I don’t know exactly what it is about simple, austere vehicles, but they always manage to get my attention. Luxury is nice and all, but when it comes to what actually appeals to me, give me some bare, painted metal and a bit of pressboard covered in stapled-on vinyl. I’m not sure if it’s some inherent deficit of self-worth or what, but it’s definitely A Thing in my psyche. That’s why this little Peugeot 104 caught my attention, I think – it’s a really basic, austere machine, but I think it pulls off its determined minimalism with some genuine charm. Let’s look at this thing.
The 104 was introduced in 1972 as Peugeot’s entry-level supermini. The same body, with a Citroën air-cooled flat-twin, became the LN/LNA and then the Visa, too. In Peugeot form, it had a 954cc inline-four that made a decent-enough 44 horsepower. Weirdly, even though the car looks like a hatchback, it’s actually a four-door sedan with a trunk, which makes effectively no sense at all.
The 104 was designed by Paolo Martin, of Pininfarina, and that same dude also designed the Rolls-Royce Camargue, which, along with the 104, gives a really nice, wide breadth of car designs, pretty much about as close to opposite extremes as you can get.
Okay, let’s look at some 104 details; first, yank that spare tire out of the way and let’s look at this little sub-1-liter engine:
You know what I like about this engine? Look how accessible that oil filter is! See it there, lower leftish corner, just Northeast of the air cleaner? Damn, that’s easy to get to! Love it. This engine also had its transmission in its sump, like the engine in a classic Mini.
Here’s proof that it’s not actually a hatchback, even though it should be. Just a funny little trunk back there, capable of holding four of those butterscotch-colored suitcases, or at least so the picture implies. Not all four are in, so it’s possible it’ll hold three and then has a special feature where it can just drive away from some of your luggage, if needed, leaving it abandoned in that green void.
It’s not a good feature, of course. I actually think you can cram all four in there, so I wouldn’t worry about leaving one behind.
Wow, this dash is aggressively basic! Look at that: it’s mostly shelf and black vinyl and plastic. Peugeot at least gives you a little golden lion head to contemplate there in the center of the wheel. And, even better, look at what I think are the climate controls:
What’s going on here? Two thumb roller knob things, labeled as being able to go up and down, and then there’s indicators on the knobs themselves re-iterating the up-and-down verticality of it all. There’s also a switch that can select red or blue? Maybe green? Probably blue. And then there’s another switch that can go from plus to minus, positive to negative.
I’m guessing red/blue is for fresh air/heat? And plus/minus? Uh, I’m really not sure? It’s just one or the other so it hardly seems like a temperature control? This has to be the most cryptic HVAC control setup I’ve ever seen!
Also, it really looks like a toy in this overhead shot, doesn’t it? Why do I like this thing so much? Also, wanna bet there’s only three lugs under those hubcaps?