Mat, sounds like you found the Scrapbook article "Death of a Columbo Car" -- and we're proud to have that insider report, from somebody with first-hand knowledge and a great story to tell.
But, the whole story is more complicated. See, for example, the Scrapbook article about Columbo's car at Universal -- featuring a rare, recent photo of TWO of Columbo's Peugeots in the parking lot of the studio.
I'm always on the lookout for a Columbo car sitting along the side of a road, or in an abandoned junk yard (but near the road) somewhere here in the northern Illinois area. Saw something that came close once, but it was an old Volvo (if I remember correctly!)