Strange but true: The charming but quirky Renault Dauphine was once one of the best-selling import cars in the United States.

Manufactured from 1956 through 1967 in nearly a dozen countries, the Renault Dauphine was a global success for the venerable French automaker, boasting a total production of more than two million cars. Still, Americans may be surprised to learn that the Dauphine was also a hit in the United States—if only briefly. In 1960, more than 100,000 Dauphines were sold in the USA, second only to Volkswagen in the sales category than known as “foreign cars.”

With a wheelbase of 89 inches and an overall length of 155 inches, the Dauphine was similar in size to the VW Beetle, and like the Beetle, it carried its engine behind the rear wheels, enabled by a swing-axle final drive. Where the Dauphine departed from the Beetle was in its more conventional engine design, an 845cc inline four with water cooling that was rated at from 32 hp to 40 hp. And while the Beetle was a two-door, the Dauphine was a four-door (the only body style offered). Quirky Gallic features included a spare tire compartment behind the front bumper and an optional semi-automatic transmission with a Ferlec electromagnetic clutch.

Renault’s marketing campaign for the Dauphine in the USA was cheerful and lighthearted, often featuring balloons. (We’ve got two original Dauphine commercials you can view here and here.) U.S. sales reached 28,000 cars in 1957, 57,000 in ’58, and then peaked at more than 102,000 in 1960, compared to around 130,000 for VW that year. But then import sales overall slumped, due in part to the introduction of the 1960 Detroit compacts, and Renault, with its thin U.S. dealer network, never recovered. The French automaker would not again challenge the U.S. market in a serious way until 1982, when it acquired a major stake in American Motors.