In American automotive manufacturing, AMC had always been the little guy that was capable of producing something special for mere pennies. However, time and circumstances would eventually catch up with the company, and they wouldn’t manage to go out with a bang, but with a relative whimper. One of their final offerings was the Renault Alliance, which remained in production for 5 model years. This 1987 Alliance Convertible is from that final year of production and is now looking to head to a new home. It is located in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has reached $3,950, and at that price, the reserve has been met.
Finished in Adriatic Blue, this Alliance is in pretty impressive condition for its age. In fact, I’d venture to say that you would struggle to find a nicer example on the road today. The paint looks to be really good, and the panels are nice and straight. The owner identifies two very tiny dings, but those appear to be about the only flaws in its appearance. The issue that claimed more than its fair share of these little cars was rust. That doesn’t appear to be a problem with this example, with the panels all looking very clean. The owner also supplies a photo of the rust-prone trunk floor, and this appears to be really solid. The external trim, chrome, and the glass, all look good, while the power top appears to be nice and tight. One interesting extra that is included with the Alliance is a custom-made tonneau that fits neatly over the cabin and seats. There is a photo of this in the gallery at the bottom of this article, and you really have to admit that it is a pretty nice little inclusion.
Hidden deep within the bowels of the engine bay, you will find the base 1.4-liter 4-cylinder engine, which sends its 64hp to the front wheels via a 4-speed manual transmission. Now obviously, that isn’t a recipe for neck-snapping performance at the best of times, but the Alliance Convertible really did have the odds stacked firmly against it. While lopping the roof off the little car had the potential to reduce its weight, it also did some pretty nasty things to the car’s torsional rigidity. To combat this, additional bracing had to be installed, and this pushed the vehicle’s weight up by a pretty significant 232lbs. Acceleration was not the car’s strongest point, with a 0-60mph time that was on the wrong side of 15 seconds. At the end of the day though, this is a car that was designed to be an inexpensive and economical commuter, and it did succeed on both of those fronts. These were a car that could pretty easily top 35mpg, and in this case, you could do it with the wind (breeze?) in your hair. All joking aside, this Alliance is in sound mechanical health. It appears as though it has been well maintained by its current owner. It has just received a full service and has been fitted with new tires. It is said to run and drive perfectly, with the brakes feeling very solid.
If there was one thing that 1980s plastic interior trim was renowned for, it was the ability to crumble and break with monotonous regularity. However, take a look around the inside of this Alliance and try to spot any real problems. The carpet looks like it has a bit of staining on the driver’s side, but this isn’t severe. The door trims and dash look to be free of any splits or cracks, while the cloth upholstery on the seats could be classed as immaculate. As far as creature comforts are concerned, the list isn’t particularly long. You get an aftermarket radio/cassette player that is said to work well, a heater that gets nice and hot and air conditioning that blows nice and cold. That last feature made me do a bit of a double-take because, given the vehicle’s weight and lack of engine power, you have to wonder what performance would be like on a reasonable hill with four people on board and the A/C running. Don’t be fooled by the whole notion of having four adults on board an Alliance, because its greatest strength lay in its packaging. Thanks to the transverse engine and some clever seat design, four adults could actually fit into one of these with pretty decent levels of comfort.
The Alliance represented what would come to be the last hurrah for AMC. It was not enough to stave off the inevitable, and in March of 1987, Chrysler purchased AMC. The Alliance simply did not fit into the new Chrysler lineup, and the final vehicle rolled off the line at Kenosha on June 5th, 1987. The final year’s build total was approximately 35,000 cars, but it isn’t clear just how many of these were the Alliance Convertible. Whether this is a car that could be classed as a classic is pretty debatable, but what I will say is that you would struggle to find one as nice as this on the road today. So, if you would like to own a car that is a bit quirky and different, then maybe this little Alliance is a car that would be worth a bit of a look.
I suspect turning on the air conditioning could be used as an emergency brake in the event of total brake system failure. At least this one has a manual transmission which helps deliver 64 undiluted, raging ponies to the ground.
The Alliance actually sold very well at first but unfortunately the quality just wasn’t there. The cars quickly started falling apart, and sales dropped through the floor. They had no appeal as used cars due to reliability problems and quickly disappeared from the scene. I can’t even remember the last time I saw an Alliance on the road.
At this late date though a survivor at a decent price wouldn’t be a bad thing. You’re not likely to see another wherever you take it.
I have one and still drive it!
A French car,built by Americans,in………Wisconsin –
what could go wrong?
I heard from a French car person,that a guy bought one
of these & imported it to France,& sold it for a good price.He
told me that these (convertibles) were never built/sold in France.
It looks brutal with the top up. I did NOT take my drivers test in one of these.
LOL Weasel !!!!!!!!!!! Spit up my Leinekugels reading your post. Agree on the top up comment. That is some
tonneau cover also. It might not be bad on a cold fall day. At $3,950 I would be all in. Put on some rally type wheels and go topless. Angliagt, As a proud Wisconsinite, I object to your Wisconsin jab.
Rolls right off us cheeseheads Mike. Hey, how many other states can even say they HAD a car maker, much less #4, not to mention, tractors, birth of 4wd, Waukesha engines that powered cruise ships, fire engines, and the most popular lawn mower for decades, Briggs and Stratton, oh yeah, the only US motorcycle ( of any fame) The Alliance was an ok car, not great. I heard some of the workers sabotaged these cars, the end, as they knew it, was near. It did keep many working in a changing time. Their children in Kenosha all work for Amazon now.
Wisconsin is a big machine shop. Anyone who knows anything about American heavy industry knows that. Maybe before people start bashing our wonderful state, they need to visit it. Those that talk crap without know of what they speak are morons!
Those Marchel driving lights may be more valuable than the car itself!
I had a few of these in the day, didn’t mind them at all. Always started when 20 below zero, great mileage, easy to drive. I had 4 doors, 2 doors and a convertible. My convertible had the 1.7 big block, Varooommm
Wouldn’t this have the 1.7 liter engine, being a convertible with A/C? The ebay listing says it a is a 4-speed car, which I didn’t know as possible in an ’87 convertible, so maybe they built a lower-spec convertible the last year. It seems unlikely though.
As per the engine picture it is a 1.7, not a 1.4.
All non GTA convertibles had the 1.7
Right up there with LeCar. No Merci.
Perfect for your next tailgating event. Just make sure you are skilled in MMA or boxing so you have a chance to defend yourself. Otherwise, expect the worst wedgie you have even encountered in your life.
We had 3 Alliances and one GTA. 3 were convertibles and one sedan. Sedan with the 1.4 was not great. The other 3 with 1.7 and 2.0 were great little cars.
2 were new by the way.
I still have my 87 Alliance L conv and it still runs like a champ with 160,000 miles.
same color and the one pictured. There were a lot worse cars on the market in 1987.
Love the custom tonneau! This convertible would be a good conversation piece, and, with such a low price, would be a great car for a starting out car collector. The club scene for Renaults is vibrant, though parts are beginning to become challenging to source.
anyone know where there is a 1989 eagle medallion?
thanks. I’ve always liked Renaults.
Ahhhh memories….I worked at the AMC Plant in Kenosha when the Alliance was being produced….What Adam says about the roof being “lopped” off is true….there were no provisions to frame up the body with out the roof being in place, so the engineers used a sawzall to remove it…The first prototypes were completely hand made and when the first one was tested with passengers, the doors wouldn’t close as the unibody frame flexed….They had to weld in reinforcements to keep it all straight….I don’t remember how many convertibles they produced, but I think they were all hand fabricated…
Nicest one left ? Maybe the only one left !
Theres one of these setting outside besides the road on NYSRT30 in Vail Mills NY ,its been there for years , just waiting to turn to dust !
The Renault Alliance with the lager engine was much better. They were pretty decent cars. Well packaged and not too bad looking at all. My late Uncle and Aunt had the convert. and the 4 door sedan with the larger engine (1.7 liter?) He liked it and it was cheap and easy to repair and maintained. Too bad there no easy/cheap to repair cars available for a decent price. C’est la vie mon dieu!
I recall these being referred to as the Renault Appliance….. definitely not up to Maytag standards of the day !
How about Franco American? They did give AMC a little boost for a short time, and I mean a really short time. I always liked AMC. My grandfather loved his Ramblers and my father had a 73 Ambassador which had a lot of low end grunt.
As for the A/C and ‘performance’, these are cruisers, not rally cars. I am 6’2″ and not petite. A friend had one and it was a lot of fun to drive; I could even fit in the backseat just fine (I was a lot younger then, too.)