A Brief History of Eagle
Historical Overview
Failing automakers Hudson and Nash merged their fortunes to become American Motors Corporation, hoping that they could reap some economies of scale. Eventually, due to slow sales for their overweight cars, they were bought by Renault, partly to increase Renault's sales in the US. Renault's attempt failed, and Chrysler, under "buy and sell" Iaccoca, bought AMC.
Iaccoca, for unknown reasons, dropped the AMC name, replacing it with Eagle - named after a particularly heavy compact.
Eagle Premier - Dodge Monaco
Chrysler was contractually obligated to sell Renaults after buying AMC, leading to the Eagle Premier. Built in Bramalea (Ontario), it was the roomiest car in its class and quite aerodynamic. Its 3 liter, European, MPI V-6 and four-speed automatic were reportedly quite nice to drive, with 150 hp @ 5,000 rpm and 171 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm.
Sales were slow, partly because Eagle dealers were selling odds and ends: leftover AMCs, the Renault/AMC hybrid, the odd Mitsubishi, an LH (each depending on the year). Mainly, Eagle was a sideshow to Jeeps. Eventually, in October 1997, Chrysler announced it would end the Eagle name and franchise in 1998.
The Eagle car strategy
Dan Minick wrote:
The Eagle Vision replaced the Premier, which was the main cornerstone of the Eagle brand. (whether it--Premier--was a worthy one or not can be debated). Eagle was supposed to try and capture import buyers.
In the late 80s, the Grand Wagoneer held the position of having its buyers hold the highest average income of ANY 'american' built vehicle. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $100k. Cherokee held a spot equal to Cadillac Deville buyers (median income around $50k). Chrysler saw that the people who bought these vehicles didn't have Chryslers or even Lincolns in the gargage next to the Jeep. Volvo, Mercedes, Audi, etc were the garage roommates of the Cherokees & Grand Wagoneers. Chrysler said, why can't we provide a car that those people would consider buying while they're at the Jeep dealer instead of losing those sales to Volvo, Audi, etc. If Jeep is attracting those 'type' of buyers, why can't we do the same with a car line?
That is what the Premier was supposed to do, and the Vision, and the 300M (which was originally going to be an Eagle).
The Summit (Colt/Mirage) was a stop-gap model intended to give Alliance/Encore owners somewhere to go for a few years. The Medallion (R21) they were stuck with for a couple of years due to legal issues with Renault.
The Premier was unsure of what its mission was. It seemed that Chrysler aimed the low line models against Taurus, and the ES and Limited ones against Acura, Volvo. I think confusion reigned because of it.
Eagle ended up competing against corresponding Chrysler and Dodge models. Somewhere in the early-mid 90s the decision was made to eventually dual JeepEagle with Chrylser-Plymouth, leading to the long-term goal of phase-out of the Eagle brand and eventually Plymouth also. Chrysler-Jeep would become the "upper-crust" division.
Honestly, I felt worse about Eagle getting the axe more than Plymouth. Plymouth offered nothing that you couldn't get as a Dodge, except the Prowler, which I personally wouldn't want even if you gave it to me. Eagle could have been so much more...
Eagle cars
