Not too many years ago the American convertible disappeared from production lines. This sporty body style was considered an anachronism and a very impractical vehicle. Besides, no one was buying them. But, as with many other things in life, once it wasn’t available people wanted them. So, six short years after the ”last” convertible was built in 1976, American automakers once again got into the act and the number of new convertibles available has been growing from year to year.
The latest convertible offered – the 1985 AMC Renault Alliance convertible – the subject of this week’s Road Test – is interesting for a number of reasons. For one thing, it is one of the few ”in-house” convertibles being built. That is, it is not sent to an outside manufacturer for completion but built right on the Alliance line in AMC’s Kensosha, Wis., plant. This little bit of information probably isn’t going to cause any great concern among the motoring public but it shows that AMC is serious about selling a lot of convertibles.
But, then, AMC does have quite a bit of experience with open cars. Its 1950 Rambler is considered to be the first compact convertible. Although its last convertible was the 1968 AMC Rebel, it produced CJ Jeeps that, until two years ago, had soft tops that folded down. The CJ was never considered a real convertible; just as an open sports car is not the old American dream machine. No, the convertible is in its own class. It is a passenger car that, when the top and windows are rolled down, offers almost 360 degrees of clear vision.
Another point of interest about the test car (supplied by Shoemaker AMC- Jeep-Renault, Walbert Ave., South Whitehall) was that it had a somewhat limited fling with fame as one of the cars supplied to the recent Miss America Pageant by AMC, and it has a dash plaque to prove it. In fact, it was the car assigned to Miss Illinois which I doubt very much will make it a collector’s item in years to come, but who knows?
For the present, the Alliance convertible is one of those likeable, easy- to-drive, easy-to-take cars that could appeal to a variety of car buyers. The front-wheel drive Alliance, as you may recall, received several ”Car of the Year” awards when it was introduced in Europe in 1982 and in this country in 1983. It certainly did a lot to turn AMC around in the right direction. So, the new convertible starts out on a sound foundation.
The Alliance convertible has a wheelbase of 97.8 inches, overall length of 163.8 inches, width of 65 inches, height of 53.1 inches and curb weight of 2,183 pounds. Obviously, it is not a very large car. Interior room, however, isn’t bad for a car of its size. The two front seats are comfortable and should provide enough room for most people. As with other convertibles, the well (the place the top fits when it is down) cuts into back seat room. What is surprising, though, is that so much back seat room was retained. I wouldn’t want to sit in the back for a cross-country trip but there is sufficient room for adults on the short haul if the front seats aren’t extended fully back. And children can always be fitted in. Entering and exiting the back seat is, however, a bit difficult. You sort of have to weave your way through the seat belts for the front seat which takes extra dexterity.
As mentioned, the Alliance convertible is an easy-to-drive car. The test car had the optional 3-speed automatic transmission (a five-speed manual is standard) which, of course, made it even easier. The Alliance convertible is not a sports car nor even a sporty car but it is a nice-handling car with its four-wheel independent suspension – MacPherson struts up front and coaxial torsion bars in the rear – with stabilizer bars fore and aft.
The test car also features the optional 14-inch aluminum wheels with P185/60R14 steel-belted radials which, as you cani agine, places a lot of rubber on the road. But, even with the bigger tires, the test car’s ride was quite smooth. A good part of this ride, though, can probably be attributed to the basic design of a convertible. Because it has no top support, a convertible’s body and frame must have a certain amount of built-in flexibility to distribute the load. (This flexibility also leads to squeaks, moans and groans as the convertible grows older. Or, at least, this is the way it was with the old convertibles.)
The test car was powered by a new 105-cubic-inch (1.7 liter) four-cylinder engine which is standard in the convertible as well as the top-of-the line Alliance Limited sedan and Encore GS hatchback and is optional on other models. Last year’s engine, the 85-cubic-inch or 1.4 liter engine, is standard on most models. AMC decided to go to the bigger engine because of consumer demand for more performance. The new engine features an overhead cam and single point fuel injection and is rated at 77.5 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 96 foot pounds of torque at 3,000 rpm. (By comparison, the 85-cubic-inch engine produces 65 horses and 75 foot pounds of torque.)
The engine provided more than adequate power for all Lehigh Valley driving conditions. The automatic transmission worked just fine but the manual should provide a little more snap. Although the new engine is bigger, fuel mileage apparently doesn’t suffer all that much. The test car averaged 22 miles per gallon for city driving and 31 mpg over Lehigh Valley highways. Somewhat interesting is that the engine has a 9.5:1 compression ratio. Although AMC recommends regular unleaded gasoline, a compression ratio this high generally requires premium unleaded. I did use unleaded regular in the test car and it ran well but, somehow, I’m still not convinced.
The test car was a top-of-the line DL model with just about every option offered by AMC. Total price came to $14,108, which included a freight charge of $358. Base price on the DL convertible is $11,295 which price includes a number of standard features. Options on the test car included air conditioning $653; automatic transmission, $348; power windows and door locks, $310; electronically tuned AM-FM with stereo, $296; trunk deck luggage rack, $111; cruise control, $179; aluminum wheels, $216, and fog lamps, $79. For comparison, the L model convertible has a base of $10,295 and a base Alliance sedan is priced at $6,161.