As most of us have either read in the comments on vintage vehicle websites or maybe we’ve written it ourselves, “Just because something is rare, that doesn’t make it valuable.” That could be said about the Renault Fuego. Although, just over 265,000 of this unusual French car were made, when was the last time you saw one? The seller has this 1985 Renault Fuego listed here on eBay in Hollywood, Florida and there is an unmet opening bid suggestion of $3,000 and no reserve.
There are a couple of unusual things about this car, one being the seller mentions it was painted red in 2021. Does that mean it wasn’t originally red? We don’t know, but I’m assuming that means repainted red, as there doesn’t appear to be paint over the door strikers and things like that, which sometimes happen during a repaint. The other thing is that they say it was in a movie so it’s “kind of famous.”
The movie wasn’t the French Connection or even French Kiss, it was a film named “Mais qui a re-tué Pamela Rose?”, I’m guessing, since they show a photo of the movie poster in their listing. Translated, that means, “But Who Killed Pamela Rose Again?” I’m not a French film guy, and I don’t have a clue about that movie, but maybe one of you has seen or heard of it. The seller says this car has upgraded headlights and tail lights but I hope the originals go with the sale. One more thing about this car, it has a “rebuilt” title, reportedly from a “fender-bender” at some point by a previous owner.
The Fuego was made from 1980 through 1986 and we got them through AMC dealers in the U.S. from 1982 to 1985. I knew someone who owned a Fuego, but just one and it was a solid 35 years ago. The photos aren’t the best for this example but the seller covered most of the car and from what can be seen of the interior, it looks pretty nice. The front seats could use a padding-redo, but otherwise, it looks tidy. This one has a fabric sunroof and there’s an extra one included.
There are a couple of photos with the hood up so I zoomed in a bit on one of them to see Renault’s 2.2-liter SOHC inline-four with 91 horsepower and 119 lb-ft of torque when new. Backed by a five-speed manual sending power to the front wheels, the seller says the engine works great, and a French movie car or not, this one would be unusual to see at almost any car show or parking lot. Have any of you owned a Fuego?
It looks like the engine fell over to the left…
I worked at a waterbed store in 1983, my regional manager at the time purchased a new turbo Fuego. A pretty nice looking car with decent performance and a well appointed interior. But still kinda weird in a french sort of way. He constantly had mechanical problems until one day an axle fell out. I believe he sold it and then purchased a new Porsche 944 Turbo. Working for the biggest chain of waterbed stores, Big Sur, in the country then was rewarding monetarily. I was driving a Fiat X1/9 and my boss had a Supra Turbo. One upmanship was the name of the game.
My wife and I got kind of crazy in the early 80s and thought a waterbed would make certain aspects of our lives more exciting…we were wrong. Just about the most horrible kind of bed for what we had in mind. It was good for keeping warm in the wintertime, beyond that, it was awful, and bumped up our electrical bills ten bucks a month, which at the time was quite a bit extra. After a few years, we sold it to a kid down the street on his way to college. I think he had the same idea we had upon our purchase. I did not challenge the idea, just smiled coyly and said that grown ups did not openly discuss such matters. Never so happy to see a piece of furniture go away. My wife went out and spent a small fortune on an Amish handmade oak bed, dressers to match, a top end firm mattress set, and some high thread count set of sheets. Despite the pocketbook hit, I smiled because at that time, I still had a little game left in me and I knew it was going to improve. It did. Oh, the car? Pretty, but I heard they were about as reliable as France has been as a military ally.
I didn’t own a Fuego but at the time I installed aftermarket car audio systems in them for Green Brook AMC/Jeep/Renault in Green Brook, NJ. This at the time that Renault had full operational control over AMC and had phased out all the true AMC vehicles with the exception of the AWD Eagle.
I remember two things about the Fuego. First, there was something unusual about the way the radios were factory mounted. It wasn’t a typical single DIN radio. Second, the interior trim looked and felt very cheap.
Two years later AMC as many of us know and love was done as after the assassination of Georges Besse, Renault couldn’t dump AMC fast enough. Its remains were happily scooped up by Lee Iacocca at Chrysler for its crown jewels of Jeep. That story is well known. Iacocca launched the Grand Cherokee and the Renault Premiere was redesigned into the first generation LH FWD cars.
Starting in 1999 Renault had forged a relationship with Nissan. How might have things been different if there was a Renault-Nissan-Chrysler alliance before Chrysler went to the altar in 1998 with Daimler-Benz instead?
Une voiture undesirable
My best friend in high school bought a new one after graduating from college/landing a good first job. His was silver…purchased aftermarket finned hatch shade which I remember being aluminum.
Totally forgot I drove on of these once. After last call 🍻 a pretty brunette 😍 handed me the keys, forget her name. Car was silver, stick shift.
… “when was the last time you saw one?” Scotty, my answer to that might be “never.” At least I don’t ever remember seeing one. Renaults weren’t exactly common in the areas of the country where I lived during the 80’s-90’s.
To the Barn Finds team, was there some reason why my comment wasn’t published or was deleted? I checked the box to be notified of comments to this thread and I am getting notifications. But when I went back to look for my comment, it was not there. Would you like ed to explain?
Long-time Barn Finds reader and fan.
It wasn’t deleted. Our word filter caught it and it was just pending moderation. It’s published now. Thanks.
It wasn’t deleted. It either went to moderation or the cache hadn’t cleared.
Who could resist a sporty red car named “FIRE”? The French thought so, even though it’s not a French word. That’s the French for ya’, one minute they are honoring you, next they are chopping your head off.
In the mid 80s, a fellow co-worker had a red Fuego just like this. Sold through AMC dealers, it was the fanciest “Alliance” offered. Not sure it had anything in common with an Alliance, but Americans had no clue anyway. It wasn’t Asian, and that’s all that mattered,,,to some. I remember, it was a nice car, plenty of power, cushy seats, handled/stopped nice, had an “IMRACY” license plate, and got stopped quite often, he claimed. I always thought the French made great cars, and this is no exception. A nice car that went basically unnoticed here. Again, peoples experiences of the LeCar, which I thought was also a good car, kept Renault from being a success here. While I read the Fuego was the biggest seller in Europe, to the tune of 350,000, only about 10% were sold in the US. At under $10 grand, it should have been a hit, but guess who pulled the plug on that.
I bought a 1983 Fuego 1.6 new from Richard’s AMC in Union, NJ, kept it for ten years, and put 167,000 miles on it. I installed an Archer Brothers suspension kit (Konis, sway bars, shorter springs), Cibies, and an ANSA exhaust. It had only two issues (electrical and upper radiator hose) in all that time. It was so slow, but handled so well with the suspension kit, that I could go through the twisties in South Mountain Reservation with the accelerator pinned to the floor. A fun car for the times.
Is nice to see a US Fuego with the “proper”, ie: original European (as it was designed) headlamps, although it would look even better with the indicator (blinker?) lights as well (look at the panel gaps!)
The Fuego was simply a sporty hatch version of the R18 – the 18 was a rare-enough sight here in the UK and the Fuego, even rarer.
I had a school pal whose parents had a Fuego Turbo which, back in the day, was a quick car!
I had a new one back then (white). First problem was the gas filter was the size of a coffee can, mounted under the gas tank, had to be special ordered, so cost a fortune to replace. Just after the 12 month warenty ended the stick shift broke off in my hand (snapped inside the transmission) while I was goind down a highway offramp. I got it fixed just emough to trade it in. So a car that cost 9K new and very low millage only fetched 1K as a trade in. Worst car I ever owned and I had an X-19, before that.
How might have things been different if Chrysler had focused on cheap reliable transportation? Going upscale has never been a long term game winner, ask GM about Hummer sometime. People will always support affordable value. I feel the Omni could have gone on for a decade longer if they kept lowering the price by making more and profiting by volume. Henry Ford kept making more Model Ts and lowering the price. He seemed to do okay. Many young people struggle with the high price of used cars that have no warranty and are unreliable. Most would buy a brand new unexciting car if it was cheaper. Too bad that Chrysler is dead in the water, floating face down, rotting and swollen.
Yechh. Thanks for that image.
My roommate’s father bought one new in Somerset, PA. After a year or so my roommate wound up on campus with it. He called it a Renault Fudgy” and traded it home to his old man for the ’77 Cordoba – a much better car.
It ran OK; he didn’t have it long enough for it to break down.
I bought a 83 Fuego turbo (second hand in college)… Loved it. Had cold start issues and no one was knowledgeable enough to solve until one day I changed the cold start injector I found hiding under the intake manifold and that cured things !! Crazy that no one figured that out at the dealership. Besides that it was quirky but I really enjoyed it.
The world‘s first keyless entry was a 1982 Renault Fuego.
I remember looking at one in Stuart FL, Amce dealer. The salesman told me there is an ass for every seat!
I thought they were interesting, but did not buy one. Bought a 71 corvette convertible instaed, thats another story!