Eagle (automobile)
Encyclopedia
Eagle was a marque of the Chrysler Corporation following the purchase of American Motors Corporation (AMC) and aimed at the enthusiast driver.

Though short-lived, the Eagle Vision
Eagle Vision
The Eagle Vision was a full-size, front-wheel drive sedan, marketed as a sports version of the Chrysler LH platform, produced from 1993-1997. It was sold by the Eagle division of the Chrysler Corporation, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier...

 sedan sold in respectable numbers, while the sporty Eagle Talon
Eagle Talon
The Eagle Talon was one of three model names given to a sports coupe that was manufactured between 1990 and 1999 and sold by the then Chrysler Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan in a joint 50/50 corporate venture known as Diamond-Star Motors...

 sold more than 115,000 units.

Overview

Following the introduction of General Motor's Saturn brand automobile, both Ford and Chrysler promised similar new brands designed to take Saturn on with innovative design and building methods. In a press release by then Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...

, it was indicated that Chrysler was working on a car that would bow as the "Liberty". However, these plans never reached fruition.

The Jeep/Eagle
Jeep-Eagle
Jeep-Eagle was the name of the automobile sales division created by the Chrysler after the US$2 billion takeover of American Motors in 1987...

division of Chrysler Corporation was formed after Chrysler's 1987 buyout of American Motors Corporation, or AMC. Chrysler's initial problem was that unlike the Big Three which multiple brands under their Corporate name, since 1970 American Motors sold passenger cars under its corporate initials of "AMC". Thus without having a separate brand from the name of the defunct company, Chrysler looked to rebrand the legacy vehicles inherited through the purchase of AMC, and build a new brand around those legacy products instead of trying to fold those outside designed products into Chrysler's existing branch structure. The Eagle name was taken from the AMC Eagle
AMC Eagle
The AMC Eagle is a compact-sized four-wheel drive passenger vehicle that was produced by American Motors Corporation . The AMC Eagle line of vehicles inaugurated a new product category of "sport-utility" or crossover SUV....

, the last of American Motors
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...

' wholly U.S.-designed vehicles. The vehicles were marketed primarily by AMC dealers
Car dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...

 along with Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...

 products.

Unlike Chrysler, Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

, and Plymouth
Plymouth (automobile)
Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...

 brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

ed automobiles, Eagles eschewed the Chrysler Corporation "pentastar" logo. Instead, all models prominently featured the Eagle head logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...

, seen at the top right.

Two of Eagle's first models, the Eagle Premier
Eagle Premier
The Eagle Premier was a full-size automobile developed by the American Motors Corporation and Renault partnership, inherited by Chrysler Corporation when it acquired AMC in 1987, and marketed from 1987 through 1992...

 and the Eagle Medallion
Eagle Medallion
The Eagle Medallion was a rebadged and re-engineered North American version of the French Renault 21. While the cars were built on the same platform, the French market 21 and the American market Medallion differed in features, powertrain availability, frontal styling, and trims...

, were designed by AMC in cooperation with its former corporate partner (and 46.4 percent owner), Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...

. The remainder of the brand's cars were simply rebadged
Badge engineering
Badge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...

 versions of cars sold by other Chrysler Corporation divisions, as well as some captive import
Captive import
Captive import is a marketing term and a strategy for an automobile part or entire vehicle that is foreign-built and sold under the name of an importer or by a domestic automaker through its own dealer distribution system....

s produced by Mitsubishi Motors
Mitsubishi Motors
is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...

.

Throughout its history, the Eagle brand suffered from a lack of product recognition, and innovation to set it apart in the market place. Most of Eagle's models were offered in Chrysler-Plymouth, Dodge, and Mitsubishi dealerships under different guises. Chrysler was in the midst of financial difficulty at the end of the 1980s, and did not have as much money to spread to its new automotive division. Moreover, Jeep vehicles were quite popular and profitable, so most of the division's marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

 resources flowed to the Jeep product range. Since Jeep's products had better recognition and higher profit margins, many dealers placed greater emphasis on Jeeps, and considered the Eagle line of passenger cars to be a distraction to that business. Their sales and service expertise was primarily in the four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

 Jeeps and AMC's Eagle all-wheel-drive models.

Furthermore, following Chrysler's acquisition of AMC, there was a realignment of the dealership network. Some former AMC/Jeep dealers were consolidated with Chrysler-Plymouth franchises
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

. Up to this point, Chrysler-Plymouth outlets did not have a sport utility vehicle
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...

 (SUV) to sell, and adding the Jeep line helped dealers offer customers a larger range of vehicles in a rapidly growing market segment. The merger may have helped the individual dealerships that signed on, but it caused the nascent Eagle division and its largely derivative models to compete unfavorably for attention with Chrysler's and Plymouth's often similar, but longer-established and better-recognized, lines of passenger cars.

After a decade of slow sales, the Chrysler announced the discontinuation of the Eagle brand in November 1997, and the last 1998 Eagle Talon rolled off the line shortly thereafter.

The Eagle brand was phased out in stages. In 1996, Chrysler discontinued the Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitsubishi launched the Mirage as a three-door front wheel drive hatchback in 1978, as a response to the first fuel crisis some years before. It had a distinctive design with large windows and Mitsubishi's Super Shift transmission . A five-door joined the range in 1979...

-based Eagle Summit
Eagle Summit
The Eagle Summit was a subcompact car produced by Mitsubishi Motors from 1989 to 1996. It was sold as a captive import by the Jeep-Eagle sales division that was created after Chrysler Corporation purchased American Motors Corporation in 1987...

, having canceled the nearly identical Dodge Colt
Dodge Colt
The Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, were subcompact cars sold by Dodge and Plymouth from 1970 to 1994. They were captive imports from Mitsubishi Motors, initially twins of the rear-wheel drive Galant and Lancer families before shifting to the smaller front-wheel drive...

 and Plymouth Colt models after the 1994 season. In 1997, the Eagle Vision
Eagle Vision
The Eagle Vision was a full-size, front-wheel drive sedan, marketed as a sports version of the Chrysler LH platform, produced from 1993-1997. It was sold by the Eagle division of the Chrysler Corporation, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier...

 was discontinued at the end of its design cycle, though the similar Dodge Intrepid
Dodge Intrepid
The Dodge Intrepid is a large four-door, full-size, front-wheel drive sedan car model that was produced for model years 1993 to 2004. It was mechanically related to the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler New Yorker, Eagle Vision, and also the 300M sedans...

 and Chrysler Concorde
Chrysler Concorde
The Chrysler Concorde was a large four-door, full-size, front wheel drive sedan produced by Chrysler from 1993 to 2004. It replaced the Chrysler Fifth Avenue on the lineup. One of Chrysler's 3 original Chrysler LH platform models derived from the American Motors/Renault-designed Eagle Premier, it...

 were redesigned for 1998 and continued through 2004. Only the Mitsubishi Eclipse
Mitsubishi Eclipse
The Mitsubishi Eclipse was a coupe that was in production since 1989 for left hand drive traffic markets. According to Mitsubishi, the car was named after an 18th century English racehorse which won 26 races, and has also been sold as the Eagle Talon and the Plymouth Laser captive imports through...

-based Eagle Talon
Eagle Talon
The Eagle Talon was one of three model names given to a sports coupe that was manufactured between 1990 and 1999 and sold by the then Chrysler Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan in a joint 50/50 corporate venture known as Diamond-Star Motors...

 remained for 1998, after which it, along with the Eagle brand itself, was discontinued because of the DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler
Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...

 merger at that time.

Chrysler had originally planned to redesign the Eagle Vision
Eagle Vision
The Eagle Vision was a full-size, front-wheel drive sedan, marketed as a sports version of the Chrysler LH platform, produced from 1993-1997. It was sold by the Eagle division of the Chrysler Corporation, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier...

 for 1999. Prototypes were even spotted wearing the Eagle logo, and Vision production continued into September 1997 to provide dealers with enough stock of the older car to carry them through to the new car's introduction. However, Chrysler executives decided to pull the plug on the Eagle brand just a few months later. The car they were working on went on to be marketed as the Chrysler 300M
Chrysler 300M
The Chrysler 300M is a sports sedan produced by Chrysler from 1999 to 2004. Chrysler Corporation revived the 300 name on the 300M. This time it was a front-wheel drive, V6 engined car using the Chrysler LH platform. While not technically part of the famous "letter series" of the 1950s and 1960s,...

.

Eagle did not survive the merger of DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler
Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...

 in 1998, although Plymouth
Plymouth (automobile)
Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...

 was the only brand to be eliminated by DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler
Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...

. On June 5, 1999, closed on September 30.

Eagle vehicles

  • Eagle Wagon
    AMC Eagle
    The AMC Eagle is a compact-sized four-wheel drive passenger vehicle that was produced by American Motors Corporation . The AMC Eagle line of vehicles inaugurated a new product category of "sport-utility" or crossover SUV....

     (1988 model-year only under Chrysler Corp.)

The continuation of the AMC Eagle line, production ended December 14, 1987.
  • Eagle Medallion
    Eagle Medallion
    The Eagle Medallion was a rebadged and re-engineered North American version of the French Renault 21. While the cars were built on the same platform, the French market 21 and the American market Medallion differed in features, powertrain availability, frontal styling, and trims...

     (1988–1989)

Also badged as the Renault Medallion in 1987, this car was imported and was very similar to the Renault 21
Renault 21
The Renault 21 is a large family car produced by French automaker Renault between 1986 and 1994. It was also sold in North America through American Motors dealers as the Renault Medallion and the Eagle Medallion...

.
  • Eagle Premier
    Eagle Premier
    The Eagle Premier was a full-size automobile developed by the American Motors Corporation and Renault partnership, inherited by Chrysler Corporation when it acquired AMC in 1987, and marketed from 1987 through 1992...

     (1988–1992)

Designed by AMC, the Premier was also briefly badged as the AMC Premier and Renault Premier in late 1987 and early 1988. Unusual (for a FWD car) in having a north-south engine mounting (presumably to accommodate a future AWD version), it shared several parts with the Renault 25
Renault 25
The Renault 25 is an executive car produced by the French automaker Renault from 1983 to 1992. During its time, the 25 was Renault's flagship, the most expensive, prestigious, and largest vehicle in the company's line-up. It placed second in the 1985 European Car of the Year contest...

, and spawned a rebadged version named Dodge Monaco
Dodge Monaco
The Dodge Monaco was a full-size automobile built and sold by the Dodge division of the Chrysler Corporation between 1965 to 1978, and 1990 to 1992.-A Grand Prix competitor:...

 (1990–1992); this platform was the building block for the 1993 LH cars (Vision, Dodge Intrepid, etc.).
  • Eagle Vista
    Eagle Vista
    The Eagle Vista was used on two subcompact cars sold from 1988 to 1992 in Canada. Along with the Eagle Summit, the car replaced the Renault Encore because of Renault withdrawing from the United States and Canada that time. It was a rebadged version of the second generation Mitsubishi Mirage...

     (1988–1992)

Two models were offered. The 3-door hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...

 and 4-door sedan were rebadged Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitsubishi launched the Mirage as a three-door front wheel drive hatchback in 1978, as a response to the first fuel crisis some years before. It had a distinctive design with large windows and Mitsubishi's Super Shift transmission . A five-door joined the range in 1979...

s, and the station wagon (badged as either an Eagle Vista, or a Dodge/Plymouth Colt Vista) was a rebadged Mitsubishi Chariot
Mitsubishi Chariot
The Mitsubishi Chariot, is a five door, five/seven seat compact MPV produced by Mitsubishi Motors of Japan from 1983 to 2003. It was based on the SSW concept car first exhibited at the 23rd Tokyo Motor Show in 1979, and named for the battle chariots used during the times of the ancient Greek and...

. Both were sold only in Canada.
  • Eagle Summit
    Eagle Summit
    The Eagle Summit was a subcompact car produced by Mitsubishi Motors from 1989 to 1996. It was sold as a captive import by the Jeep-Eagle sales division that was created after Chrysler Corporation purchased American Motors Corporation in 1987...

     (1989–1996)

Coupe, sedan, and wagon models were available. The coupe and 1987-1991 sedans were rebadged Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitsubishi launched the Mirage as a three-door front wheel drive hatchback in 1978, as a response to the first fuel crisis some years before. It had a distinctive design with large windows and Mitsubishi's Super Shift transmission . A five-door joined the range in 1979...

s, while the wagon was a rebadged Mitsubishi Expo LRV
Mitsubishi Chariot
The Mitsubishi Chariot, is a five door, five/seven seat compact MPV produced by Mitsubishi Motors of Japan from 1983 to 2003. It was based on the SSW concept car first exhibited at the 23rd Tokyo Motor Show in 1979, and named for the battle chariots used during the times of the ancient Greek and...

. The 1991-1996 sedan was a rebadged Dodge/Plymouth Colt.
  • Eagle Talon
    Eagle Talon
    The Eagle Talon was one of three model names given to a sports coupe that was manufactured between 1990 and 1999 and sold by the then Chrysler Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan in a joint 50/50 corporate venture known as Diamond-Star Motors...

     (1990–1998)

Similar to the Plymouth Laser
Plymouth Laser
The Plymouth Laser was a sports coupe sold under the Plymouth brand from 1989 to 1994. The Laser and its siblings: the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon, were the first vehicles produced under the newly formed Diamond Star Motors, a joint-venture between the Chrysler Corporation and the...

 and the Mitsubishi Eclipse
Mitsubishi Eclipse
The Mitsubishi Eclipse was a coupe that was in production since 1989 for left hand drive traffic markets. According to Mitsubishi, the car was named after an 18th century English racehorse which won 26 races, and has also been sold as the Eagle Talon and the Plymouth Laser captive imports through...

, the Talon was Eagle's halo car and outsold its Plymouth cousin. (see also Diamond Star Motors)
  • Eagle 2000GTX (1991–1992)

A rebadged Mitsubishi Galant, sold only in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.
  • Eagle Vision
    Eagle Vision
    The Eagle Vision was a full-size, front-wheel drive sedan, marketed as a sports version of the Chrysler LH platform, produced from 1993-1997. It was sold by the Eagle division of the Chrysler Corporation, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier...

     (1993–1997)

One of Chrysler's three original LH-cars
Chrysler LH platform
The LH platform served as the basis for the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler 300M, Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, and the final Chrysler New Yorker. A Plymouth to be called the "Accolade" was planned, but never saw production...

. Sold in Europe as the Chrysler Vision.

Reasons for discontinuation

Chrysler discontinued production and retired the Eagle brand after 1998. This decision can be attributed to the following reasons.

Badge engineering

Throughout its life, every model in the Eagle brand name, was a badge engineered
Badge engineering
Badge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...

 vehicle, as either a Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Motors
is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...

 or other Chrysler product. As a result, some buyers turned to the same vehicle that was marketed under a more popular brand, such as Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

, Plymouth
Plymouth (automobile)
Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...

, or Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Motors
is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...

, instead of investing in the Eagle branded version. Analysts credit the reason why Eagle never got a foothold in the market was because it did not have unique products.

Competitive marketplace

The Eagle brand did not establish a specific market segment
Market segment
Market segmentation is a concept in economics and marketing. A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function...

. This was because Eagle's lineup was diverse, and was never solidified into a particular niche market
Niche market
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact...

. While the Summit
Eagle Summit
The Eagle Summit was a subcompact car produced by Mitsubishi Motors from 1989 to 1996. It was sold as a captive import by the Jeep-Eagle sales division that was created after Chrysler Corporation purchased American Motors Corporation in 1987...

 would compete with Toyota and Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

, the Vision
Eagle Vision
The Eagle Vision was a full-size, front-wheel drive sedan, marketed as a sports version of the Chrysler LH platform, produced from 1993-1997. It was sold by the Eagle division of the Chrysler Corporation, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier...

 and Talon
Eagle Talon
The Eagle Talon was one of three model names given to a sports coupe that was manufactured between 1990 and 1999 and sold by the then Chrysler Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan in a joint 50/50 corporate venture known as Diamond-Star Motors...

 competed with Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...

. Mostly though, the Eagle brand was never able to find a place in Chrysler's lineup, as Eagle's cars competed more with Chrysler's other divisions than with the competition from other automakers. Chrysler marketed the Eagle as a sporty brand, although the company already had Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

 as its performance oriented brand. The Eagle mostly competed with Dodge, while the compact Summit competed with Plymouth, and the Vision was up against the other Chrysler LH platform
Chrysler LH platform
The LH platform served as the basis for the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler 300M, Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, and the final Chrysler New Yorker. A Plymouth to be called the "Accolade" was planned, but never saw production...

 derivatives.

Inadequate marketing

Eagle also lacked the heavy advertising of the other Chrysler brands. This could be because of limited resources and a lack of enthusiasm within the company for marketing the Eagle brand properly. Among the large cars, for example, not only were the Concorde
Chrysler Concorde
The Chrysler Concorde was a large four-door, full-size, front wheel drive sedan produced by Chrysler from 1993 to 2004. It replaced the Chrysler Fifth Avenue on the lineup. One of Chrysler's 3 original Chrysler LH platform models derived from the American Motors/Renault-designed Eagle Premier, it...

 and Intrepid
Dodge Intrepid
The Dodge Intrepid is a large four-door, full-size, front-wheel drive sedan car model that was produced for model years 1993 to 2004. It was mechanically related to the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler New Yorker, Eagle Vision, and also the 300M sedans...

 advertised more, but in promotional photos with all three of them, the Vision is always either in the back, or the smallest of the three. In one picture, the Vision is partially blocked from view by the Concorde.

Success of Jeep

Eagle was sold on the same showrooms as Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...

, as Chrysler had organized themselves into three divisions: Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

 (by itself), Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....

-Plymouth
Plymouth (automobile)
Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...

, and Jeep-Eagle
Jeep-Eagle
Jeep-Eagle was the name of the automobile sales division created by the Chrysler after the US$2 billion takeover of American Motors in 1987...

. The grouping of Jeep and Eagle seemed counterintuitive, as there was little overlap in the customer base for the two brands. Most Jeep buyers were not interested in purchasing the passenger cars offered by Eagle. In 1993, Chrysler launched the Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a Mid-size SUV produced by the Jeep division of Chrysler. While some other SUVs were manufactured with body on frame construction, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has always used a unibody chassis.- Development :...

 as a competitor for Ford's Explorer, and as a result, many buyers who went into the Jeep-Eagle showrooms were either interested in buying the Grand Cherokee, or got distracted from the Eagle cars by the more popular Jeep vehicles. Most of the long-established AMC/Jeep dealers considered the Eagle models to be less profitable than their Jeep business. American Motors had phased out domestic built passenger cars after 1983 and their dealer sales and service expertise was focused on the higher margin 4WD vehicles.Thus Eagle became retracted from the market with only one model going to Chrysler.

Other uses

The name Eagle was also used by Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...

's All American Racers team for his racing cars. Among the most notable are the Eagle Mk1
Eagle Mk1
The Eagle Mk1, commonly referred to as the Eagle T1G, was a Formula One racing car, designed by Len Terry for Dan Gurney's Anglo American Racers team. The Eagle, introduced for the start of the 1966 Formula One season, is widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful cars ever raced at the top...

 Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 car, which won the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix
1967 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 18, 1967.- Race report :Jim Clark led off the grid from pole position and maintained that position for the first 11 laps and was 20 seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart and Dan Gurney when he had to come into the...

; the winning cars at the 1968
1968 Indianapolis 500
-Race schedule:- Time Trials :1968 was the second and eventually the final year the controversial turbine cars were running in the 1968 race classic. Turbine cars were entered by STP and by Carroll Shelby...

, 1973
1973 Indianapolis 500
The 57th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Wednesday, May 30, 1973. The race was held over three days due to rain and 2 major accidents. After 133 laps , rain halted the race, and Gordon Johncock was declared the winner....

, and 1975
1975 Indianapolis 500
The 1975 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 25, 1975.Wally Dallenbach Sr. had a twenty-second lead when he retired on lap 162 with a burned piston. Johnny Rutherford lost the inherited lead to Bobby Unser when he pitted. On lap 171 the yellow came out for rain and the two...

 Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

s; and the Toyota-Eagle IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...

 GTPs of the late 1980s/early 1990s.

The name was also applied to commercial trucks made by International Harvester, and subsequently by Navistar International
Navistar International
Navistar International Corporation is a United States-based holding company that owns the manufacturer of International brand commercial trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC Bus school and commercial buses, Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans, and is a private label...

as part of its International truck product line.

External links in other media

In 1990, Eagle used the slogan Born to the Public and ended in 1998, with SPECIAL! in 1999.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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