The Renault brothers made their first Voiturette 1CV in 1898, and by the end of World War I, was making planes, aircraft engines, guns, artillery equipment, tanks and tractors as well as buses, vans, trucks and utility cars to luxury limousines. However, Louis Renault was arrested on suspicion of collaboration at the end of WWII and died in prison - conspiracy theories suggest he was killed - and the company nationalized. Incidentally, a second Renault boss, Georges Besse, was murdered by political activists in 1986.
The rear-engined 4CV economy car and Alpine coupe won their classes in the Monte Carlo Rally, Le Mans 24 Hours and Mille Miglia, and later front-engined Renault 4 and Renault 5 were practical and very popular; the 1966 Renault 16 was the first family hatchback, and other Renault innovations include the first MPV, the Espace.
Renault owned the American Motor Corporation (AMC) 1980-87, and now owns firms including Romania's Dacia and South Korean company Samsung Motors; privatized in 1996, it formed an alliance with Nissan in 1999. Its range includes the Twingo and Clio city car and supermini, Megane and Laguna family cars, Koleos SUV, Scenic and Espaces MPVs, though the odd-looking Vel Satis and Avantime luxury cars were short-lived.
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