I can’t decide if the Renault Alliance was really a bad car or if it was somehow broadly misunderstood, it certainly doesn’t get much respect even though it was very highly touted the first couple of years it was on offer. This particular one was brand new soon after I got my driver’s license and I know I had zero interest back then in getting to know one any closer. While they are nowadays extremely rare to find (although two seemed to be in the background of two different posts on CC this week!), this particular one was in the domestic section of the junkyard badged as an AMC. Which of course makes some sort of sense, seeing as how it was the pride of Kenosha, and built there as part of AMC’s alliance with Renault.
From a styling perspective it’s certainly in the idiom of its time with squared off corners and the rudimentary beginnings of aerodynamics but visually it certainly reminds more of the early ’80’s VW Jetta and even the Toyota Corolla and Mazda GLC sedan, all of which had been vastly updated in terms of styling by 1986. What surprises is just how small it is on the outside; cars have gotten bigger again over the last 35 years, that’s for sure.
The Alliance actually hung on until 1987 and may possibly have done so even longer than that, the reason it was ultimately canned was due to AMC finally finding a savior in Chrysler. The original impetus for selling the Alliance (and the Encore) was due to AMC being on the ropes, having factory space in Kenosha, not having a small car program of its own, then convincing Renault to step in with a lot of money and use the AMC sales channel to sell more cars than what they were already selling there (LeCar and R18). Renault decided to do just that but didn’t exactly shout their name to the world, that front Renault badge is positively tiny.
Still tiny, even embiggened for this picture. A far cry from what badges have grown to nowadays.
The Alliance was basically a rest-of-world Renault 9, the exterior was styled by Robert Opron, but the interior was done by AMC’s Dick Teague. Originally introduced here for 1983 in the middle of 1982 in both two-door as well as four-door versions, eventually a hatchback version (Encore) was introduced which was analagous to the Renault 11, but the convertible version was developed and only ever offered over here. Pricing was quite attractive, starting at $5,595 back then, quite a bargain for what was the 1982 European Car Of the Year while also being very well received in the press over here.
The Alliance was only offered with a 1.4liter 4-cylinder at the outset, producing 64hp and 75lb-ft of torque, a carryover from the LeCar. In base form the car weighed just over 2000 pounds, but performance was still not exactly sprightly with the 0-60mph sprint taking over 14 seconds in optimal conditions. Within a couple of years a 1.7l was offered as an option, however the 1.4 remained as the base engine. During 1986 there was even a performance GTA model introduced in both 2door and convertible form, that one had a 2liter engine and looked very good, sort of a Euro-take on the Escort GT of the day.
This car in fact does have the base 1.4l in it. Up here in Denver that would make conditions not exactly optimal for the 0-60mph sprint (or perhaps slow jog), but of course other cars would be similarly affected. Although that’s undoubtedly small comfort when needing to merge onto I-70 with a semi coming up on you at a steady 55. There looks to be enough room in the engine bay for a second 1.4l should one be so inclined…
This lurid shade of Smurf Blue seemed to be popular amongst the US makers (or better, producers) as I think Ford as well as VW had something similar in the Escort and Rabbit in the early ’80’s. It’s nice to see colored interiors but I don’t think this shade would sell these days.
The back seat is trimmed in the same decent looking velour as the front, and no it doesn’t look roomy even in real life although that bottom cushion is a bit out of place. Still, foot room was supposedly decent as the front seats were mounted on a central (to the seat) rail, allowing space on either side. At least the rear windows roll down.
The passenger door was not operable from the outside so I had to do some awkward leaning-in photography here, but wanted to verify that the car did not have air conditioning and while it’s a manual, with the knob missing I wasn’t sure if it was a four or five speed as both were available as was a 3-speed automatic.
Aha! A state-owned fleet car, for use by the Public Defender’s office. Now I’m supposing it was a 4-speed. No frills for the government, but it met the mandate of being built in the US.
It probably had a radio blank plate there as well originally or at most an AM-radio that was eventually replaced by the least fancy Alpine radio I’ve ever seen. I wonder if whoever installed that thought about the Renault – Alpine connection although yes I’m well aware that’s a different Alpine altogether. Kind of like putting Jensen speakers into your Interceptor or an Escort radar detector in your Escort etc…
Only 95,274 miles makes this a well-preserved specimen I suppose. I wonder if it was driven much at all by the Public Defender of if he/she/they preferred whatever else was available. This though is another good example of the “Dashboards of Sadness” genre with only a speedometer, fuel gauge and two idiot lights along with a fair bit of blank space. On the plus side less gauges means less things to look at and potentially worry about. C’est la vie.
Proper amber turn signals back here, alas the badges are gone already, but it looks like at least it has a rear window defroster.
A decent amount of trunk space although it’s on the shallow side vertically speaking. Only a trunk mat here, no carpeting for the sides or the lid.
It does sport a full set of American-as-can-be whitewall tires and in case you didn’t notice earlier the hood is front-hinged. The Alliance was a strong seller at the outset, moving over 142,000 of the first-year models and apparently was supply constrained. By 1986 though demand had been well sated and only around 65,000 combined Alliance and Encores found homes, which is likely how this one came to be sold here at a rock bottom price. By the end of 1986, AMC was offering zero percent financing and laying workers off for an extended holiday break to balance supply with demand. Then, during 1987, it was cancelled after the Chrysler purchase with a total of over 600,000 produced, but demand having dropped off significantly post-1984.
This is likely the reason it was tagged as an AMC in the yard, it’s quite possible some of the workers have never seen a new Renault or are even aware of the existence of the marque, either today or back in the day.
This one will probably sit here for another month or two and then be crushed, there is likely little demand for Alliance parts anymore. Although I did see a red GTA model a couple of months ago heading the other way somewhere in New Mexico on I-40, at first I thought I was seeing a mirage. Somebody out there is keeping the flame alive.
This Public Defender’s car was much better.
I was thinking the same thing. It was held in the same Esteem 20 years earlier.
I wouldn’t put the Alliance as a really “bad” car, only one whose time in the sun was brief and whose builder couldn’t afford to logically proceed from there. In 83, it was probably somewhat better than a Cavalier, Omni, or Escort, depending on equipment. By 1987, it was pretty outclassed, even by those 3. As the Cavalier and Omni got stronger drivetrains and the Escort’s equipment improved, the Alliance suffered by comparison, but was probably the roomiest. The styling is crisp and purposeful (like the fraternal twin Cherokee), but received little update during the run, in the process aging like cereal with the milk already poured. There are quite a few AMC/Renault sales training videos on YouTube, and there’s a lot of desperate earnest sincerity to their speaking without actually showing much to be excited about.
This one’s really going to start some excitement in the showroom. That said, this was a nice little car that really was unique in the market. I think it had to be considered, especially if you had to buy American.
It depends on how you define a “good” car.
If you mean how it performs in road tests, then, yes, it was a good car, and probably better than a contemporary Ford Escort or Dodge Omni in that regard. (The Alliance was Motor Trend’s 1983 “Car of the Year,” and made Car and Driver’s “Ten Best” list for 1983, for what it’s worth.)
If you mean how it actually holds up as the odometer racks up miles, and whether it will get you where you want to go…people were wise to stick with the Escort or Omni. Both were far better cars over the long haul.
I carpooled with someone who owned an Alliance D/L four-door sedan in the summer of 1985 to an internship. It had a great ride (best of any small car I had every experienced up until that time), and the pedestal bucket seats really did increase rear foot room.
But everyone I knew who owned one said it was very troublesome. Meanwhile, my father and an aunt each owned a post-1983 Ford Escort, and got very good service out of them. My father, in particular, was rough on his 1986 Escort Pony, but it lasted for well over 100,000 miles with no major problems.
Dude in the video: “The Encore can meet competition head-on”.
Uhhh…sir, are you listening to yourself right now? Did you hear what you just said?
At least it had a decent cup holder.
There are no cup holders. This was 1986 dude. I owned a 1985 Renault Encore, other than most everyone mispronouncing the make and even model it was a pretty good car. Wish I had it today.
I’m from Kenosha and knew friends of those line workers, if not any directly at the time. I’d have to say the general thought on these was, “The shame of Kenosha.”
Yet, despite that, I bought one. A 1986 base coupe. 1.4 liter pushrod engine, 4 speed manual transmission. Only kept it three years and about 65,000 as I became concerned about a subtle but persistent noise ‘twanging’ noise under the hood that changed pitch with engine speed and vacuum (throttle) status, and combined with the reputation these had acquired for not lasting long. That plus the stigma compared with my compatriots’ Hondas and even fancy Cavaliers.
Other than the cheapness, I liked the car. Great handling aside from some lean in turns, very comfortable front seats, amazingly good sight lines out of the car, good ride considering the light weight, 38 mpg actual calculated when I filled it up.
On the cheapness… When it was new, I closed the glove box door on a pen stuck in the bottom. The hinges snapped as if it was a cheap toy. Replaced under warranty. Also and more seriously, the clutch cable self-adjustment ratchet sometimes let loose when changing gears. Could be dangerous if it happened at a bad moment (trying to outrun the semi on I-70) but I survived somehow.
I seem to recall a story (may have been posted here) about a European magazine that tested a Renault 9 for 50,000 miles (or was it kms?)
then dismantled it. It was found to be completely worn out.
Never heard of any such thing. What magazine would dismantle a car?
In Germany, Auto Motor und Sport was the pioneer in long term testing, first 50k, later 100k km. But they never dismantled the cars.
I do remember Renaults generally not faring well in these tests in the 70s and 80s. Things like a blown transmission, and other stuff. But the engines in these were very tough, and had a good rep. That dated back to 1962 and the R8, and was built all the way until 2004. 50 or 100k would have been easy for it.
That sounds like a classic urban legend to me, inasmuch as it reinforces a stereotype. These were certainly not in Toyota league, but they were far from disposable. Most of the problems were smaller niggling ones, as was often the case with European and in particular French cars then.
What magazine was skilled to dismantling a car after 50K kilometers ? The italian publisher Quattroruote did it at least with Renault 21, Citroën AX and Lancia Delta first series . They even shown how to get every car dismantled piece by piece until gettin’ all naked . Some verdicts were memorable and helped or made worsening the public’s image of each car . An oddity the Renault 21 which had some pretensions as to be and to look an Audi’s alternative, it was quoted as a mediocre car . Both micromobile Citroën AX and then the Lancia Delta after 50,000 kilometers’ test obtained the ” laurel of quality ” con tutte le lodi, second the prestigious ” rivista “
Auto Bild in Germany regularly does the dismantling thing. Usually after the 100 000 km test. The tested vehicles are sort by the number of issues and problems. Some vehicles performed so well that they gave them another 100 000 km to soldier on.
https://www.autobild.de/tests/dauertests/
The Czech magazine Svet Motoru (The World of Engines) has done some dismantling, too. For instance, in 2019 they took apart a 15 year old Škoda Fabia after 515 000 km to demonstrate the high quality of the engineering and finish.
I remember those as well from AutoBild. Thanks for the link, here’s a pic of a dismantled Renault Clio, I think they’ve been doing this for decades. I believe they then examine and measure any wear parts to see how things fared. It’s got to be a pretty crappy car to have measurable wear before 100k miles, especially when the magazine supposedly did the required maintenance.
I see. I had a subscription to AMS for many decades, and they were the pioneers of long term testing. I didn’t read these others.
What magazine would dismantle a car?
Not a European mag, and not a Renault.
Did they dismantle it? Yes.
That’s a Peugeot…about as far from a Renault as you can get and still be French.
Uh….I did point that out
I was just making a point that car mags do …or did….dismantlethen from time
Kenosha built over 600,000 of these cars, won the “Car of the Year” award, and for the first time since 1970, had a new car – yet you want us to believe that Kenoshans were ashamed? Of what? Success? Acceptance? Popularity? For crying out loud, look what they built before! I don’t believe that the people who built Pacers or Matador coupes could be more ashamed to build a car people actually wanted.
OK, ‘sadness’. Sadness because they weren’t home-grown designs any more. Sadness that they were apparently, and then proved to be, rather fragile and trouble-prone, the antipode of the robustness that had been an AMC forte. Not ‘Pride’, for sure.
Forgot to mention a weird problem with mine. When the sun shone on the IP, the speedometer needle would get stuck wherever it was. A minute or so after the sun was shaded, the needle freed itself.
“From a styling perspective it’s certainly in the idiom of its time with squared off corners and the rudimentary beginnings of aerodynamics”
Ironically it was less aerodynamically styled than its predecessor, the Renault 14 (1976-83), Renault moving away from the ‘slippery’ look just as others (like Ford with their Sierra) were going towards it.
Some of the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in. I know my experience with these was atypical of most, but my family’s ’85 Encore was one of my favorite cars they owned when I was growing up. It was basically no trouble, since we maintained it regularly, it was the most fun to drive out of anything in our driveway, and I came to love even its quirks – like having to hit the stalk mounted horn instead of the center hub of the steering wheel. That car lasted through the mid-’90s. We got our money’s worth. Seeing an Alliance or Encore will always make me smile.
My only direct experience with Alliances was sitting in them at car shows. And I always thought that the interior, especially those seats, were far nicer than anything else in its class. I liked the exterior styling too, but I was way too skittish about reliability concerns to actually buy one.
Guess French cars are known to have good seats, my Dad had a ’68 R10 which had very comfortable seats (year before headrests were mandated, they were low buckets)..and Peugeot is known to have very comfortable seats…as I get older that becomes more important, wish we could buy them new in the US.
Yes, the controls are odd, remember the horn on the end of the stalk, something Ford picked up on the Fairmont in ’78. I came within weeks of driving the R10 but before I got my learner’s permit my Dad traded it in, so I don’t have memories other than riding in it. It had a front mounted spare tire which they convoluted the shape of the bumper to accommodate not sure how you opened the front door for it. Also had European lighting on side of car, one was clear and red (half and half) not sure how that got used. Can’t even remember where the fuel filler was , but remember front hinged trunk instead of front engine compartent, as it was rear engined.
I’m channelling Nissan Sunny (JDM Model) from 1988. Who copied who?
I had a female cousin who’s husband owned an Alliance AND an Encore. They replaced a diesel Rabbit as the 2 of them had fairly long commutes for work.
For some reason, I never noticed until seeing it here, that these cars had that Renault badge in the grille. I vaguely remember seeing Renault spelled out on the decklid badging but just assumed for some reason that they had AMC badging also.
I had no idea how reliable or long lasting these cars were, but I think a huge AMC/Renault mistake was in not making the 1.7 engine the base power plant at introduction or soon after, and coming up with an optional 1.9 or using the 2 liter in other than the GT models.
BTW, compared to the plastics used by GM for its car interiors, this one seems to have held up quite well. The dark blue interior in my J2000 was at least 5 shades of blue and grey by the time the last payment was made. The interior on this car looks like it just needs a very good detailing. Too bad the mechanical were not as long lived (?).
It was a bad car. I test-drove one in ’84. I was going to help a friend buy it so he could take a job that required a new car. I loaded him and his wife and kid into the car and drove it around for a few blocks. It was bottoming out, and couldn’t get up a moderate hill. I was disappointed because my beloved ’63 R8 could carry a full load of passengers without any strain, so I expected similar performance from a new Renault of about the same size and power. Definitely not similar.
Haven’t seen one in quite a while, but they used to be reasonably common here. I knew a guy who had one, but after the Chrysler takeover of AMC parts got rare and expensive. He junked it when the water pump went and he couldn’t find a reasonably priced replacement.
I was going to say that this would make a fine 24 hours of Lemons racer with the manual transmission,but it’s already been done!
I have a water pump for sale, $25 and brand new in the box, to be exact. They are and have always been available, and at a very reasonable price. So what the f— are you talking about?
After my wife had graduated from law school in the late 1990s, she worked briefly for Missouri’s public defender’s office. Not a job that was particularly well-suited to her, but we all need jobs, and that was hers, until she could find a better one. Anyway, the Public Defender’s office at that point had a fleet of Neons, and folks like her would drive them out to prisons statewide as part of their jobs.
That said, I don’t ever remember seeing an Alliance municipal fleet vehicle, so this is neat from that perspective. Also, it must’ve been at the tail end of the time when fleet cars were bought with manual transmissions at all – by the 1980s I bet a lot of state employees could only drive automatics.
That’s just a matter of culture , expectancies and probably a bit of luck . From a South American perspective , we get hard to believe the general bad reputation this Renault Alliance – Renault 9 always had in the USA.
This very comfortable machine proved to be quite efficient in such diverse markets as Colombia Perú Chile Argentina Uruguay and others . It also was one of the best selling cars .
Assembled both in Argentina and Turkey .
Best feature was its unstoppable engine , incredibly 34 mpg , incredibly brisk acceleration , impressive foamy ride comfort . Weak points were gummy gearbox and an idle suspension’s structure. It all depends , of course, the way the owner asks the machine’s output considering it’s just a tiny car with luggage trunk and generous cabin for 5 adult passengers . The Renault Alliance or simply Renault 9 is still in amazing number surviving after an average of 25 years’ history among all the roads of forementioned countries . These Renault were are still are very appreciated.
All instead off , the true region’s big failure was its cousin Renault Encore or Renault 11 .
The Alliance/Encore’s succesor Renault 19 was definitely a disaster, most troublesome Renault ever
My family had one, bought one year used in ’84. Most comfortable front seats I’ve ever sat in. Great visibility. 35 mpg city, 42 highway. Itty bitty turning radius. Killer stereo. (We had a top-of-the-line trim version.)
But: Essentially zero rear leg room. Very slow off the line. And after 75,000, it started to self-destruct.
Still, a favorite car from my history.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1983-renault-alliance-mt-the-appliance/
Jim Grey, that’s a great write-up in 2012. Makes me glad I didn’t keep my Alliance longer. As a one-car single guy, I can’t afford an unreliable car.
Also love that you have TH in your story. My dad was a grad of ISTC & he met my mom there. Mom had relatives in TH and I last went there a year ago when her sister, who’d lived there since 1957, died. Still have cousins there. Dad absolutely hated TH… the odor from the factories cause him headaches, the railroad crossings everywhere that stopped you no matter where and what time of day you were going somewhere.
Does ‘Terrible Haute’ have railroads? Let this be a clue. The entrance to the city’s premier park. https://goo.gl/maps/VdHdEXifp42dpREGA
I had an ’84 Renault Alliance. I bought it new, not used. It had comfortable front seats and gave great gas mileage. It rode well too for such a small car. Unfortunately, it had an electrical problem that intermittently prevented it from starting. My wife and I had it towed to the dealer many times, and they could not find the cause of the problem. And often, after sitting for a few hours, it would then start right up. We got rid of it after being stranded at a restaurant after celebrating our wedding anniversary. We had it for only one year. I traded it in because I couldn’t bear to sell it privately. They buyer would have come back and shot me!
A friend of mine had one that occasionally wouldn’t start. He’d disconnect the battery and that seemed to reset it.
Great find, in that condition. I’m amazed that Colorado was still buying stick-shift equipped cars in the mid-’80’s. I drove a million state government fleet cars for my job in a southern state in that period, almost all of which were Omnirizons or K-cars, with auto and air. Even by the 1980’s, there were plenty of young adults who didn’t have a clue about how to drive a clutch or people who just didn’t want to bother. The lack of a/c, I can understand, since the heat and humidity weren’t as killer.
As a former Renault owner, I’m also amazed the bought Alliances, but I’m sure that was the luck of the bidding process.
I thought it would have made more sense to badge the Alliance/Encore and the obscure Medallion as an AMC for the US market. I presume Renault wanted to get more name recognition for itself as part of the deal.
My dad’s ’83 Alliance had both AMC and Renault badging, I seem to recall. The AMC badge was much less prominent.
These cars did sport a small AMC badge, but I believe the television commercial voiceover referred to the car as the “Renault Alliance,” with no mention of AMC.
I recall the AMC badge being a just a decal at the bottom of the back window.
I didn’t see any on this one, of course the real badges were gone and the only current sticker on the rear window is “Lynch 24” referencing Marshawn Lynch, the running back.
The very weird coincidence is that this particular car and Mr. Lynch were both born in April of 1986. Cue Rod Serling…
Anyone who wants to get an “inside look” of how the “alliance” between Renault and AMC worked – or, more accurately, didn’t ultimately work – should read The Last American CEO by Jason Vines. It chronicles the efforts of Joseph Cappy to lead AMC during its turbulent final years, as well as its purchase by Chrysler in 1987.
Excellent find! And one with a known history.
It’s been a while since I’ve encountered one. Not exactly a Eugene-mobile.
Drove one as a rental, and while I admired its French ride, the 1.4 with the automatic was not a happy combination. Good thing the Public Defender’s Office bought a stick. In the mountains of Colorado, it would have been less than joyful.
Those days of weak little fours teamed with automatics were not a fun time. At least with a stick (and a dose of imagination) one could wring out some pleasure.
This sounds like pigeonholing but the Alliance sounds, from the comments and some limited experience, typically as the French reputation suggested. Comfortable inside with decent quality materials, good riding, but a mechanical maelstrom that aged quickly and wore out early. Rather dumpy styling. Would anyone who owned a Renault Dauphine have even considered buying this, other than as “low bid junk?”
I owned a 1985 Encore GS, acceleration with the 1.7 and 5 speed was good but not great. The front seats were extremely comfortable and the interior was very attractive. Unfortunately its reliability was not great-it was certainly better than the 1980 X-car I traded in on it, but some electrical gremlins and other problems caused me to trade it in after about 4 years of ownership. After that I never wanted another French car. At one time I saw a lot of these around but after 1987 When Chrysler took over AMC they suddenly disappeared as if they had all been swept away for some invisible hand.
Several friends had these new backing the day. Aside from the crape paper transmissions and very odd front and rear end proportions compared to the passenger compartment, these were comfortable cars to sit in while waiting for a tow back to the dealer.
A buddy of mine bought a used 85 in 87 or 88. A neat looking red 2 door, 4 speed, with an AM radio. It was my first exposure to a “foreign” car, as his father had a dodge and my father was a Chevy man. I found it very comfortable, but it leaned in the turns like a bus and boy was it slow. While it was abusive to do so, 4 to 3 downshifts cresting a hill afforded the best speeds. It was purchased with about 5 k miles, but the clutch only lasted to 45 k as so, I guess it was those downshifts my friend did. Or the fact that that my friends mechanic felt the odo had been turned back. Anyway, he had a good job just out of college, so his French sports car was donated to the local volunteer fire dept, it prob met a Vikings burial. Post college days, they were great…
I bought a base model Renault Encore about five years ago for $900. I thought it was a brilliant, if a bit flawed little car. The 1.4L and four speed had good pep around town, was really comfortable and smooth riding, the non assisted steering was nice. And it was surprisingly reliable all things considered, only needing a new radiator fan, a cv joint, and a gas tank vent tube in the two years I had it. The rest was mostly basic maintenance stuff. I once took it on a 1400 mile long trip to Chicago and back. It had no problems cruising along at 70-75 and returned 33 mpg in the process. And because the rear seat folded down completely flat it had enough room to serve as an impromptu RV. I rather loved the silly old thing.
Though to be fair, there are certainly issues with cars. While the interiors are nice, some of the plastics do not age well. It is very common to have the needles in the gauges distort and crack. And the window regulators will break apart. The electrics can be wonky. The burnt out light bulb indicator warning buzzer would frequently chime on my Encore, despite all the lights working fine. This issue also mysteriously fixed itself about six months into my ownership. And the cooling systems are a bit nightmare-ish. The water pump is mounted next to the valve cover and is one of the highest points of the coolant system. So any loss of antifreeze can cause cavitation and overheating. And it seems the automatics, in addition to being majorly sluggish, typically seem to have short life expediencies, going bad around the 60,000 mile mark.
My agency’s state cars were Reliant sedans and one K-wagon which were upgraded to Sundances and Shadows in the 90s. There were never enough on hand since my state paid a miserly .28 then .32 per mile if you used your personal vehicle with a travel limit of 50 miles per day and they were usually reserved for people who traveled to the next county or to the main office for meetings. Competition was fierce for them since commuting to work and driving for the job meant owning a car that had 100,000 miles on it after 5 years.
I’m surprised this Renault doesn’t have more miles on it
My sister in law bought a ” nine” as they were called overhere, similar to this one in the scrapyard, a white low end model with the same 1.4 engine.
But Piete the scrapper, the local scrapyard dealer had a wrecked upgrade model with the gauges these should have, a temperature gauge, tacho and light alloy wheels and the “americano” quad Cibié headlamps. As Piete owed me, I took off all the goodies of the car and much, much to my surprise all was pre- wired to receive the posh dashboard.
She had the nine for years and years, the darn thing would not die.
I hated those things this was conceived in one of Renault’s most bland periods.
And became car of the year in 1982
My dad had one of these in the 80s, it’s the car I learned to drive stick shift on. It was utter garbage. Several massive mechanical failures at just 2 or 3 years old, plus parts not being readily available. My father usually kept his cars 10 or 12 years in those days but this one was gone after just 3.
Great article, good find, this modest automobile would deserve a second try . Was a good value then. Argentina produced it in 1.6 litre configuration, this means in the American conversion only 97 cubic inches, so what else can you expect from a standard machine like this elegant Renault Alliance (Renault Nueve for the domestic league). To bring an idea, the Renault Alliance had a purposedly competitor for the time: the Volkswagen Fox 1,6 built in Brazil, also exported to the USA with discreet success.
Nobody ever said a Renault Alliance was a bad car at all. Figure out both this French and the VW Fox were equivalent in most items. And both sold the same well. There’s an European mentality to assemble their cars through a thirdworldcountries’ budget, saving costs is the #1 aim. Anyway the Renault Alliance gave then a lot for the money. Renault Losange’s engines are unquestionably their best point for customer’s loyalty. So popular and well perceived were the Renault Alliance/Nueve, they became the typical fleet for Remise Service, an old concept of commuting people until it appeared the uberisch way to challenge the taxi. Yes the reliable Renault Alliance /Nueve was the favorite among taxi’s owners and Remise owners.
I’ve got two of these – the 1983 UK version – I need a crankshaft timing sensor for one of them so if you happen to be passing that yard again let me know if someone’s beat me to it.
I like the “dashboard of sadness” moniker. 🙂
I hoped the Alliance would be a decent entry-level car. With their FWD, comfortable seats & ride, and a simple high mpg pushrod four with FI, and without the headache of a timing-belt (Early Escorts, Fiats and a number of other cars would bend valves if the timing-belt snapped!) it should’ve been a winner.
But they were gutless with an automatic, and afflicted with numerous electrical and cooling-system maladies as they aged. The end of AMC spelled the end of any resale-value for them.
I actually sort of wanted one of these in 1985. My dad drove an Alfa Spider and kept a second car for when the Alfa was in for repair. I was 16 and got to drive the second car when the Alfa was working. In the summer of ’85, the previous second car (a ’76 Sunbird) died and dad asked me to suggest a compact sedan to replace it. An inveterate R&T reading Europhile, I wanted the new Mk II Jetta, but dad was a holocaust survivor and wouldn’t consider a VW. That left the Alliance as the only other Euro option (albeit Kenosha made). But dad nixed that too as he’d had a bad experience with a Dauphine in the early 60’s. We ended up with a Civic. I tried to console myself with the fact it was also sold in Europe as a Rover. No doubt the Civic was a far better built and better engineered car, but I found it soulless and it had a choppy ride and stiff steering.
I liked my Alliance and wrote about it back in 2012 – https://www.curbsideclassic.com/auto-biography/my-alliance-with-the-franco-american-motors-alliance/
Robert Opron designed the Renault 9? Mon dieu! A four-lamp DS, a GS or a CX it most decidedly is not, even the original admittedly had a certain high-riding French-wheelbase glassy elegance to it. The Alliance, alas, with whitewalls and jutting bumpers and too many headlights lacks even that, and its looks cannot be publicly defended.
I have memories of my grandfather’s R9. A tinny and plasticky POS, compared to the R30 he traded in. It was an Automatic – must have been a pain to drive. He did not keep it for very long, but then he liked to change cars every couple years.
Extremely boring cars, in my view. But they sold plenty of them at the time – both in Europe and the Americas. Boring sells.
In one of those, “What was I thinking?” moments, I somehow allowed myself to be talked into taking one of these for a test drive in the 1980s and I was surprisingly favorably impressed with the car. It rode very smoothly, handled well, and the engine was surprisingly smooth and quiet on the Interstate where I test drove the car. I wasn’t really thinking about how fast I was going and was surprised when I finally did look down at the speedometer and found myself going 70+ mph without being aware of it.
Still, it had kind of “meh” styling and the long-term reliability wasn’t there, although I didn’t really know that at the time. I ended up buying a CRX which I drove for over 200,000 miles and never regretted buying.
Considering over 600,000 of these and the Encore were sold, it’s wild to think I haven’t seen one in at least 20 years. I know they had a poor reputation, something about the cooling system in particular being troublesome, but from the sounds of this Consumer Guide long term test, terrible dealer service and lack of parts availability even when new were a real thing that contributed to these evaporating from the roads. 7 weeks to get critical components on a car that’s currently in production is crazy, full stop.
If you haven’t seen an Alliance or Encore in a while, it’s because I correspond with some of the guys that hoard them. A guy in Cincinnati has an Alliance with over 200,000K that he still drives often, and about 20 parts cars. A guy in PA has a back 40 field full of Renaults, though he is more of an R5/LeCar guy. The guy in NJ has a varied stash, spread over about 4 outbuildings on his spread. Nick sold his very tasty late production Fuego with the 2.2 and updated instrument panel a year ago, because he didn’t have a place to put it for the winter.
The cars did have their weak points. Joe can elaborate on the fragility of the window regulators and the 1.7’s timing belt tensioner and idler that *must* be changed out with the belt at 60K, because the bearings will not last until the next belt replacement, and a sized idler breaks the belt, which is curtains for the interference engine.
Then there were the AMC dealers. Often not the best in town. I have talked with one of the AMC styling dept clay modelers who bought an Encore when his wife’s Pacer was totalled. He bought it at Coon Brothers, a Nash/AMC dealer since before there was dirt and very good Frank says the Encore gave excellent service, they kept it 8 years,
One of the AMC stylists I have talked with offered that Renault refused to take any advice from AMC when it came to Americanizing the Alliance’s mechanics and electrics. He picks the cooling system as the most inadequate part of the car for US conditions.
Some of the problems were addressed with the refresh in 86, but, by then, the horse was long gone from the barn.