I don’t speak much French and I read even less so I can’t tell you a whole lot about what this ad says, but I will do my best to translate: “Buy this little car/van because it’s the classiest camper you can get. Heck with your overbuilt Sprinters and your Tacomas with camper shells.”
Or, something like that I’m sure.
This rare beauty is a Renault 5 Le Car Van. Yeah, “Le Car Van.” Lol. Only 450 of these were ever built, by the French coachbuilder Heuliez. It’s a Renault 5 Le Car with the hatch slightly enlarged and replaced with plastic panels that incorporated that little bubble window. It came in 2 or 4 seat options, with each car van getting layered up with rich red shag carpet.
This one is an auction find, with an estimated value of 22k to 28k in Euros.
Check out the whole Le Car Van right here.
Sacré bleu!
Back in the early 1960s when I was a sophomore in college I took German. One day our professor, a young man born in Germany, didn’t show up. The next day he came into class and delivered a lengthy diatribe, most of which I didn’t understand, but his final words were unmistakable and delivered with a level of distain that would curdle milk. Französisches Auto! Apparently, his Renault performed a bit less dependably than a Benz.
I had a Le Car in WA in the 70s. Fun and great visibility, but nobody knew how to work on it, even the dealers. Found a former race car mechanic an hour away.
For a ting city bug with Cheerio tires, it loved dirt roads!
Strange gas pedal: odd angle of depression. Then one day, wearing high heels, it was perfect! Oh!
I got it from a 6’6” guy who wanted to save on gas on a long commute. Two months of trying to fold himself into it was enough.
Some vehicles one really does wear instead of drive…
I’ll take my wife’s Honda Fit over that bizarre thing!
I miss our 5-speed 2012 Honda Fit Sport every single day.