Junkyard Find: 1985 Renault Alliance

By 1985, it was clear to everyone that the Renault Alliance, product of the strange AMC/Renault mashup that failed to save the "not too big to fail" Wisconsin automaker, wasn't quite as good as the '83 Motor Trend Car of the Year award suggested. Still, enough Alliances sold that you still see them in the junkyard every now and then. Here's one I spotted in a California self-serve yard last month. The base Alliance L sedan listed $6,650 in 1985, and that wasn't much more than a Chevy Cavalier sedan. If you wanted a Civic sedan that year, you'd have paid $7,092— if you could find a Honda dealer selling at list price in the mid-1980s, which was unlikely. So, the Alliance, with its European design and made-in-America patriotism, looked good on paper. Unfortunately, even the wretched Cavalier seemed reliable in comparison to the Franco-Kenosha product. The Alliance got great fuel economy and had a comfy ride, but: Renault in America. When Chrysler bought the shattered remnants of AMC in 1987, it euthanized the Alliance. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

puts the internet to work for you. via task 680102