By Jim Brennan
I thought I would do a weekend of weird import cars that I found on Craigslist… You know the ones that used to be sold here in the states but never seem to have developed a following like BMW, Subaru, or even Mazda… Most of the cars are orphaned here, even though the manufacturers are still producing cars… Like this 1985 Renault Fuego.
The Renault Fuego was sold in the states between 1982 and 1985 through American Motors, and was modified for the american market that was thoroughly criticized by the original design team in France. You see, during this period, the Bumpers had to be enlarged, and the headlights had to be the sealed beam type of units. They were also not impressed with the color and trim selection for the American Market, but all that was water under the bridge because the Fuego was going out of production in Europe in 1986 to make way for the Renault 21.
According to the seller of this late edition:
1985 RENAULT FUEGO TWO DOORS COUPE SPORT CAR .
EXCELLENT RUNNING CONDITIONS WITH ONLY 70,600 ORIGINAL MILES
2.2 LITER ENGINE NON TURBO
5 SPEED STICK SHIFT CAR.
37 MILES PER GALLON CAR.
SUPER CLEAN INTERIOR AND ALL IN FUNCTIONAL LIKE IT SHOULD.
NEW RADIATOR , STARTER, TIMING BELT, WATER PUMP .
ALL THIS WAS DUE TO A LONG TIME PARK IN A GARAGE .
CALIFORNIA CLEAN TITLE ON HAND.
There is no asking price, but the title states $2, which I can only assume is $2,000 (or it could be in fact $2…) so why not take a look at the listing here, and tell me what you think of this French Sports Coupe.
Jeff Glucker
In 1985 I was looking to buy my first new car and I test drove the Fuego Turbo. It was a pretty fun car but based on a friend's Daulphin I was leary of any French car. I'm still prejudiced but what the heck
My dad bought one brand new in 1984, after years of buying Datsuns. He was back in a Nissan in a year o two.
Unfortunately, yes.
If I had money for a second car, can't say this would be my first choice. It does look nice, and well kept, but it's old and should be treated as such. Tempting to own for it's uniqueness, but I will pass.
Well it's got a radio with an equalizer, which is a must for an 80's car, but I think if I wanted an 80's economy car masquerading as a sporty car I might look for an EXP instead.
In Europe I'd prefer the EXP – in the US, this is the even more obscure car I'd say. (I'm assuming that you don't pick this kind of cars for their performance or longevity…)
Yes, I could. I am a Fuego fanboi. Have been since I was a teen.
You would think there would be plenty of these in the Renault club, but there are far more boxy Alliance GTAs
Here is a Renault video re the 80s and the Fuego.
1. I rode the TGV once. The mechanics were on strike so I had to stand the entire way because only a third of the trains were running. Plus, the A/C wasn't working, in July.
2. I never imagined someone could fit Louis Vuitton in the back of a Fuego.[youtube 33dk0Y7aZdg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33dk0Y7aZdg youtube]
friend of mine had one of these and used to spend a fortune on maintenance and repairs, one drunk night in the pub he spent half an hour listing the stuff that had recently broken on it and how much it had cost to fix….then tried to sell it to me, wasn't tempted then, not tempted now
on a side note, why the sealed headlights, i know that they were legislated as mandatory for a long time in the states, but why? were they propping up an indigenous auto electrical industry? was the supply chain for headlights controlled by organised crime?
US regulations designed to keep down the cost of replacement headlights, from 1940 to1983. At first just 7"round, then in 1957, 5 3⁄4 " round, then the varying rectangular sizes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp#Headlamp_st…
ta for that
still doesn't make sense though, how can replacing the entire headlight instead of a bulb be holding down the cost? americans are strange people (not that the english – and for that matter the austrailians – aren't)
Maybe it's related to the headlights themselves being broken. Perhaps from when roads weren't quite as good as they've become with more loose material like stone chips. And it was in WW2, standardising on headlights made everything easier?
I'm sure that somewhere, someone has a fuller answer. 🙂
Alas, it's not a turbo.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/YsVT6jj.gif">
It's certainly fun to run around yelling "RENAULT FUEGO!!1!" in the most chipper voice possible. Which might be the best part about owning one of these… 😉
Did you notice it actually says TUBRO on the dial???
I really like it tu bro!!!
It would be strange if it was real, but it's also strange to photoshop it.
Here's what's likely the source, spelled correctly:
[youtube 2b1AxI_YK_Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b1AxI_YK_Y youtube]
I actually stole it from the LeMons 2014 CMP2 wrap-up: http://youtu.be/NDw0Fc9jF5k But they almost certainly stole it from your source. (And yes, it got photoshopped while joking with Rood.)
EDIT to add: The CMP2 wrapup video above also includes Jay & Nick's answer to the article's question.
The first time I drove a US-model Fuego I wondered what was wrong with the car: the steering was surprisingly slow, handling was not what it should have been, and performance from the non-turbo 2.2 was… Leisurely. Then I found out that they were all like that.
That said, if we had one more parking space I'd probably go for it. Parts for front-engined Renaults in the US are, shall we say, fun to try to come by, however – and that's not to say that finding them for rear-engined models is much easier, but those at least seemed to develop more of a following. There are support networks out there, but more than a quarter-century of absence by Renault from this part of the world means even those sources are stretched thin.
Good car, but you have to be very obstinate these days to own a Renault in the US. I speak from experience on this one; support for Peugeots and Citroens is much better, and that is meant in the most relative terms possible.
Even where these cars were relatively popular, like here in NZ, they are rare now.
I must admit that my life is easier now that I don't own three of these-and they weren't the horribly compromised US version.
And I had been given two of them by someone who left walking quite jauntily.
A buddy in high school got a speeding ticket in a turbo Fuego, 50 mph in a 30 – backwards. Made perfect sense, 'cause he lost all gears but reverse and had to be home by 1am. Oh yeah, and cops don't like it when you fail to dim your brights, even if they're pointing the wrong way.
Not a turbo, so that's a mark against.
Had a customer back in the 90s that had owned one from new. He loved his, but he also babied it.
But it's totally worth $2.
Given this option, I'm going to keep holding out for an R17 Gordini.
My good buddy, Tom, traded his Peugeot 504 for a turbo Fuego in Austin, Texas. When it was brand-new it was a fun car to drive in a straight line. From a stop-light give it the gas and…wait for it…wait for it…ZOOOOOM! The turbo lag was phenomenal. Alas, it wasn't as reliable as the Peugeot and door handles and other interior plastic parts started to break or fall apart. Still, it was a gas for a while. I think he traded it in on a Pontiac Sunbird – dull but reliable.