand, an Aztec symbol of sorts, a skull rosary, character from movie "300", plus numerous other tattoo designs.

He has been quoted as saying "I think tattoos are somebody's personality coming out. I was into art when I was growing up, I've always been into that kind of stuff. I think they are really cool and I like them a lot."

Brooke Burke Tattoos

Brooke Burke is a strikingly beautiful American television personality and model, perhaps best known as the host of Wild On!.

Brooke Burke has only two tattoos on her body, including the name of her ex husband "Garth" located on her right foot, which is now covered up with a flower tattoo of sorts.

She is also said to have a "Bunny" tattoo in an unknown location on her body.

Sophia Bush Tattoos

Sophia Bush is a stunning American actress who is best known for her role as Brooke Davis on the series entitled One Tree Hill.

Sophia Bush technically doesn't have any ink tattoos on her body, however she does have what is considered to be "scarification" located on her right forearm, which is a Sanskrit script design.

She also had a fake tribal rose tattoo design for her role in the movie, Stay Alive.

Chris Brown Tattoos

Chris Brown is an outstanding American recording artist and actor who is known for his amazing voice and quick temper.

Chris Brown has an extensive amount of tattoos including two partial sleeves on both arms, plus three stars behind his right ear.

The tattoos on his right arm include, an angel along with several clouds, numerous stars, a portrait of Jesus Christ with a musical note, an angel and demon battling each other with the words "Darkness to Light", plus other tattoo designs.

The tattoos on his left arm include, a samurai ninja brandishing a sword, several stars, the letter "C" and a spray paint can with an evil grin.

Chris Brown also has a skull with a halo on his right hand, plus a script tattoo across his chest.

Checkout these pictures of Chris Brown and his many tattoo designs.

Sandra Bullock Tattoos

Sandra Bullock is an amazingly talented Oscar winning celebrity actress, known for such movies as Speed and The Blind Side.

Sandra Bullock has been spotted with two tattoo designs, both of which were reveled on the movie screen, including a tattoo on her upper back and her lower abdomen.

Whether or not these tattoos are real or not is certainly debatable.

Sandra Bullock has also been rumored to have gotten a recent tattoo, located on her breast.

Foxy Brown Tattoos

Foxy Brown is a lovely and talented American rapper who has seen her share of both success and failure throughout her career.

Foxy Brown has five visible tattoos which we have spotted, including the head of a Chihuahua dog along with a name, located on her right calf.

The rest of her tattoo designs are Chinese symbols, located on her chest, right arm, and an armband of Chinese symbols around her left arm.

Morgan Woolard

Morgan Elizabeth Woolard (born 1989) is a model and beauty queen from Moore, Oklahoma who was crowned Miss Oklahoma USA 2010. She was also Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 2006. She was named first runner-up at the Miss USA 2010 pageant. She was also a Top 10 Finalist in the Miss Earth United States 2009 pageant.