Buy A Piece of Another Failed Merger: The Renault AMC Alliance Coupe
October 29th, 2008 10:07 AM
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The fine folks at Quinn Automotive in Worcester, Massachusetts (that’s pronounced Woostuh) are offering a nearly new 1986 Renault Alliance Coupe 1.7 for a song – only $2500 (cough, cough, choke). For your money you get the finest in French engineering circa 1986, a 1.7 liter 8-valve engine, 78 raging horsepower routed to the front wheels, and a 3-speed automatic transmission. This particular example has only 39,322 miles on it, and it’ll look great parked next to your Chrysler Cobalt and HumJeep.
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scrubnick: 1.7L is fine. My Aussie Ford wagon is a rebadged Mazda 323 with a 1.6L 4-banger automatic that runs great, plenty fast, and gets good fuel economy. I have no problems attracting heaps of speeding tickets, or keeping up with the fastest of traffic. Probably what kills it is everything you hang off a 1.6L motor... such as a crappy tranny, excess weight, and too many bells and whistles. My old Mercedes-Benz (W124) sedan ran fantastic with only a 2.6 liter fuel-injected motor clamped on to a 5-speed automatic tranny. It still blows me away when I am in the US at all the 3.x to 4.x liter motors I see on mid sized cars. I can't help but ask "Why? What deficiency are they making up for?"
One thing I liked about the R9/R11 (as the Alliance and its hatchback version were called in Europe) was how the front seats were mounted on a single, middle rail. Thus, the rear passengers could placce their feets way under the front seats. Why didn't any other car maker adopt this? With elevated front seats, it seems like a fine way to increase rear legroom.