24 cars blue sky: Junkyard Find: 1989 Peugeot 405 S

11 - 1989 Peugeot 405 Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin Peugeot gave up on the North American market after the 1991 model year, thanks to poor sales of their new 405. I haven't seen one of these cars on the street for at least 15 years, and junkyard sightings have been correspondingly rare. When I spotted this car at a Northern California self-serve yard a couple months back, it took me a moment to figure out what it was.
03 - 1989 Peugeot 405 Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin Nearly 200,000 miles on the clock, which is comparable to what I see on (non-Mitsubishi) Japanese cars of the same era.
02 - 1989 Peugeot 405 Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin When the company that built your car retreats from your continent, keeping it on the street becomes quite a challenge. This one made it to age 24.
10 - 1989 Peugeot 405 Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin The only Peugeot I've ever owned was a 504 that came with a bunch of Linda Ronstadt 8-tracks. I liked that car, in spite of its frequent breakdowns (yes, I know, the 504 is supposedly bulletproof everywhere else in the world).

We have a few Peugeot 405 Mi16s racing in the 24 Hours of LeMons (they're quite affordable, i.e. less than scrap value in most cases). They're somewhat quick, but they tend to be pretty blow-uppy. Here's one depositing a connecting rod in the windshield of a following car.