One Close-Up View of a Renault 5 (Known in the United States as Le Car)

So generally, I have mentioned numerous times having some close encounters with my favorite car, which was the Citroën 2CV. When Americans - understandably not familiar with that car - ask about it, I usually tell them that it was more or less France's answer to Germany's Volkswagen Beetle.

However, that is perhaps actually partly true. Mostly, I believe it would be that, indeed. However, there is another French car (from an entirely different car company) that might compete for that particular distinction. 

By now, given the title of this particular blog entry, you probably guessed that I am talking about none other than the Renault 5. Unlike the Citroën 2CV, this one actually sold and was seen (at least on occasion) here in the United States. It was known as "Le Car."

If memory serves correctly (and in this case, I believe that it does), the last time that I actually saw one prior to this last trip to France was, surprisingly, neither in France nor the United States. It was during a trip I took at some point a few years ago in Canada, and it was on a highway. So not only did it happen so quickly that I could not take a picture, but there was the little matter of me driving, which meant that I was in no position to take a picture.

But during a recent visit to Marly-le-Roi, my family's traditional hometown in France, I chanced upon one. It was parked and nobody was in or around it. Also, admittedly, it appeared to be a little beat up. Of course, it has to be fairly old, so that is understandable. And let's face it: to see any of these cars in any condition is, to me, a treat.

There were actually two or three other encounters with these cars which I had during this recent visit. One was in Paris, but again, it happened so fast that I never had a chance at getting a picture. My hand had not even retrieved my cell phone from my pocket - let alone gotten it in position to actually take a picture - before that particular Renault 5 rounded a corner and was gone. If memory serves correctly, it was at the Charles de Gaulle–Étoile, right by the Arc de Triomphe.

The third time was in a tiny little town called Leffond, which my brother and I spent some time in when we were kids. I almost passed it before realizing what it was, and meant to go back and take some pictures. But I kept stopping at places which I recognized and, when I got back, there was someone there. He understandably never stopped looking at this stranger slowing down and, from his perspective, pointing the camera phone in his direction. So I think that maybe - not definitely, but possibly - managed to get that particular Renault 5 on camera, as well. However, I had imagined another series of pictures similar to these ones, because nobody was there when I first passed it (and I had wrongly assumed that nobody would be there some minutes later, when I passed by again on the return trip). 

Whether or not that picture came out (and I will check and post it here later if it did), here are some pictures of the old Renault 5 which definitely did come out. They seemed worth sharing here, for that matter.

Not often that you get to see one of these on the roads anymore. Even in France, you rarely get the opportunity. So this was a privilege for me, on some level.

Below are the pictures of the Renault 5 (Le Car).

Enjoy.