When the maker of a slow-selling car decides to tear off its roof in an attempt at greater profits and popularity, the result is usually not-so-good (think Yugo or Paseo). Such was the case with the final few runs of AMC/Renault Alliance, when GTA and convertible variants debuted. Poor reliability and and weak powertrain performance are not paths to sales success in the United States, but with satisfying chassis dynamics and good ergonomics, the cars weren’t without their merits; maybe that’s why this red convertible, spotted by S. Forrest, has been kept in such good nick.
Or, more likely, it’s because the car is a bizarre period curiosity. AMC’s final cars were rebadges of surprisingly conservative designs from one of France’s more-conservative marques. The 9 and 11 the Alliance and Encore were based off of don’t shout about their Frenchness, and neither did the very international-bland (that’s not to say unattractive) Medallion. But oddly enough, this chopped-up convertible better shows off some of the hallmark design cues of their stylist, Robert Opron.
What–can’t see it? Look at the very, very slight reverse cant of the beltline and the rear wheel opening. It’s a lot easier to notice without the severe roofline of the donor two-door sedan model, but still subtle. Slight similarities with the Fuego, in addition to even the incomparable Citroen SM, both styled under Opron’s watch, are evident.
That, of course, means this car is a nerd’s delight, with links to one of the grandest of French automobiles, in addition to the famously soft, fragile models from La Regie as well as the drama of AMC’s sad, sad final years. In other words, it actually makes some sense as a collector’s item.
Related reading:
Curbside Classic: 1987 Renault GTA – An Alliance Of A Different Stripe
Curbside Classic: Geo Metro Convertible – Did I Take The Autopia Offramp?
What’s not so good about a Paseo convertible?
Sales, or lack of them. At least that’s how I read it.
I came across one of these last month – but didn’t think it would stir much interest :).
More pics in Cohort.
Nice find. That’s a GTA even. People seem to have really taken care of their GTA convertibles, it’s not TOO rare to find a nice one on eBay from time to time, whereas most other Alliances have all but disappeared.
(Edit: Checked after I typed this, of course only one currently on eBay is a regular Alliance, convertible too)
Thanks for the info.
I remember seeing these at my local auto show when they were new. They sort of appealed to me, and reminded me of the old boxy Rambler and Lark convertibles of the early 60s. While I am generally no friend of the Appliance, I might be able to deal with one if the top went up and down like this.
When I had decided to choose my first so called North-American (used) car, the first that I’ve considered was a Renault Alliance assembled by AMC. Next to it sat a 4 door Le Mans by Pontiac… Finally I had made my decision… It was the Le Mans. But I can’t forget that “lil’ red” Alliance… Umm. If I could bought both of them…
By the way the French made original R-9 was of course a very very famous model throughout Europe… Rough, popular and very durable car for everyday use. Some bigger bros of it like the R-21 had been still and are also on the roads till nowadays. The Renault 21 was also marketed in the North-Americas by Eagle/Renault as Medallion. With big bumpers and 2.2 Litre InLine 4 engines/automatic transmissions…
I have seen the Renault 9 in Europe and I have seen the mostly positive reports by the German motor press. But I never even sat in one. After moving stateside I saw 0% interest rates and $0 down payment campaigns for the Alliance.
Once I had on short ride in an alliance’s back seat. It was such a put-off. The engine was a noisy gutless affair. And that is all that I recall.
But there will be a collector for anything and everything.
My father had an Alliance as a rental car at some point in the mid 80’s. Even as a child, I remembered thinking the back seat was quite small! I’m sure he had the seat all the way back in its travel (he is 6′ 4″) but it’s still bad news when a child thinks there’s not enough room in back.
I know some folks who drove their R-9 and R-11 (French made) for 15-20 years. But some of them still drives them daily. Surprisingly (or not) the Alliances (private imports) has disappeared quite fast from the roads and that was the ill fate of all other Eagle badged Renaults like the 21/Medallions. In my neighbourhood only one lad pushed his american R-21 station wagon (2.2 Lit. automatic) to the limits as he owned it maybe for 10+ years. When he got rid of it the car appeared in a very poor condition…
Interestingly the R9 was never offered as a convertible at home. Besides the sales being satisfactory, I doubt it would’ve made it appear less dowdy. Or the entire brand in the early 80s for that matter.
That convertible in France has to be a private import. At least someone did miss it…
Renault 9 was the base in Europe as a 4 door saloon. The R-11 was a bit closer by body design to the Kenoshan AMC Renault Alliance. R-11 had been brought to the euro market as 3 and 5 door models. Especially the 3 door model was the closest to the Alliance. As the design tastes were a bit different in North-Americas and in Europe at that time, the Alliance’s body/interior was restyled in a moderate way. All Kenoshan Renaults seen throughout Europe had to be private imports.
The 11 actually appeared in our market as the Encore, basically an Alliance with a Hatchback. I agree that its styling in original form was closer to the Alliance/Encore than the 9 was though.
I’ve heard that about the Renault Alliance. That they were poorly built cars that didn’t do AMC any favours, and in fact, may have done more to hurt American Motors’ reputation than help. There may have been good French built cars around, but Renault didn’t seem to be one of them. They didn’t have a very good dealer network in North America (certainly next to Volkswagen), so you couldn’t take your poor convertible to the dealer in Boise, Idaho if it goes kaput. .
Nope the quality control issues on the Kenosha built Alliances showed that American workers could put the cars together with the same indifference as French car workers.
The fragile cylinder heads did them no favors either. They cracked just looking at them sideways.
That’s what I heard about the Renaults sold in the USA during the 80s. It’s incredible that American Motors ever formed an alliance with them. I would’ve thought they would’ve worked with an American company, Chrysler perhaps? or maybe Ford.
If they had teamed up with another US manufacturer it would have turned into an acquisition and they wanted to keep their independence. Besides, at that time some manufacturers had quite a lot of success with European designs–look at the Omnirizon over at Chrysler. Talbot/Simca design, subtly reinterpreted for the US market (and with a VW engine at one point!)
IIRC the good French-built cars had Peugeot badges. They had enough sales to maintain a steady presence here in Australia while Renault has come and gone so many times over the years. I think Renaults are sold here this year, but you never see them.
I was wondering if Renault did a convertible so thanks for answering that one BeWo. There were others on the market though in the 205 and Golf. Other than the Golf what competition would this have had in the US?
Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird (Sunfire?), Ford Mustang, maybe the LeBaron (less so on price, but maybe the target audience).
All of those were larger cars weren’t they, midsize? I imagine the price of the Cavalier in particular would have been close enough though.
Yeah, but I figure since there weren’t many in the market they’d probably still be cross shopped to some extent. My high school had plenty of Rabbit convertibles but also a bunch of Mustang convertibles for example. Being in SoCal, markedly less Cavaliers though.
That’s why I had choosen Pontiac instead of Renault.
I have to admit, I miss those early 80s alloy wheels with the geometric shapes and designs. I thought they added such a futuristic touch at the time. Some manufacturers did it better that others, of course. I really liked this Renault design for the Alliance/Encore wheels. They helped elevate the appearance of an otherwise blasé, econobox shape. Some very elegant and original designs emerged at the time. I think my favorites were those used on the first generation Impulse, and the Fiero. Really liked the ‘bowling ball’ design on the ’82 Trans Am. As well as a similar design used on the first Pontiac J-cars around ’81-’82. I thought the Chrysler ‘pizza’ wheel really improved the looks of the various K-car derivatives.
A friend of mine had one of these when new. I still shake with fear when I see pictures of them. One day after leaving the dealership (where the car mostly lived) she saw flames coming from under the hood while at a stop light. She said she grabbed her pocketbook and watched happily from the side walk as it melted into the street. During that era you could not give away a used Renault in our part of the world.
Usually I’m a sucker for cars like this, but the Alliance and Encore never did it for me. They looked too disproportionate, with their high belt line, narrow body, tall roof line, small wheel opening, and tiny wheels. This all worked together to give it a top-heavy look. Add to that its overly bland styling; not even the grille was remotely creative.
I’ll take a Medallion over this any day!
I agree Brendan, but given how many boxy cars were around in the early 80s, the Alliance/Encore somewhat blended right in with the Colts, K-cars and Corollas. It looks especially fragile I find, from today’s perspective.
It did share similar proportions and shape with the Colt and ’83-’87 Corolla, but the K-cars somehow didn’t look as awkwardly tall for their compact dimensions. It’s probably because the hood was a bit longer, and the deck not as high.
As a life-long AMC enthusiast, my most rabid opinion on the Alliance era is this: Why weren’t theses cars “AMC’s”? Renault had a horrible reputation in the US. The Alliance was originally slated to be the AMC “Sierra”. Of course, these Renaults were unreliable, like there predecessors, so l guess it was best they kept the Renault badge. In reference to the subject car–AMC dealers begged for an infinitely more saleable Alliance station wagon, but the tooling was too prohibitive.
Since Renault had bought AMC, I suspect vanity was the reason they weren’t rebadged.
AMC dealers did get a wagon shortly after – the Renault Medallion – which lasted about a year until Chrysler bought them, although I think a few were sold as the Eagle Medallion.
The early ’80s were a tough time as cars I enjoyed had been getting cancelled for years and being replaced by a parade dreary appliances. The malaise years were still in full force. The Alliance / Encore cars did nothing for me. Yet an oddly proportioned with the top up convertible appears with a moderate price tag, and it catches my attention. Hmm, could I afford one? Such is the magic of convertibles. Considering the degree to which Chrysler used a convertible in it comeback from the dead at the same general time as this car, it’s surprising that they are out of the segment, unless you count the roll back roof Fiat.
Wow… haven’t thought about these since high school – a dear friend actually passed away in an identical red convertible to this one. The “cool girl” in the coolest way; her dad had a gov’t gig that stationed them in London for a few years. She came back with Doc Martens, a killer record collection, hilarious expressions and stories, and a slightly altered attitude to the run of the mill. The Renault (her baby) only continued her streak of slightly-askew, unfamiliar stuff that was somehow way cooler than everyone else’s.
… and unfortunately it utterly disintegrated when struck by a Suburban. (never really made the metaphorical link until now).
Not to bring the mood down… just a reminder of how a special vehicle can set the tone (good and bad) for a time and place.
Well on a similar note… The wonderful woman who drove me to work several times in her Penalty box Alliance, she passed away from cancer several years ago. May Lori P. RIP.
We laughed at how bad her car was, yet mine The Cavalier convertible was the one once again broken down. Or was it the 85 Grand Am LE I had before that? Her car was Odd and underpowered, with weak brakes. It had been real cheap for her to buy a 2 year old Alliance, I remember that was why she had bought it.
When I lived in Memphis, I often passed a house that had both a “regular” and a GTA convertible.
If I ran across another one of these (highly unlikely) it would have to be a GTA or I wouldn’t get a second look from me.
My cousin’s husband had a couple Alliances. He had a daily commute of quite a long distance and wanted THE most economical car possible. I suspect 0% financing and/or heavy rebates made these quite attractive to him. I think he finally “discovered” the TDI Jetta.
The taillights look a bit too much like Volvos of the same era (and, for that matter, the VW Vanagon and Porsche 924/944). Who started that trend?
I love that Renault wheel – I think they used it on all things Renault and Sporty – from the R5 all the way to the R30. That is one clean car!
Thankfully my mom said no to the Alliance & also the Yugo. The latter had a stick! I remember my dad to this day saying “I can teach u how to drive it!’ I guess the dealer was offering a nice rebate. In the end they got a Ford Escourt.
I have to question a little bit the statement re: AMC’s “Sad, sad, final years.” I’m thinking AMC’s final years were some of its better years, else Chrysler wouldn’t have bought it. Even though the Alliance/Encore were horribly unreliable, they were much more competitive and appealing when they first appeared than AMC’s heavy, antediluvian compacts. They were at least contemporary and had some advantages over their competition . . . reliability, sadly, not being one. The Jeep Cherokee was one of the first AMC products that anyone had ever WANTED to buy, and buyers did, in droves, and the Grand Cherokee was shortly to debut. The Premier was far better than the forthcoming GM 10s and anything Chrysler had to offer at the time. Compared with the late ’70’s when AMC had NOTHING in its stable that was better or more appealing than its competitors, its final years were not all that sad.
I saw one of these Renault convertibles last week parked in downtown Charlottetown, PEI. It is apparently being used as a tender vehicle for someone’s RV, as there was a towbar for flat towing still attached to the front. Unfortunately I was in a hurry so didn’t get any pictures.