Americans have short memories for a lot of things, but many still remember Renault and those memories are not very favorable. From the day of the early Dauphines and Caravelles up to their poorly-orchestrated takeover of American Motors, Renault in the U.S. has always stood for wacky engineering, poor reliability, poor service, unavailable parts, etc. (Some of their advertising in the 1960s even made reference to this, promising improvements over past misdeeds, particularly in ads for the then-new R10 series.)

Years ago I saw an R5 (known as the "Le Car" in the U.S.), dead on the side of the road, wearing a custom license plate that pretty much sums up the U.S. perception of Renault: "Le Junk." Perhaps that reputation is not deserved at this point in time, but that is what Renault is facing should they decide to come back for another stab at the U.S. market.

Renault does have a shadowy presence here through Nissan, of course, but most don't perceive that. I strongly suspect if the very same cars arrived at dealers wearing "Renault" badges, their sales would plummet.

posted by 209.60.99...

• Businessweek says Saab didn't earn $$ in U.S., 9-3 Dog, Wed, 9 Jul 2008 16:12:19
  • Some good comments at Businessweek..., Ted Y, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:38:17
  • absolute denial of selloff(s) n/m, JohnA , Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:23:05
    • Agreed - More Wall Street Journal Denials, Scott Paterson , Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:29:32
  • If GM sells off Saab, will Saabers stay loyal? YES!, JMJ in NC, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:38:51
    • Not really - they've already lost us..., Wavey, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:00:42
      • Re: Not really ... lost us... Got me back, Dave Chicago, Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:04:55
      • Re: Not really - they've already lost us..., Red93SEinBklyn, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:59:03
        • Saabs & Saturns ..., Trev formerly Trev, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:19:38
          • Re: Saabs & Saturns ..., Noel, Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:18:00
            • Re: Saabs & Saturns ..., Wavey, Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:05:29
      • Re: Not really - they've already lost us..., AdamB , Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:53:27
  • Many companies don't pay to export to the US, Mike in Anchorage, Wed, 9 Jul 2008 21:16:45
    • Saab has always treated me right, Steve in Chicago, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:42:58
    • Re: Many companies don't pay to export to the US, Dan-O, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:14:15
      • Re: Renault-- but hasn't Carlos Ghosn, head of, Noel, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:30:56
        • People here still remember them as "Le Junk...", CarterB, Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:58:08 <-- Viewing This Message
        • Renault was talking about heading into the US, Dean C, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:47:58
          • What about Tata? Saab, made in India, samk, Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:03:48
            • Re: What about Tata? Saab, made in India, birminghamsaab, Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:25:43
              • Are any of the Alabama car plants unionized?, Bill Homer , Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:55:00
                • Re: Are any of the Alabama car plants unionized?, birminghamsaab, Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:33:41

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