Text 10867, 58 rader
Skriven 2010-09-30 11:22:54 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 10841 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: Renault Dauphine
========================
Michiel van der Vlist wrote to Robert Bashe on Wednesday September 29 2010 at
10:15:

MV> "Verkaufserfolge des 4CV in Europa und auch in den USA, wohin sie
MV> anfangs erfolgreich exportiert worden ist. Dort erwarb sie sich den
MV> Ruf eines kleinen, preiswerten, später jedoch auch unzuverlässigen
MV> Fahrzeugs, was den anfänglichen Verkaufserfolg zumindest in den USA
MV> schnell wieder eindämmte." [..] "Der Dauphine tat dies in Europa
MV> jedoch keinen Abbruch, hier (und besonders am deutschen Markt)
MV> erfreute sie sich nach wie vor gröáter Beliebtheit."

Maybe European drivers were so glad to get a car at all at that time (in
Germany, the industry was just starting to rev up after the war) that they
weren't choosy. Don't forget the alternatives in Europe: the VW Beetle (more
expensive), the 2CV and the Fiat 500. Except for the Beetle, the Dauphine was a
real limousine compared to the competition - in Europe. But not in the States.

MV> What I am starting to suspect is that it the US DRIVERS that made the
MV> difference. No car takes kindly to prolonged driving near top speed.

As far as I know, there was no speed limit on the German Autobahns at that time
either, although speeds in general weren't as high as today - the VW Beetle
(1200 at the time) would only do around 120 km/h max. But it would keep that up
for hours on end, reliably. However there have been speed limits in the States
for as long as I've been on this earth, usually around 50-65 mph, which is not
particularly fast even by VW Beetle standards.

MV> If you claim, the Dauphine was not up to American conditions, because
MV> it could not handle sustained high speed driving...

Which I never claimed, and certainly has nothing to do with starting
difficulties, broken door handles and broken "el cheapo" pot metal gearshift
levers. The quality was simply lousy.

MV> ... then it is not the car you should blame, but the driver that
MV> overasks. If he is not satisfied with a cruising speed of 90 km/h then
MV> he made the wrong chioce of car.

If that were the case, I'd agree. However it certainly wasn't in my case and I
suspect only milder weather conditions and shorter driving distances in Europe
(for example Paris metropolitan area) made all the difference, plus perhaps the
attitudes as mentioned above. Renault wasn't really successful even in Europe
until the R8-R12 series came out.

Remember one thing in particular: The VW Beetle, in the same class as the
Dauphine in the States (subcompact), was robust quality and highly successful
for decades in the American market. If your assumptions were valid, it should
also have been a failure in the long run.

I often curse myself, incidentally, that I bought a Dauphine instead of a
Beetle solely because I didn't like the looks of the Beetle. The price was only
a couple of hundred dollars higher, but I would have saved myself enormous
trouble if I hadn't worried so much about the appearance.

Cheers, Bob

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