Carl Lohman - Davisburg, Michigan
I thought I might as well lend my re-introduction to the group.
I grew up in the 60’s when muscle cars were all the rage. As a matter of
fact, my oldest brother was really into it and owned various GTO’s, other
Pontiacs, and Chevys. I was a little bit too young at the time to afford anything
like that but it fostered my interest in cars. Those of you who were around at
that time might recall that there were a lot of entry-level European cars
running around at that time that were being imported into the US, as compared to
the high-end cars (Mercedes, BMWs, etc.) that you see today. It wasn’t at all
uncommon to see Lancias, Austins, Opels, Simcas, Plymouth Crickets, MGs,
Fiats, Renaults, Peugeots, VWs, Saabs – you name it – running around. Anyway, as
it turns out, there was a Renault dealer in our neighborhood by the name of
Caldwell’s Foreign Cars. To this day I can remember going over there and seeing
what I thought were the most interesting cars I’d ever seen. Plus, they were
from far-away France, a place I’d always wanted to visit, which added to the
allure. Bear in mind that all those Renaults that I saw at the time were
brand new, and that makes quite an impression.
As time went on the Fiats, Opels, Renaults, etc., became real cheap. You
could buy a running one for $400 or $500. VWs, as I recall, were considered more
desirable and were therefore more expensive. My Dad bought me my first car –
a ’59 Chevy Biscayne – for $75. The first foreign car I bought was a ’69
Renault 10. It was followed by a ’71 Simca 1204 (bought around 1977 or so).
That Simca was a fantastic little car. This particular car was brought over
from Spain by a guy that was in the U.S. Army (it was a product of Chrysler
France and many were sold locally by Chrysler dealerships). Unfortunately, I
managed to destroy the car after sliding it into a parked truck on a wintry day.
After that, in no particular order, I owned a ’74 Renault 12, an Audi 100 LS, a
Volvo 164, an ’83 Audi 5000, a ’71 Toyota Crown, a ’79 Fiat Strada, and an ’
87 Volvo 740. I got my first Peugeot – an ’85 505s Station Wagon, in 1994
(I still own it). Since that time I’ve acquired (and still have) a ’78
Peugeot 604 (Mel Nichols’ car from California), a ’79 504 diesel, a ’78 Renault 5,
and a ’92 Peugeot 505 DL Station Wagon. The 604 and R5 are definitely
keepers. If I can, I’d like to convert the 504 into a five speed.
I do all my own mechanical work and am not half bad at doing body work.
My biggest regret is that I never bought a new Renault 12 or the Peugeot 505
that I once test drove while these cars were still available as new. Looking
around today, I don’t see anything that captures my interest in the way that
these cars did at that time. They were practical, innovative, economical,
totally original, and unique. I find today’s car to be extremely boring in their
sameness. Cars today are literally a dime a dozen.
By the way, if anybody out there has either a decent Simca 1204 or a Renault
12, I might be interested.
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Received on Mon Mar 7 15:55:56 2005
