User:Bravada/Renault 9, 11, Alliance and Encore

Renault 11
Renault 9/Alliance & 11/Encore
Manufacturer:	Renault & American Motors
Production:	1982–1988
Body Styles:	FF compact hatchback/sedan/convertible
Engines:
Predecessors:	Renault 14 & AMC Spirit
Successors:	Renault 19
Competitors:	Daihatsu Charmant Ford Escort/Orion Peugeot 309 Rover 200 Vauxhall Astra/Belmont Volkswagen Golf/Jetta
Renault 9

The Renault 9 and Renault 11 were compact automobiles produced by the French car manufacturer Renault between 1982 and 1988. They were also manufactured for and marketed in North America by American Motors. In America, those cars were renamed Renault Alliance and Renault Encore respectively.

Renault 9 and 11

The 9 was a 4-door sedan, launched in 1982, and was winner of the European Car of the Year award of the same year. The 11 was a 3- or 5-door hatchback, and launched in late 1983. Although the two cars had different names, and silhouettes, they were in fact identical under the skin, and were intended to jointly replace the older Renault 14. The 11 was also distinguishable from the 9 by its front end, which featured the square twin headlights.

Both cars were somewhat unremarkable, using Renault's archaic C-type overhead valve engines in 1.1 L or 1.4 L format, and a basic suspension design which resulted in a somewhat ordinary driving experience. The exception was the 9 Turbo and the 11 Turbo, which used the turbocharged engine from the Renault 5. Although heavier, the power from the engine was enough to ensure higher performance, thanks to its 115 hp DIN (85 kW). The newer F-type engine which had been developed in collaboration with Volvo appeared in later years in 1.7 L guise, powering the upmarket TXE and GTX versions. The Renault 9 and 11 continued in production until 1988, when the Renault 19 was launched as a replacement.

The 11 did have one moment of movie stardom in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, where Bond steals a Renault 11 taxi from a Parisian cab driver and uses it to pursue an assassin (portrayed by Grace Jones). In a sequence coordinated by famed French stuntman Rémy Julienne, the car has its roof torn off in the resulting car chase, and is then chopped in half in a collision with another car (a Renault 20).

Renault Alliance and Encore

The Alliance was the American version of Renault 9, launched in June 1982 as a 1983 model and, although it was branded as a Renault, the car bore AMC's logo on rear window decals. Contrary to its French counterpart, the Alliance featured the same square twin headlights as the French Renault 11. The Alliance appeared on Car and Driver's Ten Best list for 1983, and was the 1983 Motor Trend Car of the Year. In addition to the 4-door, the Alliance was offered as a 2-door sedan, and (from 1985 on) as a convertible. In 1987 the Renault Encore, which was the American version of the Renault 11, was made part of the Alliance model range.

The Alliance afforded AMC the opportunity to field a new compact car without the expense of its design and tooling, still the alliance with Renault exacted a heavy price on AMC, which was required to shed its profitable AM General line of military vehicles because of Renault's interest in the firm. While considerably underpowered in view of the American customers' expectations, the Alliance and Encore had a definite advantage in ride and handling against other small cars available in America at the time and even had their own SCCA spec-racing series, the Alliance Cup.

While initial sales were promising, AMC's declining profit picture, combined with Renault's concerns with declining sales hurt the Alliance's chances in the U.S. market. Alliance production at Kenosha ended in June 1987, shortly after Chrysler's buyour of AMC was annouced.

The Alliance and Encore (renamed the Alliance Hatchback in 1986-87) were dropped after Chrysler's buyout of AMC in 1987. The Alliance did get one last hurrah in the American marketplace in 1987 with the one-year-only GTA coupe and convertible. These had a higher-performance 2.0 L engine, sport suspension, an aerodynamic body kit, Ronal wheels, and other "sporting" upgrades. Made in limited quantities, the GTA is something of a collector's item today. The failure of the Renault brass to recognize the American demand for more hp earlier on in the Alliance's run is considered one of the contributing factors to American Motors' downfall.

Category:Renault vehicles 9/11 Category:AMC vehicles