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Renault Cars

For the longest time, this French company has struggled to gain the name recognition of many of its competitors even though Renault has had a long history off automotive innovation. Renault was founded in 1898 when a young engineer at the age of 20, Louis Renault, turned a simple French tricycle in the first four wheeled vehicle the company produced. From that point point, the young Renault invented the first gearbox, or transmission for the auto and this propelled the company on its way. Since the beginning, Renault (pronounced “ruh-noh”) has a long history of innovations, such as the first turbocharger, in the world automotive marketplace.

When Lois Renault's two brothers joined him in the business, the company's reputation was soon established as builders and sellers of excellent racing automobiles. In 1899, the company unveiled the first sedan, or “saloon” as it was known at that time. This was soon followed by the development in 1902, of a 24-horsepower four-cylinder engine. From there, the company expanded its product offerings by producing, taxis, rail-cars, buses, tractors and even airplane engines. Recognizing that it needed to increase production capacity to keep up with its American counterparts, especially after following WW1, the decision was made in 1929 to open the company's first mass-production, American style assembly line.

Just like all automotive manufacturers of the 1930's and 40's, Renault was constantly striving to introduce affordable, yet profitable automobiles. Now granted, not all product offerings were successful. One of these failures was the Juvaquatre, which unfortunately was not well received by the buying public. Undaunted, Renault followed this with the 4CV. Produced from 1946 to 1960, this model was responsible for keeping Renault both competitive and profitable.

With the advent of a new decade, the 1950's, Renault began selling the next generation of the 4CV, called the Dauphine in the US auto market. According to Renault statistics, in 1959 the Dauphine sold more units than the popular Volkswagen Beetle. The problem with this model is that it soon became dated in consumers eyes. To combat this, Renault introduced the five door Renault 4, which was also a front wheel drive, in 1961. This was soon followed by the Renault 8 that was the first production vehicle boasting 4 wheel disc brakes. Still struggling with its image in the marketplace, 1966 saw Renault introduce an “upscale” hatchback, the Renault 16. Since these newer models experienced mild success, Renault followed with even more product introductions in the 1970's. These included coupes, upscale entries and smaller economical models.

Always looking to become more profitable, Renault partnered with AMC in the early 1960's agreeing to build Rambler Classics at its plant in Belgium. These soon became known as Rambler Renaults. Seeing this as a good business opportunity, Renault acquired a stake in AMC. Due to this combination, Renault started to contributed parts to the famous Jeep XJ Cherokee product line. The most notable product to come from the Renault AMC marriage was the 1983 introduction of the Renault Alliance. Even though it garnered Motor Trend's domestics car of the year, the success was short lived. With many quality issues facing the company, Renault, in 1987, sold it's shares to Chrysler.

Fast forwarding to 1990, Renault had a brief romance with Volvo that only lasted a few short years. In 1999 Renault decided to purchase a stake in Nissan. By becoming the world's fourth largest automaker, it gave the company the ability to increase it's product offerings. It now produces upscale models such as the Laguna, minivans, the Megane hatchback and a wide variety of sedans, compacts and subcompacts. The focus of the company in the modern era has been to produce eco friendly products that have been well received in Europe and international automotive markets.