When Pope Francis told Catholics to "choose a more humble car," the pontiff meant every last word.He now owns a 1984 Renault 4 with about 186,000 miles on the clock. And he's actually driving it, under the careful eye of the Swiss Guard, for short trips around the Vatican.
Father Renzo Zocca, a priest in northern Italy, presented the little Renault (appropriately painted white) to the pope last weekend. Zocca had driven it to visit poorer parishioners and wanted Francis -- who has declined the traditional papal trappings and become much closer to lower-ranking church officials, citing a need to focus on the world's poor -- to have the same car he used to drive back home in Argentina.
According to the BBC, the "pope's bodyguards were amazed when he took the keys and drove off."
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An example of a Renault 4, of which more than 8 million were sold. (Wikimedia Commons)The Renault 4, like the Volkswagen Beetle, was a remarkably simple and cheap compact car that lasted for decades with few to no changes. Among cars no longer in production, it's right behind the Beetle and Model T as the the third best-selling car of all time during 1961 and 1994. More than 8 million were sold in more than 100 countries.
Among the many cost-conscious features were a tiny 747-cubic-centimeter four-cylinder engine with a sealed coolant system that didn't require antifreeze refills and other parts that didn't require lubrication. It was also innovative, with front-wheel-drive, a fold-down rear seat and a torsion-beam rear suspension that allowed the floor to be low and flat for plenty of cargo space. Of course, that design also meant that the rear wheels didn't line up -- one tire was three inches ahead of the other. The three-speed gearbox was also tricky to use and the interior was as Spartan as a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.
You can't get much humbler than that.
[Source: BBC, USA Today]
Source: MSN
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