It’s been transformative to bounce along the dusty byways of New Mexico this week and stumble upon well preserved “bucket list” cars that have long since been claimed by rust and neglect back home. I had another brush with automotive serendipity today when an empty lot next to MacDonalds in the town of Los Lunas became host for a car that I simply haven’t seen in person for years. I didn’t have to scan deep in the memory banks for this one. One glance told me that the owner of a Renault Alliance had finally gotten tired of its, um,“eccentricities” and put it up for sale – cheap. Before it’s snapped up by some unwary buyer, I had to get some pictures and maybe even a little background. This rig has what the boss likes to call “patina”. Duffel bags of patina.
First, the executive summary on the whole Alliance project for those of you joining us late: AMC was the very willing object of French auto giant Renault’s affections in the late 70’s. Bit by bit, the Frenchies bought controlling interest in America’s fourth largest automaker. They pretty much owned the place after 1983. Renault needed a marketing channel to peddle their quirky small cars and AMC had the dealers and service operations in place to do so. American Motors also needed lots of francs to compete with the Big Three. Its model lineup was ancient and gas thirsty, and Renault sold small cars that were at least up to date, if not exactly exciting.
When Franco-American lit the unity candle in 1980, the Gaullist side of the partnership told their new partners that the Nash 4X4’s and Hornet/Concord leftovers would have to go. To bring AMC into the 80’s (from the late 60’s) , the pair would produce a small family saloon and coupe that would make use of the Renault 9 architecture and be sold along side the soon-to-be updated Jeeps. The plan threw a lifeline to AMC’s endangered Kenosha assembly plant and the whole thing looked like a win-win.
With the weak dollar, the only hope of making money on the project was to build the cars here and sell them as Renaults. AMC’s internal marketing studies showed that buyers thought more of Renault’s reputation than their own. This should have been a blaring master alarm, but the scheme went ahead as planned.
The Alliance moniker was picked to symbolize the loveless marriage between the two erstwhile partners. The car was launched with high hopes as an ’83 model in the fall of 1982 and carried a temptingly low price of just under $6000. The base 1.4 L OHV engine from the late (and unloved) Renault LeCar was the standard mill, but smart buyers opted for the 1.7 L with either of two manual trannys on offer. If they wanted maddeningly slow gitty up, they could spec the car with a sloppy three speed automatic.You could finish a “Royale with Cheese” while waiting for 0-60 if you paired the smaller engine with the autobox.
Against all logic, the Alliance was a smash. High gas prices along with a Motor Trend “Car Of The Year” trophy meant that the little Alliance was in demand. Sales were an astonishing 142,000 in the first year. Reasoning that it was best to make a sandwich while the croissant was still fresh, AMC/Renault doubled their pleasure by trotting out the Encore for 1984. The Encore was just a hatchback version of the Alliance.
But the momentum that the Alliance built was short lived. After gas prices started a dramatic retreat in the fall of 1984, and word of the cars’ flimsy construction and nagging quality problems got around, it was all downhill. Sales sank disastrously for 1986 (to about 64,000) and to less than 35,000 in ’87. By the end of the model year, the Car Of The Year from ’83 was out of production.
Alliances are tough to find in running condition these days. Parts became hide and seek after Renault said au revoir in 1987, and it has never made great sense to spend $800 to repair a $500 car. Thus the attrition rate is astronomical. This example sports the 1.7 mated to a 4 speed stick. Repeated attempts to reach the owner by phone didn’t work out, so we can only wonder if the engine has the same “patina” as the sun baked body. With an asking price just a couple of hundred bucks more than crush value, maybe it will get a new owner that will keep it on the road for a few more years.
Ahhhh – the Renault Appliance. I recall going to my local auto show one year and seeing one of these that actually made me want to open the door and sit in it – the convertible. I wonder how many of those were actually made.
My wife has a cousin who bought one of these new and drove it for a long, long, long time. They may be the only husband and wife with an Appliance and an Eagle Vision (which they still have, I believe).
Fabulous find and write up on a forgotten car.
I own a 1986 renault alliance myself…still runs good and seems everybody wants to buy it!
This one looks like it could be a good deal at $700.
I love this car and it still runs like a champ. A little vibration when the compressor is on but 14.00 to fill it up and go to work all week with cold air. I leave my Chevy Impala Super Sport parked and drive it. Older guys want to buy it and young guys want to know what it is..lol. This one was imported from France by a engineer here in town. I got it cheap and love it. He took very good care of the car. Goes to show most cars are good if you take care of them.
True story. Back in the ’80’s a recently married friend, broke of course, was shopping for a new car to go with the new wife. Cheap was the order of the day, and he offered a dealer $5000 for an Encore hatch, just like the one pictured. The dealer counter-offered $4500.
And is there a more meaningless award than COTY? Perhaps a Grammy…
!
Emmys, C/Ds top 10 list, AFL team of the year, the list is endless.
So did they meet in the middle, with the dealer paying your friend $4,750 to take the thing off his lot?
He took the car for the $4500 and kept it for only 2 years. I remember on a ski trip it had difficulty in making the grade in mountainous areas with 4 people in the car.
I also remember an inordinate amount of black tape on it’s innards. Very strange. Probably some reject and not a reliable example, which is why the dealer wanted to unload it.
I should have bought mine from that dealer.
“Alliances are tough to find in running condition these days. ”
These days? I think by the year they stopped building them at least 70% were already dead. When they first came out they got my attention — I like the styling. I recall reading the MT COTY article and was eager to test drive one. In fact I had practically already decided to buy one based upon what I’d read and the super-low pricing. The test drive would be a mere formality, I thought.
The day came, I wound up at the dealer and chose a very pretty blue one with a tan interior on the far side of the lot and walked over there, collecting a salesman along the way. He handed me the keys and immediately I noticed that putting the key in the lock the mechanism felt imprecise, as on a 30-year-old car. Oh well, it’s a small detail. But nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelmingly unpleasant sensations which accompanied my behind hitting the seat cushion — the SMELL — “new car smell” is supposed to be pleasant and mild, but these cars stank to high heaven, heavy petrochemical odor. Putting my hands on the wheel, the impression was that the steering column, wheel, and turn signal stalk were made of recycled plastic drinking straws. I found it hard to believe these cheap materials could possibly be used in a USDOT-approved car. The overall feeling was that this was not seriously the new Renault Alliance, this was a practical joke. It really was that bad.
I never did drive it, or even put the key in the ignition. Looking at, smelling, and touching the interior was just too discouraging. No way could I live with such an atrocity. I ended up buying a VW Rabbit, and enjoyed many happy years of trouble-free, economical driving. But I was so disappointed in AMC and Renault after that. They were both companies that once made cars I loved. The very idea of buying a car built as a joint effort between them was exciting to me, yet merely sitting in that Alliance just totally killed it.
A truly epic fail.
“And is there a more meaningless award than COTY?”
The Alliance was the car that taught me to ignore MT. What a bunch of wankers!
“the SMELL — “new car smell” is supposed to be pleasant and mild, but these cars stank to high heaven, heavy petrochemical odor. ”
I had the exact same experience with my (AMC built) Comanche in ’87. Only later did my wife (who is a chemical engineer) explain that the plasticizers in the door panels,dash etc that keep the plastic from cracking are the source of the smell and the reason that the dashes last longer these days than in days of yore.She says that todays plasticizers are light years ahead of earlier technology. She worked for many years at a company that made plasticizers and if you ever want a cure for insomnia, just ask her about them. ( Kidding honey! They’re fascinating !)
You’re probably right about the plasticizers, but my nose is super sensitive to smells like that. Owning a car that smells bad would be absolutely unacceptable, regardless of any other factor. But the Alliance would have still failed the visual and tactile tests. It really was just absurdly flimsy. Even just sitting in it on the lot the feeling of cheap crappiness was more than evident, it was actually overwhelming. Never have I been as unfavorably impressed by any other car, not even the Yugo was that bad.
It impressed me as something I might expect to find for sale in some chaotic third world country, where they haven’t yet got to setting up regulations and anything can be sold and driven.
I know a little bit about plasticizers too, enough to know that in 1984 good ones were already available. I never did know why my 1960 220S sedan had nearly un-removable plasticzer scum on the insides of all the windows when I bought it in 1967, and decided that it was probably from some cheap slime that someone had used on the dashpad and seats.
Actually one does not see these cars in running condition in france anymore either. Sometimes a R5/le Car. The French just do not hold on to old iron, so few of their cars are what could ever be called “collectable”.
A Martra here and there, a DS or 2 cv on the weekend that is about it. Guess if one found a Twingo I in nickel condition it might be worth keeping.
The state gives you 5,000 e for trading in an 8 year old car. I would wouldn’t you?
What are you talking about? I BOUGHT a well equipped 1985 Encore LS three door. I loved it! Great fuel economy at up to 52 mpg highway. Always in the 44-48 highway mpg range. By 1980’s standards it had lots of room inside, handled very well, still rode smooth, was quite inside, cruised at 70 mph and had great outward vision. With the peppy 1.4 L engine mated to a 5 speed that was the way to go, WITHOUT the crappy automatic, ( I think AMC was to blame for that one), or power steering, (why?), and A/C. It took a little time to get there but I buried the speedometer at 85 mph in fourth gear. And I had more to go in fourth. My car was fairly reliable; no heater core bursting or blown head gaskets. I must admit though, the build quality was subpar, but they were built to a certain price point. Early problems and falling gas prices were its downfall. By the way, they did not come out with the 1.7 L engine until the 1985 model year. The cars sold very well in my area and many were on the road until the late 1990’s. That was good, since they were inexpensive, second or commuter cars and Americans like to beat on and abuse their cars. My car went a134,000 miles without using a drop of oil between changes before a deer hit totaled it. The Renault gets way too much criticism. So whatever are you talking about.
Last one I saw had the dash on fire.
I love that truck with the supercharger disguised as an adorable baby in your avatar. 😉
Did you get inside? Maybe you should have.
In 1984 I purchased an “85 Encore GS; I needed to get rid of my 1980 Buick Skylark which quickly turned into an absolute piece of ***t and broke down about every other week. I’d like to say it was a happy experience but it wasn’t…too many niggling problems kept popping up. Not the major breakdown variety associated with X-cars, but enough to leave a very sour aftertaste in my mouth. Actually I think AMC did a better job in their part of the deal in the assembly process than Renault. After this experience I will always associate French cars with poor mechanical components and non-existant quality control. It didn’t help matters any that the local Franco-American dealer couldn’t fix anything properly; I ended up going to an independent garage to keep my vehicle running. After the Renault, I never had a desire to own another French car.
My brand new 1985 Encore LS must have been a good one coming out of the factory. Never any mechanical problems, but a few material and manufacturing defects. You have to remember that they were built by AMC in Kenosha, WI. My local AMC Jeep and Renault dealer was a pathetic joke too. Fortunately I never really had to deal with them that much.
In 1985, I joined a carpool for my summer internship. One of the members had a 1984 Alliance DL sedan. I remember being very impressed by the ride – it was very smooth for such a small car. The interior seemed nice enough for a small car (the petrochemical smell was gone by that point) and the car was quiet on the freeway. As a frequent back-seat rider, I liked the pedestal-mounted front bucket seats, which allowed those in the back seat to easily place their feet under the front buckets.
Unfortunately, everyone who owned one – including the carpool member – had a bad experience with the car. If I recall correctly, the hapless Renault Alliance was the only vehicle with a Consumer Reports reliability chart that consistented entirely of solid black dots! The Alliance may have offered the promise of European sophistication, but people would have been better off with a Ford Escort. The 1986 Escort Pony my dad drove turned out to be a surprisingly tough car.
“I remember being very impressed by the ride – it was very smooth for such a small car. ”
One thing that the french do very well is suspension- especially with a short wheelbase. The LeCar was an example of this. For a car just a little shorter than my (MK 1) Ford Fiesta, the ride was amazing.If you want to really see what they can do,take a spin in a Citroen DS. They are like a magic carpet.
That’s because they couldn’t figure out how to build roads.
“That’s because they couldn’t figure out how to build roads…” Really??
What a completely stupid, uninformed thing to say (and it’s not funny besides)…
Back in the 1940’s there was this small event called World War II, during which France became the front door through which a pathologically beligerant Germany blasted it way to the Atlantic Ocean (and had tried unsuccessfully two times before). At great cost of human life and unrelenting destruction Germany was then was thrown back to their borders by the British, Americans, Canadians, French and other allied nations.
The upshot of all this event, which you appear to have overlooked, was that French roads (and towns and homes) were comprehensively destroyed. And it wasn’t just Normandy because everyone forgets about the French-led invasion the took place in the south and swept up through the Rhône Valley (Operation Anvil). Effective repair took decades to put right (and France is 30% larger that post WWII Germany). So the roads were bad until the mid-1960’s, but today they’re significantly better than roads here in the US and have been so for decades and, guess what? French cars still have good suspensions.
So what we have here is another, cheap, lazy and very unfunny pot-shot directed at the French. The question is, why so cheap, so lazy and so very unfunny and what did the French ever do to you besides?
Rise above it, dude.
I am with you on that one.
I drive a small Citroen its ride and cornering abilities are far superior to pretty much anything else it takes rough Kiwi roads in its stride and it can be flung into corners at scary velocities with total confidence the passive rear wheel steering is brilliant. BMW ultimate drive? in your dreams.
Sharp little ride, Bryce! Is that the AX?
98 Xsara 1905cc turbo diesel very nice car basicly an upgrade of the ZX./306 Peugeot chassis. The AX is a smaller body and smaller engine.
Just one of quite a few interesting choices we don’t get here. Because of being the Land Of The Free and all…
:\
We went to Chicago on a short family vacation in 1985 and we had an Alliance as a rental. Initially I was impressed – even the back windows roll most if not all the way down! That’s a big plus in my book.
It was silver, exactly like the example in question. Everything worked, too! I suppose our rental may have been one of the better ones, but, like most cars of that era, I really don’t miss them.
One final note: To the commenters who are seemingly annoyed by some of the articles over at TTAC and are checking that site out less, well, the cars you may not be interested in may just show up on here, and now you get all excited about them! I’m certain that if the Alliance were to come out today, I’d read the same compalints! There you go!
“One final note: To the commenters who are seemingly annoyed by some of the articles over at TTAC and are checking that site out less, well, the cars you may not be interested in may just show up on here, and now you get all excited about them! ”
That’s just the difference between an overpriced new car and a 20-plus-year-old-car with memories. 🙂
I think I got banninated from TTAC this weekend after I used the somewhat common phrase “shut your [prostitute] mouth” in a reply to someone with a less than stellar intellect who annoyed me. Upon my return my post was missing and Bertel said we were down one reader whilst citing my statement farther down the thread. I won’t bother making sure ’cause politics has infiltrated TTAC and rears it’s crommulent head in every thread there now and I don’t need the aggravation.
BTW, Paul, you might ask Murilee to repost his 66 Impala series here, that story is certainly one for CC.
It’s those trolls, with their hate-petroleum, love-gas-taxes scripts, that leave me only an occasional visitor at TTAC. Personally, I think the site is being spammed by the radical political operatives who live to plant seeds in otherwise innoculous sites – to drum up support for anti-car, anti-oil, pro-public-transportation government policies.
This is not the place for politics – but it IS a place for people who enjoy automobiles. And one cannot be a car-lover and promote policies that are turning our automotive fleet into something that looks like it belongs outside the clubhouse at the Curmudgeon Country Club.
So…yes. Keep politics out of this forum. My politics differ from those of many here…there are other forums we can go at each other with brickbats. Let’s celebrate our auto history here…the good, the bad, and the really really WEIRD.
Like Renault and its American history.
TTAC had a write up on the Trekka a NZ oddity built from Skoda parts I knew tjhese things and they wre not really any good but the love shown on TTAC for them was a real shock they only sold new because they were available.If I ever see one Ill put it on the cohort page but they are very rare in any condition now. TTAC is a good site to me anyway dont go there if you dont like it.
Re: TTAC, it was the Faux News model applied to automotive journalism; the anti-intellectual, climate change denying, union bashing, alternative energy mocking that I found objectionable. I won’t tacitly support it with page views.
I always enjoyed the genuine car discussions though, they have some very good writers and Ed has a future in this business if he wants it. And it is where I found Paul and CC!
Let’s keep politics out of this site…there are two sides to every argument, and the debate on virtually every issue can consume several posts (I speak from experience).
One of the pleasures of this site is that focuses exclusively on the VEHICLES. We can take in the wonderful attributes of some vehicles, while remembering the unbelievable crappiness of others. People from both sides of the ideological spectrum can unite in wondering how on earth something like the AMC Pacer ever got built.
“One of the pleasures of this site is that focuses exclusively on the VEHICLES.”
That’s the difference! I don’t make political comments, and over there, when a discussion turns political and snarky, I just scroll through it until the comments get back to the subject, but they try to cover the entire industry, and I believe they do it better than anyone else. Ed does a nice job and I’m sticking with him and with Paul here.
Here on “CC”, yes, we get to relive and readdress the quirks and pluses/minuses of cars we knew and/or drove – and many I have never heard of!
An article or series of articles on three-wheelers would be nice, as I have a photo of an Isuzu three-wheeled truck from when I was in the military on Okinawa 40 years ago!
+1 on that. If we all loved the same cars, believed the same things and told the same stories, how boring would that be? No politics please, just what’s out on the curb.
PS: I, too, have a thing for three-wheelers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Three-wheeled_motor_vehicles
Speaking of three-wheelers, are there any Davis Divans in Eugene, Paul? Probably not!
Not! Only three wheelers here are Zaps. Would you like me to zap another Zap? And Gizmos. Also electric.
Sounds like Dr. Seuss named the 3 wheelers.
I used to see a Corbin Sparrow or two around here, not for the last couple of years. Just those horrible Zaps, and the Gizmo in my neighborhood.
Have any of you Commonwealth CCers seen any 3-wheeled Morgans or Reliant Robins?
I would buy a Reliant Robin in a heartbeat-If I could. Here in my home state, it could be tagged as a motorcycle and the insurance would be cheap.Are they safe ? Well…
There is a 3 wheeler Morgan in Napier old style but I believe its a retro job aint seen it for a while but the weather is warming up now so the Sunday cars will be out again soon
Only (!) some of the old Morgan 3-wheelers. One was quite entertaining on a rain-soaked hillclimb
Today brings news of a new Morgan Three-Wheeler! That’s Charles Morgan, chairman and great-grandson of the founder at the wheel. 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, US$43K. Be sure to look at the slide show too. “Brand new ideas are wonderful when they happen,” says Mr. Morgan, “but sometimes there’s good in older ones, too.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/automobiles/autoreviews/2-wheels-or-4-lets-just-split-the-difference.html
Came back from dinner tonight through the new Electric Avenue at PSU downtown – a block full of various EV charging stations – and a Corbin Sparrow was parked there getting a charge. As I mentioned above, haven’t seen one in years. Too dark for pictures.
http://www.corbinsparrow.com/
Too bad they folded, but the car looks like something from Chuck E. Cheese’s. Maybe that’s the essential problem with three-wheeled styling. Very hard not to be either a rickshaw or a clown car.
Actually, Paul, there’s an emerging three-wheeled car manufacturer in Eugene: Arcimoto. Seen any on the street yet? Or curbside? (Not yet classic.)
http://www.arcimoto.com/
What’s the deal with Eugene and three-wheelers? Gizmo, BugE, Arcimoto…
Yes; been following them. It’ll be interesting to see if they make it; I’m not very optimistic. They drove a prototype around at the Whitaker Block Party a couple of weeks ago. It’s been evolving, but the standard battery is still lead acid 🙁 By the time you upgrade to the li-ions, a Leaf starts looking a lot more capable and comfortable.
+1 (to geeber’s comment)
I agree about the politics, though it really should be said that both sides are equally bad. CNN, NYT, HuffPo, etc are almost caricatures too. The lack of political objectivity in the media is dreadful these days, though probably no worse than it was in the ’50s and early ’60s. Still, I don’t want politics and political noise to take over when I’m reading about other things, like cars.
I wonder if the preschoolers of today will have a hippie-like movement in the 2020s? Every movement containing the seeds of its opposite and all…
There is a GTA with the bigger 2.0L motor for sale here – I’m tempted as I always liked these (quite possibly as I or anyone I know hasn’t owned one).
The GTA was/is a better car. Look for an ’87 (last year, more gitty up). Body parts will be tough to find as it was a queer duck when new. (Especially the front grille fascia.It’s different from the stock Alliance) . 4 wheel discs were standard however,which really makes it much more liveable. The 2.0 L may have been bigger but still got great MPG’s -but high cost premium fuel is recommended.
I’m pretty sure I am going to successfully resist it but here is the ad. It has been for sale for a while so I think there would be some negotiation room on the price. I’m positive the year is wrong – the GTA was 1987 only wasn’t it?
http://lethbridge.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1983-Renault-Alliance-Coupe-W0QQAdIdZ302751448
I believe that you are right. Also, the AMC badges were not present on the ’87 (if memory serves). The car was sold as a Renault GTA and was pitched at people that needed a “training wheels” performance car.
It was pretty obvious that Renault planned to abolish AMC’s corporate identity. The ads proclaimed “The Renault-Jeep Performers!!” and the Eagle, in its last year, was sold as “The Eagle.”
Me, I thought that was a mistake. Renault had a reputation in the States even worse than AMC…AMC’s problem was image, not reputation of reliability. Had they sold the Alliance as an AMC, and downplayed the Renault connection, it could have been – had the car been any good – the basis for a solid rebuilding of an American brand.
As it was, both makers were doomed by this shoddy POS. Amazingly, the Jeep Cherokee managed to avoid most of the engineering mistakes made with the Alliance. Had they not…it would have been three dead brands instead of two.
From what I remember AMC did a survey and found Renault had a better brand reputation than AMC. Perhaps more likely people were just generally less familiar with Renault than AMC.
The Cherokee used components largely sourced from AMC, while the Renault Alliance used components from the Renault half of the “alliance.”
At that time, the French market was much more protected from Japanese competition than the American market was. French companies thus didn’t have much experience in competing directly with the Japanese.
They also didn’t understand the premium that American car buyers – particularly subcompact buyers – placed on reliability. The result was a car that couldn’t compete with a contemporary Ford Escort, let alone a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, even though it boasted some interesting features.
The GTA was a very rare bird even when new. Also rare is the Alliance convertible, which was definitely an odd duck, and the first factory convertible from AMC since the 1968 AMC Rebel!
Yeah…I almost bought one for the ex.
She was hepped for a convertible. And ragtops were a rare breed in those days…I think I remember a BMW convertable, but we were about six rungs below that in income. There was the K-car convertible, made off the line in someone’s garage in Indiana…but the thing looked like a Conestoga wagon with the top up.
We went to a local dealers’ auto show, saw the Alliance convertible…she liked, but her father got wind and steered her to the VW store instead. She settled for a Fox…admittedly a good car, unlike the other VWs I’d experienced before and since.
All the mistakes I made, and all the good ones I missed…that was, truly, one time I dodged the bullet.
I liked the Alliance convertible. I thought it had a clean, functional profile that was attractive – much like the 1964-67 Rambler American convertibles. It was simply “too little, too late” to save the Alliance. Same with the GTA.
A lady who worked at my dad’s office had a 1985 or so Alliance convertible. It was metallic red with a red or tan interior. I was about 5 when she got it, I remember getting a ride to school in it once. It was a nice looking car. She had bought AMCs for years and had a Gremlin with the Levi’s interior years earlier. She later replaced it with a dark gray Renault Medallion sedan that I got to ride in when she and her husband and my family went to the Indy 500 in 1990 or ’91. I think it was an ’87 because it had Renault badging, not Eagle. Another friend of my dad had an ’83-’85 dark gray Alliance sedan. He had a silver Fuego before that. I don’t remember him having any problems, but it was traded in fairly quickly on a new 1987 Volvo 240DL wagon.
In mid 1986 the company was known as Renault/Jeep, it was on all of the corporate advertising and even being phased in on dealer signage.
The 87’s may still of had a small AMC sticker in the rear window, like my late 85 Encore.
You are correct. The Renault GTA was the Renault GTA. It never was called an Alliance. Not in badging. Not in advertising.
The GTA was rated at 32 mpg highway.
I believe the GTA grille was just an Alliance one painted whatever color of the rest of the car was.
Some nice old cars on that link, cheap too
Reasons to avoid that one apart from the obvious — that’s not the original rear spoiler, the GTA badges (on the sides, for example) have been removed, and so on …
I owned two and had to “restore” the badges all around on one (yes, there was no AMC label, only Renault) because the car had been de-badged by an owner who craved a BMW 320 look. At the time you could still get these parts from Chrysler dealers, and I got a complete new front fascia (still have it in the box) from one, too!
I remember a comment made at Car & Driver as the Alliance was about to emerge; of how some inside Renault were having second thoughts.
The writer put the thinking in a summary: “This company, American Motors, is the smallest American auto manufacturing company. Its plants are the oldest in the nation, with a restive workforce. Its products are obsolete and its sales are falling drastically. They have no resources for new lines; in fact they’re in danger of dropping out of the automobile market entirely. Now, we’re going to team up with them and make a whole bunch of money”
Somewhere, someone should have taken another, harder look at the deal and asked, “WHY?”
Indeed; someone should have. And now Renault is a curse-word in the American automobile market.
It did end well, however; Renault kept AMC alive long enough for Chrysler to recover and buy what was left of it, saving, at least, Jeep.
That partnership also provided what eventually became the Eagle Premier, which then in turn provided a base from which Chrysler’s first-gen LH cars were designed, given that the K-cars and Chrysler’s rear-drive platforms were all at dead ends at the time. The AMC-Renault partnership had much longer legs than just Jeep.
Absolutely true. Not only that, it provided key personnel, notably François Castaing, who brought insight into the re-organization of Chrysler’s bureaucracy into the “platform team” concept. It was that, as much as the cars, that enabled Chrysler to make money even in the down years of the early 1990s and respond quickly to a changing market.
Strange, how the same dynamics that killed AMC dead, became lifesavers for Chrysler, struggling under Lido’s declining-years stagnation. Renault had many good ideas; they simply weren’t able or interested in translating them into durable products.
If I recall correctly, the French government owned a hefty stake in Renault at this time. The government pressured Renault to pull out of its alliance with AMC, on the grounds that the company needed the cash to shore up operations at home.
I don’t believe that Renault initially realized just how much money it needed to put into AMC to make it a solid contender. The Kenosha plant, for example, was woefully outdated even by 1980s standards.
That was the debate going on before, during and until the end of Renault’s involvement with AMC. Regie Renault was a government-owned entity; even with protective tariffs it was losing money. The managers wanted to expand into the American market, misreading their first two failed attempts with the Dauphine and the 10.
The French government gave the okay; but the winds shift in politics much faster than they do in goal-directed corporate management. Renault was under constant assault by political forces from the moment they first signed a marketing agreement with AMC.
The problem for Renault was its products – the output of a State-owned concern which disregarded pressure for more reliable, value-oriented offerings. That is typical; whether the car is a British Leyland product, or a Renault of its government-owned years, or a Lada or a Yugo…State ownership, with decisions rooted in politics instead of market demands, leads to shoddy results.
The only good thing to come from the Alliance was the pedestal seats, used in the Jeep Cherokee until it’s end in 2001. Compact, yet surprisingly comfortable and durable, they also allowed back seat riders some foot space in what was in reality a pretty small interior.
When I was living in Madison in the early ’90s, a co-worker of mine had one of these, and I got to (had to?) take a ride in it a couple of times. She and her live-in boyfriend did at least some of the maintenance themselves, but I remember her complaining that they had to track down some weird part that needed swapping out every time they changed the oil, and it could only be obtained from one source, like an import parts house. I think there was some Wisconsin pride attached to keeping around an old Renault–she was from Racine (next door to Kenosha), if memory serves. Surely she’s long since dumped this car, or what was left of it after the salt got to it.
Anyone remember the Renault Fuego? I haven’t seen one of those in years either, probably for good reason–I’m sure it was a piece of crap too, but I’ve always had a thing for odd cars, and the Fuego was certainly odd.
I don’t think the Fuego existed outside of advertising photos. I’ve never seen one; and I lived around the block from a Renault/Jeep dealer.
People who bought the Alliance weren’t buying a Renault. They were participating in a great corporate and marketing drama…supporting the UNDERDAWG! Helping those Wisconsinites fight Big Auto in Detroit!
Little of that drama spilled over to a French alleged-sports-sedan with a name they couldn’t pronounce. Even the Le Car didn’t sell well in any area I was in…part of it, aside from the typically atrocious build-quality, must have been that no male with any testosterone would be caught dead in a vehicle labeled “Le Car.
When I was in college, a person who graduated two years ahead of me in high school bought a brand-new Fuego after he graduated from college and received his commission from the military (I believe it was from the Navy). I saw the car, so, yes, at least one was sold in this country.
At least two. My dad’s friend, Ward, had a Fuego, silver with black interior. It may have been a money pit (I don’t remember as I was a little kid at the time) but I remember seeing it and riding in it, and I thought it was sharp. Still do.
In my time in Wisconsin, I did see on occasion a very out-of-place R5T2, with the license plate “U CANT”…meaning, perhaps, “u can’t buy one,” or “u can’t find parts for it” (?). I wonder if the driver may have had a connection to the former AMC, or maybe he just (like me) liked weird cars.
Does anyone know what (if any) the differences between the Alliance and the R9 actually were? Quite honestly apart from those federalised headlamps the Alliance just looks exactly like a four door R9. I’d be similarly hard pressed to tell the Encore from the R11. Yet both these AMC Renaults always seem to be described as being “based on” or “using the architecture of” their European market counterparts… seems a very grand way of saying “badge engineered” to me.
From memory the European market pair’s fortunes followed a similar trajectory to the Franco-Americans’: from being lauded in the early 80s to laughable by the late 80s. The main difference being that here they were replaced by a competent Renault badged successor (R19) whereas there they weren’t.
It’s interesting to me that the 9/Alliance (or perhaps the 5/leCar?) is the Renault that Americans seem to remember, rather than the 21/Medallion whose DNA I gather rumbled on successfully underneath Chryslers into the early 2000s…
The R9 and R11 were indeed the basis of the Alliance and Encore, respectively, and these U.S. versions were closer to their donors than the latter 21/Medallion and Eagle Premier (booted R25). But they were a funny amalgam of French and U.S. parts; for example, I was burdened with extra keys for my GTAs because the ignition lock was manufactured in France and the door locks were made in the U.S.
The GTAs boasted a genuine and rather lovely French steering wheel, however, which I’m told was straight off one of the R5 Turbo cars.
Getting back to the Alliance vs. Medallion conundrum, sales of the former were simply much greater. The Medallion, including the beautiful station wagon version, also suffered by being marketed first as the Renault Medallion and then sold as the Eagle Medallion, a move which did not succeed in improving its reputation.
Ah, the Medallion’s identity crisis does go some way to explaining its apparent forgetability.
So the key difference with the Alliance and Encore then was that they included some US manufactured parts? and of course that they were assembled in the states – though we don’t think of modern cars manufactured on different lines as different models… I’d guess most of those parts would have been French designs, regardless of where they were manufactured so it sounds like they basically were just the same cars made in a different plant and badged differently.
Thanks for the first person insight Johnny. 🙂
The basic car was the R9, just modified for US standards, and of course many parts were sourced from US vendors. The car was adapted for US production.
That’s because the Alliance actually got press, and sales. Medallions are rarer than hen’s teeth in the US. I live 30 miles from Kenosha, and AMC products always sold very well here. Still, I remember seeing probably fewer than a half dozen Medallions over the years. That probably would have ended up being AMC/Renault’s volume model, but within Chrysler it competed too directly with the K-car Spirit/Acclaim so they killed it. I think the Medallion was only offered for a year or two.
The Premier was based on the Renault 25. It sold okay around here, but they got little press, little marketing and few sales. Too bad. They were nice cars.
If I recall correctly, the Medallion was sold for a year or two under the Eagle brand, after Chrysler acquired AMC.
I had an Austrian car magazine from the period that included a long-term test wrap up of the Renault 9, this car’s French built twin. They completed some distance, IIRC 50,000 kilometers during the test. They reported all the car’s failings during the period, which were legion. Then they completely disassembled the car, laying it out like a giant model kit. What they found was the worst engineered, least durable, lowest quality materials they’d ever seen in car form. It was the worst car they’d ever tested, and I’m prettty sure some Iron Curtain trash like Skodas and Ladas made it to Austria.
I believe it.
No one has pointed out that the two-door version was a US-only model, and has different rear wheel cut outs. The Euro R9 only came in four door versions. And yes, it did have the best ride of any small car available in the US at that time. If only it had been well built…
An aside to Paul…who’s probably amazed that such a mundane car is getting such a response:
This is a great piece and a great topic. Reason being, the elaborate drama behind the scenes…David and Goliath; a marriage of convenience, big ideas with bad results. The struggle to preserve a storied American manufacturer.
There’s at least four levels I can count: AMC’s impending doom; a failed importer, State owned, of all things…and they, a company that had not learned from previous errors. Success – then failure. And out of the wreckage, a revitalized Chrysler…saved from certain death a second time in ten years.
And in the end, an orphan car – and a rare one. Such is the stuff of great auto books. Good job, all…
Not surprised in the least; the long and convoluted history of Renault in the US is endlessly fascinating. I’m just waiting for them to come back; again. The story needs a new chapter.
And this one isn’t the only one; we’ll have more Renaults to come here.
And don’t forget we had a R 17 here a while back:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-capsule-renault-r-17-hidden-imperial-treasure/
Renault has been back for a while. They are just called Nissan in the states.
Yep. Drive a Versa. It’s actually a modified Renault, not a Nissan. Just can’t remember what the Renault model is called.
Renault Megane?
Are you sure? Wikipedia says it is on the Nissan B-platform. The Megane at least is a very different, C-segment vehicle. The B-segment Clio is smaller than the Versa.
There are still a few Fuegos running around here, pretty well all in enthusiast hands now so they are probably better than new less the plastic oxidation.
Stretched wheelbase Clio.
But I am sure Nissan engineers had their hands in the development of the platform and probably much else. Improved reliability in Renaults is very obvious in the last generation of Clio and Megane.
It has the looks and styling cues of a Renault but from what information that I found, it is a Nissan design. It does not come from the Renault Megane. Interestingly enough the Versa is made in Mexico.
Mundane? Well, I realize special pleading from me couldn’t do any reputation-rebuilding here, nor should it, but the GTA was certainly the best-handling front-wheel drive car I’ve ever driven, and contemporary road tests agreed with my verdict (though with the caveat that I too would add — rear suspension travel was so restricted that behavior on rough pavement, or even on turning into a driveway, was poor).
As Paul points out, the two-door was U.S.-only …. and the styling of the vertical louvers on the C-pillar was clearly done by the same person who put them on the C-pillar of the two-door Jeep Cherokee (which Renault reportedly had a hand in … )
I think it’s also triggered a lot of memories of some of the junk (automotive and non-) that we as a country bought, and bought into, in the early ’80s.
(As someone mentioned, Renault did sneak back in under the guise of Nissan–I think the Versa looks particularly French.)
Vesper Lynd: It doesn’t bother you? Killing all those people?
James Bond: Well I wouldn’t be very good at my job if it did.
Casino Royale (2006) [sorry I couldn’t resist]
Great movie, too.
Never seen one, Another bullet dodged Renault tried another relaunch of itself recently but now its got Nissan and their universally hated CVT powertrains to fall back on I cant see them doing any better than before. The Fuego Coupe with turbo motor is meant to be a modern classic though a running example would be rare in fact a running Renault any thing is rare. I like French ride and handling but have steered clear of the R word their reputation is less than stellar my brother in law worked in renault parts sales he was busy.
One of the more notable memories of the Alliance is how a down-on-his-luck George C. Scott (he’d lost all his money personally producing the box-office bomb Rage) was reduced to hawking the Alliance in television commercials.
With that said, I agree with others who have said the rare Alliance convertible was actually a nice looking little car. It cut a profile that was every bit as good (and maybe even better) as the same year BMW 3-series convertible Too bad the Renault’s quality was so bad.
Likewise, does anyone else see the the similiarity between AMC’s last gasp at survival by linking up with a European marque to sell a small car of extremely dubious reputation and a certain, other domestic? Looking at you, Fiatsler…
Fiat surely have learned their lesson by now, and their Panda which is reskinned for the 500 sells well all over the place . The bigger problem is trying to upgrade Chryslers line up to 21st century standards. Some of Chryslers export efforts have left a lot to be desired.
It doesn’t surprise me at all that such a complete piece of dreck got chosen as COTY. It’s French. We never seem to learn our lesson about French cars. There is something about French cars that always seduces the American buyer, and after a very brief and torrid fling he regrets it, but every time, after the pain wears off, he falls hard for the next hottie that comes along and says “Bonjour.” The Dauphine actually outsold the VW Beetle in 1958-59. The LeCar got good reviews at first because it compared favorably to other econoboxes — on paper. In the 1980-81 gas crisis the Peugeot diesel was such a hot item that taxi companies bought whole fleets of them. After the Alliance, there was the Eagle Premier, which was regarded as serious competition for Audis and Acuras, until buyers realized that the cars somehow managed to combine the worst DNA of Renault and American Motors AND Chrysler.
Tell me about it. For years, I thought the Renault Le Car (Renault 5) was an incredibly neat car. I really liked them. I really wanted to own one. And finally, in the mid-80’s I found an ’81 at the local Toyota dealership at a good price, in really nice condition. I took it for test drive.
It caught fire. Only time I’ve ever seen a car salesman completely shut up, after he went to someone’s house to call the dealership to pick us up and didn’t try to interest me in something else in the lot when we got back.
I took that as God saying I shouldn’t own a Le Car. And dropped the idea. Forever.
Ah, the Le Car. At car shows, I’ve always looked for those kinds of weird, piece o’ crap cars because, besides being such oddities, it always seemed like anyone truly dedicated to keeping anything running that had been built years ago that poorly was either a master mechanic and/or totally deranged. But they definitely wouldn’t be boring (particularly if it was one of those mid-engine, Le Car Turbos they built for a short period of time). I doubt the Turbo had three-bolt wheels like the standard Le Car, either.
I once saw an old, sixties’ Citroen DS at a car show that ‘seemed’ to have the original engine (along with lots of make-shift parts). Man, there was a true believer.
But a running LeCar? That would be right up there with finding a still operational Yugo. Curbside classic, indeed.
Tell me about it. For years, I thought the Renault Le Car (Renault 5) was an incredibly neat car. I really liked them. I really wanted to own one. And finally, in the mid-80′s I found an ’81 at the local Toyota dealership at a good price, in really nice condition. I took it for test drive.
+1 on the LeCar. I had an eerily similar experience.
Read my comments on this thread – it was a little off-topic but pertinent to the Renault experience:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-capsule-renault-r-17-hidden-imperial-treasure/
Paul: most comments ever?
It appears to be.
Dissenting view here. I’m the original owner of a 1983 Alliance DL 5 speed. It’s had issues over the years, well, decades, but mostly wear and tear types of things. I love the all-around visibility particularly out the back window — there’s no passenger-side mirror so over the shoulder sight line is essential. The handling is tight, the tranny responsive, it can move when it has to with its 58(!) hp engine (that’s why God made 3d gear), and it gets 38 mpg. Alas, finding parts is a challenge these days but Algore’s internet sure helps with that.
I’m glad you like your Alliance. It’s tactless to challenge someone’s veracity on this kind of forum; but I’ve had many, many small cars…I never had one that got better than 29 mpg until the advent of universal fuel injection. My current econobox, a Toyota Yaris, only gets 37; and then only when I can get ethanol-free gasoline.
You might want to recheck your numbers.
The 38 mpg is for real. It’s been more or less constant over the years. I track it for each fill-up, and it reflects a mix of city and interstate driving. I suppose in large part it’s attributable to the car’s light weight (1,950 lb), underpowered engine, and standard transmission, but it’s one of the reasons I’ve held on to the car all this time.
Got any pics ? I’d love to see em !
BTW- The EPA (which wildly overestimated MPG’s back then) gave the Alliance a 40 MPG rating. We can debate whether their numbers are any good, but this car was a miser.
Just Passin is on to something here. Ethanol is evil as a motor fuel.
I had an ’83 Alliance 1.4/4spd (with cruise control – I think it was the only option on the car) and averaged 40-41 mpg on the highway. Now the ’86 I had with the 1.7 automatic never got out the low 20’s.
Wow, I’ve never seen this many comments on this blog. Whodathunk an Alliance would have engendered this much discussion. You would have thought some other model would have reached this mark…
My wife’s estranged mother had one of the Alliance GTAs, which she really seemed to like. It was one of the few cars that could handle the foothills of the Alleghenies with any kind of aplomb and still get decent fuel mileage, too. I drove it once, about 20 years ago or so. IIRC, it seemed to drive rather well, but that’s all I remember.
The other thing I remember about it is that she traded the car in for a Dodge Shelby Turbo Daytona when something broke on the car and it would have been prohibitively expensive to fix. Quite an interesting choice of cars for a woman who would have been in her mid-40’s at the time.
100 posts and no mention of the immensely expensive(for Chrysler) recall of all these cars resulting from drivers and passengers being scorched by perverse heater core failures. Every single Alliance/Encore that hadn’t been proven crushed had to be found and have a new heater core fitted. The ones that were sitting in the junkyard had to have new heater cores left on the driver seat with an explanation not to repair the car or recycle the heater core in the dash. Good times.
…and people wonder why some of us here distrust government.
Look for car companies in the future to find some convoluted way of being bitten by technological mistakes 25 years in the future…a release from all injuries as part of the purchase contract; or shell companies set up to sell one model and then dissolved as the model is phased out; or a vehicle that is never sold, just leased and then crushed at the end of its designated service life.
The bottom line for the buyer is…HIGHER COST. This stuff ain’t free; and it’s not paid for by the company. It is added to the cost of doing business, which is added to the sticker price of new vehicles.
“…immensely expensive(for Chrysler) recall of all these cars resulting from drivers and passengers being scorched by perverse heater core failures. Every single Alliance/Encore that hadn’t been proven crushed had to be found and have a new heater core fitted. The ones that were sitting in the junkyard had to have new heater cores left on the driver seat with an explanation not to repair the car or recycle the heater core in the dash. ”
Thanks to you , my friend, we won’t forget. You have added to our body of knowledge. We are in your debt.
Its happened again we have a Renault CC and one turns up for sale locally this time a Fuego its hit reserve at $2.00 its said to drive no Im not tempted.
George Besse, then Renault CEO, was asassinated in late 1986 after laying off workers in France. This was also when Renault was being more privitized. Chrysler then bought up AMC and Jeep, Besse had wanted to keep them. As soon as Lido got the keys, he killed the Alliance off. [Maybe he had to sell the Premiers to do so?] Many 87’s were left unsold.
Local Dealer group had Chicago Bear player Mike Singletary hawking ‘Your ChicagolandJeep/Renault Dealers” [noooo!]. A local shop kept their AMC signs up well into Mopar ownership, btw. Only taken down when closed for good last decade.
Here’s more info:
“Besse was criticized because his plan to make Renault more efficient included closing plants and laying off 21,000 workers. Labor unions opposed his actions in Europe, as well as his support for Renault’s investments in the United States.”
Here in Uruguay (the small country between Brazil and Argentina) these ones were quite popular, not as much as in Argentina (they were built there). My dad had a Renault 11 back in 1990 (yes, they were selling us new cars that had been phased out elsewhere). It came from Argentina in CKD and was (horribly) put together here in uruguay. Apart from the engine, which was a pushrod 1,6 liter (rather slow, noisy and thirsthy) which would go on forever, the rest of this car was the worst POS I have already driven in my life, and I’m sure my dislike for French cars started right then. Thin metal panels which corroded to self-destruction within a few years, flimsy switchgear and plastics made up an interior that was just approximately put together, leaving big gaps in the process. When the thing got in motion, the overall impression was a total lack of integrity and solidity, you feared the car would fall apart in pieces riding over our terrible third world roads!!! By then I would also take rides on a Chevrolet Monza (the brazilian version of the J-car, nearly identical to the Opel Ascona), this one felt like a Mercedes compared to the crappy R11!!!!
I owned one of these. It was the 1986 model. I do agree with most of the comments here, such as the cheap flimsy construction, and the smell of the cheap vinyl interior. Also, the crank windows were so hard to roll down, that I broke the crank handle trying to lower the window, which made drive thrus and tolls a nuisance. The cars small engine was useless on the highway, you had to stay in the slow lane only.
On the plus side, this car got AMAZING gas mileage, the thing would run on fumes, probably due to its light weight and small engine. The car was amazingly quiet for a small car, I could barely hear the engine running around town, and it rode smooth. The car was so airtight (good seals on doors) I think the car could easily float on water! Also, my car had been rustproofed when new, and there was not a speck of rust on the car and the paint was impeccable, it looked like new three years after I owned it and sold it. The metal on the doors was so thin, that if you dented the door, the dent would pop right back out again (by design ???) I picked the car up used cheap for only $600 and sold it for $750 three years later !! It was really a stripped down car, but it served me well when I was young and it was very economical. With all its quirks, I still loved this car and would like to find another, especially for the great gas mileage !!!
I understand a lot of the negative commetns about this car. A Renault Alliance base model was my first car. It was five years old when I got it and it already needed new shocks, speedo cable, water pump, outer cv boots, clutch new outer ball joints and tie rods, and some little but very annoying things (license plate lamp assemblies had corroded and new ones were forty bucks, as I recall, dome light housings melted from heat of factory bulb itself). Seems like a lot for a kid who never did more before that than change the oil in his dad’s 84 Escort. It was 1990, and I was twenty years old.
I bought the Haynes, Chilton’s and the factory shop manuals and then to the auto parts store and bought top of the line replacement parts with lifetime guarantees and saved the receipts. I put in Monroe Gas Matic shocks and struts, TRW tie rod ends and ball joints, some kind of fancy NEW clutch kit and I got little things from the bone yard. I also put in a new speedo cable.
That car was, BY FAR, the EASIEST car to repair under a shade tree of any I have owned since. It spoiled me. Having owned other cars since, I can’t say that I enjoy working on cars like I did with the Renault. There was plenty of room under the hood and everything made perfect sense. I can’t recall ever getting stumped when working on it.
I put 200,000 miles on that car going 1100 miles each way to and from college. I even put the poor car through hell by using it to deliver pizzas in New Orleans well after it had 100,000 miles on it. Other pizza drivers had nobler cars and none of them could take the pounding of eight hours of driving crappy roads under high wear conditions. Yes, I went through brakes, a couple alternators and even a transmission (all rather easily replaced in my driveway or into the street if I didn’t have a driveway at the time), but the Honda Civics, Ford Escorts, a Mazda and a couple of Mitsubishis simply couldn’t cut it. I think the Renault’s ability to take the stress was in the suspension. It just didn’t get rattled apart like the other cars did. The other cars usually developed leaks or just really started to fall apart–doors, windows, wheels, etc. I remember VW’s having a very hard time in particular, and they always lost their heater cores to clogging and manual tranny linkages always crumbling–the famous plastic dogbone rod.
The Renault was not much worse in many ways than anything else in its price range foreign or domestic, and it was a LOT better in many ways. Plus, it looked awesome and was easy to repair. Cheap as help to run. Some parts were pricey, like the alternators. Most of the problem parts, really, were the GM fuel management system components like like the map sensor that burned out every couple years, or the idle speed control motor that shit the bed.
I loved that car and for me, it was the perfect first car. I do agree, the AMC dealer was useless as far as getting it fixed was concerned. That’s why I learned to fix it myself after getting hosed on a cv boot job that they botched. If Renault had gone with Rzeppa outer cv joints like VW and everyone else instead of those tripots, I’d have been in heaven, only because the boots on the Rzeppas are cake to change out and the tripots are murder without the special factory tool.
Maybe when I’m retired, I’ll find another one and drive it around for fun. I finally got that special boot tool on eBay a couple years ago for $20, just in case I find another one, so I’m totally prepared.
Now that you have the boot tool, you may as well get an actual Alliance. Is there a car of that vintage that you could pick up cheaper than an Alliance? I love reading the experiences of guys like you who have rolled up their sleeves and learned about a car inside and out.
My Alliance shortly after I got it, with my brother’s ill-fated Escort visible behind it. My dad’s Escort also died after a stainless steel coolant line from the automatic trans just ruptured on the highway one day. The car was maybe four years old with 100k on it. The Alliance far outlasted those and plenty of others “better” cars.
Another thing to remember is that when these cars were built, the speed limit was 55. You didn’t need a lot of balls to get to the speed limit and surpass it by 20 mph if you were so inclined. 80 mph was fast then.
Yes, the days of the 55 mph speed limit. I would just set the cruise control at 62 and glide down the divided expressway. When I would go on the interstate it would be set at 65 maybe 67. Plenty fast for me. Today if you are not going 75-80 mph on the interstate, you are impeding traffic.
It is funny looking back at the 85 mph speedometers of the day. P.S. In my 12 year old 5 speed Encore I buried the speedometer at 85 mph in fourth gear, and it still had more to go fourth.
It likes like this car needs some transmission repair. Calgary has some of the best!
You to do a write-up on its younger sibling, the Medallion. Seriously. My late father had one… and that’s all I’ll say about that.
I remember having a 1986 that I bought from a lady in 1987 who had moved to Chicago from Va. The car was stick maybe a 5 spd with 6,000 miles-anyway I used it for my job, Whenever the mpg dropped from 40 down to 32 I changed the plugs & it went back up to 40 mpg again. I drove it for 186,000 miles b4 the transaxle had to be replaced. A yr later I sold it to a fellow that did house painting for me, He drove it another yr b4 he traded it off. I would have bought another but sadly Renault exited the US mkt. It has taken the US auto industry near 30 yrs to get into the neighborhood of 40 mpg.
Used 1983-85 Alliance/Encores could be had for $995 in 1989. Same as 1970’s iron.
Uncle’s ex wife got a used ’85 Encore around that time, to her it was a ‘bargain’!
Nooooo…you are kidding me. Around here, in Northeast Wisconsin, four and five year old examples of the Alliance/Encore were still in the 2500 -3000 dollar range. Old American iron about 1500 dollars.
I bought my 1985 Encore LS new in June of that year. Six weeks later I got a job at an Oldsmobile and Subaru(st) dealer. The boys there, I mean boys, ribbed me about my new Encore mercilessly.
When a 1984 Alliance came in there on trade in mid 1987, I offered the salesman 1500 dollars for it. I said that if you were telling me that they were such a pieces of crap that it was only worth that. He had nothing to say. I believe they had a $5800 sticker price on it and it sold for around that too.
I liked my new Encore. With all of the faults, like lots of flimsy plastic and rear brake shoes that needed replacement every 25,000 miles it was still a good car. Lots of interior room, comfortable, quite at highway speeds, good ride, good handling and excellent fuel economy. I never had any real problems with it, just did normal replacement of wear parts, (tune-up, exhaust and brakes).
Under $1000 for a five year old car? Noooo…
Like Yugo and first Hyundai Excel, people flocked to these its first year, solely because they had an “import name plate”.
Thinking that “it must be good, it’s an import!”