Which particular French automobile currently for sale in the U.S. might we choose to celebrate Bastille Day" The debate raged internally. Or it at least mildly seethed, in the manner of an impatient maître d?. The much-loved Citroën DS was bandied about and discarded as too obvious. Same for the 2CV and the Renault 4 and 5. The glorious and bizarre Citroën SM commands far too much money these days to be emblematic of anything more than wealth. Then it dawned on us. Given the debate that the Statue of Liberty may, in fact, be transgender, the worry across Europe in the wake of Brexit, and the general anxiety and strife that?s gripped the Continent over the past couple of years, why not return to a simpler time, one where the French stepped in to rescue struggling American Motors" The sporty, fragile Renault Fuego of the 1980s tempted us, but ultimately, we found ourselves looking for unity in these uncertain, fractious days. We needed an Alliance.
In the spirit of the season, we found two for the price of one on eBay. The runner of the pair is an exceptionally rare 1983 Motor Trend Car of the Year Edition, serial number 2699 of 3000. Now, lest you scoff at our rivals out in El Segundo, it must be noted that we added the Alliance to our 10Best Cars roster for 1983. And let?s face it, the Alliance has a pedigree. Its exterior was penned by no less a giant than Robert Opron, who?d designed legitimate French motoring classics like the SM and the CX, the Alpine A...