If you don’t want to “stop and smell the roses” but are interested in cars slow enough to ensure olfactory satisfaction in normal driving, then today’s Nice Price or No Dice Renault is for you. Let’s see what this quirky convertible might reasonably be worth.
After a bumpy start, yesterday’s $7,700 1995 Geo Tracker got down to business. Unfortunately for the seller, that business resulted in a 66 percent No Dice loss.
It has been said time and time again that history repeats itself. I even saw a PBS video that claimed that, over and over again, things tend to evolve into crabs! With that in mind—the repeating, not the crabs—it’s not hard to look at the happenings in the automotive industry and draw parallels to events in the past.
One such opportunity is the Chrysler Corporation’s seeming downward spiral. The events are pretty straightforward: a global economic downturn stretches thin corporate budgets even tighter; the company determines it needs a sugar daddy; a foreign competitor swoops in to save the day; that new overlord isn’t able to figure out the secret sauce to make the brand profitable; the company ends up on life support. Where it goes from here is anybody’s guess. Still, we can look back on the similar scenario that faced the American Motors Corporation in the 1980s and see that the outlook is likely exceedingly bleak.
AMC blazed the corporate-buyout-to-break-up trail and, coincidentally, ended up being bought by Chrysler back when that company was, for a hot minute, a bit flush. Before that, AMC had been majority-owned by the French automaker Renault, which attempted to breathe life into the Kenosha, Wisconsin-based company as best it knew how. That included the cornerstone of the two companies’ pairing, the non-ironically-named Alliance compact.
Based on the European Renault 9 and made available in the U.S. in two-door, four-door, and later convertible body styles, the Alliance was a hit for a time. Then, the model’s deficiencies—low power, lack of reliability, and tissue paper build—caught up with it.
The model entered the market for the 1983 model year and exited halfway through the 1987 model year, along with AMC as a whole and Renault’s brand presence in the U.S. market. You seldom see the little guys running around today, making this 1985 Alliance L convertible a bit of a rare duck.
According to the ad, this Alliance has only done 34,000 miles over its four decades of existence. Still, it does seem to show some wear and tear for even those meager miles. Per the seller, the car’s demerits include some faded paint, a few evident if minor dings and dents, and the plastic rear window in the convertible top laying down on the job. Other issues include weather sealing trim that’s aging out of the workforce, whatever is going on with the nose, and what looks like its permanent bra.
Aside from all that, it appears to be a solid little car. The factory alloys are intact and show only minor scuffing, and the bodywork seems utterly free of rust. Stepping into the cabin should prove familiar to anyone who’s ever owned a Jeep Cherokee of the era, as the Alliance uses the same pedestal-style front seats. Those appear to be in great shape, as does the back bench. The car even has its original AM/FM/cassette stereo.
Renault commissioned out the Alliance’s convertible conversion to ASC, as did almost all manufacturers seeking model decapitation back in the ’80s. ASC designed the top mechanism and the floorpan strengthening that each convertible received at the factory. That meant the convertible was heavier than the standard two-door upon which it was based, making the 77 horsepower from the 1.7-liter SOHC four under the Alliance’s hood work overtime. It’s especially bad when paired with the three-speed automatic and while running the A/C, which are both features this car possesses. Still, it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast… right?
Would it also be a fun idea to buy this Alliance at its $7,985 asking price? That gets you a clean title and a weird little car that might be a conversation piece at the local car meet but probably not something to drive on the daily.
What do you say? Is $7,985 a fair price for this Alliance as presented in the ad? Or does that price create an immutable schism in your interest?
You decide!
Delaware Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Whatsupdohc for the hookup!
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