1988 Renault Medallion | Retro Review
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- We all love 80's Giugiaro styling, but a French import was a little intimidating for most American buyers. The name change from Renault to Eagle Medallion for the 1989 model year helped a lot.
Show 621 | Original Airdate 04-06-1987
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Back in the day, our neighbors brought a new one of these. It was a very nice riding car and it look very nice. The interior fabric looked like towels. I remember our neighbor showing my dad that horrible hood prop rod. Him and my dad rigged up something safer and stronger. They had the car for like 10 years and really had no problems with it.
The wardrobe worn by the Motor Week staff is about 15 years out of date: this 1988 review has guys dressing like they were living in 1975.
It was aired in June 1987.
There were tons of these cars in Europe until recent years. Most of them were reliable. I still see some of them sometimes
At least in Germany you don't see them anymore, even the vastly popular 19 has completely vanished. No wonder as 19 and 21 went out of production almost 30 years ago.
American Motors wanted to sell them, but financial troubles meant they were bought by Chrysler who only wanted Jeep, so they did not provide good after sales service. Also, I think these cars were really designed for a manual transmission. Americans wanted them to be equipped with an automatic and air conditioning which really killed performance. That combined with the high- speed roads and the high mileage Americans drive simply burned them out. All factors the killed what probably had potential to be a very good car.
That Jeep deal has been immensely profitable for Chrysler!!
You mean for Fiat ... Chrysler is owned by Fiat (Stellantis) now
@@624radicalham That is true.
But they were never as reliable as the ones produced by AMC.
How does a brake pad warning light work, is it just a mileage based idiot lite?
I had one it was junk
12.2 seconds 0-60 is not reasonable
It’s perfectly fine. We’re just spoiled to think that anything more than 6 seconds 0-60 means the car will explode and kill an entire city anytime it merges onto the freeway.
These retro reviews are enjoyable. They’re a reminder of how things were, which may be very different than what we think we remember, and what might have been.
It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Chrysler had not purchased AMC and the team up between AMC and Renault had worked out - what Renault cars would have made it over here that otherwise didn't. I wouldn't have minded seeing the Clio with the rear mounted V6. I've seen them over here for sale but they are incredibly rare and crazy expensive. And who knows what we may have seen from AMC.
Memory is a really tricky thing and plays up a lot. Many movies which I saw many years ago were quite different in details when rewatched! What I had in my mind was quite different.
Renault Medallion is salé in Brazil from Renault 21 sedan and wagon
I was driving behind an Eagle Medallion last weekend. I have not seen one in 20+ years. I never knew it was a badge engineered Renault.
Crazy thing is, Eagle was a model of an AMC car but after Chrysler bought AMC/Jeep they changed Eagle to a brand of car.
Guess what I saw about a year ago here in Nevada, a nearly mint merkur Scorpio sedan It was crazy nice like showroom condition I couldn't believe it in my eyes It was actually a really nice looking car
4:13 Did just John just give a pass to that cluster *without* an oil pressure gauge or voltmeter? 😲
Sacrilege 😮
European versions had an oil gauge where the "unleaded" warning was. Cost cutting for the USA I guess
@@nzrhysco generally it was only an oil level gauge that only operated briefly when turning on the car, not oil pressure as John desires
I wonder if Car Shield provides extended warranties for these
Don’t forget the window etching!
lol, if you want them to stop calling, select the option to speak with them and tell them you own something old and obscure like this, or a 1983 Maserati Quattroporte or 1987 Range Rover, and they will hang up quickly. After doing this a handful of times, I’m now off their lists and haven’t gotten a call in years.
Comes with a standard Guillotine hood. Merci🤣
🥖🍷🧀🏳️
King Louis would approve!
This is one car I rarely saw growing up back in the day.
Yeah. If you blinked you missed it.
It’s the woman discussing The FWD Probe replacing The RWD Mustang for Me😂
One of the weirdest things about the Renault 21 upon which the Medallion was based is that the smaller displacement models (1.7L and under) had transverse engines, while 21s with larger powerplants (and all Medallions) had longitudinal engines. This was because Renault didn't have a transverse gearbox beefy enough to handle a larger engine's torque, and instead of designing a new transmission that was strong enough, they just designed the front clip of the car so an inline-four powertrain could be installed in either orientation!
Interesting! I don't ever recall hearing any other manufacturer ever do that before.
🙄
That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The longitudinal configuration meant they could easily install all-wheel drive (which would make the car a French take on the Audi Quattro). And they did just that - the result was the Renault 21 Turbo Quadra. It had a 2 L turbocharged four cylinder engine with 175 horsepower, and it was mad fun!
En France, on avait la Renault 21 qui allait jusqu'à 175 ch en version Turbo. L'aventure américaine avec AMC a fait beaucoup de mal Renault, qui avait pour actionnaire majoritaire le gouvernement français dans les années 1980.
Oui, tout à fait. Visiblement, je ne suis pas le seul français à m'intéresser à cette chaine qui regorge de ce genre de pépites.
@@IROCMAN666moi de même
@@gn.73do you watch with Auto translated subtitles?
@@zzoinks No. I just watch the footage and get an idea of what the presenter is saying.
Guys must you speak in Macronese? Didn't they teach you inglese back in middle school or did you drop out?
Its impressive how much worse the Medallion looks compared to the 21 over at Europe
In Europe, you could get a 21 with a transverse-mounted engine... cars with a transverse engine were actually shorter and better proportioned than the ones with the longitudinal engine which was the only option in the US.
Except the 21 was exactly the same dimensions (minus the bumpers) in Europe and America lol ... did you even understand the comment that you wrote? @@danmccarthy4700
Required stronger bumpers because of US safety regulations.
@@danmccarthy4700 Both the lengthwise and the crosswise engine versions had identical exterior dimensions. Only the wheelbase was slightly different. You have to place them side by side to realise.
And that closing remark... it never materialised. Peugeot pulled out, so did Renault. America now has a total of zero French cars roaming. Many rumors surface that it's about to change, but I doubt it. It seems everyone I discuss Renaults (specifically) with, dismisses them as an unreliable mess.
I wish they brought back Citroen
This car did make it to dodge dealerships as the dodge Monaco. Very short lived, but it really was there. I saw it personally and this information is available online. Correction, it must have been the Premier I saw. I was hoping the medallion would make it due to its low price, but hoping didn’t make it happen.
He mentioned the Canadian Renault Premiere, that’s what we ended up with. The Eagle Premiere and Dodge Monaco. They were larger than the medallion and had a V6 under the hood. That platform also spawned the LH cars. That’s why the LH had a longitudinal engine but drove the front wheels. Front suspension (still with the mid mount rack) and rear suspension were nearly identical to the Monaco/Premiere.
@@jkeelsnc See, I knew this would come up. I do own a Renault. I've owned more than one, actually. The one I currently own, in the 6 months that I've been back in the country (after spending a wonderful 2 months in the US), has only asked me for an oil and filter change. Nothing else. I'd say that's pretty good.
@@RetroKingOG Unfortunately, it would never be the "quirky" Citroen that left the US, as that Citroen is gone. Most likely, what the US will get is a Chrysler or a Fiat with a PSA platform and an electric motor. Most likely a crossover too.
And when Eagle Medallion died, the K cars kept going.
Actually, both sets of cars were discontinued for 1990.
Yep..the real replacement for k car was acclaim and spirit...
@@johnnymason2460
The last K-based cars and vans were built in '95.
K Cars are when Chrysler started to go downhill.
@@scrambler69-xk3kv Hundreds of thousands of disgruntled former Volare/Aspen owners might disagree with you.
It’s funny to hear the R21 being compared to a VW Jetta; in Europe they’re in a different size class. There’s a reason why you say it has more room…
The R19 is more Golf/Jetta & Escort/Orion E-Kadett/Astra-E size, the R21 is more a Passat/Mondeo/Omega size...
How did that prop rod get past final approval in the company? Like know one questioned this?
Back then Renault was notorious for its flimsy build quality.
That wagon is pretty sweet - wish they'd shown more of it! As French cars in the US go, I don't think I've ever seen a Renault. I've seen a few Citroëns, and even a handful of Peugeots, but never any Renaults.
I used to see a lot of Alliances and Encores from the 80s up until the late 90s or so, then they all disappeared pretty much at once.
I’ve never been to the US, but visited Canada in the late ‘90s. The house next door to where I was staying had a Renault Fuego in the driveway, which I remember being surprised by.
When I was in high school in the late 1960's and early 1970's my best friend's mom bought a Renault TEN. It was rear engine and had a push button controlled automatic transmission. The windows in the rear doors did not roll down but were a two- piece affair with one half sliding alongside the other half. I forgot to mention that it was the brightest green you can imagine. They had that car for a number of years, and since we lived rural she loved the way it went in the snow.
@@danmccarthy4700 Renault Medallion is greart and nice car. Wagon is my favorite. In Europe is Renaulr 21
I like the looks, simple lines, still looks fresh. I liked it then but knew Renault’s reputation... it’s so dinky
You were better off buying a Taurus or Sable from Ford or the the GM A-body cars from Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, or Buick!
Those were larger and more expensive though.
@@danmccarthy4700true, but better quality.
This is Renault 21, a lot of them are still on market in our country ))
Which is your country? At least in Germany there are no 21s left.
@@Timico1000 Ukraine. Their prices are from $500 up to $2200
I had one of these, 88 LX sedan with the manual transmission. Maroon with a matching interior. I loved this car and only had one issue once it got around 40K miles. It got great mileage too.
What was the issue?
@@Commentleaver-c6x I've been trying to remember the exact issue, I think it was a water hose but that was due to the head gasket which was replaced under warranty. It was a 6/60 warranty if I remember correctly.
Man, what Beth was talking about in the beginning. I remember that FWD Mustang controversy. Imagine what Mustang fans from the ‘80s would have said about an all electric Mustang that looks like a Prius on steroids! 😂
The Ford Probe I believe. It was originally intended to be the replacement for the Mustang but the backlash caused by that decision made Ford back out on that idea. However they were still contractually obligated to manufacturer the Probe so both the updated 88/89 Mustang and the Probe had to be released onto the market.
@@larrylaffer3246 That’s right, I remember that now. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the Probe was so much better looking than the Fox body Mustang. I always called the fox bodies a rear drive Escort. I get that the fox bodies are nice and light and still RWD, I just could never get in to them.
I actually don't mind an all-electric Mustang as long as it doesn't make fake V8 sound. I love the V8 sound when it's real but when it's fake it's just idiotic. What I absolutely hate is an all-electric SUV wearing a Mustang badge. By all means make the umptrillionth SUV if you must, but don't call it a Mustang!
@@JohnEvans-ct6mz Ford definitely got a lot of use of that Fox Body Platform. It was their K-Aires. Definitely was a lot nicer looking on and better used on the Thunderbirds than the Mustangs. Especially after the 83 update.
@@jacobzimmermann59 100%. The fake engine noises are just dumb. But an actual Mustang made like say, an Audi e-tron GT RS, or a Tesla Plaid, that would be awesome. A Mustang that can do 0-60 in under 2 seconds, and looks sweet, yea please.
I remember seeing these for a short time here in the United States, this would be Renaults last car to ever be sold here.
Chrysler wanted AMC strictly for Jeep, I believe the Grand Cherokee was already in the works at AMC.
Indeed, there is a lot of AMC in the first gen Grand. Plenty of them still on the road today.
i misread: renault meltdown...
Hahaha
I would consider the 1989 Eagle Medallion wagon with an automatic and 3 rows of seats. Perfect first car to me.
The Renault Medallion is an underrated car but it does have some fit & finish issues including the cheap looking windshield wiper blade attachments at 1:49 and the horrible design of the pop rod for the hood at 1:57 which is extremely dangerous.
French cars in the '80s tended to be a remarkable combination of some parts being very good design and quality and other parts being very bad design and quality, with not much in the middle.
Slow, ugly, unreliable, flimsy, unsafe, rusty, cheaply made, bad steering, bad transmission, underpowered, . . . .hmmm, I want one! Give me the 3 row wagon!
Only if these were reliable. The handling and ride were very good for its size.
A reliable 80s French car? Right up there with finding the Loch Ness monster or Sasquatch.
They were very reliable if you had a mechanic who had a clue. Not to be found in the USA in the 1980s. V8 Crossfire, Iron Duke, K Cars.....Pure quality!!....
K Cars blew head gaskets on a regular basis. I had Two a 1987 Chrysler Lebaron 2.5 liter and a 1988 Plymouth Caravelle. Both needed a head gasket at about 80,000 miles. Both needed a new head because they cracked. To me K Cars are when Chrysler started to go downhill. Because the many slant six Mopars I had were dead reliable never gave me any problems.@@nzrhysco
I wonder how many of these made it 100000 miles.
I think so much damage was done to Renault's reputation, deserved or not, that any vehicle they introduced was dead on arrival. Both the Medallion and the Premier seemed decent for the era in quality and performance.
I think what killed Renault in the US in the early years and I am talking about 1960's and it continued with the Alliance was they were equipped with small engines that worked well in Europe because of the smaller roads with slower speeds, this combined with the fact that most sold in Europe were manual transmission and no AC. When you combine that small engine with what most Americans want an automatic with AC it was simply to much especially trying to cope with our interstate highways they simply burned out.
I worked with a lady who bought a new wagon. Nice car but after the 7 yr warranty was up Chrysler dropped all the parts.
Renault 21
I have never seen that wagon!
It might be shit but I want one!
1:58 John: WE ALSO WONDER ABOUT THE FLIMSY HOOD PROP ROD. IT SEEMS INADEQUATE AND COULD BE DANGEROUS!
I can barely even remember a day when French cars were an option in the U.S.
I don't think I've ever seen one of these in person.
Also, they were waaaay off on the Mustang. This was probably when they were reporting about the car that became the Probe.
Only the Americans could make a Renault 21 look that hideous
I don't think it needed any help from us.😂
@@silentrage8961 fair point, but at least the 21 Turbo we got in Europe looked pretty good
@@silentrage8961The 21 was bland, but not terrible looking. In fact, it was probably one of the better-looking cars in its class, until the 405 came along and blew it out of the water. That weird nose on the Medallion really spoils the lines.
@@nkt1 why are you directing your comment to me?
The main poster called it hideous, direct it to them!
@@silentrage8961 They’re saying the 21 was made to look hideous by the Americans. You, as an American (I presume) stated that no help was required, i.e. it was already unattractive. I disagree with that assertion.
This Renault deal resulted in AMC having to spin off AM General before the Chrysler merger, otherwise the Hummer would have been a Ram product eventually.
Another Renault car that was well liked by consumers overseas was the little Twingo. The older ones are still popular in France 🇫🇷 most commonly with a manual shift and lasted for years.
I dig the Twingo. Wish we had it here in the States. Shit, I just wish small hatchbacks were more popular here in general, rather than behemoth SUVs and gas-guzzling pickup trucks.
Twingos are everywhere in Colombia. It's the modern-day Renault 4
Colombia sTronK!@@yossarian6799
That Medallion was a good looking car; say what you want, but it had style. It deserved more recognition and respect; I’d want an automatic transmission in this car; having a manual transmission is a waste. There’s some folks that don’t want a car that everyone else owns.
Only if these were reliable.
This is the first time ive EVER seen them destroy a pair of wiper blades. This car was so terrible that it broke before they even got it on a test track. Im so glad these never stuck around. They didnt even make it out of the 90s.
I always loved the look of this car.
Mustang before probe.
That’s exactly what I was thinking… how the probe was almost the new mustang.
This was my family vehicle back in the 1990s! A Medallion LX. Had one of the most comfortable seats of any vehicle I ever sat in, but a bad radiator finished it off... Parts for this thing was impossible to procedure...
I had one of these too. The seats were amazingly comfortable. It had excellent gas mileage and was pretty quiet. But once something broke, you couldn’t fix it. It was impossible to get parts for. I drove that car for about 10 years.
Oh man those cars were junk lol, We worked on a few aa well as those Le Cars at the shop I worked at back in the 8os and early 90s
Ooh, John liked this one, he let them get away with no oil pressure or voltmeter! Saucy minx
Did the wipers just break off with a small lift in the test car?
Things got complicated with this car after Chrysler bought AMC, including the shares Renault owned. Chrysler was well aware of the poor reulation Renault had here in the states, and its only real reason for buying AMC was the Jeep brand. By 1989 this car was called the Eagle Medallion, marketed by former AMC dealers in the seperate Jeep/Eagle dealer network. By 1990 this car was gone, as too many domestic made Chrysler products competed with it, as well as the fact that this and the new Renault-based Eagle Premier/Dodge Monaco always sold poorly, as the buying public was well aware of the fact that they were just rebadged Renaults, a nameplate with a poor reputation as well as the cars themselves having numerous mechanical issues, that far surpassed the problems of even the often derided domestic Chrysler products at the time.
Wow, a good road test on the former Renault now turned Eagle car. It did came along into Dodge dealerships only as the Monaco.
The Monaco was a rebadged Renault (Eagle) Premier.
@@ElectoneGuyYessir.
Right different model then the Medallion.@@ElectoneGuy
@@ElectoneGuy I can't believe somebody rememebered that, I remember that too.
What a joke.. It blows my mind the stuff auto makers were able to get away with not so long ago. Cars like this make the Saab 9000 look timeless. I'm curious if these cars were accepted by consumers in there day, or if they were even a stretch for 1988.
I can imagine that weird steering arrangement wearing and being unreplaceable causing a scrapped car...while the oftenly derided k car lives on to today...
@@jkeelsnc really you're not looking.theyre everywhere.tons of k car groups too for support
That’s the same steering setup that Dodge/Chrysler used on all their LH platform cars (Intrepid, LHS, Concorde) for more than a decade. It’s also not far off from the setup Honda used on many of their cars (Civic, CRV, Insight). Nothing wrong with it. Most older truck steering is far more complicated than thos
@@ouch1011 hard to replace when there's no parts back up for those unicorns ..
This looks like a Walmart GreatValue Haudi Five Thousand.
*Audi
@@jriley1992Haudi was supposed to be a joke lol.
@@attackb5349 understood now that I say it out loud lol
🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
Does anyone know of one for sale here in the states? I want one
Sweet Renault Medallion. long may you rule the streets!
Comparing these cars to Hondas is laughable.
I am french and in France, fan cars (especially Renault) love this kind of model which are atypical or "exotical" as we can say here.
I always heard problems of these US Renault are the reliability and the after sales service for retail parts which were catastrophics.
At this period, Chrysler was the winner when they bought AMC-Renault in the late 80's because their factories had new machines... A very good deal !
but mostly because Chrysler got Jeep out of the deal. that's what they really wanted.
@@jasonk19xx17 Yes, that's I mean and as you said, Chrysler was only interested by Jeep because others brands were overtook.
I was 20 when this car came out. I loved the way it looked. Seemed roomy and comfortable to drive. A poor man's Audi, for sure!
Barely noticed when it came out, it was even less known than the Premier which didn't sell every well either. They effectively replaced the Spirit and Concord, but Chrysler ended up cancelling the Alliance and Medallion and reworked the Premier into the LH cars to compete with Taurus and effectively replace the K-cars as their largest cars. I bought a 1987 Acura Legend which was $22,000 almost twice what these cost with 150 hp v6
Lolz....I love motor week but damn did they get stuff wrong a lot! How many medallions sold here in the US? 14? And by this time Chrysler was still deep into using the K platform. The LeBaron GTS and Lancer were clearly much better than the Renault. As were their replacements, the spirit and Acclaim. Just funny!
The foirst new car I ever bought. Pretty good until about 68000 miles when the GM built computer system died.
This and the Taurus were out together but good ol' Lee iacocca just couldn't stop with his beloved box on wheels k-cars tho.... Smh
I’m glad a front wheel drive Mustang never happened!! That would have been suicide for Ford!
I see shades of a 1983-86 Toyota Camry on this car
Have to wonder what could have been here. They seemed to be available for such a short time. Were they that bad, or just ignored much like their bigger cousin the Premiere?
Chrysler didn't want rebadged Renaults in their lineup, so they phased them out rather quickly after their acquisition of AMC was complete.
Damn shame.@@jasonk19xx17
The final years of AMC/Renault were interesting times for sure. Worth looking into if you're into automotive history. Mr. Regular Car Review did a great job covering the era.
I have never seen one
A tempo with a blown head gasket was more reliable.
rare front facing 3rd row seat in wagon, now common in suv's
Horribly boring exterior, I kinda like the interior though.
Here's what I can say, I recall this car. Thats where it ends.
Looks very similar to the very 1989 Hyundai Sonata!
Both were designed by Giugiaro
The wagon must be one of the rarest cars in the US
I haven’t seen this car since I been real little that was in the 90’s
1988 seems like just around the corner from the mid 80's look 🤨
Reno, Citro, or Puzho, nothing French caught on in the US.
Yeah that first part was handled really badly. I think if these were taken care of the right way they probably wouldn't have been worse than the Big 3 but people here don't try to work on rare cars.@@jkeelsnc
Probably almost none left to this day?
Join Beth the robot fan club!
Renault 21 was a bit of a dogs dinner even in the 1980s with regards to steering and handling. Renault 25 much more modern and a better car
The Renault 25 is an older design
What a crap box from my youth.
It’s the Chargers grandma
This car was horrible
Being from around the Kenosha Wisconsin area my parents worked for AMC as well as my grandparents so of course we had AMC's and Renaults I remember we had hornet 4x4 wagon and an alliance GL or something sedan and another alliance and this medallion that I know wasn't made in Kenosha but since it was Renault they bought it anyway and I don't remember them being particularly reliable but they were proud of them and everybody drove them in my neighborhood until the Ford Taurus came around lol
FIRMLY on my Automotive Bucket List!!!!!!! When was the last time you saw one of THESE?!!
The se cars never rusted! It was hard for them to rust. You'd see them 10 years later in the junk yard with zero rust while all the other cars from 1988 were rusted out badly
Thanks Beth
My family had a 1988 Renault Medallion that we bought brand new. My God, it was such s piece of garbage! It was constantly breaking down.
The test car was already falling apart, I can only imagine this car at 100k miles
I would never buy one, but I really wish that there was some french cars for sale in America today.
There are. Renault owns Nissan.
@@SnarkyRCAlso by the way the merger worked, effectively Peugeot owns Fiat Chrysler now
@SnarkyRC intresting point! By that logic, my Jeep Is french because it is owned by Stelantis.
Along with Renault and Citroen.@@musicmoviesandgames2004
If it is a Renegade, it is a Fiat built in Italy.@@mbox314
What I recall from back in the day, most Renault vehicles had ongoing mechanical problems.
What. A. Piece. Of. Junk. These used to rust on the lots here in Canada. Batteries that came with them weren't even strong enough to crank over in our winters.
Can't remember even seeing one of these BITD.
You've found the unicorn.
A friend of mine in high school his mom had one. It had no rev counter it’s underpowered and the gas gauge almost never worked from what I remember 😂
The only thing that could make a K car seem reliable
I think the wagon would sell pretty well now when the mini van came out no one wanted a wagon,