👍😊👍Yep. They inherited that whole "Let's build cars NO ONE else is" from Nash. As historic as Hudson was with the performance of the 1950s Hornet (and I guess you could say AMC's performance models like the Rambler Rebel, AMX and Javelin are of that heritage.), I always looked at AMC as "Nash", making unique cars like The early "unibody" Nash 600, the first NON CHEAPSKATE compact in the original Rambler, The only "wide" subcompact in the Pacer, and INVENTING the whole AWD car based wagon genre with the Eagle. (Subaru's claim of the first "sport utility wagon" with the Forrester is utter bullshit!). Ford, GM and Chrysler copied each other, AMC offered something DIFFERENT.
Former owner the following: 1974 AMC Matador Wagon 1978 AMC Concord DL 1981 AMC Concord DL Wagon 1986 AMC Eagle Wagon 4x4 All four automobiles would outstanding. Today I drive 2019 Jeep Renegade Laredo 4x4 it's basically a Fiat! But sold by Chrysler/Fiat company. You can thank Lee Iacocca, for buying out AMC to get the Jeep trademark. Thank you
My dad had a 95 Eagle Vision. It was really nice! Top end model with leather, heated seats, dual climate control, etc. and it hauled ass. They were pretty great very reliable too.
I do love cab forward, and owned a 97 Stratus ES so I got to experience it. This era of Dodge was by far the slowest and from a performance standpoint, downright disappointing for their mass market buyers. I now daily a 2008 300C and by far this is hands down more reliable and tons more fun.
I also at one point had a 97 Avenger ES with the same 2.5L v6 and autostick my later Stratus had. It had so much sweet styling ruined by a lazy drivetrain, the v6 was slower than the base 2.0 i4 and stick shift 5 speed.
George Romney knew. Before he left, AMC produced small reliable cars that had a niche market in the US. Had he stayed until the Jeep purchase, things might have been different.
Personally, I would love to own myself a Nash Metropolitan. It's basically a re-packaged Austin A90 America, so parts would be everywhere, it would be fuel-efficient even by today's standards, and it's rather cute. As for AMC proper, I always thought that the Marlin is a grossly-underrated car. The final 1967 version with the Ambassador front clip looked particularly nice.
I love my AMC Eagle woody wagon. I wanted one since I was kid and finally found a nice example a couple of years ago. I can't fill it at gas stations without getting someone asking me about it...
My favourite AMC cars were the Marlin, the 1968-70 Javelin, the 1971-78 Matador, the 1978 and 79 Concord, the 1981-83 Spirit, I love the 1983 through 88 Eagle 4wd Wagon.
Definitely want to see part 2. My dad had a Premier ES when I was a teen, it was a massive pile, but it was great to drive and super comfortable and the Italian designed body was really good to look at. The chronic transmission, cooling, and electrical issues really let it down though. I think most of the problem though was that no one in North America knew how to work on a crazy French car.. On a side note, the 3.0 V6 is a variation of the same PRV V6 found in the DeLorean DMC12 and the Renault Alpine Turbo
I had a 1988 Renault Medallion. Super comfortable but used the same transmission cooler, which Renault bought from a Spanish supplier. The Premier was based on the Renault 25, Renault's biggest luxury car at the time. I was quite advanced but it spent too much time being serviced for recurring faults. The R25 that belonged to Renault's CEO went for some kind of repair or service at least once a month. Renault has done a much better job since then.
That old Eagle Wagon. Just look at all the panel gaps. The headlights were never aligned right. The door panels and trim never lined up. The moldings, fit and finish were just a mess. I love quirky cars but damn. I remember when they were new and they immediately looked cheap. To their credit though, their toughness surpassed their cheesy looks.
Love this video, and for more I LOVE EAGLE TALONS. The name Eagle just sounds so AMERICAN and out of the Diamond Star Motor merger I only own the nothing but Eagle. Currently, own 2 Eagle Talons, 95 Eagle Talon TSI AWD 61k original miles and a 92 Eagle Talon TSI FWD Automatic swap Drag Racing car. Love these cars, meant the best of friends with these cars. Ever year in Ohio, there is a HUGE Car meet/racing event going on 27 years so far and continuing. I will never get rid of my cars and be that 70 year old still driving one.
I love the Marspeed videos...Very informative and well presented! I had the 1989 Eagle premier ES Limited. Sharp looking car but poorly built as it came with many problems.
That's a good lookin Grand Cherokee @7:12, not lifted up too high, clean paint and wood trim, yeah that's a nice rig....I recently bought an 85 Cj7, it's my 4th Jeep but my first AMC vehicle of any kind...they used a lot of plastic fasteners, so it's easy to strip em out, and I've rebuilt every system on it, and it's actually turning out to be a reliable vehicle....later this year or early next year, I'm droppin Ford Coyote 5.0 motor in....👊🏻🤘🏻🇺🇸
AMC didn't change the build quality, or even the name as my Dad to this day owns a Kaiser Cj-5 Renegade I, of Jeeps til 1974, acquiring and using Kaiser parts and thus keeping the build quality high on Jeeps produced between 1970 - 1973...after that, the Jeep was nowhere near the capable off-road vehicle it once was, with severe deficiencies in the differentials and transfer case/transmissions....
I don’t think a lot of people realize this, but the platform from the original eagle premier was actually an asset to Chrysler. I say this because it was the basis for the LH platform. Yes, it didn’t exactly have the cab forward style of the cars that would be put on the L each platform, but the layout of the eagle premier would actually be the basis on which it was built.
Great film. Thanks. It was an obscure car company that lacked a sense of identity. It changed a lot. It produced a variety of vehicles. It partnered with different manufacturers. I wish the Datsun 260 Z still exists. A neat mid sized sports car. Unrelated point, oh well.
My dad still has his Turquoise Blue Metallic 92 Talon TSi turbo AWD. Clicked over 300k miles last week actually. He is the reason that color existed for the Talon. It was available for the Eclipse, but he talked the factory into putting it on the Talon.
It was not a merger but a takeover. Some of your information is good and some is bit off. AMC Eagle and Eagle brands are completely different vehicles.
Just saw 007- The Man with the Golden Gun for the first time in about 30 years. Bond and Scaramanga gave that AMC Matador and Hornet a hell of a workout in the chase scene!
Very thorough and informative video! Quite entertaining too, reminding me of a number of models from the 90s I had totally forgotten. You're correct that Eagle was not really known or considered for most of its life cycle. But with the introduction of the Diamond Star Coupes, Eagle became quite well known--and well respected--in the enthusiast community for the Talon TSI all-wheel drive turbo. I believe the Talon was more popular and widely recognized than the Eclipse or Laser.
My family used to run an AMC/ Rambler dealer back in the day. Lots of stories I’ve heard about how great they were in their hay day. Now my family has a javelin, gremlin, spirit, daily driven eagle, rambler, and a junkyard full of amc parts cars. My great grandpa who owned the dealership was only 1.5 hours north of Kenosha and personally knew Lee Iacocca. I love my 2012 Charger RT but damn, I was born in the wrong generation.
Great video!!! Looking forward to the deep dive on the Eagle lineup. I always thought the Talon was a sharp car and combined with the Eagle brand it had a cleaver name.
If course I want to have part two too see on UA-cam Channel do it bro please so its for and oldschool mistsubishi fan boy who never got Mitsubishi products here in Canada
I'm 40 and have always been a car buff so I vividly remember the Eagle brand. There was an elderly man on my street who recently moved in that drove a mid 1990s Eagle Vision TSI. My son and others were absolutely perplexed end had never heard of an Eagle Vision and only barely I had heard of the eagle talon. A couple months ago he traded his Eagle Vision infor a Camry. I was sad since it felt like a piece of my childhood and God only knows when I'll ever see another one. I talked to the man who told me that his Eagle Vision although it looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor was a pile of crap since new. It suffered 2 failing head gaskets and a transmission during the 57k miles he owned it.
I love the Eagle brand! Even though all Eagles are rebadged vehicles, they felt special to me! Would have loved to have seen Eagle versions of the Dodge Grand Caravan and Dodge Spirit that were planned but never made!
I read somewhere that Iacocca ordered a study what it would cost to create a brand like Jeep with same ubiquity and recognition. In 1980 money, it would cost Chrysler Corp $4 Billion. So $1.5 Billion for the whole corporation was a steal
This is true. I also ran across this information. Iacocca knew AMC was loaded to the max in value, and went for it. The only mistake was when AMC was shut down. If Chrysler who is now part of Stellantis brought back AMC they might have something. They should have had a modern day AMX, or Javelyn to compete with the Charger, and Mustang.
I owned an eagle vision TSi in the mid-90's and it was one of the best cars I've ever owned. I liked that it was different than the Intrepid/Concourse, but still shared that platform. The car was very quick and sporty with great throttle response, so much so that my wife was afraid to drive it. It was loaded with luxury features and was very comfortable to boot. Just a great car all around.
Loved the brand. I got my drivers licence in a Concord, my first car was a Javelin, then a Concord. Definitely should have stayed with smaller cars and the Jeep.
Had both Studebaker and Packard merged together with Hudson and Nash along with Kaiser and Jeep then not only AMC would've become the big 4th and compete with the big 3 with ease but also AMC as a whole as well as its divisions would've been around to this day. Here are the AMC Divisions. AMC Divisions Kaiser=Cheap budget brand (to compete with Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth) Studebaker=Midlevel/performance brand (to compete with Edsel, Pontiac, and Dodge) Nash=Midlevel luxury brand (to compete with Mercury, Oldsmobile, and Desoto) Hudson=Upscale Midlevel luxury brand (to compete with Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler) Packard=High end expensive luxury brand (to compete with Continental, Cadillac, and Imperial) Jeep=Ultimate truck brand (to compete with GMC as well the 2 Canadian trucks like Mercury and Fargo).
I owned a 1976 AMC Hornet 2 door tan color was one of the better-looking ones from AMC, I still purchase /own to this day a 1990 Eagle Talon base model with only 16,000 miles on it, super nice styling and goes when you step on the gas. Talon base model sold for around $12,000 US front-wheel drive, roll-up windows, no air conditioning, no cruise control, 5 speed, the upgraded version had body molding, air, and cruise. Still driving the Talon during the good weather months still a great looking car to this day.
My connection to AMC...parents purchased a 1971 AMC Hornet as a second car to replace an aging '63 Impala.....Dad was in grad school and got a great deal on the Hornet as they were clearing out the 71s. Overall, it held up ok mechanically...other than it stalling when the airconditioning was on. Took a bit to solve that...eventually we just stopped using the AC....Plastic bits cracked...doors sagged and the tops of the fenders rusted out.. We had the car for 10 years and it was involved in 3 car accidents which probably didn't help it cosmetically. To be fair, a 1970s car be driven for 10 years was probably an eternity. Dad looked at getting an AMC Eagle in 1980 when they first came out because he liked the idea of a four wheel drive car in our snow belt state but they were expensive and while he never said so I think our Hornet experience soured him on AMC products. Though some years later, I found a Hornet SC360 for sale...the muscle car version of the Hornet...in the early 2000s....Dad dryly commented about the Hornet being crap when new..can't imaging what a 30 year old one would be like. I remember when Chrysler took over AMC and Iacocca was advertising the new division...focusing on the Jeeps...the Eagle cars seemed to be an afterthought. Eventually I got a job with a car rental agency at their corporate headquarters....and I recall we had some of the Eagle sedans as fleet vehicles at some locations. If I recall correctly, in addition to Jeep and the new factory in Ontario, didn't the LH sedans derive their basic architecture from the Eagle Premier? I always thought the Eagle Vision was the best styled car of the LH bunch and after the brand was cancelled, the Vision was rebranded as the Chrysler 300M which also an attractive and sporty sedan.
Interesting video but The cab forward sedans Like the intrepid, Concord, Vision, etc We're actually not fully "Chrysler" designed. They actually were heavily influenced by Renault and in fact you could say that the Eagle Premier was The vehicle that they were heavily based on. That's why they were such an improvement from any of the other offerings ever designed by Chrysler and had such a European feel to them and why when the models were re designed in the late 1990s They flopped. I have an elderly neighbor who was on the design team that helped to convert the Renault design into The American cab forward sedans from France in the 1980s. They tried to market the Eagle brand to the generation X people who weren't intrested in buying The traditional American car which had such Bed reputations. I still have a VHS tape that he gave me when I was a kid starring Greg Kinnear. The slogan was "wake up and drives". They unsuccessfully tried to market their cars as heavily foreign influenced American cars that were closer to the toyo to Camry and Honda Accord then they were to the Ford Taurus Or Chevy lumina. Oldsmobile try to do the same thing before they slopped in the late 1990s until their death in the early millennium with the oldsmobile alero Which was really just a redesign achieva. Most also Beals in the new 1990s Seem to be designed destined for the rental car lots So when they redesigned the achieva and named it the a lero just like the Eagle brand had tried and failed at they were targeting the Camry and accord buyers.
There was almost a four-wheel-drive version of the Renault Alliance to be called the Alliance Aiglon, Aiglon being French for "baby eagle." Not making that up.
Man, I would love to own myself a Nash Metropolitan. It's basically a re-packaged Austin A90 America, so parts would be everywhere, it would be fuel-efficient in its day, and it's rather cute. As for AMC proper, I always thought that the Marlin is a grossly-underrated car. The final 1967 version with the Ambassador front clip looked particularly nice.
1995 1998 Talon ESI, the non turbo one, had a chrysler engine called the 420a based on the neon DOHC engine short block with a different front exhaust head , the same engine was also in the mitsubishi eclipse 2G the dodge avenger and chrysler sebring that's also the engine in the famous green Eclipse from the 1st fast and furious movie ... the one WITHOUT all the mods that Jessy is mentionning
I had a 1989 Eagle Medallion wagon. It was without question the worst car I ever purchased in terms of reliability. Electrical problems galore, coolant leaks, power steering died, more.
We had a 1989 Eagle Premier burgundy with gray suede interior and on the exterior it had the burgundy paint with gray Plastics and it had some weird European name in the front bumpers but it was pretty fancy we loved that car so much we would l take it to Mexico ,boy did that car turn heads added tinted windows all around it was a very luxurious car at the time as I recall cuz I was young. it was pretty fast when I was 18 I remember driving it my parents bought it brand new and when I drove it in 98 when I was 18 it had guns it used to peel out. It was fast in the freeway to. I remember all the space inside it was very spacious I screwed my neighbor in that car the backseat it was so funny my dad went outside to smoke a cigarette and he said he could hear the car squeaking and he waited and 30 minutes later I got out with the girl next door my dad was like this son of a bitch was screwing her. We laughed so much my dad died a year later those memories in that car man it was my dad's pride and joy after he died that car for some reason didn't want to work no more after he died it was weird but then when my sister would drive it it worked fine maybe it had a Christine soul like the movie Christine..lol
Chrysler M-body Diplomat/Fury/5th Ave production was contracted out to AMC in September of '86, with production at the KAP main plant, beginning in February of '87, quickly followed by the L body Omni/Horizon (Kenosha lakeside plant). The contracts were originally for 5 years. In January of '88, Chrysler announced both Kenosha plants would close by that June. That was a pissing match between Chrysler Chairman Lido Anthony Iaccoca, and UAW Local 72. After all the lawsuit threats, and the mud and the blood and the beer, Chrysler coughed up a bunch of money for the affected employees, and production wound down after Thanksgiving of '88. The last M-body, a Bright White 1989 5th Avenue, rolled off the line on December 23rd. The lake plant came down in January of '89. Production of the L bodies moved to Detroit, and KAP continued production of the 4.0 Jeep 6 engine, joined in a few years by the 3.5 and later the 2.7 Chrysler V6 engines, both of which were dropped after 2010, when the plant closed. Today, there is nothing left, except for the huge slab where KAP main plant once stood.
Did I understand you correctly that you only got the AMC Eagle Wagon in 1980!? I wonder where it originated from, then, maybe Australia? Here in South Africa we had that very same shape with slightly older-looking grille and bumpers from the early '70s under the name Rambler Hornet (the sedan) and the Rambler Hornet Sportabout (the wagon). Then, at the same time as a face lift, the Rambler name was dropped and they were rebadged as the AMC Hornet and the AMC Hornet Sportabout, respectively, only available with a 4.1 litre straight six from Chrysler, I believe. My dad bought a Sportabout in '75 and sold it in '80. They both just had a normal 4x2 drivetrain though. Was a good car with a very reliable engine.
I know I am years late to this topic, but I just recently discovered this channel. I found the AMC/ Eagle history interesting. I have always been a fan of the underdog. In the video you mentioned a possible part 2 with more details about the Eagle cars. I can't find it. Did it ever come to fruition ?
Have owned 10 AMC ,Jeep & Eagle cars . Best cars I've owned, Premier was roomy, huge trunk SX/4 went everywhere, AMX was the best looking Gremlins were cool, Alliance got great gas mileage, Jeeps ... Nothing stopped them, miss AMC !
Talon and Eclipse were two of the “cool cars” of the late 90s and early 2000s along with GT3000s/Stealth, S2000s, Celica and so on. I’m talking middle class cars. I rarely saw a Supra and every old guy had a 97-98 Vette which I love. Maybe I’ll pick something up for nostalgia however I don’t expect to love that generations performance and handling compared to modern cars and really it’s not about that I enjoy cruising in a 84 Vette that is loud and slow.
Think what EAGLE could've been with a focus on its strengths being an extension of the JEEP brand: Euro style, AWD performance for the streets. LH/LX was designed for this. Optima, Vision, Jazz, Talon and Medllion. They pulled the plug too soon, IMO.
My Dad got a brand new Premier V6 in ‘88 and it became my first car in ‘93, with around 100k on it. By that point the electrics were shot. Windows didn’t work, AC didn’t work, it would overheat...but, I loved that car...my friends had boring American cars, my car was cool and “European”. It was so comfortable and “fast”. It just wasn’t reliable.
chrysler made the move for the jeep XJ not the ZJ!!!!!!! the ZJ or grand cherokee was a chrysler built........ you are telling so much bad info in your video!!!!!!!
I bought the Eagle Talon TSI with AWD back in 1990... Driving that car was the most fun I had with my clothes on. I really liked it's aesthetics so I made sure it looked stock outwardly. That said, it was modified and was an absolute BEAST on the track.
me and my buddy drove his moms medallion from Yuma AZ to Elcentro CA which is right at 60 miles in 32 minuets. it might have only had 103 HP but had no problem hitting a prolonged 120 MPH.
I had an Eagle Premier. Styling by Giugiaro, PRV engine, ZF trans. Lots of comfort features. It was a VERY good car. Had over 220,000 mi. when it hit a deer.
I like AMC. Eagle was never much. The only cars they sold that had any uniqueness were the rebadged Renaults, which were pieces of crap (Not that the other Chryslers weren't). After that, Eagle just sold rebadged Mitsubishis that were normally also sold as Plymouths and/or Dodges. Chrysler really should've just rolled Jeep into existing dealers and sold the other cars as AMCs or Plymouths until the contracts expired, then just dumped them. Eagle is a casualty of the greatest single decision Lee Iaccoca ever made. His decision to buy Jeep is the only reason we still have Chrysler today.
AMC management had pioneered how to outsource parts production to achieve efficiency and brought new models to the market at minimum expense. Personnel with that knowledge, plus the new car plant in Brampton, plus the Jeep brand were the assets Chrysler desperately needed going forward, especially the talents of AMC (Renault) executive François J. Castaing. Former used LHS satisfied owner who reluctantly traded in his trouble free Eagle Talon for it. I still regret all these years later not having been able to keep both.
You get to mixing too many brands, then You start to losing brand Identity. And Sooner or later, one or two brand starts to get lost in the shuffle. And PSA & FCA are on the VERGE of this. FCA was already having issues with too many brands, it's going to multiply now with PSA.
I owned a 1968 javelin. It was the small javelin. My husband traded it for Chevy camero got 100$ for trade in which really pissed me off. Gainesville fla Chevy dealership let him sign my title. I owned that before i married him. Seeing this just made me angry all over again. Lol
The Eagle Premier was the exclusive model, and Chrysler screwed that up, by raising the price to the luxury range, with no real 'value' added. For example calling the Taurus an Audi 5000s. It needs a next level upgrade. It was a cash grab, that backfired.
It's very sad but yes I feel like Eagle never had a Fighting Chance also can you take a look into DSM AKA Diamond Star Motors also DSM shootout which is in Norwalk Ohio where people compete with eagle talon Plymouth Laser verses similar cars I actually own a second gen Talon a few names to note John Shepherd dave bushur brent rau I also have a list of these cars back in the 90s all running in a 10-second margin and was crowned the fastest Imports at the time
The AMC eagle wagon was the first crossover vehicle made
Ahead of its time for sure.
I loved AMC I thought they had the more unique cars .
👍😊👍Yep. They inherited that whole "Let's build cars NO ONE else is" from Nash. As historic as Hudson was with the performance of the 1950s Hornet (and I guess you could say AMC's performance models like the Rambler Rebel, AMX and Javelin are of that heritage.), I always looked at AMC as "Nash", making unique cars like The early "unibody" Nash 600, the first NON CHEAPSKATE compact in the original Rambler, The only "wide" subcompact in the Pacer, and INVENTING the whole AWD car based wagon genre with the Eagle. (Subaru's claim of the first "sport utility wagon" with the Forrester is utter bullshit!). Ford, GM and Chrysler copied each other, AMC offered something DIFFERENT.
Instablaster...
Former owner the following:
1974 AMC Matador Wagon
1978 AMC Concord DL
1981 AMC Concord DL Wagon
1986 AMC Eagle Wagon 4x4
All four automobiles would outstanding. Today I drive 2019 Jeep Renegade Laredo 4x4 it's basically a Fiat! But sold by Chrysler/Fiat company. You can thank Lee Iacocca, for buying out AMC to get the Jeep trademark. Thank you
My dad had a 95 Eagle Vision. It was really nice! Top end model with leather, heated seats, dual climate control, etc. and it hauled ass. They were pretty great very reliable too.
I thought that the Eagle Talon was the coolest car on the road when I was a kid!
Also please do a video on the cab forward era of Chrysler and Dodge!
Mike Zerker to this day it’s a top 25 favorite of mine
Agreed. Love my 300m
I do love cab forward, and owned a 97 Stratus ES so I got to experience it. This era of Dodge was by far the slowest and from a performance standpoint, downright disappointing for their mass market buyers. I now daily a 2008 300C and by far this is hands down more reliable and tons more fun.
I also at one point had a 97 Avenger ES with the same 2.5L v6 and autostick my later Stratus had. It had so much sweet styling ruined by a lazy drivetrain, the v6 was slower than the base 2.0 i4 and stick shift 5 speed.
WinkelManBearPig bull. The 99 300m was 1sec slower around courses than the 99 vette. Might want to look a Motortrend’s 1999 car of the year article.
I feel like AMC had no clue what kind of car company it wanted to be
Facts, but the AMC Javelin, Eagle, and Rambler were their best cars. Gremlins and Pacers are meh
Miggy Silva 1970 AMC AMX is my dream car!! It’s sooo good looking at many angles!!
George Romney knew. Before he left, AMC produced small reliable cars that had a niche market in the US. Had he stayed until the Jeep purchase, things might have been different.
Personally, I would love to own myself a Nash Metropolitan. It's basically a re-packaged Austin A90 America, so parts would be everywhere, it would be fuel-efficient even by today's standards, and it's rather cute. As for AMC proper, I always thought that the Marlin is a grossly-underrated car. The final 1967 version with the Ambassador front clip looked particularly nice.
Actually, they had a very clear focus on what kind of company they wanted to be. They just could never muster the resources to make it happen.
Eagle was an American-French-Japanese hodgepodge.
So was or is Crysler
And dont forget dodge. So its a hodgepodgedodge.,
You can add Canadian to that mixorama.
Initial Wii ....I don't know about any Asian company having anything to do with AMC, I doubt that that occurred....
@@branon6565 The Eagle Talon and Summit were rebadged Mitsubishis.
Please don't ever stop making these videos lol
The Eagle Vision was even sold in Europe as the Chrysler Vision
When you think about the eagle wagon was the first cross over so It
Left its mark on automotive history .
I love my AMC Eagle woody wagon. I wanted one since I was kid and finally found a nice example a couple of years ago. I can't fill it at gas stations without getting someone asking me about it...
I had an Eagle Medallion. I hated that car.
My favourite AMC cars were the Marlin, the 1968-70 Javelin, the 1971-78 Matador, the 1978 and 79 Concord, the 1981-83 Spirit, I love the 1983 through 88 Eagle 4wd Wagon.
Jason Carpp....agree 100% on the Marlin, that fastback bodystyle looked awesome, all it needed was a big block, 4 spd, and posi rear end....
Cool, I like a lot of these car's 😀 Part 2 will be cool to watch also .
Great job. Love hearing about AMC & Jeep. Could care less about Eagle.
I miss amc
Definitely want to see part 2.
My dad had a Premier ES when I was a teen, it was a massive pile, but it was great to drive and super comfortable and the Italian designed body was really good to look at. The chronic transmission, cooling, and electrical issues really let it down though. I think most of the problem though was that no one in North America knew how to work on a crazy French car..
On a side note, the 3.0 V6 is a variation of the same PRV V6 found in the DeLorean DMC12 and the Renault Alpine Turbo
I had a 1988 Renault Medallion. Super comfortable but used the same transmission cooler, which Renault bought from a Spanish supplier. The Premier was based on the Renault 25, Renault's biggest luxury car at the time. I was quite advanced but it spent too much time being serviced for recurring faults. The R25 that belonged to Renault's CEO went for some kind of repair or service at least once a month. Renault has done a much better job since then.
This one is really appreciated, btw the eagle talon tsi is still one of my favorites
I had a blue 95 eagle talon tsi awd. It's still my favorite car
AMC is my favorite American automaker.
😂🤣
Same
@@TEDdotcom What
For me it would have to be Studebaker. They're so under-rated and under-appreciated nowadays. A piece of America really did die on December 20, 1963.
Great video bro👍👍 I own a Chrysler 300m Special . Is there any pics with the redesigned Eagle Vision Logo on the 300m ?
allpar300_ M I daily a m
Do a video on the history of the Dodge Ram.
I have been waiting for that for I don't know, forever.
I owned 2 AMC ragles. 1984 amc 4door auto. a 1983 amc eagle wagon 4 speed. Loved them both
Do a video of the history of DSM (Diamond star motors)
I'll be waiting patiently for part two. I love the Eagle Talon. RIP Eagle.
That old Eagle Wagon. Just look at all the panel gaps. The headlights were never aligned right. The door panels and trim never lined up. The moldings, fit and finish were just a mess. I love quirky cars but damn. I remember when they were new and they immediately looked cheap. To their credit though, their toughness surpassed their cheesy looks.
Love this video, and for more I LOVE EAGLE TALONS. The name Eagle just sounds so AMERICAN and out of the Diamond Star Motor merger I only own the nothing but Eagle. Currently, own 2 Eagle Talons, 95 Eagle Talon TSI AWD 61k original miles and a 92 Eagle Talon TSI FWD Automatic swap Drag Racing car. Love these cars, meant the best of friends with these cars. Ever year in Ohio, there is a HUGE Car meet/racing event going on 27 years so far and continuing. I will never get rid of my cars and be that 70 year old still driving one.
Could we get a vid on the history of the Dodge Stealth?
Dusk 745 it’s a gt3000. %100 Mitsubishi.
I owned an eagle talon tsi AWD and it was a super fun car! I wish I could find another one :(
How about the Jeep Commander?
I liked the odd ball eagle premier with its pod controls. Fun fact the v6 was the same engine as a delorean.
I love the Marspeed videos...Very informative and well presented! I had the 1989 Eagle premier ES Limited. Sharp looking car but poorly built as it came with many problems.
Definitely do a part 2 with a focus on the AMC Eagle.
That's a good lookin Grand Cherokee @7:12, not lifted up too high, clean paint and wood trim, yeah that's a nice rig....I recently bought an 85 Cj7, it's my 4th Jeep but my first AMC vehicle of any kind...they used a lot of plastic fasteners, so it's easy to strip em out, and I've rebuilt every system on it, and it's actually turning out to be a reliable vehicle....later this year or early next year, I'm droppin Ford Coyote 5.0 motor in....👊🏻🤘🏻🇺🇸
AMC didn't change the build quality, or even the name as my Dad to this day owns a Kaiser Cj-5 Renegade I, of Jeeps til 1974, acquiring and using Kaiser parts and thus keeping the build quality high on Jeeps produced between 1970 - 1973...after that, the Jeep was nowhere near the capable off-road vehicle it once was, with severe deficiencies in the differentials and transfer case/transmissions....
I don’t think a lot of people realize this, but the platform from the original eagle premier was actually an asset to Chrysler. I say this because it was the basis for the LH platform. Yes, it didn’t exactly have the cab forward style of the cars that would be put on the L each platform, but the layout of the eagle premier would actually be the basis on which it was built.
I have an AMC Eagle woody wagon, OK two of them. Check out my channel for a video if interested.
The Jeep Cherokee deserves it's own video. Love my XJ.
I always wanted the 4x4 wagon
Great film.
Thanks.
It was an obscure car company that lacked a sense of identity. It changed a lot.
It produced a variety of vehicles.
It partnered with different manufacturers.
I wish the Datsun 260 Z still exists.
A neat mid sized sports car.
Unrelated point, oh well.
My dad still has his Turquoise Blue Metallic 92 Talon TSi turbo AWD. Clicked over 300k miles last week actually. He is the reason that color existed for the Talon. It was available for the Eclipse, but he talked the factory into putting it on the Talon.
68- 74 AMX.
It was not a merger but a takeover. Some of your information is good and some is bit off. AMC Eagle and Eagle brands are completely different vehicles.
Just saw 007- The Man with the Golden Gun for the first time in about 30 years. Bond and Scaramanga gave that AMC Matador and Hornet a hell of a workout in the chase scene!
Kenneth Houston and I think there's a car chase through Bangkok and I think the Thai police have AMC cars. Not sure which model.
Very thorough and informative video! Quite entertaining too, reminding me of a number of models from the 90s I had totally forgotten. You're correct that Eagle was not really known or considered for most of its life cycle. But with the introduction of the Diamond Star Coupes, Eagle became quite well known--and well respected--in the enthusiast community for the Talon TSI all-wheel drive turbo. I believe the Talon was more popular and widely recognized than the Eclipse or Laser.
I always thought that the 2g Eagle Talon with the whale tail and turbo engine was so much more desirable than the Mitsubishi versions, way cooler.
My family used to run an AMC/ Rambler dealer back in the day. Lots of stories I’ve heard about how great they were in their hay day. Now my family has a javelin, gremlin, spirit, daily driven eagle, rambler, and a junkyard full of amc parts cars. My great grandpa who owned the dealership was only 1.5 hours north of Kenosha and personally knew Lee Iacocca. I love my 2012 Charger RT but damn, I was born in the wrong generation.
WOW 😀
French commies assassinated the president of Renault and the board and new CEO decided to pull out of the US market.
Chrysler bought AMC then they killed it. They only wanted Jeep. This never should have happened.
Great video!!! Looking forward to the deep dive on the Eagle lineup. I always thought the Talon was a sharp car and combined with the Eagle brand it had a cleaver name.
If course I want to have part two too see on UA-cam Channel do it bro please so its for and oldschool mistsubishi fan boy who never got Mitsubishi products here in Canada
Chrysler tarnishing the reputation? Lol
Please do Part 2!!! If I could go back in time I think I would’ve loved to have owned the vision
Thank you for a great video. It shows the steady improvement in the quality of your videos.
I'm 40 and have always been a car buff so I vividly remember the Eagle brand. There was an elderly man on my street who recently moved in that drove a mid 1990s Eagle Vision TSI. My son and others were absolutely perplexed end had never heard of an Eagle Vision and only barely I had heard of the eagle talon. A couple months ago he traded his Eagle Vision infor a Camry. I was sad since it felt like a piece of my childhood and God only knows when I'll ever see another one. I talked to the man who told me that his Eagle Vision although it looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor was a pile of crap since new. It suffered 2 failing head gaskets and a transmission during the 57k miles he owned it.
That’s Mitsubishi reliability for you.
I love the Eagle brand! Even though all Eagles are rebadged vehicles, they felt special to me! Would have loved to have seen Eagle versions of the Dodge Grand Caravan and Dodge Spirit that were planned but never made!
I read somewhere that Iacocca ordered a study what it would cost to create a brand like Jeep with same ubiquity and recognition. In 1980 money, it would cost Chrysler Corp $4 Billion. So $1.5 Billion for the whole corporation was a steal
This is true. I also ran across this information. Iacocca knew AMC was loaded to the max in value, and went for it. The only mistake was when AMC was shut down. If Chrysler who is now part of Stellantis brought back AMC they might have something. They should have had a modern day AMX, or Javelyn to compete with the Charger, and Mustang.
@@ericknoblauch9195 in house competition doesn’t make sense
I owned an eagle vision TSi in the mid-90's and it was one of the best cars I've ever owned. I liked that it was different than the Intrepid/Concourse, but still shared that platform. The car was very quick and sporty with great throttle response, so much so that my wife was afraid to drive it. It was loaded with luxury features and was very comfortable to boot. Just a great car all around.
Great video. But my God. Slow the freak down! Geesh lol
The Javelin is an underrated Muscle Car!
The amx has always been my favorite muscle car and the talon I've always had a soft spot for too.
Yes do a second part, I had a Rebel
I loved my 1990 eagle premier ES. I kept it until 2005 when I could no longer find parts for it!
They were very good cars. unappreciated.
God damn those 90-99 eagles, I mean dsm/mitsu cars 😍 all those colts/summits/talon/2000gtx(aka Colt sedan)such a good looking era
Only eagles I knew were the speedster and the talon.
Loved the brand. I got my drivers licence in a Concord, my first car was a Javelin, then a Concord. Definitely should have stayed with smaller cars and the Jeep.
Should have kept that Javelin
Interesting about American Motors Corporation: ua-cam.com/video/QVRzUngBIGs/v-deo.html
Your facts are a little off but mostly on point
Had both Studebaker and Packard merged together with Hudson and Nash along with Kaiser and Jeep then not only AMC would've become the big 4th and compete with the big 3 with ease but also AMC as a whole as well as its divisions would've been around to this day. Here are the AMC Divisions.
AMC Divisions
Kaiser=Cheap budget brand (to compete with Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth)
Studebaker=Midlevel/performance brand (to compete with Edsel, Pontiac, and Dodge)
Nash=Midlevel luxury brand (to compete with Mercury, Oldsmobile, and Desoto)
Hudson=Upscale Midlevel luxury brand (to compete with Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler)
Packard=High end expensive luxury brand (to compete with Continental, Cadillac, and Imperial)
Jeep=Ultimate truck brand (to compete with GMC as well the 2 Canadian trucks like Mercury and Fargo).
I owned a 1976 AMC Hornet 2 door tan color was one of the better-looking ones from AMC, I still purchase /own to this day a 1990 Eagle Talon base model with only 16,000 miles on it, super nice styling and goes when you step on the gas. Talon base model sold for around $12,000 US front-wheel drive, roll-up windows, no air conditioning, no cruise control, 5 speed, the upgraded version had body molding, air, and cruise. Still driving the Talon during the good weather months still a great looking car to this day.
Like the Premier / Monaco Nice!
My connection to AMC...parents purchased a 1971 AMC Hornet as a second car to replace an aging '63 Impala.....Dad was in grad school and got a great deal on the Hornet as they were clearing out the 71s. Overall, it held up ok mechanically...other than it stalling when the airconditioning was on. Took a bit to solve that...eventually we just stopped using the AC....Plastic bits cracked...doors sagged and the tops of the fenders rusted out.. We had the car for 10 years and it was involved in 3 car accidents which probably didn't help it cosmetically. To be fair, a 1970s car be driven for 10 years was probably an eternity.
Dad looked at getting an AMC Eagle in 1980 when they first came out because he liked the idea of a four wheel drive car in our snow belt state but they were expensive and while he never said so I think our Hornet experience soured him on AMC products. Though some years later, I found a Hornet SC360 for sale...the muscle car version of the Hornet...in the early 2000s....Dad dryly commented about the Hornet being crap when new..can't imaging what a 30 year old one would be like.
I remember when Chrysler took over AMC and Iacocca was advertising the new division...focusing on the Jeeps...the Eagle cars seemed to be an afterthought. Eventually I got a job with a car rental agency at their corporate headquarters....and I recall we had some of the Eagle sedans as fleet vehicles at some locations.
If I recall correctly, in addition to Jeep and the new factory in Ontario, didn't the LH sedans derive their basic architecture from the Eagle Premier? I always thought the Eagle Vision was the best styled car of the LH bunch and after the brand was cancelled, the Vision was rebranded as the Chrysler 300M which also an attractive and sporty sedan.
Interesting video but The cab forward sedans Like the intrepid, Concord, Vision, etc We're actually not fully "Chrysler" designed. They actually were heavily influenced by Renault and in fact you could say that the Eagle Premier was The vehicle that they were heavily based on. That's why they were such an improvement from any of the other offerings ever designed by Chrysler and had such a European feel to them and why when the models were re designed in the late 1990s They flopped. I have an elderly neighbor who was on the design team that helped to convert the Renault design into The American cab forward sedans from France in the 1980s. They tried to market the Eagle brand to the generation X people who weren't intrested in buying The traditional American car which had such Bed reputations. I still have a VHS tape that he gave me when I was a kid starring Greg Kinnear. The slogan was "wake up and drives". They unsuccessfully tried to market their cars as heavily foreign influenced American cars that were closer to the toyo to Camry and Honda Accord then they were to the Ford Taurus Or Chevy lumina. Oldsmobile try to do the same thing before they slopped in the late 1990s until their death in the early millennium with the oldsmobile alero Which was really just a redesign achieva. Most also Beals in the new 1990s Seem to be designed destined for the rental car lots So when they redesigned the achieva and named it the a lero just like the Eagle brand had tried and failed at they were targeting the Camry and accord buyers.
Would love to see part 2!
There was almost a four-wheel-drive version of the Renault Alliance to be called the Alliance Aiglon, Aiglon being French for "baby eagle." Not making that up.
I had two Eagle Premiers, 1991 and 1989. The '91 was my first car. Great cars they were, super comfy and handled like a dream.
Man, I would love to own myself a Nash Metropolitan. It's basically a re-packaged Austin A90 America, so parts would be everywhere, it would be fuel-efficient in its day, and it's rather cute. As for AMC proper, I always thought that the Marlin is a grossly-underrated car. The final 1967 version with the Ambassador front clip looked particularly nice.
1995 1998 Talon ESI, the non turbo one, had a chrysler engine called the 420a based on the neon DOHC engine short block with a different front exhaust head , the same engine was also in the mitsubishi eclipse 2G the dodge avenger and chrysler sebring that's also the engine in the famous green Eclipse from the 1st fast and furious movie ... the one WITHOUT all the mods that Jessy is mentionning
Eagle Lineup
1988 AMC Eagle
My cousin had a matador I can't remember what year but it was a boxy type vehicle and large 4 doors brown in color with a beige interior....
I had a 1989 Eagle Medallion wagon. It was without question the worst car I ever purchased in terms of reliability. Electrical problems galore, coolant leaks, power steering died, more.
I think the Eagle Premier’s sharp lines were a terrific design
Giugiaro design.
We had a 1989 Eagle Premier burgundy with gray suede interior and on the exterior it had the burgundy paint with gray Plastics and it had some weird European name in the front bumpers but it was pretty fancy we loved that car so much we would l take it to Mexico ,boy did that car turn heads added tinted windows all around it was a very luxurious car at the time as I recall cuz I was young. it was pretty fast when I was 18 I remember driving it my parents bought it brand new and when I drove it in 98 when I was 18 it had guns it used to peel out. It was fast in the freeway to. I remember all the space inside it was very spacious I screwed my neighbor in that car the backseat it was so funny my dad went outside to smoke a cigarette and he said he could hear the car squeaking and he waited and 30 minutes later I got out with the girl next door my dad was like this son of a bitch was screwing her. We laughed so much my dad died a year later those memories in that car man it was my dad's pride and joy after he died that car for some reason didn't want to work no more after he died it was weird but then when my sister would drive it it worked fine maybe it had a Christine soul like the movie Christine..lol
Chrysler M-body Diplomat/Fury/5th Ave production was contracted out to AMC in September of '86, with production at the KAP main plant, beginning in February of '87, quickly followed by the L body Omni/Horizon (Kenosha lakeside plant). The contracts were originally for 5 years.
In January of '88, Chrysler announced both Kenosha plants would close by that June. That was a pissing match between Chrysler Chairman Lido Anthony Iaccoca, and UAW Local 72. After all the lawsuit threats, and the mud and the blood and the beer, Chrysler coughed up a bunch of money for the affected employees, and production wound down after Thanksgiving of '88. The last M-body, a Bright White 1989 5th Avenue, rolled off the line on December 23rd. The lake plant came down in January of '89. Production of the L bodies moved to Detroit, and KAP continued production of the 4.0 Jeep 6 engine, joined in a few years by the 3.5 and later the 2.7 Chrysler V6 engines, both of which were dropped after 2010, when the plant closed.
Today, there is nothing left, except for the huge slab where KAP main plant once stood.
Did I understand you correctly that you only got the AMC Eagle Wagon in 1980!? I wonder where it originated from, then, maybe Australia? Here in South Africa we had that very same shape with slightly older-looking grille and bumpers from the early '70s under the name Rambler Hornet (the sedan) and the Rambler Hornet Sportabout (the wagon). Then, at the same time as a face lift, the Rambler name was dropped and they were rebadged as the AMC Hornet and the AMC Hornet Sportabout, respectively, only available with a 4.1 litre straight six from Chrysler, I believe. My dad bought a Sportabout in '75 and sold it in '80. They both just had a normal 4x2 drivetrain though. Was a good car with a very reliable engine.
I know I am years late to this topic, but I just recently discovered this channel. I found the AMC/ Eagle history interesting. I have always been a fan of the underdog. In the video you mentioned a possible part 2 with more details about the Eagle cars. I can't find it. Did it ever come to fruition ?
Have owned 10 AMC ,Jeep & Eagle cars . Best cars I've owned, Premier was roomy, huge trunk SX/4 went everywhere, AMX was the best looking Gremlins were cool, Alliance got great gas mileage, Jeeps ... Nothing stopped them, miss AMC !
Now that you've done this Eagle video, you should do one on the history of the Eagle bus!!!
Talon and Eclipse were two of the “cool cars” of the late 90s and early 2000s along with GT3000s/Stealth, S2000s, Celica and so on. I’m talking middle class cars. I rarely saw a Supra and every old guy had a 97-98 Vette which I love. Maybe I’ll pick something up for nostalgia however I don’t expect to love that generations performance and handling compared to modern cars and really it’s not about that I enjoy cruising in a 84 Vette that is loud and slow.
Think what EAGLE could've been with a focus on its strengths being an extension of the JEEP brand: Euro style, AWD performance for the streets. LH/LX was designed for this. Optima, Vision, Jazz, Talon and Medllion. They pulled the plug too soon, IMO.
My Dad got a brand new Premier V6 in ‘88 and it became my first car in ‘93, with around 100k on it. By that point the electrics were shot. Windows didn’t work, AC didn’t work, it would overheat...but, I loved that car...my friends had boring American cars, my car was cool and “European”. It was so comfortable and “fast”. It just wasn’t reliable.
chrysler made the move for the jeep XJ not the ZJ!!!!!!! the ZJ or grand cherokee was a chrysler built........ you are telling so much bad info in your video!!!!!!!
You said Eagle had to no Flagship vehicle. The Premier WAS the flagship and sold well. Very nice looking car.
I bought the Eagle Talon TSI with AWD back in 1990... Driving that car was the most fun I had with my clothes on. I really liked it's aesthetics so I made sure it looked stock outwardly. That said, it was modified and was an absolute BEAST on the track.
me and my buddy drove his moms medallion from Yuma AZ to Elcentro CA which is right at 60 miles in 32 minuets. it might have only had 103 HP but had no problem hitting a prolonged 120 MPH.
I had an Eagle Premier. Styling by Giugiaro, PRV engine, ZF trans. Lots of comfort features. It was a VERY good car. Had over 220,000 mi. when it hit a deer.
Chrysler bought AMC then they killed it. Chrysler never should have killed AMC. If they brought the AMC brand back they might have something.
I had bought a 1989 Eagle Premire that RAN 19,000 that car was a piece of junk it was always in the shop, was TOTAL junk
My Aunt Jean Goodrow’s Mother had a 1974 AMC Matador (2 door coupe with a V-8 engine, automatic transmission, power steering and power brakes).
I like AMC. Eagle was never much. The only cars they sold that had any uniqueness were the rebadged Renaults, which were pieces of crap (Not that the other Chryslers weren't). After that, Eagle just sold rebadged Mitsubishis that were normally also sold as Plymouths and/or Dodges. Chrysler really should've just rolled Jeep into existing dealers and sold the other cars as AMCs or Plymouths until the contracts expired, then just dumped them. Eagle is a casualty of the greatest single decision Lee Iaccoca ever made. His decision to buy Jeep is the only reason we still have Chrysler today.
AMC management had pioneered how to outsource parts production to achieve efficiency and brought new models to the market at minimum expense.
Personnel with that knowledge, plus the new car plant in Brampton, plus the Jeep brand were the assets Chrysler desperately needed going forward, especially the talents of AMC (Renault) executive François J. Castaing.
Former used LHS satisfied owner who reluctantly traded in his trouble free Eagle Talon for it.
I still regret all these years later not having been able to keep both.
You get to mixing too many brands, then You start to losing brand Identity. And Sooner or later, one or two brand starts to get lost in the shuffle. And PSA & FCA are on the VERGE of this. FCA was already having issues with too many brands, it's going to multiply now with PSA.
I owned a 1968 javelin. It was the small javelin. My husband traded it for Chevy camero got 100$ for trade in which really pissed me off. Gainesville fla Chevy dealership let him sign my title. I owned that before i married him. Seeing this just made me angry all over again. Lol
The Eagle Premier was the exclusive model, and Chrysler screwed that up, by raising the price to the luxury range, with no real 'value' added. For example calling the Taurus an Audi 5000s. It needs a next level upgrade. It was a cash grab, that backfired.
It's very sad but yes I feel like Eagle never had a Fighting Chance also can you take a look into DSM AKA Diamond Star Motors also DSM shootout which is in Norwalk Ohio where people compete with eagle talon Plymouth Laser verses similar cars I actually own a second gen Talon a few names to note John Shepherd dave bushur brent rau I also have a list of these cars back in the 90s all running in a 10-second margin and was crowned the fastest Imports at the time