Do you remember? #2 - JOY BOX OF AWESOMENESS

"AndersSim - V10'ING" (anderssim) 01/07/2014 at 16:09 • Filed to: None

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Welcome to my second "instalment" of Do you remember . If you haven't read the first !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I would suggest you go and do that, before reading this. It includes an explanation about what this article series is all about. Thanks you in advance.

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Introduction: The Renault Avantime being one of the few jokers this car industry have seen since the past few decades(don't quote me on that) it firstly was a shame that such an innovative design should be such a commercial failure. The car as such was a 2-door minivan, it sounds absurd and out of place, but the frenchies knew what they were doing, the 2 doors was so massive and yet so agile that both front at rear passengers could get in and out of them without any struggle, not to mention the smart design the French have developed into the doors, the door is massive, although you could still get out without any trouble if you were to find your self in a tight parking spot. The Avantime wasn't the only commercial failure that Renault had to stand by, along with the design of the Avantime, they also designed another joker car, called the Vel Satis, which basically was a mid-sized sedan made into a compact hatchback, even Opel followed them by making the Signum, both didn't sell well enough, so they got discontinued.

Renault Vel Satis

Concept: Quote from Renault '1999" The Avantime is a new concept. It combines the features of a coupé with a mono volume. The roof is transparent and the aluminium frame of the roof is just an optical illusion. The car is powered by a 3.0 litre ,24 valves, V6 generating 210 horsepower. Top speed is 220 kmh and it accelerates from 0 to 1000 meters in 29 seconds. The car will be available beginning with the autumn of the year 2000."

A lot of cars today see the light of days after a lot of concepts have been shown, an example would be the Suzuki Kizashi had 3 concept car based upon to show the public the design cues the final car would have. The Avantime only had one concept, and the concept looked exactly like the final car, something I miss in today's car industry.

Production: The Avantime was designed by a design house called Matra, what Renault had in mind before giving them the plans was that even though kids of Espace owners was grown up, they would stay loyal to the Renault family and buy something more funky and fresh as the Avantime, hence the futuristic look with grills based over the headlights on both sides. This was French innovation at its best, even though it was a commercial failure Renault put a lot of time and thinking into this project.

The car was first shown in concept form at the 1999 Geneva Auto Show, where it was called something as exotic as Coupéspace, mainly for it to have a connection between the Espace. The car was somewhat greeted with joy, as it was a step in the correct direction for the French car industry. The production car first debuted in 2001, and if the launch shouldn't have gone any worse, the Vel Satis overshadowed it one year later in 2002. Up until then, Renault hadn't even sold 6.000 Avantimes, due to bad marketing and probably also down to bad timing by the company. In 2003, Renault ceased production of the Avantime due to the poor sales, and the world once more lost a cool and innovative car.

Verdict: The Avantime was everything a car should be, use able, exiting, beautiful, and roomy.

History: Renault, along with Citroen and Peugoet have existed in many years. The company was founded in 1899 by three brothers, Louis, Marcel and Fernand Renault. It was originally called Société Renault Frères which roughly means "The Renault Brothers Company". Renault have made anything automotive related since the light of days, busses, bicylses, tanks, tractors, and trucks, one of the key features why they survived both wars. They went on making some of the most iconic vehicles in our time, the Renault Turbo 5, hell even the Renault 5 was an iconic little machine. Today they are back from the dark 90's with a lot of new FRENCH designed cars. Without Renault, the world would be a just worse place to live in. Je t'aime Renault.

When I say Renault a lot comes to mind, boring cars, exiting cars, big lorries(trucks), pocket-cars, rally cars, TURBO CARS.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 12:11

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Despite the fact it's not pretty, I do like the Avantime.

William Byrd > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 12:14

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Good stuff. Surprised there wasn't a Top Gear reference! One of my favorites was when they tried to make an Avantime faster than an Evo for less money.

http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/home…

http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/home…

oldirtybootz > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 12:14

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I've never seen an Avantime in person, it's not a vehicle type I particularly like, but I love this thing.

AndersSim - V10'ING > William Byrd 01/07/2014 at 12:16

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Totally considered including it, but couldn't find space for it! AWESOME EPISODE!

CalzoneGolem > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 12:19

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And now back to the studio!

AMC/Renauledge > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 12:33

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I absolutely adore the Avantime. It's just too bad that I'll have to wait until 2026 to import one legally to the States. Merde !

The French have made such cool large cars and sports cars over the years. The DS, CX, XM, C6, Vel Satis, and Avantime were all excellent. The MATRAs, Alpines, and Venturis were all great, too.

Why do people continue to choose the colder, harder, more derivative German marques instead? Aren't they cliché yet?

AndersSim - V10'ING > AMC/Renauledge 01/07/2014 at 12:35

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I agree, even though i'm on the german bandwagon, i have owned several funny french cars since I got my license. I just recently bought a shitty but fun Citroen C3 from the DARK ERA of the 00's.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 16:13

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I saw an Avantime in person once, in Manhattan. It was a deep red and had diplomatic plates.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 16:18

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The Avantime was/is an awesome car, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

And now for something.. yeah.. I must ask, your username here.. is your name Anders? If so we're two (at least) with that name on oppo.

AndersSim - V10'ING > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 01/07/2014 at 16:19

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My name is totally Anders! We're two, finally

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 16:22

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I've been here for some time :P It' just that I've never seen you before.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/07/2014 at 16:25

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My friend has one, and when i first saw it, i really laughing at his idiotic minivan.

Until he press the magical button that opens the whole window, and i absolutely love it!

AndersSim - V10'ING > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 01/07/2014 at 20:09

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Oh, I have been here for years now :)

Mikeado > CalzoneGolem 01/12/2014 at 08:42

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THAT'S MY LINE

>:-(

CalzoneGolem > Mikeado 01/12/2014 at 09:48

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Cé hé sin > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/17/2014 at 17:20

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In pedantic news, Renault no longer make trucks. But you can still buy Renault trucks.
They sold out to Volvo, who no longer make cars. Even though you can buy Volvo cars.