Renault Mégane in the U.S.!!!

"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
04/04/2014 at 17:35 • Filed to: None

Saw this thing a few months back in Texas, just sitting in a driveway. The first time I went by was at a distance, but I could immediately tell it wasn't a car I'd seen before. The second time I went by, I stopped and looked. It was an 02-08 Renault Megane 5-door, a higher-spec model judging by the alloy wheels and body-colored metal bumpers. The dual center exhausts don't appear base-model either. It has valid Texas plates, though I know for a fact that this car does not, in any way, meet the restrictions for cars that can be brought to the U.S. (not old, not similar to an American model, etc.) So, once you get done marveling at what must be one of the rarest cars in the U.S., would anyone care to float some ideas on how it got here?

DISCUSSION (22)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:39

Man the lower/mid spec models of these suck to drive.

TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:41

Kinja'd!!!

God bless Texas.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
04/04/2014 at 17:41

I'm assuming you're in Europe. Can you tell if this is an RS or what?

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:41

There is a Renault Clio V6 with Mexican tags in Houston, I believe.

Saw it at Coffee and Cars.

Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:41

Could be a diplomatic car, from an embassy or something of the sort...

Here I saw a lot of american cars which were never sold in Europe. Some of 'em are a late 90's Ford explorer sport, the 2-door and an Integra.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
04/04/2014 at 17:42

This was in the Woodlands, near Houston, but I recall I checked to make sure it did have Texas plates.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:43

Yeah in the UK have one of these in the family. Everything except the bumper and exhaust looks like a mid spec facelift model, the bumper and exhausts are probably a modification by the owner think theyre from one of the RS models unless theres a trim level I'm unaware of.

jkm7680 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:44

Possibly brought over from Mexico and they just stuck the tags from another car on it? Nice spot! I've seen a Dacia Sandero at cars and coffee. Never could find out about it.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
04/04/2014 at 17:46

I was actually following a Ford Expedition last week that had plates from Bahrain. I figured it was probably a diplomat since we were in the middle of the Midwestern U.S.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:47

Just did a bit of quick google fu and it seems they made a GT trim level that had these pipes, never seen one on the roads. Must've been a model to bridge the gap between sport models and mid spec cars.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > jkm7680
04/04/2014 at 17:49

Never thought about that. It could be from Mexico, but I wonder i there's a way to do that legally or, more likely, if it was under the table. Either way, I'm a little confused.

ATaylor-Jones > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:53

Could be a GT...

jkm7680 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 17:55

Yeah, I'm fairly sure that you can bring Mexican plates cars into the United States for some amount of time. I'm thinking that the plates are from another car of some sort. Or it might have been registered as a Nissan Versa, since they are based off of the same platform I'm pretty sure.

eindeutschfanboy > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 18:08

I live in the woodlands and I'm willing to bet the owner of that car is from Mexico. I have seen a couple of mercedes b classes in the area (with Mexican plates) but never a Renault.

Mercedes Streeter > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 18:09

Kinja'd!!!

I love how the license plate doesn't even fit.

DSG_Sport > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/04/2014 at 18:49

I've come to absolutely love this generation of Megane for the styling. They were bonkers to look at when they came out and, in my opinion, have aged incredibly well. It looks much more futuristic, avant-garde if you will, then the Meganes before and after it. I've always kind of wanted one, even a more basic spec car. Though the insane Renaultsport R26.R is one of my dream cars.

Dogapult > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
04/06/2014 at 12:15

There is actually a Diplomat license plate I've seen, so I don't fully know what's going on there, just that the owner could be in trouble for it somewhere in the future.

ESL > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
05/14/2014 at 15:06

Dat Booty - looks kardashian

phreaddy > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
05/14/2014 at 16:56

I believe I have spoken to the owner of this very car. My words were, "How did you register this car in the US!?" He said he is a Mexican citizen, and the US (or Texas, not sure which) allowed him to register his car here for one year while working here, on condition that it be returned to Mexico after that.

Rukfash > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
07/18/2016 at 23:12

I know this is old article and post but just the other day I saw Megane RS maybe ‘09-10 top of the line model hers in Nashville Tn. It has a original france tags and some kind of US special museum tag color was yellow

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Rukfash
07/18/2016 at 23:52

1. I’m not mad, but how on earth did you find this?

2. Methinks the Lane Motor Museum was likely involved.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Rukfash
07/18/2016 at 23:53

Yup, I was right.

http://www.lanemotormuseum.org/collection/car…