Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

Announcements (Updated: July 11, 2018)

Welcome to Swifty's Garage!


Thanks to all of you for making this board what it is today!


Attention new members: We would like to welcome you personally, so please introduce yourself. Click here: INTRODUCTIONS


For all the latest news and announcements, please click here: PA System



Thank you - The Swifty's Garage Team




This board is best viewed at 1024 x 768 Resolution

Car of the Week:


Matchbox 1968 Ford F-100


Click Here: Matchbox '68 Ford F-100
Welcome to Swifty's Garage. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Thank You,
The Swifty's Garage Team


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features.

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Car Of The Day: May 28, 2008; Norev '56 Renault Dauphine
Topic Started: May 28 2008, 03:20 AM (751 Views)
Swifty
Member Avatar
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Posted Image

Today's car of the day is Norev's 1956 Renault Dauphine.

Posted Image

Wikipedia
 
The Renault Dauphine was an automobile produced by French manufacturer Renault from 1956 to 1967. A luxury version, badged as the Renault Ondine was sold from 1960 to 1962. The Dauphine was assembled in many countries; South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Belgium and Ireland and under license in Italy, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, USA and Japan. A sport model, the Gordini, was also available with a standard 4-speed transmission and 4-wheel disc brakes, as well as engine modifications to increase the horsepower. A factory racing model, the "1093" was homologated with about 2140 units produced in 1962/3.

The Dauphine was launched in 1956 to replace the highly successful Renault 4CV. Like the 4CV, the Dauphine used a single-shell monocoque body. It was a 4-door saloon design as was the 4CV, but it lacked the rear-hinged "suicide doors" of the 4CV. It was also heavier and 12 inches longer than its predecessor, but used the same engine, albeit a version increased in size and power from 760 cc to 845 cc and 19 hp to 32 hp (14 kW to 24 kW) (the Dauphine was infamously slow: Road & Track magazine measured the Dauphine's 0-60 mph acceleration time as 32 seconds). The Dauphine was originally intended to be called the Corvette, but was changed to Dauphine (the female form of the French feudal title of Dauphin) to avoid confusion with the recently-launched Chevrolet Corvette.

Two limited editions of the Dauphine tuned to get more power from the engine were launched during its lifetime: firstly, Renault performance guru Amédée Gordini (who was to later produce high performance versions of the Renault 8, Renault 12 and Renault 15 among others) engineered a version of the Dauphine tuned to 37 hp (27.2 kW), which was sold as the Dauphine Gordini. Also, the final run of Dauphines, a limited edition of 2140 called the 1093, were similarly tuned to 55 hp (41 kW) and featured a twin barrel carburettor, rear track rods, four-speed manual transmission and tachometer, and had a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph). The 1093 was only available in white with two blue stripes down each side.

2,150,738 Dauphines were produced in its production run of 10 years. In the United Kingdom, it was one of the first imported cars to sell in large numbers, in a market that had, until then, been dominated by British manufacturers.

The Dauphine's legacy is largely dominated by both its infamously poor performance and bad handling, as well as its poor reliability: in many markets (particularly the United States and the United Kingdom) the car became notorious for mechanical problems and rust issues. In 2002, the auto enthusiasts' website Car Talk voted the Dauphine the 9th Worst Car Of The Millennium, calling it "truly unencumbered by the engineering process".


Posted Image

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Renault Dauphine

Posted Image

This car is the epitome of why the French motor industry is made fun of by many to this very day.

Posted Image

Here's how complicated the auto industry really is:

In the mid 1950s American firm Kaiser-Jeep started a factory in Argentina under the name IKA (Industrias Kaiser Argentina). IKA produced a local version of the Dauphine under license from Renault. At that point IKA became IKA Renault. IKA Renault later built Rambler models under license from AMC. In 1970 Kaiser decided to leave the auto industry entirely, with their remaining share of IKA being sold to Renault (IKA Renault then became Renault Argentina S.A.). At that same time, Kaiser sold Jeep to AMC. By 1979 Renault Argentina S.A. was still making the Torino (based on the '60s Rambler), but that was the only non-Renault still being manufactured by the firm (it would last through the 1981 model year). At that point, Renault bought into AMC (22.5%), and eventually bought controlling interest in 1982. In a nutshell, Jeep went from making Renaults to Renault making Jeeps (at least before they sold AMC to Chrysler).

Posted Image
Attached to this post:
Attachments: 0528cotd1.jpg (72.75 KB)
Attachments: 0528cotd2.jpg (66.03 KB)
Attachments: 0528cotd3.jpg (71.11 KB)
Attachments: 0528cotd4.jpg (76.11 KB)
Attachments: 0528cotd5.jpg (44.95 KB)
Attachments: 0528cotd6.jpg (46.13 KB)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
davidj94
Out hunting for JL
I'll try to be positive. Hmmm. Well the paint looks smooth. Ah, yes, some of the details are likeable, including the headlights, which appear to be more than just painted on. :rolleyes: And the glass is clear & the interior is not orange. There, I did it! :blink:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
james_autos
Member Avatar
Minivan
I'm not really a fan of the Dauphine, but I am a fan of the small range of classic Renaults that Norev have produced, from which this model comes from.

There's also a Renault 5 Turbo, Renault Alpine A110, Renault 4CV, Renault 8 Gordini and a Renault 4L.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
craftymore
Member Avatar
Support your local demo derby.

Quote:
 
(the Dauphine was infamously slow: Road & Track magazine measured the Dauphine's 0-60 mph acceleration time as 32 seconds).


I never thought I'd see a car with a time slower than my Chevy Tracker and a Yugo combined in the 0-60! :lol:

Sir Crafty
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ivantt
Member Avatar
New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
I wouldn't mind having the diecast. I have an Airfix plastic kit (1/32?) of it somewhere in my plastic car kit stuff.

That's the good part. The bad part? I owned one of these things, a white 1959.
I knicknamed it "Pedal Pusher" and had that name painted on the front lower panel (spare tire door). I felt like I may have been driving a car I pedalled.

It was my old beater when I was in college. It ran sometimes, but most times I was trying to find money to repair it. I can't even list all the things that went wrong. Just one thing after another. It was full of STP to prevent too much exhaust smoke (before strict pollution laws).

My favorite, though, was the switch under the dash that was used to control the "electric clutch." ( Off, on, reset, etc). It would spark and go into neutral mode when you hit a bump (I found out later it was shorting out to the dashboard metal, the ground). Well, anyway, I must have hit a good bump as the circuit shorted out long enough to hear a POP! and the whole car filled with smoke when the wiring completely burned /disintegrated in a second. My cousin was in the passenger's seat and opened the door and jumped out before I even stopped the car and he rolled onto the ground (not hurt, I was stopping at an intersection at the time.) It was like he pulled the ejection seat handle or something--- All I saw was smoke all over, his door opening and him yelling as he dove out!

Later I taped the switch up, and it never happened again. I probably drove it for another couple of months!:D
TRUELY the WORST car I ever owned!!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Swifty
Member Avatar
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
ivantt
May 28 2008, 10:10 PM
The bad part? I owned one of these things, a white 1959.

That's got to be high on my list of things I'd never admit on an Internet forum...



Just kidding! ;) We've all owned cars that were dogs at one point in time or another. I had two- a '90 Buick Skylark Custom sedan and a base model '94 Eagle Talon. I thought the Talon was an upgrade from the Buick that was nickle-and-diming me to death. HA! When the Talon broke it was $500 and $1,000ing me.

As I said in my original post, this car is the textbook example of why French cars are still jokes in the USA.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sak
Member Avatar
Ezekiel 25:17
I remember seeing a LOT of Dauphines here back in the '60s. One of the plusses it was touted for was it's driveability in snow. Whatever.

The Renault 8 was a big seller here, too...

I have a Solido Dauphine in 1:43, in maroon. Very nice. The Norev looks well done here.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
james_autos
Member Avatar
Minivan
I remember the Renault 8 well from my holidays in France. The French were the only people stupid enought o buy them.

I think the 8 has the unofficial title of being one of those cars that looks the same from both ends.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sak
Member Avatar
Ezekiel 25:17
Stupid? Better than that...they were proud.

You can't make this up.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ivantt
Member Avatar
New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
Sak, sometimes "proud" can also mean they just didn't know any better.
When my Dauphine ran, I loved that car! It had a lot of fun things about it! But all the problems I had just couldn't be ignored or forgotten. Maybe the French accepted quality like this as normal. I don't know, I never lived in France.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
james_autos
Member Avatar
Minivan
French cars have never been renowned for their reliability, it has to be said. They have produced a lot of very nice cars though (I own a Peugeot myself).

If you ever go to France, you'll see that about 70% of the cars on the roads are French built. The reason for this is they have very high import tax on foreign built cars, but also because they are very patriotic and prefer to buy French.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
James
Member Avatar
Mr.Bowtie
Come on we can't get one more little vote for the cute little French car! :wacko:

Quite a difference in CotW, the big Caddy, symbol of Quality and excellence and extravagance over here in North America, every kid has dreamed that one day he will strike it rich and buy himself a big ole caddy. And the Peasant's car, the Dauphine, with a royal name like that you would expect a more royal looking auto, but what you see is what you get. Us poor folk got to drive something, me I am seriously looking at a Kia Sodona (sp?) Van that is for sale over on the next street. My Bowtie lovers membership card is in jeapordy again. :lol:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
James
Member Avatar
Mr.Bowtie
Wek 17 and another tie, between classic American Iron and a little French piece of j.......... (Note I voted for the piece of j.........) Nice castings though. And that what we are voting for right, the castings quality detail and accuaracy...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I don't know about you, but I vote along party lines, and my party says you vote first for the Bowtie, .........
.
.
.
.
.
.
But your saying tell me something we don't already know. And it is trus I don't think I ever voted for anything else then a Bowtie, when there was one to vote for, call me a romantic, .
.
.
.
.
Call me ... :wacko:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Supraman
Member Avatar
Swifty's @Work Alter Ego
James
Jun 19 2008, 10:53 PM
But your saying tell me something we don't already know. And it is trus I don't think I ever voted for anything else then a Bowtie, when there was one to vote for, call me a romantic

http://swiftysgarage.net/index.php?showtopic=2853

You voted for the Falcon, if memory serves...while the Corvette went voteless. :blink:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
James
Member Avatar
Mr.Bowtie
oops Busted on that one, boy there is no pulling a fast one on you Supraman, It deserved the vote. Wish I could find one of those little Falcons, I would trade 2 or 3 Vettes for 1.

:flamewar: Roasted, toasted, and burnt to a crisp..........

:fiddle: and about to go down with the ship


B)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Swifty
Member Avatar
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Swifty loves one of history's most derided cars of all time and has a replica of it.

*Looks at avatar*

...I never would have ever guessed he had a soft spot for unloved cars...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
juantoo3
Member Avatar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I bought the Olds wagon, the guy had an old Dauphine rusting in his driveway...offered to sell that to me too. Didn't know the details or history, all I needed to know was old and French to realize it would be a money pit.

I like the diecast, and I like my Minialuxe Gordini.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
94cadillacfleetwood
Member Avatar
Nothing good ever happens after midnight.
I read somewhere that wreckers wouldn't pull Dauphines due to the fact that the undercarriage would fall off once the winch was hoisted.

The quality of their cars hadn't improved by the '80s. You knew that the marriage to AMC was going to end poorly. I drove an Alliance for a couple days when I worked on the corner lot and the shifter snapped off in my hand while shifting into second gear. :unsure: Mind you this was a year old car at the time! :huh:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
pjedsel
Member Avatar
Muscle Car
It is cute and it is finished in French blue! :wave: I really did appreciate the background information to IKA-Argentina. Really helped answer some questions I had about that "brand" - at one time I had the Buby IKA model. I do have a police version of the Norev Dauphine in my emergency vehicle collection.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Pegers
Member Avatar
Pony Car
nice casting of a junk car.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Car Of The Day · Next Topic »
Add Reply



March's Picture of The Month Contest



Congratulations DinoMom for winning March's contest!



April's Picture of The Month Contest



Congratulations carsdownunder for winning April's contest!






Powered By

This board is best viewed at 1024 x 768 Resolution


eXTReMe Tracker