Pope my ride: Francis gets a new (used) car

Pope Francis has a new, well, old, ride—one that suits his frugal style.

Pope Francis has a new, well, old, ride—one that suits his frugal style.

He now has a 1984 Renault 4L economy car—quite a step down from the typical Popemobile—for tooling around Vatican City.

It is a gift from Father Renzo Zocca, a 70-year-old priest from Northern Italy, who put 300,000 km on the odometer. Zocca was inspired to make the symbolic gift after the Pontiff appealed to priests not to drive expensive cars but to save that money to give to the poor.

The Pope told Zocca he is well acquainted with the Renault 4 since he had one in Argentina. Then he took it out for a spin.