As the official launch of the new Renault 5 E-Tech Electric approaches, communication is multiplying around the long-awaited diamond-shaped city car. And the latest one is quite surprising as it doesn’t take place in Francebut in a country where the flea will never set its wheels: the United States. More precisely, we are going to New York, where a huge fresco was painted in the Brooklyn district. We can read the slogan: “Le Car is back* … *But not for you, sorry”, or in French: “Le Car is back, but not for you”.
When the R5 was exported to the US
But why did you write Le Car and not R5, and why an advertising poster in the US? You might not know it, but the Renault 5 crossed the Atlantic and was marketed from 1976 to 1983. At the time, the diamond manufacturer was associated with the American brand AMC, which was experiencing some financial setbacks, especially due to the oil crisis of 1973. America had to adapt to what was called downsizing, and this saw Renault as the perfect opportunity to export again. Once it lands in Uncle Sam’s land, the R5 takes the famous name “Le Car” and is distributed within the AMC network, which has no less than 1,300 dealers nationwide. On the other hand, if the R5 is a hit in Europe, Le Car is struggling to find owners with only 6,800 units sold in the first year of its export.. The French car (still built at the AMC factory) isn’t short on assets though, ticking almost all the boxes for a small car of the period.
Advantages to highlight
Compared to the European model, this version is more luxurious and is based on the more exclusive R5 TS. We thus find locking of the doors, a clock, the leather steering wheel, a rev counter, seats with full backs and a numbered plate attached to the dashboard. Under the hood, Le Car has a four-cylinder 1.3 Cléon detuned to 58 hp for legal reasons. While advertisements from the time praised its low consumption (around 8.4L/100km in the city) as well as its space on board, local customers for their part feared its atrocious lack of power, the fact that they were only offered three doors, but above all poor manufacturing quality and excessive tendency to corrosion. Finally, its appearance, which does not go unnoticed, is not up to American standards.
In short, Le Car does not seduce! The French-American will still be eligible for a restyling in 1980 and will finally get a 5-door version a year later. Enough to boost sales, which reached their peak of 37,000 units in 1982. But it was too late, Le Car was at the end of its career. In 1983, the city car left the catalog without having a replacement, Renault did not want to repeat the operation with the arrival of the future Super cinq in 1984. This does not mean the end of the diamond manufacturer’s activities in the US, as the R9 and R11 will have a career under the respective names Alliance and Encore until 1987, the date when Renault sells AMC to Chrysler and leaves this formidable market for good.
No more Renault, but a return thanks to Alpine
If the Americans do not want the right to the new electric R5, they will be able to get behind the wheel of an Alpine in the future. In fact, the brand aims to conquer this market in 2026 thanks to its 100% electric range.but it won’t carry the new A290…based on the R5.