The Renault Alliance is a front-wheel drive, front-engine subcompact automobile manufactured and marketed in North America by American Motors Corporation (AMC) for model years 1983–1987.

[9] With the United States dollar then relatively weak against the French franc, manufacturing in the U.S. seemed the best way to grow especially since fuel prices were rising and the major U.S. carmakers had yet to bring out large numbers of small, fuel-efficient cars.

[4] Renault's objective was to build its newer models at AMC's existing manufacturing plants, thus avoiding the problems Volkswagen encountered with its "Rabbit" version of the Mk1 Golf assembled in its new factory in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania.

[11] Richard Teague, AMC's Vice President of Design, and his French counterpart, Robert Opron, director of Renault Styling, each traveled between France and the U.S. at least three times a year.

[11] Originally only a four-door sedan body style, Teague and AMC's design staff decided to mock-up a two-door coupe just before Opron was to review the work of the American team.

[14] The model was named the Renault Alliance, with the AMC logo only on a small sticker affixed on the inside of the rear window, as well as printed at the bottom or back of the advertising materials.

[16] The Alliance was launched into the U.S. subcompact market segment against the Chevrolet Chevette/Pontiac 1000, Ford Escort/Mercury Lynx, Toyota Corolla E70, Volkswagen Rabbit, Chrysler twins Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon, Mazda GLC, Subaru DL, Nissan Sentra, and Honda Civic.

[18] Although marketed as a Renault, the car carried AMC's logo on a rear window decal and was officially classified as a domestic automobile as it was manufactured with more than 70% U.S.-produced parts.

The base engine produced 64 hp (48 kW; 65 PS) to accelerate the 2,030-pound (921 kg) Alliance from 0 to 60 mph in 14.3 seconds, and gave it an 89-mile (143 km) per hour top speed.

[20] In addition to the usual recline and fore-and-aft movements, the upscale DL models included a curved track that allowed the seat to be adjusted along the arc to find the most comfortable position for driver and passenger.

[25] However, the new Encores were introduced just in time to encounter a sag in the small-car market because as fuel prices fell, consumers began to drift away to larger automobiles, leaving the Renault-based models to scramble against low-priced Chevrolet Chevettes (and their Pontiac 1000 cousins), Ford Escorts (and their Mercury Lynx cousins), the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon twins, as well as Japanese imports that were gaining popularity and market share.

[28] By 1985, the U.S. automobile market was starting to move away from the subcompact Alliance and Encore as the gasoline crisis ended and consumers were buying larger cars.

American Motors had already stopped production of the Concord and Spirit in 1983 (the four-wheel drive AMC Eagle continued to be built), while the larger Medallion (to replace the Renault 18) was not going to be ready until 1987.

The government of French President François Mitterrand was concerned with an upcoming election at a time when Renault not only lost its number one automaker spot in Europe, but was also losing money.

[4] Moreover, while Georges Besse championed the opportunities in the North American market, Renault executives and labor leaders perceived AMC as a bottomless pit.

[33] The Alliance competed with Chrysler's domestic and imported models such as the Dodge Omni, Shadow and Colt, as well as similar versions sold by Plymouth.

Driving performance of the vehicle included a 10.2 second mark for 0 to 60 mph and a .89 g-force cornering rating in road tests conducted by Car and Driver magazine.

It was available only in silver, white, red, or black monochrome body paint with special color-keyed "ground effects" bodyside cladding styled by Zender of West Germany, one of Europe's leading after-market designers.

[37] It also featured 15-inch aluminum alloy sport wheels with low-profile Michelin Sport XGT 195-VR50 series tires, upgraded suspension with thicker sway bars, vented front disc brakes, larger exhaust pipe, optional driving lights, custom body moldings, a small spoiler on the rear trunk, red inlaid shift knob, close ratio gears on the manual transmission, stiffer engine mounts, larger brake booster, and special bolstered "racing" seats unique to the model.

[42] The magazine's editors wrote that it "represents a blending of compact dimensions, surprising creature comfort, excellent fuel economy, good looks and very pleasing over-the-road behavior.

"[48] A 1983 report in the New York Times described, "the Alliance's appeal has brought AMC's United States car sales 117.6 percent ahead of 1982 levels.

"[49] After a long-term road test conducted by Popular Mechanics of a four-door with a 1.7 L and automatic transmission setup in 1985, and summarized the experience as a "faithful servant", but a "generic no-frills car" – except for the unusual steering wheel stalks – that "nothing gave us pause" with their "compliant appliance".

"[2] In 1987, the New York Times reported, "despite the favorable early response to products like the Alliance and the Encore, the models failed to generate enough sales to prevent AMC's share of the car market from declining to about 1 percent.

[53] Modifications to the showroom stock cars were limited to fitting a roll cage, free flow exhaust, upgraded shock absorbers, as well as wider rims and tires.

The 1983 Motor Trend Car of the Year award for the Renault Alliance was an industry-wide recognition that contributed to increased sales, as well as to AMC's profits of about $15 million in 1984 (US$45,398,783 in 2024 dollars[31]).

[55] The Alliance afforded AMC the opportunity to field a new compact car without the expense of its design and tooling, still the business relationship with Renault exacted a heavy price on the U.S. company.

[56] Automotive journalist Gary Witzenburg noted that the Alliance sedan's "excellent reputation and phenomenal first-year success" caused AMC to stop production of its larger and older Spirit and Concord with the introduction of the new hatchback versions under a different name.

These included the Alliance's less powerful engine whose output was further limited by the more demanding U.S. emission requirements, as well as the popularity of air conditioning in the U.S. when it was seldom ordered by European customers.