About EagleThe Jeep/Eagle division was formed by Chrysler after the 1987 acquisition of AMC from Renault. It was under this umbrella that the products previously built by AMC were marketed. The name for the brand came from a compact AMC Eagle four-wheel drive car.That car was continued an additional year as the Eagle wagon, one of three direct carry-overs from the AMC line. The others were the Premier and imported Renault-based Medallion. None of the models lasted past the 1992 model year. From the onset, Chrysler tried to position the new brand as one of its own, but the continuance of some models did not lend itself to a break from AMC heritage. Brand identity remained an issue for Eagle throughout its entire existence. May 1989 saw Diamond-Star Motors--the joint 50/50 corporate venture between Chrysler Corp and Mitsubishi Motors--begin production on the sport compact Talon. Mitsubishi bought out Chrysler in 1991,... View more and the cars were then built on a contract basis. The Talon had two corporate siblings: the Plymouth Laser and Mitsubishi Eclipse. It came available in front- and all-wheel drive configurations. The Talon went on to become the corporate Halo car. The top trim level came fitted with a turbocharger on the four-cylinder and an AWD set up for all years until the last rolled out in 1998. 1993 saw the remaining AMC/Renault derived vehicles gone from the lineup. The Vision--one of three original LH platform cars--was introduced as the replacement for the Premier. Combined with the Talon, sales topped 50,000 cars for several years. The Vision, along with Dodge and Chrysler counterparts, was based on the 'cab-forward' design. It effectively pushed the wheels to the corners, significantly shortening front and rear overhang, and raked the windshield back. Tom Gale, former Chrysler corporate vice-president of Product Design, said of the 'cab-forward' design, "To illustrate, envision the overall length of a four-door sedan as 100%. The amount of space dedicated today to interior occupant and cargo capacity would be about 60-65%. Using a Cab Forward design on the same vehicle stretches the interior space to 75% or more of the total vehicle." Eagle Summit was a subcompact, sold as a captive import from 1989 to 1996. A badge-engineered Mitsubishi Mirage, it offered a versatile platform for the brand. Over the two generations, it was available as a four-door sedan, two-door hatchback, coupe, and three-door minivan. Chrysler announced the discontinuation of the Eagle brand in November 1997. But the bottom had fallen out in 1996, with only 27,906 Visions and Talons sold combined. It was a 44% decline from the year prior. A lack of advertising compared to the other passenger car brands--Dodge, Chrysler, and even the declining Plymouth--exacerbated the fall. The Talon was the only model available in 1998. A final 4,308 Eagle cars rolled out of the former Diamond-Star Motors plant that year in Normal, Illinois. View less | |||
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