1959 Renault Dauphine

I bought a 1959 Dauphine when I was stationed in Pensacola with the Navy. The car's biggest assets were it's mileage and it was a great beach car.

The cute little Renault Dauphine sold very well here in western Canada but IMHO it couldn't compete with the VW in build quality nor reliability.  I have a few of them in 1:43 scale and like them very much.

I remember seeing a few of those growing up in the Buffalo New York area. I doubt that they lasted very long in the "Rust Belt" states.

Cool pics David.  I can't say I've ever seen one, but always felt the car had some charm.

Seen in French movies of the '50s and early '60s, these look great whizzing around Paris or the Cote d'Azur with 2-tone paint & whitewalls.  In this regard, I always compare them to Fiat's Cinquecento.

Fantastic photo comparison!

Cute car, and model.

I had the French Dinky as a kid, and found a mint boxed replacement in a hobby shop in the late 1960s.

Did you know the Dauphine was the winner of the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally? Ixo made that one and the casting is likely the basis for the Atlas model.

And something sort of related,  a 1962 Renault Caravelle coupe shown with a Norev Dauphine.   Diecast Corgi Caravelle and plastic Norev Dauphine.  Some road test magazine once referred to the Caravelle,  which was available as a coupe or convertible, as a the dentist's wifes]'s sport car   A sort of French VW Karman Ghia. Interestingly, there was also a Caravelle twin engine airliner,  some flown by United Airlines for a period.

I have the Corgi Caravelle and Dinky Dauphine in my collection as well.  The Caravelle was a favorite of mine as a kid.