Hi Michael,

my name is Kristian and I am a resident of Reykjavik, Iceland.  Half danish, half Icelandic, spending all my upbringing in Denmark.

The first car I remember was my father's 1976 504 L (on the picture it's me holding the dog) which he owned from new. Me myself am born in 1975, so this incidently is the first car I remember.

I loved that car, and as a child I would spend every saturday washing the car outside and inside.

My street in the early 80´s was paradise for a 504 fan, there were appoximately 30 houses and no less than five 504´s, three sedans, one break and one coupé. And all of the owners had boys my age. It certainly is paradise lost...

All of these cars were scrapped - due to taxes on cars in the late 80´ties. My father's being the last to be scrapped in 1988. I still remember when he told me that he would take it to the scrapper, I was devistated for weeks.

One should think that a man like my father, knowing quality, would buy a another Peugeot after owning a 504 for 12 years, but no: The next car was a Skoda, a little almost tiny car compared to our 504, that I never learned to appreciate. He by the way have changed vars three times since then. All of the cars were skoda´s, hmmm, what a fool he is...

Well, now it's 2005. 17 years have passed where my dreamcar has always been a 504. And now I am the happy owner of a newly restored 504 GL automatic from 1977 - my "black panther", as I like to call it...

And besides from that one I have two more that I keep for spares or a possible restoration, one other '77 GL and one '72 TI, the green and the red one on the field.

Here on Iceland we are 287.000 people and it is a country where people enjoy new cars more than old cars. And if old, they are mostly American. There are not that many 504 up here anymore, only four rolling on the streets today!

I myself live in the capital, and here the only one you´ll see on the streets is my black panther.

Well, Michael. That's a lot of words. I hope you found them interesting and will put me and my cars along your other 504-friends on your fantastic site.

Kristian Kræfting