Letter Loewy to Renault, 1973

Raymond Loewy’s design company not only maintained studios in both the United States and Europe, it also helped facilitate transatlantic trade and investments. This letter is part of an exchange between Loewy and French automaker Renault about the possibilities of marketing the small, sub-compact R 5 on the American market with its considerably different consumer tastes. It was eventually introduced in 1976 and market through the American Motor Company as “Le Car.” It competed with similar European imports such as the Rabbit produced by Volkswagen, which had helped to open the U.S. market for European car imports with its innovative advertisements created by DDB.