it's Kevin's RENAULT FAN PAGE

This page is dedicated to my 1978 Renault 5 (shown at left), and more generally to the goal of keeping all Renault 5's running forever (or at least for a good long time).

For more information and resources on North American Renaults check out the Renault Owners Club of North America website.

why the Renault 5?

Honestly I don't know. My first experience with the Renault 5 (later named the "LeCar" in the United States -- disgrace!) was in 1976, when my family took our first European vacation. We rented a white Renault 5 in Barcelona, and drove all over Spain and southern France. Somehow all five of us plus our luggage were crammed inside. I think Mom had to have a suitcase on her lap or something.

In anticipation of our trip, Dad took me, my sisters, and our enormous piece of luggage down to the new Renault dealership in Scottsdale to see if we'd all fit. I was just 8 years old, and Karen and Erika were 10 and 12 respectively, so I guess we were able to fit OK. This trial run of potential rental cars was repeated with other models in subsequent years. I still remember the guy at the Ford dealership exclaiming, "you've got to be kidding! Sure, go ahead!" as we marched with our empty suitcases towards an Escort or Fairmont, or whatever it was we were planning to rent for that summer vacation. But I digress.

My Renault 5 was purchased from its original San Francisco owner from an ad in the newspaper that Matt saw. The owner had driven it every day to his schoolteaching job in Daly City. At the time the car was dark blue with a black vinyl interior. He had repainted it once, and had mercifully removed the horrible "LeCar" decals from the sides (he felt the same way I do about the unfortunate renaming of the R5, or at least I know he hated the decals). The odometer had stopped somewhere around 88,000. The car ran well but the body and interior had gone to seed, and he welcomed the opportunity for someone to take on the restoration.

The interior has been redone in a very sporty black and red leather, which is completely over the top for such an old car, but the upholsterer was very excited when he saw the car and wanted to make it a showpiece. He also replaced the old vinyl roll-back sunroof with a new canvas one. The exterior was repainted in the original European Renault red, which took me back at first since it is a rather strange shade. As it was being painted, I kept thinking it looked kind of odd, but figured it was a primer coat or something. But when I picked it up, there it was, crazy bright red. I've gotten used to the color, and actually come to like it because it's so quirky. It's a fantastic paint job, traded for a set of kitchen cabinets from our old Scavolini business.

So the Renault has turned out to be a great car for running around the City. It's very fun to drive, and attracts a lot of attention, both because there aren't too many around anymore, and because the color is so bright. It uses hardly any gas and can fit into tiny parking spaces. It only has four speeds, so it's pretty noisy on the freeway, but goes very fast with no effort at all.

Matt and I have talked about having a R5 Club of San Francisco. He has a couple more R5's to fix up, or sell to somebody who's as obsessed as we are. Maybe we'd be the only members of this club, since I'm not sure how many of these cars are left around here. We've seen one over near Liberty Hill, and someone else has reported one living up in Twin Peaks. Definitely an obscure proposition.

So if you've managed to find this page and happen to have an R5/LeCar, send an e-mail with a picture and I'll put it up on this page with the details. And also check out the Renault Owners Club of North America's website.

Renault ads from France, from the model's debut in 1972 (top) to an American-themed "LeCar" edition in 1978, to the end of production in 1984 (bottom), as recounted on a French website with reviews of various French advertising campaigns including Renault.

Renault 5 Owners' Gallery

Renault owners unite!