Renault, Puegot, of France and Fiat from Italy were all sold in the 1970's in the US. Slow sales combined with reliabilty and service issues,
whether real or perceived, doomed them all. It must have proven a bitter pill, as none has returned.
My 1974 Fiat 128SL Couple, purchased new, was a pile of junk. My father in law had a Renault R10....underpowered, but a nice car otherwise.
Let's not forget the Britmobiles in this comparo. I had both an 65 MG Midget, and 59 MGA. Fun yes, but not very reliable with their 1930's technology,
just like the oil dripping / kick starting Brit motorcycles of the era. The Japanese taught them both a lesson.
My SAAB 95 and two 99's were unique, and ahead of their time. I didn't think any were oddities, but to most American's accustomed to
oversized US made clunkers, they likely were.
It appears that Fiat will be returning now that it owns Chrysler. I always liked the French cars, and would like to see them return.
They sure have cleaned up recently in the World Rally Championship's.
Negative perception is a hard thing to shake, whether it be French, Italian, Brit, or ... drum roll please.... American cars.
Even the iconic Corvette, much loved in the US, is generally seen as a heap of low quality, poor handling, flimbsy plastic in Europe.
The overall US perception is that Japanese, German, and to a lesser extent Swedish cars are quality machines, hence their popularity here.
On the other hand, as a biker, I get all teary eyed at the sight of most any exotic Italian motorcycle.... be it MV Agusta, Aprilia, Ducati, Moto Guzzi !!
Thanks for letting me ramble down memory lane......Tom
My Rotax powered Aprilia and twin turbo BMW... Belissima und Wunderbar
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