Technically, the Alliance wasn't an American-branded car, but it was sold by an American car company -- beleaguered American Motors, which formed a partnership with Renault and began selling the Renault 5 in 1976. AMC attempted to capitalize on the car's French roots with the 5's American name, "Le Car", but by time the 1983 Renault Alliance premiered in mid-'82, they had changed their tune.
The Alliance was based on the European-market Renault 9 sedan, but was restyled for the American market by Richard Teague, AMC's VP of design, and built in North America. The car's name signified the French-American partnership. The Renault 11 shown here was a hatchback version of the 9 that received the same treatment and was introduced in the US in 1984 as the Renault Encore. The Alliance and Encore received numerous awards, but small engines, odd French engineering and indifferent build quality did little to endear them to American buyers. Both cars were discontinued in 1987 when AMC was purchased by Chrysler Corporation.