plankhond

plankhond The action happens at on Instagram. Follow me there for the Plankhond car extravaganza!

Peugeot is touring Europe with its Polygon concept car, and Peugeot Nederland brought it to Amsterdam this week. With th...
16/07/2026

Peugeot is touring Europe with its Polygon concept car, and Peugeot Nederland brought it to Amsterdam this week. With the Polygon now on my doorstep, I decided to go and snoop around. Let’s start with the interior.

The party piece of the Polygon is the interior, and more specifically the Hypersquare steering wheel. Which, indeed, is something that may need a bit of getting used to—unless you’ve driven a first-generation Austin Allegro, of course. The Hypersquare is more than a steering wheel. Apparently, the four holes allow you to operate all (or many) of the car’s functions. I haven’t quite figured out how it works yet, but it’s intriguing in a way Citroën dashboards used to be. Which, in my book, is a very good thing.
The Hypersquare wheel (a hysterical name, by the way) uses drive-by-wire technology. Even though there was a little display that allowed us to touch the Hypersquare wheel (7), we weren’t actually able to drive the Polygon. , however,was, and he tells me it has a very convincing analogue feel to it. Which, I suppose, is also a good thing.

As for the rest of the interior: the lady doing the presentation was very proud of the seats. The foam covers can be taken out to personalise (or refresh) the car (8). I was not impressed by it all. Peugeot themselves offered this feature on the 1007 (the Caméléo packs), and I wonder if the 1007 secretly inspired the Polygon. I sincerely hope it did. The interior has a strong sixties sci-fi vibe to it, with beanbag-like seats and vivid colours. We probably won’t see those colours on the production versions of the next-generation Peugeot interiors, which is a real shame. For yes, the Polygon’s interior is a preview of what is to become the next-generation Peugeot i-Cockpit.

I cannot leave you, however, without pointing out a small detail that fully proves the French origins of the Polygon. Apparently, the designers forgot to design a start button. This is a bit impractical, so the issue was fixed (obviously at the very last minute) with a button that loosely dangles from the A-pillar (9). God, I love the French.

Now here’s something you don’t see every day: a in ultra rare edition. In 1998, Mika Häkkinen secured his first Form...
15/07/2026

Now here’s something you don’t see every day: a in ultra rare edition.

In 1998, Mika Häkkinen secured his first Formula 1 World Championship driving for the West McLaren-Mercedes team. To commemorate this victory, Mercedes-Benz launched two highly exclusive, limited-edition road cars at the Essen Motor Show: the SL73 AMG and this, the A-Class “Edition Häkkinen”. Only 125 units of this specific hatchback were produced, making it one of the rarest production variants in the brand’s history.The exterior features a factory-applied, hand-airbrushed livery that mirrors the silver, black, and red colors of the MP4/13 Formula 1 car. Beyond the distinctive paintwork, the vehicle received several premium upgrades directly from the factory, including 15-inch AMG five-spoke alloy wheels, a sports exhaust system, and a bespoke Designo interior upholstered in vivid red leather. It may not be pretty, but it’s pretty wild!

Another ‘always second choice’ from Opel: the H. It turned out to be rather timeless, didn’t it? Opel Nederland probab...
13/07/2026

Another ‘always second choice’ from Opel: the H. It turned out to be rather timeless, didn’t it? Opel Nederland probably hasn’t got very good memories of this car. The Astra H couldn’t restore the Astra’s dominance of car sales in the Netherlands. With the Astra G (1998) the Dutchies had fallen out of love with the Astra (5). Only in its first full year on the market (2005) did the new Astra outsell its predecessor. After that, sales stabilized. We had moved on from what was once the cornerstone of Dutch society, preferring the Peugeot 307 (the bestseller for three consecutive years), the Golf and the Scénic over the pretty but dull Astra.

It’s cunning how Opel managed to use existing styling details throughout all of their range, while gently moving their design forward with every new car. In this case we can see the transition from the austere Vectra C from 2001 towards the funky Corsa D from 2006. This early has the rare 2004-model-year-only colour ‘Papyrus’. That’s about everything I can say about it. Is this a car we should completely forget, then? Most certainly not. Opel famously offered a full panoramic windscreen on the three-door GTC of this generation, which I have never seen in real life and am rather obsessed with…

Opel Astra 1.8 Enjoy, 30 November 2004.

In 1988, British art-pop pranksters The KLF published a satirical book titled “The Manual,” claiming absolutely anyone c...
09/07/2026

In 1988, British art-pop pranksters The KLF published a satirical book titled “The Manual,” claiming absolutely anyone could score a number-one hit without a shred of musical talent.

Austrian musician Walter Werzowa read the book, took the instructions completely literally, and put the theory to the test. He ripped off the chorus of ABBA’s “S.O.S.”, mixed it with then-trendy swingbeat (New Jack Swing) rhythms and smothered the entire track in traditional alpine yodeling. The resulting song, “Bring Me Edelweiss,” proved The KLF entirely right. It became a massive global phenomenon, topping the charts in six countries and selling over five million copies worldwide.

In 1998 Mercedes got their hands on a copy of The Manual and applied the principle to car design. The result? The Vaneo, a massive global phenomenon, topping the charts in six countries and selling over…. Wait….

Mercedes-Benz Vaneo 1.9 Ambiente, 18 February 2003.

First there was the RX4, Renault’s famously fragile attempt at creating a crossover between an MPV and an SUV, based o...
03/07/2026

First there was the RX4, Renault’s famously fragile attempt at creating a crossover between an MPV and an SUV, based on the first-generation Scénic. Then there was the second generation based Scénic Conquest, which was billed as the spiritual successor to the RX4, but without 4WD. It was hardly a success, but Renault did not want to give up.

By 2013, ‘real’ SUVs were eating the world alive, but Renault’s clearly hadn’t had enough of the wannabe SUV theme. So with the facelift of the third generation of the Scénic arrived the Scénic X-MOD, a Scenic with 3cm more ground clearance, some black plastic cladding and roof rails. The X-MODs party piece: Renault Grip Xtend, an electronic traction-control system with three selectable settings - Expert, Road, and Loose Ground - designed to improve braking and stability on mud, sand, and snow. The system was operated via a rotary dial placed neat the gear selector. It didn’t exactly give the X-MOD any meaningful off-road abilities, but at least it offered something the regular Scénic didn’t.
The rather fetching colour by the way is Jaune Automne D37 - you’re welcome.

Renault Scénic 1.2 TCe X-MOD, 27 May 2013.

I’m continuing yesterday’s theme with this wonderful example of a . Launched in 2007, the Conquest was the successor ...
01/07/2026

I’m continuing yesterday’s theme with this wonderful example of a .

Launched in 2007, the Conquest was the successor to the Scénic RX4. That car, however problematic, had four wheel drive, which gave it some credibility. The Scénic Conquest didn’t. It was all style over substance - a sad attempt to common the SUV trend by decking out an in off-road gear. Meaning: a raised ride height (for extra roll in corners), orange details in the interior (for whatever reason) and rubber floor mats (for ease of cleaning in case the roll in corners became too much).

At least this is the 2 liter version - there was a laughable 1.6 as well, that had the car struggle to get out of its own way. This is slightly better. You’d think Renault would have given up on the plastic-clad wannabe Scenic, but they didn’t…. Stay tuned for more!

Renault Scénic Conquest 2.0-16V, 14 January 2008.

A , one of around 2,500 ever built, casually parked on a corner in Amsterdam East. I have to admit I was rather impress...
30/06/2026

A , one of around 2,500 ever built, casually parked on a corner in Amsterdam East. I have to admit I was rather impressed with the Karma. I like four door sports sedans like this and the Aston Martin Rapide for instance. They make no sense - I don’t think the rear seat on these cars is ever used. They remind me of my Avantime.

Anyway, I liked the Karma, until I read somewhere it looked like a car designed by a talented twelve year old whose dream it is to become a car designer. And that spoilt the Larma for me, cause it’s true. The wheels are too large, the proportions are off and it’s all a bit too much of everything. The Karma is trying too hard. There’s a German word for that - one of my favorite German words: .

Fisker Karma 2.0 EcoChic (wtf…), 8 August 2012.

The ultimate doesn’t exi…. Oh wait, it does. But chances are little it will ever be mine. This wonderful early if dr...
26/06/2026

The ultimate doesn’t exi…. Oh wait, it does. But chances are little it will ever be mine. This wonderful early if drom@the Renault factory collection and taken to Obiza to brighten up the launch of the 2026 Twingo. Not that it needed brightening up - the new Twingo is a bubbly joyful little thing as it is.

Anyway: the perfect Twingo. Even though O drove a Bleu Outremer one back in 1993 (for one weekend only), given the choice, I’d probably go for this Rouge Corail. It looks red under the Balearic sun, but it sits really more somewhere between pink and salmon. Of course it needs the original Soho interior that just screams early 90s. Other must-haves are the two-tone steering wheel and an original radio with green buttons (that is missing on this car). I’ve been a Twingo fan ever since I first laid eyes on it back in 1992 and I’ll always adore it 😍.

There’s a rather interesting connection between the facelifted and the Citroën C6, which you can read about in the boo...
24/06/2026

There’s a rather interesting connection between the facelifted and the Citroën C6, which you can read about in the book on the last big Citroën by Citrovisie.

The C6 had a difficult birth. The project experienced significant delays, and the car was only launched six years after Citroën first showed the C6 Lignage concept car in 1999. Around 2002, the C6 project ran into very rough waters after it was decided to halt it entirely for financial reasons. Once the team working on the car had been disbanded, its members would move on to other cars, and it would have been impossible to bring them back together, meaning the C6 would probably never see the light of day.

At the same time, a facelift of the still-new C5 was imminent. The design of the first-generation C5 had been harshly criticised, and something had to be done to address that. The C6 project manager made a smart move: he argued that his team should work on the facelift of the C5. That way, he could keep the team together and continue work on the C6 once the situation improved. And it did: after a while, the decision was made to restart work on the C6, and the original team could carry out the car as planned. Which makes the C5 II — which I consider not the best example of a facelift — the car that ensured the C6 exists!

Citroen C5 1.8-16V Cool Tech, 27 April 2007.

You have to look carefully, but the good people at Volkswagen do have their flights of fancy every now and then. Somewhe...
17/06/2026

You have to look carefully, but the good people at Volkswagen do have their flights of fancy every now and then. Somewhere between the Phaeton and the Polo Harlekino, there’s this: the with the ‘Tim & Tom’ interior. The names refer to the upholstery, which consists of cartoony images of a cat (Tim) and a mouse (Tom) on a bright green background. For a moment, I thought Tim & Tom were the German names used for the famous cartoon duo Tom & Jerry, but they appear not to be.
You only see Tom -the mouse- here. I haven’t taken pictures of Tim, by the way, because I only discovered his existence afterwards. Going back to the scrapyard would have been useless —the images date from last August and the car is gone (I checked to make sure). So, as for Tim, you’ll have to make do with a picture I took from the internet (4).

Tom (the mouse) appears exclusively on the seats, Tim (the cat) on the door cards. I imagine Ferdinand Piëch personally ensured Tom would never be ‘caught’ by Tim by keeping the two apart. He probably did not want to scare his grandchildren. Still, things do get a bit exciting when you close the doors and the two come dangerously close to one another. The internet is full of people wondering who’d ever want an interior like that. I can answer that question: I do. It’s all very weird in an exceptionally cute way, plus I think the is a very well-designed, underestimated little car. Might I say a , even?

Adres

Wethouder Sangerstraat 398
Elsloo

Website

Meldingen

Wees de eerste die het weet en laat ons u een e-mail sturen wanneer plankhond nieuws en promoties plaatst. Uw e-mailadres wordt niet voor andere doeleinden gebruikt en u kunt zich op elk gewenst moment afmelden.

Contact

Stuur een bericht naar plankhond:

Snelkoppelingen

Delen

Type