Wheels: Le Car

The decade following the early 1970s was a dark time for auto enthusiasts. Known as the Malaise Era, performance was being choked by tightening emissions, gas was in short supply, inflation was up, and quality was marginal at best. There was nowhere for a creative car designer to go but sideways. The timing was ripe for quirky cars and who better than French carmakers to fill that niche.

Perhaps the quirkiest of the American manufacturers, American Motors Corp., in partnership with, and eventually acquired by Renault in 1979, were well suited partners and soon AMC dealerships began sprouting Renault products for sale.