Renault Alliance
Encyclopedia
The Renault Alliance is a subcompact automobile manufactured and marketed in North America by American Motors Corporation (AMC), with 623,573 examples manufactured for model years 1983-1987, and with a three and five-door hatchback
variant, the Renault Encore marketed beginning in 1984.
The two models derived from AMC's partnership since 1979 with Renault
, which held controlling stake in the smallest U.S. automaker. The Alliance and Encore were essentially the Renault 9 & 11 slightly re-engineered for North American manufacture—featuring exterior styling by Robert Opron
, director of Renault Styling, and the interior design by AMC's Richard Teague. The Alliance two-door sedan and the convertible were designed by AMC for the North American market.
s, and passenger cars. However, when sales dropped suddenly in 1979 and all of the U.S. automakers saw their sales plummet, AMC faltered.
That year, AMC signed an agreement with Renault of France giving that company a share in AMC's ownership, in exchange for the rights to sell Renault cars in the U.S. Later, Renault acquired a controlling interest, and thus was born what some called "Franco-American Motors." With the United States dollar
then relatively weak against the French franc
, manufacturing in the U.S. seemed the best way to grow especially since fuel prices were rising and the major U.S. carmakers had yet to bring out large numbers of small, fuel-efficient cars.
The two automakers worked closely as each design studio developed spin-offs of cars created by the other. Richard Teague, AMC's Vice President of Design, and his French counterpart, Robert Opron, director of Renault Styling, each traveled between France and the U.S. at least three times a year. Originally only a four-door sedan body style, Teague and AMC's design staff decided to mock-up a two-door coupe just before Opron was to review the work of the American team.
Renault executives came in to run things alongside AMC officials, and the former Nash Motors factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin was retooled to produce an Americanized version of the European Renault 9 subcompact under the Alliance nameplate. Consumer clinics were conducted between 1979 and 1982 using a fiberglass mockup (and later with actual cars) to evaluate various issues that concerned AMC officials. The market research
found that consumers preferred the Renault name over AMC, though not strongly. The model was named the Renault Alliance, with the AMC name featured on a small window sticker and at the end the advertising material.
The cars were aimed at the lowest price range in the U.S. market, the Alliance had a sticker price starting at $5,995. (US$ in dollars)
The Alliance was a 2- or 4-door sedan, launched in June 1982 as a 1983 model after a US$
150 million overhaul of AMC's Kenosha, Wisconsin, assembly plant. Although it was branded as a Renault, the car bore AMC's logo on rear window decals.
The Alliance were modern front-drive sedans with a 163.8 inches (4,161 mm) overall length on a 97.8 inches (2,484 mm) wheelbase
and a thrifty, transverse four-cylinder
engine. The Alliance had a long list of standard equipment and got 37 miles per US gallon in city driving. Fuel economy on the highway with the 5-speed manual transmission approached 60 miles per US gallon. It was a sensible car for a post-oil crisis period in which good fuel economy was highly prized.
The Alliance used Renault supplied OHV
engine
in 1.4 L and an OHC 1.7 L engine with Renix
throttle-body fuel injection from the Renault Le Car. The proven four-cylinder was now dressed in the latest electronics boasting an electronically controlled fuel system, a digital ignition system, and a microprocessor to manage the optional three-speed automatic transmission. California emissions standards required the use of port injection. Power went through either a four-or five-speed manual
, or a three-speed automatic
transaxle. The base engine produced 64 hp to get the 2030 pounds (921 kg) Alliance from 0 to 60 mph
in a leisurely 14.3 seconds, and gave it an 89 miles (143 km) top speed. Steering was rack and pinion
. Suspension was fully independent via MacPherson strut
s in front, and a compact and quite ingenious system of transverse torsion bars
and trailing arm
s at the rear. At just under 2000 pounds (907 kg) for the base model, the Alliance was the also the lightest car assembled in the U.S. in its time.
The Alliance was slightly smaller on the outside than the competing first generation Ford Escort (North America), but a somewhat bigger on the inside where it looked larger and more inviting. Interior space was good for four or occasionally five people, in part due to a cleverly engineered front seat—where the seat was mounted on a 9 inches (23 cm) wide central rail (rather than two side tracks) allowing for copious rear foot room on either side of the rail. In addition to the usual recline and fore-and-aft movements, the upscale DL models got a curved track that allowed the seat to be adjusted along the arc to find the most comfortable position for driver and passenger.
The Alliance sold well with over 142,000 of the debut 1983 models. Bolstered by two- and four-door hatchback derivatives called Encore, sales zoomed to over 208,000 the following year. However, the cars came out just in time to encounter a sag in the small-car market because as fuel prices fell, consumers began to drift away to larger automobiles, leaving the Renault-based models to scramble against low-priced Chevrolet Chevette
s, Ford Escorts, the Dodge Omni
and Plymouth Horizon twins, as well as a slew of Japanese imports.
By 1985, the U.S. automobile market was starting to move away from the subcompact Alliance and Encore as the gasoline crisis ended and consumers were looking at larger cars. However, American Motors had stopped production of the Concord
and Spirit
in 1983. The Eagle Medallion
, a larger model than the Alliance from Renault (to replace the Renault 18
) was not going to be ready until 1987.
The 1.7 L fuel injection
(EFI) engine with 5-speed transmission was introduced in 1985 as optional on all versions except the base car. It developed 96 foot-pounds (130 N·m) of torque at 3000 rpm and 77.5 hp at 5000 rpm. In addition to the sedan, the Alliance was offered as a convertible
(AMC's first droptops since the 1968 Rebel
) between 1985 and 1987. That buyers were asking at AMC dealerships for an Alliance-based wagon was lost on Renault, who pointed them toward the larger Renault 18
Sportwagon (whose image was by now substantially tarnished).
For the final 1987 model year, a limited production, high performance version of the Alliance was marketed as the Renault GTA
. It came in 2-door sedan or convertible form and had a 95 hp 2.0 L engine. Also for 1987, the two Encore shortened body variants were renamed the Alliance Hatchback.
Improving economic conditions, lower gasoline prices, as well as increasing competition in the subcompact market segment from imported vehicles meant that total Alliance and Encore sales fell to 150,000 for 1985, then to 65,000 in 1986, and finally to only about 35,000 in 1987.
American Motors' had several early 4-door Alliance models converted into stretch limousines for publicity and official use.
The Alliance was listed as number one on Car and Driver
's list of Ten Best cars
for 1983, with the magazine saying it "represents a blending of compact dimensions, surprising creature comfort, excellent fuel economy, good looks and very pleasing over-the-road behavior."
The American-built, French-designed, Renault Alliance had a U.S. content of 72% (The engine, gearbox, and some axle parts come from France) thus qualifying it as a domestic vehicle, and making it the first car (1983) with a foreign nameplate to win the Motor Trend Car of the Year
award. Motor Trend subsequently dropped the distinction between domestic and imported vehicles for the award.
A 1983 Popular Mechanics
survey of 1,000 owners said "60% of our respondents rated the Alliance's workmanship excellent. That's a high figure for any car and considerably above the norm for U.S. built cars." The magazine's editor-in-chief, John Linkletter, addressed the findings that, "the old canard about shoddy American craftsmanship suffers" and that "an American manufacturer and a foreign manufacturer can, in a combined effort, produce a very good car."
In 1983, Popular Science
said, "Renault will find its reputation dramatically brightened when word of the AMC Alliance gets around," adding: "The new Alliance is a miracle for AMC. Not only does it show a general excellence in construction and appointments, it's also a state of the art front-wheel-drive that AMC could not have produced on its own. Combine those three elements and you have tough competition for the Escort, Chevette
and Horizon and the imports, and a product that comes close to being the best in its class."
A 1983 report in the New York Times described, "the Alliance's appeal has brought AMC's United States car sales 117.6 percent ahead of 1982 levels."
After a long-term road test conducted by Popular Mechanics of a four-door with a 1.7 L and automatic transmission setup in 1985, and summarized the experience as a "faithful servant", but a "generic no-frills car" - except for the unusual steering wheel stalks - that "nothing gave us pause" with their "compliant appliance".
By 1986, a Popular Science comparison with newly introduced Asian-built competing cars, the Renault Alliance was described as the oldest design, and "felt the most refined." The road test noted the Renault did well in the tests with "trunk and doors closed with an almost Mercedes-like clunk" and "the car's excellent handling" allowing to remain poised trough potholes and "stable when passed by large tractor-trailer trucks." The Alliance performed better than the new Hyundai Excel
and that Renault "dealers would be willing to negotiate on the final price."
In 1987, Popular Mechanics reported on the Alliance convertible in sports trim, saying "the GTA package is really excellent, transforming the bland Alliance econobox into a veritable Pocket Rocket."
In 1987, the New York Times reported, "despite the favorable early response to products like the Alliance and the Encore, the models failed to generate enough sales to prevent AMC's share of the car market from declining to about 1 percent."
In 1992, a recall was issued for almost 540,000 affected vehicles because the end cap connecting the heat exchanger's core to the engine cooling system could rupture and allow hot coolant to escape into the passenger compartment.
An open access poll (unscientific) by Car Talk
with a total of 55 respondents, indicated low ratings, but many praised the fuel efficiency of their cars.
In 2009, Car and Driver
effectively recanted naming the Alliance to their 1983 Ten Best list
, stating, "the Alliance proved that Wisconsin workers could assemble a Renault with the same indifference to quality that was a hallmark of the French automotive industry."
(SCCA) spec-racing series Renault LeCar Cup was successful, and while relatively underpowered with its "fuel sipping" 1.4 L engine, the Alliance's "excellent" ride and handling compared to the other small cars sold in America at the time, was an advantage that contributed to establishing the Alliance Cup in 1983. Modifications to the showroom stock cars were limited to fitting a roll cage
, free flow exhaust, upgraded shock absorber
s, as well as wider rims and tires.
The Alliance provided many donor parts (engine and suspension) for the Sports Renault race car, a single make series created by the Sports Car Club of America
(SCCA) in 1984. Designed by Roy Lunn
, it was a low-cost purpose-built racer. The car was developed and manufactured by Renault/Jeep Sport USA in Livonia, Michigan
, under direction of Vic Elford
; with more than five hundred were built. Most cars still exist, although the majority have been converted to use a Ford engine (thus now known as Spec Racer Ford
s), and run in the SCCA club-racing program.
The Alliance afforded AMC the opportunity to field a new compact car without the expense of its design and tooling, still the business relationship with Renault exacted a heavy price on the U.S. company. The automaker was required to shed its profitable AM General
line of commercial and military vehicles because of U.S. Government regulations prohibiting foreign companies from owning domestic military suppliers.
The initial positive reception and the "impressive" sales total of 200,000 Alliances by 1984 was later hindered by the market offer of only two models while the competition was offering with a wider range of cars for the market segments. Renault failed to fully accommodate the European cars to U.S. market demands. These included the car's less powerful engine whose output limited by the more demanding U.S. emission requirements, as well as the popularity of air conditioning
that was still a rare option in Europe. The exchange rate
of the U.S. dollar also became "very problematic in the mid-1980s" due to the inflation and declining economy in the U.S., compared to French currency. Renault also did not consider the costs of manufacturing at AMC and failed to "properly support its distribution network" since U.S. dealerships were seldom brand exclusive. The mistakes in controlling "the quality delivered by the distribution network" resulted in "disastrous " consequences for the image of the automobiles, as well as increasing warranty costs.
Alliance production at the Kenosha plant ended in June 1987, shortly after Chrysler's buyout of AMC was announced. The damaged reputation of the Alliance would also affect attempts to launch other Renault cars, including the brief appearance of the Renault Medallion, and Eagle Premier
(the latter which would be the basis for the successful Chrysler LH platform
-based automobiles).
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
variant, the Renault Encore marketed beginning in 1984.
The two models derived from AMC's partnership since 1979 with Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, which held controlling stake in the smallest U.S. automaker. The Alliance and Encore were essentially the Renault 9 & 11 slightly re-engineered for North American manufacture—featuring exterior styling by Robert Opron
Robert Opron
Robert Opron is a French automotive designer, trained as an architect, and noted for designs from the 1960s through the 1980s for Simca, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ligier, Renault and Citroën – which he joined in 1962 and where he became Responsable de Style, head of the design department.Opron was a...
, director of Renault Styling, and the interior design by AMC's Richard Teague. The Alliance two-door sedan and the convertible were designed by AMC for the North American market.
History
Competition from the "Big Three," new safety regulations and two energy crises in 1973-74 and again in 1979, left American Motors in a weak position in the U.S. marketplace. The company had three product lines: a profitable line of government vehicles, JeepJeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
s, and passenger cars. However, when sales dropped suddenly in 1979 and all of the U.S. automakers saw their sales plummet, AMC faltered.
That year, AMC signed an agreement with Renault of France giving that company a share in AMC's ownership, in exchange for the rights to sell Renault cars in the U.S. Later, Renault acquired a controlling interest, and thus was born what some called "Franco-American Motors." With the United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
then relatively weak against the French franc
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
, manufacturing in the U.S. seemed the best way to grow especially since fuel prices were rising and the major U.S. carmakers had yet to bring out large numbers of small, fuel-efficient cars.
The two automakers worked closely as each design studio developed spin-offs of cars created by the other. Richard Teague, AMC's Vice President of Design, and his French counterpart, Robert Opron, director of Renault Styling, each traveled between France and the U.S. at least three times a year. Originally only a four-door sedan body style, Teague and AMC's design staff decided to mock-up a two-door coupe just before Opron was to review the work of the American team.
Renault executives came in to run things alongside AMC officials, and the former Nash Motors factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin was retooled to produce an Americanized version of the European Renault 9 subcompact under the Alliance nameplate. Consumer clinics were conducted between 1979 and 1982 using a fiberglass mockup (and later with actual cars) to evaluate various issues that concerned AMC officials. The market research
Market research
Market research is any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy...
found that consumers preferred the Renault name over AMC, though not strongly. The model was named the Renault Alliance, with the AMC name featured on a small window sticker and at the end the advertising material.
The cars were aimed at the lowest price range in the U.S. market, the Alliance had a sticker price starting at $5,995. (US$ in dollars)
Production
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
150 million overhaul of AMC's Kenosha, Wisconsin, assembly plant. Although it was branded as a Renault, the car bore AMC's logo on rear window decals.
The Alliance were modern front-drive sedans with a 163.8 inches (4,161 mm) overall length on a 97.8 inches (2,484 mm) wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
and a thrifty, transverse four-cylinder
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engine. The Alliance had a long list of standard equipment and got 37 miles per US gallon in city driving. Fuel economy on the highway with the 5-speed manual transmission approached 60 miles per US gallon. It was a sensible car for a post-oil crisis period in which good fuel economy was highly prized.
The Alliance used Renault supplied OHV
Overhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
in 1.4 L and an OHC 1.7 L engine with Renix
Renix
Renix made automobile electronic ignitions, fuel injection systems, electronic automatic transmission controls, and various engine sensors.The term Renix also has a number of applications...
throttle-body fuel injection from the Renault Le Car. The proven four-cylinder was now dressed in the latest electronics boasting an electronically controlled fuel system, a digital ignition system, and a microprocessor to manage the optional three-speed automatic transmission. California emissions standards required the use of port injection. Power went through either a four-or five-speed manual
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
, or a three-speed automatic
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
transaxle. The base engine produced 64 hp to get the 2030 pounds (921 kg) Alliance from 0 to 60 mph
0 to 60 mph
The time it takes to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph is a commonly used performance measure for automotive acceleration in the United States and the United Kingdom. In the rest of the world 0 to 100 km/h is used...
in a leisurely 14.3 seconds, and gave it an 89 miles (143 km) top speed. Steering was rack and pinion
Rack and pinion
A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear motion. A circular gear called "the pinion" engages teeth on a linear "gear" bar called "the rack"; rotational motion applied to the pinion causes the rack to move, thereby...
. Suspension was fully independent via MacPherson strut
MacPherson strut
The MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson, who developed the design.-History:...
s in front, and a compact and quite ingenious system of transverse torsion bars
Torsion beam suspension
thumb|250px|A front [[VW Beetle]] suspension cross-sectionA torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension or torsion beam suspension, is a general term for any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight bearing spring...
and trailing arm
Trailing arm
thumb|220px|Trailing arm rear suspension of [[Front-engine, front-wheel drive layout|FF]] carsA trailing-arm suspension is an automobile suspension design in which one or more arms are connected between the axle and the chassis. It is usually used on rear axles...
s at the rear. At just under 2000 pounds (907 kg) for the base model, the Alliance was the also the lightest car assembled in the U.S. in its time.
The Alliance was slightly smaller on the outside than the competing first generation Ford Escort (North America), but a somewhat bigger on the inside where it looked larger and more inviting. Interior space was good for four or occasionally five people, in part due to a cleverly engineered front seat—where the seat was mounted on a 9 inches (23 cm) wide central rail (rather than two side tracks) allowing for copious rear foot room on either side of the rail. In addition to the usual recline and fore-and-aft movements, the upscale DL models got a curved track that allowed the seat to be adjusted along the arc to find the most comfortable position for driver and passenger.
The Alliance sold well with over 142,000 of the debut 1983 models. Bolstered by two- and four-door hatchback derivatives called Encore, sales zoomed to over 208,000 the following year. However, the cars came out just in time to encounter a sag in the small-car market because as fuel prices fell, consumers began to drift away to larger automobiles, leaving the Renault-based models to scramble against low-priced Chevrolet Chevette
Chevrolet Chevette
The Chevrolet Chevette was introduced in September, 1975 and manufactured for model years 1976-1987 based on GM's worldwide T platform and superseding the Vega as Chevrolet's entry-level subcompact...
s, Ford Escorts, the Dodge Omni
Dodge Omni
The Dodge Omni and the similar Plymouth Horizon were front wheel drive cars introduced by the Dodge and Plymouth divisions of the Chrysler Corporation in North America in 1978, and were based on a European Simca-based design of the same name...
and Plymouth Horizon twins, as well as a slew of Japanese imports.
By 1985, the U.S. automobile market was starting to move away from the subcompact Alliance and Encore as the gasoline crisis ended and consumers were looking at larger cars. However, American Motors had stopped production of the Concord
AMC Concord
The AMC Concord is a compact car produced by the American Motors Corporation for the 1978 through 1983 model years. The Concord replaced the AMC Hornet and to some extent the mid-size AMC Matador, discontinued after 1978 in a market moving to downsized automobiles...
and Spirit
AMC Spirit
The AMC Spirit was a subcompact marketed by American Motors Corporation from 1979 to 1983 as a restyled replacement for the Gremlin. The Spirit shared the Gremlin's platform and was offered in two hatchback variations, each with two doors — marketed as sedan and liftback...
in 1983. The Eagle Medallion
Eagle Medallion
The Eagle Medallion was a rebadged and re-engineered North American version of the French Renault 21. While the cars were built on the same platform, the French market 21 and the American market Medallion differed in features, powertrain availability, frontal styling, and trims...
, a larger model than the Alliance from Renault (to replace the Renault 18
Renault 18
The Renault 18 is a large family car produced by French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1993 .-Development:...
) was not going to be ready until 1987.
The 1.7 L fuel injection
Fuel injection
Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
(EFI) engine with 5-speed transmission was introduced in 1985 as optional on all versions except the base car. It developed 96 foot-pounds (130 N·m) of torque at 3000 rpm and 77.5 hp at 5000 rpm. In addition to the sedan, the Alliance was offered as a convertible
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
(AMC's first droptops since the 1968 Rebel
AMC Rebel
The AMC Rebel is a mid-size car produced by American Motors Corporation from 1967 to 1970. It replaced the Rambler Classic. The Rebel was replaced by the similar AMC Matador for the 1971 model year...
) between 1985 and 1987. That buyers were asking at AMC dealerships for an Alliance-based wagon was lost on Renault, who pointed them toward the larger Renault 18
Renault 18
The Renault 18 is a large family car produced by French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1993 .-Development:...
Sportwagon (whose image was by now substantially tarnished).
For the final 1987 model year, a limited production, high performance version of the Alliance was marketed as the Renault GTA
Renault GTA
The Renault GTA was a performance version of the Renault Alliance vehicle line, a U.S. market subcompact car that was based on France's most popular car and Renault's best selling model ever. It was manufactured by American Motors Corporation in the U.S...
. It came in 2-door sedan or convertible form and had a 95 hp 2.0 L engine. Also for 1987, the two Encore shortened body variants were renamed the Alliance Hatchback.
Improving economic conditions, lower gasoline prices, as well as increasing competition in the subcompact market segment from imported vehicles meant that total Alliance and Encore sales fell to 150,000 for 1985, then to 65,000 in 1986, and finally to only about 35,000 in 1987.
American Motors' had several early 4-door Alliance models converted into stretch limousines for publicity and official use.
Reception
The Renault 9 had been voted the 1982 European Car of the Year, becoming France's most popular car and Renault's best selling model ever.The Alliance was listed as number one on Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
's list of Ten Best cars
Car and Driver Ten Best
Car and Driver magazine annually nominates a list of what it considers the Ten Best cars and Five Best trucks.All production vehicles for sale in that calendar year are considered with these restrictions:# The vehicle must be on sale by January...
for 1983, with the magazine saying it "represents a blending of compact dimensions, surprising creature comfort, excellent fuel economy, good looks and very pleasing over-the-road behavior."
The American-built, French-designed, Renault Alliance had a U.S. content of 72% (The engine, gearbox, and some axle parts come from France) thus qualifying it as a domestic vehicle, and making it the first car (1983) with a foreign nameplate to win the Motor Trend Car of the Year
Motor Trend Car of the Year
The Motor Trend Car of the Year is an award given by Motor Trend magazine, an American monthly that is published since 1949.- Background :...
award. Motor Trend subsequently dropped the distinction between domestic and imported vehicles for the award.
A 1983 Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
survey of 1,000 owners said "60% of our respondents rated the Alliance's workmanship excellent. That's a high figure for any car and considerably above the norm for U.S. built cars." The magazine's editor-in-chief, John Linkletter, addressed the findings that, "the old canard about shoddy American craftsmanship suffers" and that "an American manufacturer and a foreign manufacturer can, in a combined effort, produce a very good car."
In 1983, Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
said, "Renault will find its reputation dramatically brightened when word of the AMC Alliance gets around," adding: "The new Alliance is a miracle for AMC. Not only does it show a general excellence in construction and appointments, it's also a state of the art front-wheel-drive that AMC could not have produced on its own. Combine those three elements and you have tough competition for the Escort, Chevette
Chevrolet Chevette
The Chevrolet Chevette was introduced in September, 1975 and manufactured for model years 1976-1987 based on GM's worldwide T platform and superseding the Vega as Chevrolet's entry-level subcompact...
and Horizon and the imports, and a product that comes close to being the best in its class."
A 1983 report in the New York Times described, "the Alliance's appeal has brought AMC's United States car sales 117.6 percent ahead of 1982 levels."
After a long-term road test conducted by Popular Mechanics of a four-door with a 1.7 L and automatic transmission setup in 1985, and summarized the experience as a "faithful servant", but a "generic no-frills car" - except for the unusual steering wheel stalks - that "nothing gave us pause" with their "compliant appliance".
By 1986, a Popular Science comparison with newly introduced Asian-built competing cars, the Renault Alliance was described as the oldest design, and "felt the most refined." The road test noted the Renault did well in the tests with "trunk and doors closed with an almost Mercedes-like clunk" and "the car's excellent handling" allowing to remain poised trough potholes and "stable when passed by large tractor-trailer trucks." The Alliance performed better than the new Hyundai Excel
Hyundai Excel
The Hyundai Excel , also known as the Hyundai Pony, Hyundai Presto and the Mitsubishi Precis, was the first front wheel drive car produced by Hyundai. The Excel was built from 1985 to 1994...
and that Renault "dealers would be willing to negotiate on the final price."
In 1987, Popular Mechanics reported on the Alliance convertible in sports trim, saying "the GTA package is really excellent, transforming the bland Alliance econobox into a veritable Pocket Rocket."
In 1987, the New York Times reported, "despite the favorable early response to products like the Alliance and the Encore, the models failed to generate enough sales to prevent AMC's share of the car market from declining to about 1 percent."
Reliability
Renault Alliance build quality became branded as suspect making this "particularly embarrassing for AMC who had... in the 1970s, instituted – and received praise for – an innovative quality improvement program." In contrast to AMC's traditional domestic models, the Alliance suffered mechanical problems and indifferent workmanship on the cars built in Kenosha, as on the French-built Renaults.In 1992, a recall was issued for almost 540,000 affected vehicles because the end cap connecting the heat exchanger's core to the engine cooling system could rupture and allow hot coolant to escape into the passenger compartment.
An open access poll (unscientific) by Car Talk
Car Talk
Car Talk is a radio talk show broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. Its subjects are automobiles and repair, and it often takes humorous turns...
with a total of 55 respondents, indicated low ratings, but many praised the fuel efficiency of their cars.
In 2009, Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
effectively recanted naming the Alliance to their 1983 Ten Best list
Car and Driver Ten Best
Car and Driver magazine annually nominates a list of what it considers the Ten Best cars and Five Best trucks.All production vehicles for sale in that calendar year are considered with these restrictions:# The vehicle must be on sale by January...
, stating, "the Alliance proved that Wisconsin workers could assemble a Renault with the same indifference to quality that was a hallmark of the French automotive industry."
Racing series
The Sports Car Club of AmericaSports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...
(SCCA) spec-racing series Renault LeCar Cup was successful, and while relatively underpowered with its "fuel sipping" 1.4 L engine, the Alliance's "excellent" ride and handling compared to the other small cars sold in America at the time, was an advantage that contributed to establishing the Alliance Cup in 1983. Modifications to the showroom stock cars were limited to fitting a roll cage
Roll cage
A roll cage is a specially constructed frame built in the cab of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured in an accident, particularly in the event of a roll-over. Roll cages are used in nearly all purpose-built racecars, and in most cars modified for racing...
, free flow exhaust, upgraded shock absorber
Shock absorber
A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...
s, as well as wider rims and tires.
The Alliance provided many donor parts (engine and suspension) for the Sports Renault race car, a single make series created by the Sports Car Club of America
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...
(SCCA) in 1984. Designed by Roy Lunn
Roy Lunn
Roy Lunn is an engineer in the automotive industry. He has forty-one years in the design development and production of vehicles and most notably served as the head of engineering at American Motors Corporation from 1971 to 1987....
, it was a low-cost purpose-built racer. The car was developed and manufactured by Renault/Jeep Sport USA in Livonia, Michigan
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
, under direction of Vic Elford
Vic Elford
Victor Henry Elford is a former sportscar racing, rallying and Formula One driver from England. He participated in 13 World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1968...
; with more than five hundred were built. Most cars still exist, although the majority have been converted to use a Ford engine (thus now known as Spec Racer Ford
Spec Racer Ford
Spec Racer Ford is a class of racing car used in Sports Car Club of America and other series road racing events. The Spec Racer Ford, manufactured and marketed by SCCA Enterprises , is a high performance, closed wheel, open cockpit, purpose-built race car intended for paved road courses, such as...
s), and run in the SCCA club-racing program.
Legacy
The 1983 Motor Trend Car of the Year award for the Renault Alliance was an industry-wide recognition that contributed to increased sales, as well as to AMC's profits of about $15 million in 1984. (US$ in dollars)The Alliance afforded AMC the opportunity to field a new compact car without the expense of its design and tooling, still the business relationship with Renault exacted a heavy price on the U.S. company. The automaker was required to shed its profitable AM General
AM General
AM General is an American heavy vehicle manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. It is best known for the civilian Hummer and the military Humvee, that is assembled in Mishawaka, Indiana...
line of commercial and military vehicles because of U.S. Government regulations prohibiting foreign companies from owning domestic military suppliers.
The initial positive reception and the "impressive" sales total of 200,000 Alliances by 1984 was later hindered by the market offer of only two models while the competition was offering with a wider range of cars for the market segments. Renault failed to fully accommodate the European cars to U.S. market demands. These included the car's less powerful engine whose output limited by the more demanding U.S. emission requirements, as well as the popularity of air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
that was still a rare option in Europe. The exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
of the U.S. dollar also became "very problematic in the mid-1980s" due to the inflation and declining economy in the U.S., compared to French currency. Renault also did not consider the costs of manufacturing at AMC and failed to "properly support its distribution network" since U.S. dealerships were seldom brand exclusive. The mistakes in controlling "the quality delivered by the distribution network" resulted in "disastrous " consequences for the image of the automobiles, as well as increasing warranty costs.
Alliance production at the Kenosha plant ended in June 1987, shortly after Chrysler's buyout of AMC was announced. The damaged reputation of the Alliance would also affect attempts to launch other Renault cars, including the brief appearance of the Renault Medallion, and Eagle Premier
Eagle Premier
The Eagle Premier was a full-size automobile developed by the American Motors Corporation and Renault partnership, inherited by Chrysler Corporation when it acquired AMC in 1987, and marketed from 1987 through 1992...
(the latter which would be the basis for the successful Chrysler LH platform
Chrysler LH platform
The LH platform served as the basis for the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler 300M, Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, and the final Chrysler New Yorker. A Plymouth to be called the "Accolade" was planned, but never saw production...
-based automobiles).