class." 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." 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". By 1986, a Popular Science comparison with newly introduced Asian-built competing cars, the Renault Alliance was described as the oldest design, and "felt the most refined." The road test noted the Renault did well in the tests with "trunk and doors closed with an almost Mercedes-like clunk" and "the car's excellent handling" allowing to remain poised through potholes and "stable when passed by large tractor-trailer trucks." The Alliance performed better than the new Hyundai Excel and that Renault "dealers would be willing to negotiate on the final price." In 1987, Popular Mechanics reported on the Alliance convertible in sports trim, saying "the GTA package is really excellent, transforming the bland Alliance econobox into a veritable Pocket Rocket." 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." Racing series The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) spec-racing series Renault LeCar Cup was successful, and while relatively underpowered with its "fuel sipping" 1.4 L engine, the Alliance's "excellent" ride and handling compared to the other small cars sold in America at the time, was an advantage that contributed to establishing the Alliance Cup in 1983. 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 Alliance provided many donor parts (engine and suspension) for the Sports Renault race car, a single make series created by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) in 1984. Designed by Roy Lunn, it was a low-cost purpose-built racer. The car was developed and manufactured by Renault/Jeep Sport USA in Livonia, Michigan, under direction of Vic Elford; with more than five hundred were built. Most cars still exist, although the majority have been converted to use a Ford engine