Official AMC Renault video : Renault Alliance vs competitors - 1987

AMC Renault Alliance , Toyota Corolla, Chevy Chevette, Ford Escort and VW Golf
Website : www.renault-all...
Facebook : / renault.us.alliance.en...

[@PUREAAMERICAN]

Alliance 83-87 was sold in the rest of the world as the Renault 9 & 11. All the platforms in this video are out of production some of the nameplates live on. Production was discontinued shortly after Chrysler purchased AMC from Renault

[@noiffen]

I had first an 1983 alliance with the 1.4 L engine and the automatic , it was really underpowered , but i loved the ride and the reliability and 4 years later i traded it for a Alliance GTA with the 2 liter engine , this car was fast and handle like a go-cart , i kept it until 1995 when i returned to Australia ..It was a great car , fast agile and totally reliable if you were following the manufacturer recommended services .. Wish i still had it , it would be fun here in Northern Australia

[@starPacific]

So a 1987 Corolla had independent rear suspension... but A 2015 Corolla has a solid rear axle... smh Toyota.

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

+paramoist It's to save manufacturing cost weight and space optimisation, Toyota also must find this solution reliable, VW used to do the same in the non sporty Jetta/Golf maybe they still do lol

[@xsbgtr]

+L Renaud an old MK1 Ford Focus has independent rear suspension, and it´s cheap and has plenty of space, usable rear bench. All new cars should be like that, there´s no excuse!

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

xsbgtr but it isn't we live in a world where a corporate dude can do that to save 20$ per car :(

+paramoist Not a solid rear axle actually, but a torsion beam one. Torsion beam suspension can be set up to meet the demands of a compact car pretty well with maintaining low producton costs. There are also very little parts that need maintenance or repairs. MacPherson in the front and a torsion beam in the rear is the most common suspension setup in this class, and there's been a lot of good cars made like that. P.S. The Golf on the video actually has a torsion beam too, not an independent rear suspension setup.

[@McBeamer94]

+L Renaud Unbelievable as it may seem, VW does use torsion beam rear suspension! Here in Europe, the VW Golf mk7, its Jetta counterpart and the VW Passat, along with other siblings from other Group VAG subsidiaries you don't get in the US of A (Skoda Octavia and Seat Leon, which are based on the Golf!) do use torsion beam rear suspension but for versions up to 122hp! Versions over 140hp, they get the independent rear suspension! VW say it's not necessary since they cannot go that fast to upset the chassis, the ride quality is almost exactly the same and it makes the cars cheaper to buy!

[@ronaldgreen5292]

Most of these cars, also, when they were new, didn't come with the best tires, or suspension packages, either. The tires were for standard road duty, and limited for performance driving. Change the tires, and upgrade the suspensions on all, then all will drive, and handle much better.

[@wiibaron]

This doesn't look like the Appliance we had in the USA. It looks different and I think the taillights are from the Encore.

[@5KpGD]

+wiibaron I think in 1986 or 87 they face lifted the car at the ends. Since Renault was out the door by 1987, this style is not at all too common among other years before it.

[@vwestlife]

Also by 1987 the VW Golf had been restyled with aero headlights.

[@canadiancatgreen]

they are comparing cars not appliances

[@runforit420]

It's a joke - Alliance, Appliance

[@jakesaintsrow123]

remember the 78' Omni/Horizon?

[@darnel605]

Those were Encores not Alliances and they all stunk.

[@adamn903]

The worst comparison test ever. Proved nothing except that the Chevettes older suspension design and rear drive made it perform poorer than the FWD cars with independent suspension. The Alliance did nothing better than the other FWD competitors. Also tire choice and driver error can alter results. But among all these cars truthfully the all around best performing car to drive is the Golf. None of the others can touch it. The most reliable of the bunch handsdown is the Corolla.

[@jamesp504]

That's why they didn't compare to Cavalier, they chose an outgoing model.

[@neildickson5394]

I thought it was built by Renault of France, which for a very short time had a stake in AMC before it's dismiss.

[@anglia24]

+Neil Dickson The plan was that AMC would get the stamps for the Renault 9. So that thay could offer something other than rehashed pacers and gremlans. Renault got to use AMC delarship network to try to a foot in the north amrican market. When the plan went to @#!* Renault left. AMCs dead shell was bought by Chrysler for the still uesable JEEP brand.

[@That_AMC_Guy]

+anglia24 Not entirely correct. Believe it or don't, the reason Renault sold it's controlling interest in AMC was more politically fueled than anything to do with business. Following the assassination of Georges Besse (a Renault executive) there was a strong resentment among the French people for anything that wasn't strictly French-controlled. Many activists spoke out about Renault's controlling interest of an American company so in an effort to quell yet another uprising, Renault quickly sought a sale of their interest in AMC. Since AMC had a good relationship with Chrysler, it seemed like a perfect match. Much like the fabled "merger of equals" with Chrysler and Daimler, Chrysler execs went behind AMC exec's backs and purchased the remaining outstanding shares and purchased the entire company before anybody at AMC even knew. It was a dick move by Chrysler, but they didn't want to be two companies under one roof. It simply made better business sense to out-right buy AMC. One thing you must realize is that many of the people who worked for AMC, went on to have great careers within Chrysler! It was many of those AMC people who turned Chrysler around in the early 90's and gave us the best years at Chrysler we'd ever known!! The Neon, The Viper, The Prowler, The LH platform, were all designs or ideas spearheaded by former AMC people. In all reality, it was AMC that saved Chrysler!

[@anglia24]

wow

[@runforit420]

Alfred Neuman - you're completely right. AMC saved Chrysler.

[@That_AMC_Guy]

Had Chrysler not swooped in when they did, History may have turned out completely different. The Jeep Grand Cherokee was (at the time of AMC sale) pretty much completely designed and ready for testing. Pre-production test mules had just begun making the rounds right about the time Chrysler bought the company - and we all know what a sales success the Grand Cherokee was for Chrysler. Had AMC been allowed to market and sell the Grand Cherokee, AMC might have stuck around a few more years. But AMC's history is full of pretty boneheaded moments like that. LOTS of former AMC employees - even relatively high up ones - usually blame inept management for the failures at AMC. The '74 Matador coupe's original proposal was a very stylish, svelte, sexy looking car! AMC execs told Dick Teague to go back to the drawing board - "We don't want to sell another Torino!" was their reply. (And yet, the Torino was a solid seller over at Ford - go figure!) Dick Teague was aghast with what his design team came up with following upper managements "recommendations". Mr. Teague in later life would refer to the Matador coupe as "an abortion". In four model years, they produced around 20,000 of those cars - pathetic numbers. The Pacer was a smart idea, but AMC was not the company to do it. When GM pulled the plug on the Wankel, AMC should've thrown in the towel. Not sharing 99% of it's parts with other models also hurt the corporation. I could go on and on but the more people I speak with and the more I read, it truly does seem that AMC had some pretty inept management. We're seeing a lot of it today as well with our current Auto corporations and other businesses that have simply gotten too large to manage.

[@itsmegp46]

Yes, a handling nightmare. Yet, Chrysler sold millions.

[@1337BananaL33TVostok]

Lol is this guy even still alive today?

[@uploader235]

AMC may have a case but the Corolla will be on the road today, Japanese reliability

[@northhankspin]

Yes

[@redneck400m3]

The escort had that thing in the acceleration run. He laid off or missed a gear. Those little TBI 1.9Ls wernt nothing to scoff at all things considered

[@michaelwilliams4410]

The Toyota Corolla was a much better car than the other ones featured in this video!

[@emjayay]

No, it was worse in most ways. But unlike the others, reliable.

[@jonathandonne1432]

America had the Chevette in 1987??? The European versions were long gone Vauxhall Chevette died in 1983 & Opel kadette in 1979, replaced by the Opel Kadette D/Vauxhall Astra mk1, now the Vauxhall/Opel Astra Mark 7, has been badged as a Saturn Astra & a Buick Verano. The European escort was a much better looking car. The only decent car & the one you still see on the road here in Britain is the Volkswagen Golf Mark 2 & it still looks good.

[@jamesp504]

No, we had the Chevy Cavalier. The Chevette was a fleet car by 1987, the public consumer went for the Cavalier. That's why they didn't test it.

[@RoadCone411]

The Chevette was Chevrolet's value choice for 1987. You could still buy it and they sold in decent numbers, but they were well off the pace in their final year basically only appealing to private buyers who absolutely had to have a cheap, rear-drive car that had to be American-made. They were never great cars but by the time of this test, they were laughably primitive, probably making sense if the only other option was a Yugo. I think I would have taken an early Hyundai over the Chevette, and certainly every other car in this test. Fleet sales were a different story, and the Chevette sold well in its final year, mainly to utility companies and various government agencies. They liked the low price, of course, and that the car was American as well as cheap and efficient to maintain and run. Fleet sales don't care about what type of suspension the car has or how plasticky the cabin is.

[@danielsong25]

If it was the AE86 1986 Corolla it would have wrecked all

[@ronaldtharappel5633]

Chevette drift car

[@itsmegp46]

Twenty seven years later, only the Corolla and Golf continue to live on.

[@kippaseo8027]

I'll bet that very same Corolla is probably still on the road somewhere most likely with rims and some type of Hispanic flag hanging from the rear-view mirror. Lol none of the other cars outlived The LINQ of their car payments

[@FEGTTTSDH]

There are tons of renault in the latin places, sadly in USA, the dealers was incompetent and the of spares kill by itself

[@TobiasAramburoシ]

In Argentina there are a LOT of renaults 9 and 11 (basically alliances) in the road today

[@johnhiram1207]

I had a 85 Encore and the ride and handling were just amazing for a tiny car. I drove it till 180,000 miles before I could no longer get parts. I also had a 85 Escort which was horrid and needed a new head at 40,000 miles. The Encore had the 1.4 engine which was not very peppy but did get 40 mpg. Wish I still had the car as it probably would be worth a lot of money now.

[@frankburns8871]

Sorry, I don't think you'd make a lot of money on an 85 Renault Encore. Nostalgia doesn't go that far. If you had one in perfect condition, you might get a few thousand for it. Maybe.

[@CalledbyGrace-zs1dl]

Everyone else in America thought they were P.O.S. Had an 84 Alliance manual that I purchased brand new. Was in the shop every month while I owned it (11 months). Others that I knew with them had the same experience. Renault left America in 1987 and Peugeot shortly after. AMC was forced to sell everything to Chrysler, because of the Renault mistake. And now....Nissan Renault CVTs 😂 These are 💩videos for me 😂

[@tertommy]

I like 80's VHS educational tape music

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

the thing is that AMC used most of this uplifting music most of the time i call it the AMC theme!! lol

[@Tnenamrep2]

LOL! It's synthy and dancy... albeit in a cheap way. You can do a cheap silly dance to it anyway. No serious dancing, though. :P

[@dcanmore]

AMC Alliance (Renault 9 & 11) was already 6 years old when this film was made, final year was '89, continued production in South America and Turkey until 2000. A popular little car everywhere with 2 million units sold by '89.

[@TWTR4EVER]

Lol~~~~~That was a piece of shit car! Renault "Appliance" & a terrible at that!

[@buzzhawk]

TWTR4EVER Talk about the Mustang that way.

[@jamesp504]

So, they used a Chevette that was being discontinued, instead of the available Cavalier? I wonder why... Probably because a V6 Cavalier would've blown it away. So would all the other cars in higher trim lol... what a biased piece of 1980's marketing

[@leestrada1]

Any Chevrolet from that period had a terrible rear suspension, fifty years behind what European brands, like Renault, VW, and of course any of the premium ones, like Mercedes or BMW had. Americans tend to think that the only important thing for performance in a car is power. That's a complete lack of refinement. I bet that Cavalier with a V6 would be painfully crushed by the Renault if the road had any curves.

[@MrSkt2011]

The most appropriate rival for Alliance, in 1987, from Chevy would be a Nova, or a Spectrum

[@halohunter5217]

These are subcompact cars. The Cavalier is a size up.

[@boggy7665]

@@leestrada1 Funny you mentioned the suspension. Was a passenger in someone's Cavalier. Were on a stretch of highway that the lanes were shifted onto the shoulder. That Cav bounced so bad over the covered-over rumble strips, the driver was forced to slow down. I am sure my Alliance would've handled it with aplomb.

[@RoadCone411]

@@MrSkt2011 The Nova, of course, being pretty much exactly the Corolla seen here. I know the car well, it was my mother's car in the 1980s, and the car I passed my drivers' test in. With a sluggish automatic, the '87 Nova had no power especially on hills or on-ramps, but I can attest that it had a "big car" ride. It definitely lurched into corners but the ride was smooth, relaxed and predictable, especially during interstate driving but also on the bends. It was not a stylish machine but it did what it was asked to do, with typical Japanese reliability (even though it was built in California.)

[@izegrimcreations]

I had an 84 chevette, and drove that thing as hard as you could drive a car, and it never failed. I mean, I beat the crap out of it, wrecked it 3 times (driver error), and it still always got me where I was going

[@mrduster1981]

I had an 81 Chevette. I bought it in 1999 for $250 and the car only had 30,000 original miles on it. Two minor spots of rust. I drive it at least a quarter mile with no oil in the engine. I had the same luck. It was a great car but I did. Not appreciate what I had. Mine was great in the snow as well.

[@seoulkidd1]

Good on gas too

[@woxyroxme]

I drove my 1984 Chevette for 14 years, put 229,000 miles on it, by then all the Encores and Alliances had long gone to the crusher.

[@ce9345]

You are correct. Chevy chevette's and Pontiac t1000's were much better cars than most people give them credit for. That is why they were built from 1976 to 1987.

[@Suchayoutuber]

I believe the cavalier would have been the comparable not the Chevette, still have my 83 cavalier and still going strong. Still a cool old video

[@chrislemaster2695]

The best car to get is a 1993 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham brought in 2002 with 79,000 miles only major repair was a rebuilt transmission at 140,000 miles The 231 cid 3800 Series v6 did 40 mg on the highway and 30 in the city I drive this from Pittsburgh PA to Peoria IL 603 miles on 13 gallons of 93 octane. The only reason I got rid of this auto because it wouldn't pass PA inspection drove 10 years Had 285000 miles and engine still ran body rotted away The best 2800 spent got 500.00 for it for scrap Go Oldsmobile 98 for reliability safety excellent gas mileage also FWD. The kid brought it and fixed it and still driving this car he put 1000 in the body Talked to him the other day this car he had since 2010 he said the odometer just turned 456000 miles never rebuilt the 3800 series engine He said all he had to do is paint bodywork and general maintainece and still gets 38 mpg on a full size car. Get Oldsmobile I wish I had my 98 back. If they could build a full size car in 1993 get 38 to 40 on the highway why cant they do it now?,

[@redneon06]

Of all these cars in this test the only one of them I see today is the Corolla. I drive a 98 Corolla and am very happy with it.

[@adamtrombino106]

You're absolutely right about that sir! My girlfriend still drives the 98 Corolla LE she had from college and it's a really tuff sedan. While pushing a moderate for it's age 160k, it leaks no oil, burns no oil, and starts in our worst Chicago winters, every time. She even rear ended a 3/4 ton Chevy truck once and I managed to put it back together, minus the a/c. The factory ABS system still works wonderfully, and it still gets great mileage. Of course, all 4 struts and springs have been replaced, but other than 2 tune ups, a couple of sets of brakes, a belt, a radiator from said accident and a driver's side inside door handle, it's been a true turn key car. Try that with these other tested cars!

[@stephen10.]

renault and nissan are reliable in europe , even the german "adac " ( who control the cars ) says it . Nissan is not affected by renault at all . To the contrary ,they buy a lot of pieces together for a better price and a best design and they make a better job with their engineers .

[@SebastianVG85]

The frenchs goes to the rescue of AMC, with the Renault 9 and 11, proudly made in U.S. soil (the Alliance) because the 9 and 11 was made in the entire continent... then (AMC) was buy by Chrysler... and now they (Chrysler) belong to the Italians (Fiat) eww!!!... At least the French cars have great enginering achivements... Just watch the Citroën DS and it's successor the CX... Even the Renault 5 was awsome... way better than a Civic (back then)... Greetings.

[@packardcaribien]

I have seen a lot of old car promotional videos - this is probably one of the few that wasn't overtly tooting its own horn the entire time. I don't know, they may have even faked some of it - but it wasn't as obvious as when Ford or GM did a comparison, and the narrator was a lot more polite.

[@PUREAAMERICAN]

I owned several alliance & encores, however this comparo is biased cavalier, ae86, escort gt, would have been closer matched. In 91 the escort sat on the mazda platform and was a class leader until the focus which set the new standard. And to say the alliance is better than the vw in stock form is absurd. And the omission of Honda and Nissan is glaring. Still good to see a couple of Renaults from back in the day.

[@auxmike]

We had two alliance hatchbacks. They were very tinny and not very well made or reliable. With that said, I loved my Renault “Le Car” or R5:) I’d go with the Corolla any day!

[@michaelhilber8284]

No.

[@7fixsfj3]

I had a 1986 Escort L (3-door) with the instrumentation package, 5-speed transaxle, and the convenience/appearance package. A hot-hatch it was NOT. However, it was just the ticket for a 23-year-old college grad that did a substantial amount of highway driving between Warren County, NJ and Gloucester County, VA. At 60 MPH in 5th gear, that 1.9 liter was relatively quiet. I put 32,000 miles on that car in twelve months. I could drive that car at 65 MPH with the A/C running and get 38 MPG. With skinny all-season 165 80R-13 tires, the Escort was a champ in the snow. The car's weakness was tie-rods. I sold it after seven years with 156,000 miles. It was a damn good little car!

[@ronaldderooij1774]

The French can make good engines and good suspension systems. But the rest has sub par reliability too often.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

Decent engines. EXCELLENT suspensions. The rest POJ.

[@TassieLorenzo]

Fair!

[@DolleHengst]

A VW Golf/Rabbit 2 does NOT have IRS! It has a torsion beam axle. It's semi independent. Not fully independent

[@fk4515]

No Omniorizon? No Honda Civic? No Nissan Sentra?

[@TWTR4EVER]

THE only subcompacts here worthy are the Corolla Golf & Escort!

[@RhinoXpress]

the fact that they tested the escort again in the corner showed how much of an driver error that was and not the car itself, since it didn't have nearly the amount of fish tailing in the 2nd test then the first test did. lol biased review.

[@ElectoneGuy]

In 1987, they changed the name of the hatchback from Encore to Alliance.

[@Matt_from_Florida]

I'll be damned, I did not know that! Changed to Renault Alliance Liftback.

[@Mabeylater293]

Edmunds (dot) com and search consumer reviews for 2004 Nissan maxima. They're horrible. That's the Renault influence bringing nissans reliability downhill BIGTIME.

[@nwilczyn]

How could ANYONE not want an Alliance? Haha... If only it had worked out better in the end. Still, fun to look back at...

[@Lumotaku]

ugliest cars sold in the 80s. I would take a chevette any day. They were way more reliable.

[@frankburns8871]

That was all the chevy had going for it back in the day. It was more reliable than the competition. But that's not saying much, really. Those were terrible years for cars in all aspects. At least they were still easy to work on when shit broke, though.

[@Lumotaku]

In the 80s I would definitley would have went with ford or chrysler for quality. Not the small fords mind you but the crown vic. Chryslers had the 2.2 engine which was a good engine.

[@CTjacob13]

Lumotaku My dad owned 4 or 5 Escorts from 85-91's. They never gave us any mechanical issues. One was wrecked by a Crown Vic. My dad t-boned a brand new Crown Victoria and it totaled his car. Had 180k on it.

[@ronaldgreen5292]

The Chevy Chevette is rear wheel drive, with a solid axle. The other cars are all front wheel drive. The Chevette is out of it's league here.

[@TassieLorenzo]

In a good way or a bad way? Nowadays people will say rear wheel drive is better, yet back then the rear wheel drive models were old-fashioned. The Corolla was available in both front wheel drive and rear wheel drive versions at the time.

[@nezerac]

Wow he was sandbagging that escort pretty bad! I've driven an older 1.6 and it's surprisingly adequate.

[@nubetre]

Wasn't the hatch called the Encore in the US?

[@jakesaintsrow123]

Yup I Agree, I Have a 1987' Chevy nova hatchback (corolla hatch) and its in great shape still running great, I Have a vid up .

[@jasonmgavitt2357]

Do you still have it?would you sell it?

[@palebeachbum]

For a 1987 vehicle, the Chevy Chevette looks like it was designed in 1978. Super dated looking, even for the time.

[@thatmuse76]

I don't know if the Chevette needs to be in this comparison since it was an old Opel design when it was introduced in 1975.

[@Freeheit]

Wow, the hatchbacks we would come to know as the Encore have “Alliance” badging in this video‼️ I’m guessing that these must be pre-production (hand built) models made before AMC settled on calling them by a different name than the sedans.

[@sutherlandA1]

Actually in it's last model year the hatchback encore was absorbed into the alliance range, likely so the sales numbers would be higher compared to 2 separate ranges

[@briansteffmagnussen9078]

If all the rest are as manipulated as the acceleration test i'm rather happy about that AMC have keel'ed over and are dead and gone. The presenters voice sound like the old German propaganda film from the 40's.

[@CaptHollister]

Comparisons are still manipulated today. Just look at some the YT videos comparing different AWD and 4WD systems, in particular videos produced by Subaru as well as those produced in Russia.

[@buzzhawk]

CaptHollister Take a look at the one where a Kia Stinger comes on top of a Mustang.

[@buzzhawk]

We'll soon be saying that about Chrysler and Ford.

[@kwesa64]

Had the excact Alliance in that very last clip, nice looking car but an electrical nightmare, traded it for a mazda 323

[@rjft7003]

I would say the driver of the Escort lift the foot from the accelerator on the apex of the curve. Front wheel drive cars respond better by keeping the acceleration so the front wheels will keep pushing the car inside. Here in Europe all of those cars were for sale though with different styling, names and badges mostly the Chevette was Vauxhall Chevette (UK) or Opel Chevette and Renault was called 11. Nowadays you still see VW Golfs MK2 and Corolla's from that period but more rarely Escorts. Renault Alliance/11 and Chevette's virtually impossible even in pour countries. The 11/Alliance had a quite interesting style and even in Europe the TSE/Turbo/Electronic versions were one of the first cars with central locking (with key remote control), on-board computer, voice synthesizer and digital dashboard. (Electronic). From all of those, Toyota and VW were perhaps the most rational option.

[@itsmegp46]

The Renault, as were most French cars, just a piece of junk. They all left the US market in disgrace.

[@motoristic1]

anything what came from outside of US and is intended to be sold on US market has to be properly crippled

[@divisioneight]

I used to drive a 87 Golf GL (same Gambia Red). Far better, far more fun and lasted well over 100k for over ten years. Great car.

[@ToyotaCelicaDude1]

Which ones do you still see most of on the road??? Ford escort, Toyota corolla, and Volkswagen golf. I haven't seen an Renault for years.

[@adamn903]

+ToyotaCelicaDude1 To be fair not nearly as many Renaults were sold here in the states as were the other three u mentioned.

[@Prizm2356]

I still a few of these escorts and corollas but that's it haven't seen a Renault in years or chevette for that matter

[@jtreign9097]

i had a 4 dr renault alliance and it was not that special but i still have it in a barn if anyone wants it... ran and drove back in 1997 when parked due to a slight rear end.. which was repaired but never driven again.

[@jakesaintsrow123]

Yup That is Correct. I Still drive my '87 Corolla hatch daily and It's still in excellent shape.

[@McBeamer94]

Yeah, it apologizes to no one! That's what the euro campaign said!

[@mikeallmon1]

lets put my 1988 Yugo GV up against these!!

[@mikeallmon1]

mine is still almost new in condition. A true survivor!

[@mikeallmon1]

its driven several times a week. has been 100% reliable last 7 years.

[@TWTR4EVER]

BS a all Yugo's are crushed by now!

[@krus180]

TWTR4EVER nah in europe they still drive around in poor areas

[@TWTR4EVER]

Lol.....Andy the car nerd......In Europe they still drive the 2 cylinders DAFS

[@rojman123]

I'm convinced! Sign me up for one.

[@allstar930]

Keep these sissy cars, I'll take the Jeep YJ from the AMC showroom.

[@nikeadidasdudetx]

There's no question that the car suffered from poor reliability, though it was praised for its fuel economy. But in the mid-80s, the price of oil collapsed, thus making gasoline cheap again. People switched to bigger, more powerful cars, and AMC/Renault could not adapt. It was Renault that wanted out, and that's where Chrylser came in and bought their share of AMC, mainly to get their hands on Jeep.

[@michaelhilber8284]

I had a 1986 Renault Encore 2 door hatchback and loved it. Wish I still had it. It was 1.4 liter, 4 speed stick and I got it up to 95 miles per hour. Could have gone over that of course. An honest 40 miles per gallon on the freeway. Throttle body fuel injection.

[@boggy7665]

Yep. I had an Alliance. Amazingly comfortable cockpit and ride for a small car, great visibility, good handling. I recall it got 38 mpg whenever I checked the mileage. That's all driving, not just highway.

[@riki_diki32t57]

golf and toyota are best...

[@stephen10.]

you judge renault in 1985 ... it was 28 years ago ! they beginned to export in usa , it was the first wave and not a big experience . in 1987 they have had a big deficit and was forced to stop to export . it s a pity because now they have good cars reliable sold everywhere in the world . but their with bad reputation in usa they can 't export in usa

[@RoadCone411]

Man the Chevette was a POS in its final couple of years...I had the displeasure of driving one for a few weeks in the early 1990s (as a fleet car) and it is hard to put into words just how few redeeming qualities it had. Normally manual-transmission cars, even the underpowered ones, have an ounce of fun built into them, but the driving dynamics of the Chevette and corporate sister T1000 were truly horrendous. This was GM at its worst, as far as I am concerned. No wonder the imports made big inroads into the US market. Never drove a Renault Alliance, I'm guessing they were not well put together as most were gone from American roads by the mid-90s...The Toyota Corolla covered in this compare (and cousin Chevy Nova) and the Mk2 Golf were quality cars for their day, even if they were as unexciting as a refrigerator.

[@Skyhawk1987Turbo]

This is not an 1987 escort. The reason being the L model was not in the 87 line up

[@itsmegp46]

That's wonderful. But I drive waay too much to keep a car for 26 years. I've finally gotten it down to around 26,000 miles. It used to be closer to 50,000. I'd keep a car for about 4 years, then trade it in.

[@1tristan1henderson1]

In Canada these were called Renault Alliance by AMC. Was actually not a bad car, despite being rather plain in styling and driving characteristics. My grandpa had one from new until 1997.

[@stephen10.]

at least a serious comment about renault . Nissan work together now and make very good cars reliable , the ADAC ( a german company who control the cars every 2 years ) give their statistics every year and renault has a good reliability . renault has very good engineer and use the best technology , computer ,sciences physics , mathematic , research programm with nissan to build very good cars . In 1985 they had not all these possibilities than now !

[@leod3963]

Nissan was better without Renault

[@chomanttocs]

alliance cheated the alternate roll bumps, the alliance was slower thus less movement, did you guys catch that? The alliance was always behind the other cars.....CHEATER!!!!!!

[@steverutherfoord1452]

how bad where us roads then? these tests make no sense

[@itsmegp46]

As its replacement maybe, the two cars shared nothing re: mechanicals.

[@BRTSTL05]

if the alliance was so good why dont they make them anymore?

[@danmccarthy4700]

They no longer make the Chevette or Escort either... and the Golf and Corolla are completely different cars that share nothing with the ones used in this comparison.

[@dcanmore]

because it's 30 years old ;)

[@MaximilianvonPinneberg]

Because Jeep fucked the relationship up with Renault.

[@nickrulez809765]

because it was a awful car.

[@kippaseo8027]

The biggest difference though is that I'll bet that Corolla is still on the road today wow the little French turd most likely didn't survive the next model year

[@julietalariat6187]

Unfortunately the Renault Alliance aka Renault 11 is one of the worst fragile Renault ever built . This promo is 99% full of lies. For 30 years later, mostly Corollas are surviving in excellent shape. A few of 1987 Escorts and VW Golfs still run . Only GM Chevette is as crappy as the Renault Alliance, sorry . Extincts even from the garages !

[@djkenny1202]

+Julieta Lariat The Chevette is waaaaaay better than Alliance.

[@djkenny1202]

I am being honest, the Chevette is not like some incredibly awesome car, but if maintained they are serviceable cars that can last many years. The rear drive is also simple and makes for easy repairs of clutches and or transmission. There still around. But an Encore or Alliance? Never.

[@joseluisherrera4669]

+djkenny Beware : Chevy Chevette as shown above made in the U.S. is totally crap, no-one survived in rough SouthAmerican roads ( besides it was a loser as a good selling car ) but just check out the Chevy Chevette made in Brazil and they keep to be venerable machines, almost as durable as VW Beetles. For the other subjects, it´s a matter of diverse cultures . E.g. : Chile Bolivia Paraguay Uruguay Colombia Argentina Peru is overwhelming of Renault Alliances, still running in average conditions, they aren´t as reliable as Corollas but mostly Renault´s owners are in love with their Alliances (made in local Colombia or Argentina´s factories ) because they have quite decent engines, easy to be fixed, those kind of automobiles for the humble people that never let you stranded .

[@julietalariat6187]

Beware djkenny Renault Alliance is a beautiful styled car at least , aesthetically is superb . Meanwhile Chevettes are awkward, yet a Dodge Omni or a Fiat Strada are quite appealing compared to sorrowful Chevettes...

[@djkenny1202]

I agree, styling is better. Even handling. But all around reliability and build quality of the Strada and especially the Alliance, is very poor. Omni was a decent car with he 2.2 liter engine, plenty of power and as good reliability wise just about as the Chevette. close, at least.

[@chadharmon5716]

oh I know this video it's shit on the chevette video 😆

[@data1155]

Because Alliance is Renault, and Renault bought Nissan, so now Renault and Nissan is one Company. Renault is focused on Europe and Nissan on the rest of the world.

[@ToyotaCelicaDude1]

Does that mean Nissan is now unreliable?

[@ruicvt]

ToyotaCelicaDude1 In Europe... Definitely YES

[@leod3963]

Mazda 323 of the 80s will last longer than a Alliance or Encore and if the timing belt snaps on the Mazda 323 engine valves will Not get bent.

[@herrgolf]

I'll take a Golf.

[@detective3728]

At 7:49 i keept thinking INTAIL D!

[@brianandrews7099]

When testing your suspension against your competition, be sure to slow your car down so it seems to handle the bumps better while speeding up the competitor’s car to exaggerate the jarring motion … then cut off the camera before the competitor’s car reaches the end of the test track before your car!

[@nikeadidasdudetx]

In the Alliance's defense, this was around the time AMC was bought out by Chrysler and Renault exited the US market.

[@ce9345]

If you will notice on the track with the turn the cars with wider tires did much better such as the alliance and golf. I doubt the suspension had anything to do with the fact the amc and vw did better. More road contact because of wider tires means better handling.

[@Skyhawk1987Turbo]

Escort any day!

[@RobertoSalvatti]

The Chevette is one ugly piece of crap, but probably better built than most Chevrolets today.

[@MrTommyUdo]

Chevette, worst car in the world.

[@jakesaintsrow123]

I Have an 87' Corolla and its been an Excellent car, its in great shape and runs so good, I still see chevettes to.

[@peterpanassow7814]

I looked at an '87 alliance but purchased an '87 Sentra. Nissan was a pile of crap

[@Prizm2356]

Isn't the versa a renault

[@jasonmgavitt2357]

Holy shit that beginning race is rigged,or every other car review about these renaults is wrong.lol wow!

[@dinocracchiolo1006]

Now bail out for A.M.C, I guess there were not big enough to fail.

[@cartwrightson]

I worked at a Dodge/AMC/Renault dealership in 1984-85, the Alliance/Encores were good looking & fun to drive. However, even when new, trim pieces fell off & they always needed a jump start. The cooling system was prone to problems which often resulted in toasted engines. My family had an 86 Escort - it was slow. A friend had an 86 Corolla with 280,000 miles -the Japanese were hard to beat for reliability in those days. Sadly most of these cars were prone to serious rust.

[@seoulkidd1]

Not the reliance, you can find them in junkyards rust free 😂

[@steverussell6642]

Damn I need one

[@joboots007]

And the Escort would later evolved into the Focus,BTW!!

[@seoulkidd1]

Cars back then could take a pothole . Cars today forget about it

[@bratwa]

Not 100% true. The Golf was back in the days not very popular in the US. The Carolla and Chevette sold much better in the US. If you look in Europe, you see many Golf II still riding around.