History of the AMC Eagle: 1980-1988


Introduction:
         For decades now, Subaru has dominated the four wheel drive wagon market. And I see a ton of them where I live here in Massachusetts, for good reason. People trust their Subies to get them through winter, even if there's a foot of snow on the ground. Or two. Not to mention the fact that the Outback, Legacy, and Impreza wagons are some of the most practical vehicles out there, with tons of interior space and good gas mileage. So I'm not surprised that Subaru sells over 100,000 units every year now. They are one of the last traditional station wagons, the only others I can think of are the VW Jetta wagon and the Volvo XC70.  Back in the 80s, it was a different story. The station wagon market was flooded with wagons of all shapes and sizes. The Big Three were still selling their plus size RWD  V8 bruisers, with vast cargo areas capable of swallowing a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Full size wagons dominated our roadways back then, at least until the Chrysler minivans came along in 1984. There were truck based wagons available: Chevy sold the Suburban, and Jeep sold it's full size SUVs, both wagons were available with four wheel drive. Then there were companies like Volvo, Toyota, and Honda who sold wagons with selling points of economy, reasonable prices, and a more manageable size. And Subaru was producing little four wheel drive cars, and still developing their reputation. They weren't the polished, refined Outbacks of today, more like tin sardine cans that happened to have four wheel drive. Well, maybe I'm being too harsh, but they just weren't all that great back then. They were still working the bugs out so to speak. The American wagons were more solid, more capable, and had options to suit the needs of more people. One such American wagon was the Eagle by AMC . But it was much more than your standard run of the mill station wagon.
History of the AMC Eagle:
          The AMC Eagle was introduced in August of 1979 for the 1980 model year. The idea for the Eagle came from Jeep engineer Roy Lunn who put four wheel drive in a compact AMC Concord station wagon. The mainstay vehicle of Jeep, a division of AMC, was of course the four wheel drive SUV/truck, so they were no stranger to building off road capable vehicles. And the reputation of Jeep definitely helped the Eagle. AMC had just never tried four wheel drive on a car before. The production model Eagle was still based on the Concord body, with four wheel drive, 3 extra inches of ground clearance and beefy tires. A variety of bodystyles were intially offered, with a two door coupe, four door sedan, and four door station wagon. The wagon was not surprisingly the most popular bodystyle. The four wheel drive system was innovative for it's time, because it was full time four wheel drive (developed by British company Ferguson Research), and used an independent front suspension as opposed to a solid axle. The differential had one range (instead of the traditional hi and lo ranges), and provided a limited slip feature between the front and rear axles. This meant that the axle with the most traction would always get power. There was a selector on the car's dash to go between 2wd and 4wd. Once in 4wd, it was a full time four wheel drive vehicle. The Eagle's engine and transmission options were nothing revolutionary or high performance, but they were reliable, proven torque engines. There was a GM 151 cubic inch (2.5 liter) inline four, an AMC 150 cubic inch (2.5 liter) inline four, and AMC's 258 cubic inch inline six. The transmission was the Chrysler TorqueFlite 3 speed automatic. A 4 or 5 speed manual transmission was also offered.  The Eagles were reasonably priced, starting at $6,999 for the two door and $7,549 for the wagon. At a time when AMC was known for having made some downright strange vehicles (Gremlin and Pacer, anyone), and being behind the 8 ball in competing with the Big Three, the Eagle really helped AMC's image, and their sales numbers too. It was well received by the public.
             These cars were really ahead of their time, before the Subaru Outback, Volvo XC70, and similar vehicles came along, more than a decade after the Eagle was dropped from the AMC line. They were mechanically bulletproof, although rather slow with only 114 horsepower from the 258 cubic inch six. They had plenty of torque, though, which camouflaged the low horsepower somewhat and made acceleration at least adequate compared to the underwhelming 4 cylinder motors. In the late 80s the car started to get long in the tooth, with sales numbers dropping below 10,000 in 1986. One thing that never faltered, though, was their ability to conquer terrain off road. Just look at AMC's SX/4 ad from the time showing the Eagle climbing through deep snow. Whether bounding over rocks, or just getting you out of a jam in winter, the Eagles could handle almost any situation. If you read the history of Pro Series racing SX/4s you'll see that they're not invincible, but considering their modest origins they can do some really amazing things. The Eagles weren't bad on road, either, with a comfortable ride and decent handling for such a tall car. They certainly weren't high performance cars on road, but they didn't drive like a Jeep CJ either.

                                                
1980 AMC Eagle


1980 AMC Concord 

 











       Nowadays, most of the Eagles I see are the four door wagons. I didn't know about the other versions until I did some research. 
The smaller two door models were built off off the subcompact Spirit platform as opposed to the Concord.  
Here's some pictures of the entire Eagle line. My personal favorite is the SX/4 two door.

Eagle 4 door wagon 1980-1988





Eagle 4 door sedan 1980-1987



Eagle 2 door sedan 1980-1982




Eagle SX/4 two door hatchback 1981-1983




 
Eagle Kammback two door hatchback 1981-1982




Eagle two door convertible 1981-1982




Some cool facts about the AMC Eagle:
Unitized body construction
Factory Ziebart rust proofing
Diesel option in 1980 only
The AMC Eagle used a Chrysler transmission, and GM engines in early years
Classified by the EPA as a light truck
The name "Eagle" went on to become a Chrysler brand
The only AMC model from 1984-1987
The last "real" AMC car to wear an AMC badge
AMC Eagles were made under Chrysler ownership in the AMC factory
for the last build year 1987

Eagle in racing:
The AMC Eagle was raced in the SCCA ProSeries from 1981-1988, and did well in many races. In 1981 an Eagle SX/4 won first place for the Production Class at the Northern Lights rally, driven by Guy Light and Jim Brandt. The Eagle kept AMC third in Production Manufacturers from 1981-1983. Eagles often finished in the top ten of all the cars in these races.

The Eagle SX/4 of Gene Henderson racing in the Pro Series.




What is their value today?
Single digits, $3K--$7K approximately. The convertible is the most valuable due to its rarity. They are a slowly appreciating classic, but still very affordable. If you are looking for one in excellent condition you are likely to pay close to the original MSRP ($7,000-$9,000) However, there are plenty of affordable ones that have been "broken in", and need a little restoration, that you can find under $3K.

What do I think of it?
The AMC Eagle has always been one of my favorite cars of all time. It is one of those true multi purpose utility vehicles, that could be your sole do everything vehicle. That's what I love about it, the versatility and practicality. And it's a car I wouldn't mind owning someday. The Eagle could swallow a lot of cargo, carry 5 people in comfort, go off road, tow, and it looked cool to boot. I love the square, rugged styling. Performance could be better but it's not all that bad. Okay, so it won't win any drag races, but it will always get you to the drag race with it's bulletproof 258 six. The six is a nice simple motor, and it's got 210 lb. ft. of torque. I like the wagons a whole lot, but the SX/4 is my all time favorite. I have a lot of respect for Subarus, but I'd take a 30 year old Eagle over an Outback. They just have that "cool" factor that no modern car can match, a lot of personality. I do think, however, that some of the body styles were just silly. It's a matter of taste, but most of the non wagon models just didn't sell. Looking at the two door sedan, or the Kammback, and they just look like cars that shouldn't be four wheel drive. They were ugly cars to start with, and then AMC made them look like a homemade 4x4 car for a pick up race at the local dirt track. They are still interesting ideas in concept, showing that AMC's four wheel drive system could be put under literally any kind of car. I'll give them credit for that. I still see a lot of old wagons bombing around today, with working four wheel drive. To sum up, I think that the Eagle was ahead of its time, and one of the all time most practical cars ever designed.

This will be my last car history article before I depart for the family holiday extravaganza next week, so I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!