As has been well-established, our occasional contributor Emily Velasco performs an important national service by seeking out and capturing images of interesting street-parked cars of Los Angeles and sending them to me, where I can then ensure they are distributed to a wider audience, as is demanded by the UN charter that we operate under. This is a role I take seriously, and am grateful that I have people like Operative Velasco on my team to help.
This time, Velasco found a really interesting street-parked car, one of those cars that, in America at least, I think you’re only likely to find in this sort of condition, just parked on the street, in LA. There aren’t many in America as it is, and while I’m sure there are a few scattered around the country in various states of repair, this one feels pretty special.
The car is a Renault 10, one from between 1965 and 1967, since it retains the round headlights.
The Renault 10 was a version of the Renault 8 but with better trim and a longer nose to give it about 30% more luggage space. Like the R8, this was a rear-engined car, with an 1108cc inline-four mounted longitudinally at the back. This particular one is remarkable in how it appears to be an unrestored but well-maintained survivor, with a very straight body and retaining all the chrome trim. It’s really pretty incredible to see!
There’s a US-market Peugeot 505 behind it; I wouldn’t be surprised if the same person owns both, and is a sort of Francophile car collector.
Let’s talk about the R10 a bit, because I think it’s a genuinely interesting car. It was sort of positioned as a second chance for Renault in the US after the Dauphine, which was a charming car but not terribly reliable and ended up being a bit of a disaster for Renault in America.
The R10 really seemed determined to redeem Renault; it was a well-appointed, spacious, and well-designed little car, and they wanted to compete with the Beetle. It was far more modern than the Beetle, with unibody construction and a boxy design that fit better with the era.
It was even a little bit less expensive than the Volkswagen Beetle, and you got two extra doors in the bargain as well! This 1967 issue of Road Test actually ranked the R10 the top of all the imported cars they tested! I don’t think Road Test endorsement actually translated into the sales Renault was hoping for, but it’s something.
From the front wheel arches back, the car was pretty much the same as an R8, bodywise, but I do like the revised front end. I think the original lighting setup, with the round sealed beams and those wonderful wraparound turn indicators/sidelights, is actually better than what they went to with their facelift in 1968:
I get that rectangular lamps were the new big thing, but I just prefer the look of the round light setup. The R10’s longer nose really did give a good-sized trunk, especially for a rear-engined car. Look at all the fencing equipment you could carry:
No more bending your foil into pretzels just to get them to fit in the trunk! The R10 lets your foils, sabers, and, yes, even epées rest comfortably under the hood.
And, if you get a flat, you don’t have to drag everything out of the trunk, because, like the Dauphine before it, there’s a separate compartment for the spare tire:
I always loved this approach to spare tires. I’m not sure why more cars didn’t do this? I mean, other than cost and all that.
I guess the rectangular-lamp’d version didn’t look bad, I just think it loses some of the charm of the original design.
Speaking of design, you could get this Sierra kit for the R10 that gave you driving lights, those cool hood-mounted side view mirrors, and that rally-chic blacked-out hood.
The dashboard design was very much of its era, with dash padding still being something of a novelty. The radio is set quite far from the driver, and I think it was just an open cubby if not installed. I like the triangular hinges on the glovebox, too.
You could get these with a Jaeger 3-speed automatic, too and it was even push-button controlled, which was pretty cutting-edge for the era. I’m sure it did no favors for the acceleration with that 44 horsepower engine, though.
You could get reclining seats in these that converted the inside into a bed, for all your car-sleeping needs. There was a second luggage well behind the rear seats, too. Really, this was a very practical and usable family car, and I think it’s a shame they never really caught on in America. I don’t think Renault ever fully cracked the reliability issues for their cars in these vast United States, and I don’t think they really had a viable dealer network until they bought AMC in the early 1980s.
The R10 never really amounted to much in America, but I suppose that’s why seeing one just parked on the street in LA is such a treat. I hope whoever has it drives and appreciates this clever Gallic sedan.
Top graphic image: Emily Velasco
Didn’t some Maserati 5000s have those headlights? The two Frau made perhaps ?
https://kidston.com/motorcars/1962-maserati-5000-gt-by-frua-064/
Two frau, polygamie?
With inflation in the US, we’re currently at almost *exactly* 10X 1967 consumer prices. So just add a zero to get the inflation-adjusted 2026 price of any of the vehicles in the Road Test comparison. Quite a choice if you had, say, the equivalent of $18K budgeted for a new car.
Of course, consideration between “affordable” and “good” is an exercise left to the reader.
That’s my friend Henry’s R10. It’s awesome and gets around all over So. Cal. This photo is kind of cheating since it appears to be at U.S. Foreign Auto Repair aka Ukit’s in El Monte, the last shop that still works on weirdo French cars. My Citroen is sometimes a visitor. There’s a whole yard full of parts and project Peugeots just off camera. So, that isn’t Henry’s 505, but he does a own a couple Peugeots as well as a bunch of other oddball vehicles. You all should do a profile on him. And/or Ukit. True automotive heroes.
what he said… surely y’all remember riding in Henry’s BRAT last year, doncha?!
So you can open the trunk, withdraw your weapon, and say, “Curses, foiled again?”
That car isn’t a 65-67 car – the big headrests and the side marker lights peg it as 68 or newer. US cars never got the facelifted front end because the composite lamps didn’t meet regulations.
L.A. is a gold mine of interesting street sightings. Last time I was there I saw a Sunbeam Rapier. Of all things!!
I’ve seen that Rapier. It’s always an astonishing sight.
But can it carry fencing equipment?
That dashboard is crazy. Looks like various sections were designed by five different people, who were never ever in the same room.
“ this clever Gallic sedan.”
I read this as “clever garlic sedan“.
Reminds me of “carspotting” with Raphael Orlove… what happened to that guy? ????
Free lance. Last seen Inside EVs, Robb Report, Bimmer Life.
Unlike the other cars in the RT comparo, the Renault 10 also had four-wheel disc brakes.
IIRC, the push-button automatic goes back to the Dauphine, if not the 4CV. I drove one once, Slooooooooooow.
Despite the dealers — you could say that for any Renault — the R10 was a pretty decent piece, reliable, comfortable and pretty well-built.
Aside from the missing chrome strip on the rear door.
this is true. you see all sorts of crazy shit being street parked out here.
If Emily ever spots a Peugeot 403 in a similar color she should keep an eye out for a shabby looking yet very personable detective…
My head went there too.
Just one more thing….
“You’ve never seen one of these? It’s a foreign car. A French car.”
I was thinking I’m pretty sure inspector gadget had a Supra, I guess it’s a generational thing.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/inspectorgadget/images/3/31/Gadgetmobile-InspectorGadget.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width/360?cb=20130202215228
Family had a dauphene, R10 and R16 sequentially from late 60s to 1976 in Torrance. Super slow, easy to work on and great for camping or drive in (10&16)
Good conversation starter as they were unique
Are those hood pins on the Sierra kit? On a hood that’s hinged at the front?
I like R10s. I owned a Caravelle S on the R8/10 platform. Same leisurely 1,108cc engine. There was one wrecking yard in the area that accumulated Renaults and it was nice to be able to pick parts off of R10s for the Caravelle.
Interesting information in that comparison grid from “Road Test”. It could be an article on its own. I’m gonna spend a little more than the Renault cost, head down to my local Buick dealer, and pick up a 2-door Opel Kadett.
There was a teacher at my elementary school that had one of these. It may be the only time that I’ve seen one in the flesh!
I was married to one once, elementary school pupils are not supposed to see there teachers in the flesh.
The very cute French teacher in my HS drove a C3 Corvette with chrome bumpers. She mysteriously left not long after the young janitor showed up. He mysteriously left too.
In wintery environments, that spare mount can get salted/rusted solid in only a couple of months.
My 1995 S-10 underbed mounted spare tire worked just fine from 1999 when I bought the truck until 2015, when the truck’s cab collapsed due to rust.
But I usually got a flat tire every 2 or 3 years, so the lowering mechanism got plenty of use.
In 2015, I bought a 2010 GMC with the same underbed setup. It still works just fine, but again, I get a flat every 2 to 3 years so this one gets semi-regular use as well.
The GM ones seem to last slightly longer than the Toyota ones, though.
Tacoma
Tundra
That “You’ll get square eyes!” reference was a blast from the past.
How watching the road would give you square eyes is a mystery, but you can definitely get them from watching television.
The Renault 10: Like a Renault 8, but 2 more. It’s two more Renault than the 8. If you’re only driving a Renault 8, you’re missing out on the 2. If you halved a Renault 8, you’d only have 4, whereas if you halved a Renault 10, you’d have an entire 5. Basically, you could grab 2 Renault 8’s and end up with Renault 16, or you could grab 2 Renault 10’s and end up with a nice round Renault 20. So grab a Renault 10. You’ll appreciate… literally.
The same with the 6, which was just a 4, with a bit more “luxury”
And the 7, which was just a 5, but as a small sedan.
-But the opposite way around with the 9, which was the 11 as a sedan.
Ah yes, the fancy Renault 8! I wasn’t aware they were also available with rectangular headlights. Is this US only?
An interesting anecdote with the Renault 10 as the star comes from Francoist Spain.
In the late 60’s, a contract for Guardia Civil cars was published. The conditions asked for a four door saloon, rear wheel drive, specific dimensions, etc. In essence it was written with the Seat 124 in mind.
Except that they didn’t remember to feature engine placement. And the Renault 10 fit. And Renault presented an offer more competitive than Seat.
So for several years Guardia Civil officers were stuck with Renault 10s. Due to the rear engined layout there were lots of accidents. And in the end Guardia Civil mandated helmets when patrolling with Renault 10s.
I forget Franco was in power for all those years, requiring his death to dislodge him.
This bulletin just in from Madrid, Spain. Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
[Two Franco references on The Autopian in two days? Whoda thunk it?]
“[Two Franco references on The Autopian in two days? Whoda thunk it?]”
I came here to say the same. It’s only humpday and twice in the week already. I sure hope this doesn’t lead to some rehabilitation of him.
Please.
Things are not good in Spain with the raise of the extreme right wing and (some) younger people arguing he did “some good things”.
🙁
Unfortunately, the rise of unmitigated shit-for-brains proclaiming the “virtues” of fascism is a global pandemic.
Our dictators had a fair share of Monty Python shenanigans built in. Aside from, you know, their genocidal tendencies.
This is funny. As someone whose job includes writing vehicle specifications, I can see this happening.
Cool old car, but get that over to an Earl Scheib ASAP (do those even still exist?)
“Any car, any color, $39.95.” Price may have gone up a bit since then.
Oh, it’s still 3995, the problem is that the decimal point moved a couple of places to the right. (Exaggeration to make a point)
Side marker lights say this is a ’68 or newer, and the big headrests suggest 1969-71. The US market still required sealed beam headlights, so we never got the square headlight version, and kept the original face until the end of production.
Surprised he didn’t know this.
Note to author: WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH JASON!!?
It’s a 505.
Beat me to it. And possibly a 505 Turbo or STX V6 judging by the air damn peeking around the corner of the Renault. Being RED makes me think Turbo though.
right! I’ll fix that! Thank you.