Here’s how the AMC Eagle became the first American crossover vehicle
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- Get a 15% discount on your next car cover at carcover.com! Use this link to get your discount: www.carcover.c...
In this episode I provide the history of the Eagle from American Motors Corporation (AMC), a car that is widely considered the first crossover vehicle, being a car that had been raised to accommodate part-time 4-wheel -drive, the first ever for a mass-production vehicle. Although it debuted with decent sales in 1980, the public never totally caught on as the concept was well before its time. In a few short years its sales would dwindle and eventually be the last car sold by AMC before Chrysler bought out AMC in 1988.
If you used to own a car from the 80s to mid-2000's that you rarely see today, and would like it featured in a future episode, leave a comment and I may decide to try it. Or you can email me at pomeara1234@gmail.com.
I wish AMC would’ve continued to have success as a company. Id love to have seen what they would’ve had in the 90s and today
I agree. Even if American Motors hadn't survived, it would've been something to see an Eagle Wagon or a 4 door sedan still churning along.
AMC engineering tainted future projects at Chrysler it would have been a very different landscape in the 90's without that new breath into Chrysler.
@Jason Carpp Sadly they’ve probably all been recycled by now
Blame Mitt Romney's dad George...he killed AMC.
I agree. They were probably the most innovative car company in America. Really ahead of its time.
My dad had an Eagle SX/4, Gremlin X, Hornet, and an AMX.
He never used the Eagle in the warmer months, but it was the car he used exclusively during the winter. I can remember a blizzard that dropped 3-4 feet of snow and totally shut Denver down, but the Eagle just ate that snow up and barreled right through it.
Nice!!! My aunt had a '79 Concord D/L 2 door in blue with the same color interior, it ended up dying on her way home from work and replaced by a '90 Hyundai Excel in 1993 with no a/c.
This old school Crossover looks a million times better than any modern Crossover you see on the road today.
Yeah i dislile how ugly and stretched verticly they all are. Only Subaru still makes them lile lifted cars woth Crosstrek being lifted up Impreza and same for Outback. Ofcourse styling on its own is more questionable early 2010 models and early-mid 2000s models were better looking from over all for me but Outback is quite good looking from current lineup. Tho i would still stick to older cars they are just more fun to drive all the efficiency and emission regulations made automakers engineer out the fun from cars with even stick shift being mediocre feeling in operation in cars and on verge of extinction.....I take 90s cars that are still mechanical where it matters over this and some from early 2000s that stuck to mechanical throttles and the rest.....but its quite a short list with sports cars excluded.
@@Kacpa2 Just like the EPA butchered the American Muscle cars in the 1970s.
Just slap a turbo charged diesel/5spd manual in it, a touchscreen deck,and, so sold wheel/tire pachage n you good!
The American eagle was the shit period
💪💯
As a teenager of the 2010's I have to say I get a ridiculous need for one of these, I love the concept of a regular ol car on a utility chassis
Have you seen Jeremy Clarkson's The Excellent?
That is the exact description of what we thought in the 80s, too. We thought these things were the coolest things on 4 wheels. It definitely helped spark the fire of the SUV craze early on.
I grew up in Alaska and began driving in the mid-90s. Used to see plenty of Eagle Wagons back in the day and I always wanted one. Mad respect for the AMC Eagle.
I saw an Eagle wagon for the first time when I was 16. It was love at first sight. I thought it was the most amazing car I had ever seen, and I couldn't stop talking about it. My dad bought me one a year later. I wish I still had it. I still think they're the greatest cars ever made, and personally, I think they're beautiful.
They were indeed a work of art, way ahead of its time.
opposite for me - in my teens I thought they were the best looking cars ever. I still watch this in awe.
80s baby, here. I remember these things, and I rode around in one regularly.. as well as the gargantuan wagons with rear-facing seats where we'd wave to cars behind us lol!
My parents owned 2 of these. They were happy with both. Drove both for a long time. The first one got wrecked, not my parents fault, some one hit them. The second one finally got traded for a Jeep Grande Cherokee. I had driven both at one time or another. They were ok, no complaints.
I always loved how they were styled,and the car was reliable and very pleasent to drive.
My first three cars were AMCs: a last-gen AMX, Concorde, and Spirit. They were abundant and reasonably priced in the used car classifieds back then :)
In the early 90’s I worked with a girl whose father was loved these because they lived on an acreage 30 minutes outside the city here in Canada, I think at one point they had 3 of these.
My first two cars were both 1982 AMC Concords. That 4.2 liter straight six was indestructible. That second car moved my from Hartford, Connecticut to Washington, D.C. towing a 5x8 U-Haul trailer running on only five of it’s six cylinders!
My great grandfather owned and drove this station wagon. Thanks for this!!! The wagon.
I was amazed recently when i witnessed an eagle in pristine condition driving down the road.
These were wonderful cars way ahead of their time!
The original Eagle sedan was a really good car. My aunt had one for delivering mail on back roads
What a cool video! My parents had one in the mid 80s and I always liked it. Welcome to the community not competition crew!
AMC bring me good memories of my childhood, i really liked the Eagle!
I used to have a Eagle SX 4, I loved that car, It was totally awesome in the snow, and out in the woods.
Always wanted an SX/4 when I was a teen. Almost bought a rusty one, but couldn't get my parents to split the cost and I was too poor
My dad bought me a used 83 sx4 in 85 so I could drive to university. It cost 5k used. I enjoyed that car for a year until he deemed to sell it when I transferred to a university closer to home that I could take the bus to. I probably begged him not to do it, but, I had no choice. Then I started buying cheap cars for myself and started with a $400 1978 Mercury Capri that my friend sold me. Getting safeties back then was much easier. I only had to pay $100 for a phoney one from a mechanic he knew. Lol
i had an Eagle two door in the 80,s very reliable except for a starter failure. great for Ohio snow. I still believe that AMC,s straight six was one of the best engines produced at that time.
I think the AMC Eagle was super cool. Definitely a classic that has aged well in my opinion. I see them occasionally for sale and have thought that it would be cool to get one and swap a 4.0 head and efi system into one.
I liked them at the time and I think as far as style, they have aged much more gracefully than most cars of their time. Simply the fact that the wagon had a sloped back rather than squared off like the Ford and Chevy counterparts goes a long way in avoiding the stereotypical "80's look."
I grew up in Wisconsin, live in Minnesota now. The eagle owned wintertime. If you brought them back people here would love you
You should be commended for giving a great history lesson.
This was my first car as a 17 yo in 1998. Mine was a 1987 model. I still miss driving that beast!
I always liked the AMC Eagle wagon. I wish I had bought one in the 1990s when they were fully depreciated, but not too old and worn out and had not yet reached cult car status and prices.
I knew a guy that had one of these. He absolutely loved it.
My friend's dad had one of these while I was growing up. It was just old when I was little but it was a classic by graduation.
I recent Bought A 1981 AMC Eagle SX4, i got it as my first classic car. i have a few things to do to get it back to road worthy. And thanks to talking to my dad we can get a bunch of parts to get it even more power, and due to the fact of AMC using parts of of other company's so you can make it, also the rarest out there is a diesel wagon with only 7 ever sold. I can't wait to get it running and drive it.
Sounds like a dream come true. Wish you all the best bringing that beauty back to the highways.
We had 1 of every model. Kamback, SX/4, 2 door sedan and a wagon. Various years. I miss them so much.
I really like this channel, short stories on regular cars we seen in the 80s and 90s
I agree, all the other channels focus on 70’s and earlier, particularly muscle cars.
.
@@dannycass7931 .......u....................m........................................................
My parents had a Concord and Eagle back in the 80’s. Good looking cars, but they broke down sometimes.
I don't know if that's typical of all cars by American Motors, but my parents had a Matador when I was little back in the 70s. I was way too young to drive a car at the time, but I remember my mother hated that car. It wouldn't make it up a hill if you floored it. According to her, trim pieces would fall off the car. So many things.
All of you have some great stories! I personally would love to own an AMC Eagle wagon (1984-1988)! Would have been a good car to have when we had the snow and ice storm this past February!!!
@@johnnymason3265 Same here. I would've preferred this any day over a Subaru 4wd of the same vintage.
@@jasoncarpp7742 You are right! Subarus at that time were useless! If AMC was alive today, I believe the AMC Eagle would be around right now taking advantage of people's obsession with crossovers and SUVs!!!
@@johnnymason3265 Were they? I was too young to drive at the time. What made Subaru 4wds "useless"?
Love the Eagle wagons, always have always will.
Great car love to have one today
The AMC eagle is probably my favorite crossover ever.
Some of the Mitsubishi Eagles were great. I had a 1994 Eagle AWD Vista Wagon, which was an innovative design and a pretty crazy on-road machine. It was a super sporty powerful micro-van when mini-vans were still a new idea. The Nissan Multi and Axxess were similar design, but nowhere near the sports car ability. With the back seat taken out, my wife and I could sleep comfortably in the back - we did some amazing guerilla camping trips.
I just bought an 85 Eagle wagon as a rolling project/daily driver. I'm getting tired of all the crap on new cars, and at 52, I'm leaning hard over to the side of simplicity.
I bought a 1983 Eagle wagon in 1989. Drove it and towed my boat for 10 years! Awesome vehicle!
My first car was a used AMC Spirit that I bought for $350 back in 1986. I treated it like a rally car in the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire.
I've always wanted a AMC eagle my grandparents had one when I was a kid they are hard to find nowadays for a decent price
Such a bad ass looking wagon, that’s why I love my 2018 Subaru Outback, which could be considered like a modern eagle
I 😍 loved 😍 ❤️ ❤️ the Eagle cars. Never owned one but thought they were ahead of there time. Loved the AMC Hornet. So many great cars. 👍 love the javelin too.
My parents had the wagon when I was a kid and loved it. It was pretty rad.
Great history and great video about AMC Eagle, really that was the first American crossover, like Wagoneer the first SUV. Memories about this AMC..
Chevrolet was making the suburban in 1935...
I remember seeing them as in kid in the 80's..(complete w/ wood trim). I knew they were something special
The AMC Spirit was a bullet proof car, with the Iron Duke 4 - easy to get parts and service. The Eagle Premier wasn't just a badge engineered, it was an Eagle, with Unique styling and interior, it was the last AMC 'worked' model.
I always really liked the Eagle. A cousin of mine had one new when I was a kid. As I got older and more into cars, it became apparent that it was styling that killed that car. It was like going to your aunt's house in 1988 and her living room was decorated in 1974...and didn't change a bit. It was literally wood paneling and plaid furniture. Other auto makers were evolving and AMC wasn't. Granted, they didn't have resources to do so. It was a vicious circle. But they definitely made an impact. I'd love to get ahold of an SX4, personally. Great channel, by the way. Takes me back to a lot of cool childhood memories.
My first car was a '78 Concord wagon (the RWD precursor to the Eagle). It was ex-phone company fleet model with a plastic interior, and didn't even have a radio or rear windows that could be lowered! Still, it was a great car and I got out of it way more than the $600 it cost to purchase.
When it eventually died I found a used Eagle wagon at a Chevy lot and was stoked to buy it, but it broke down during my test drive and the dealer decided to sell it to a wholesaler as-is rather than take my $500 offer.
It's 2021 and I still want an Eagle wagon.
Honestly I want an Eagle, either the SX4 or the Wagon
I'm now binge watching this channel
AMC offering a factory V8 option would've taken these things to another level.
In addition to my comment above, I thought the same thing. Thought about doing an engine swap to a 304, but the main issue I saw was attaching the front diff to the engine. Didn't seem worth the effort.
@@61rampy65
There was a feature or a series in either Four Wheeler or 4 Wheel & Off Road back in the '90s by a guy who did just that -- swapped in a 304 and topped it with a Holley TBI system. I think he offset the engine to clear the diff.
Yes but SUVs were growing in support early 1990s.
Very thorough research for including the tidbits about Back To The Future.
Great spots from the Back to the Future films!
I had an amc eagle wagon for my first car. Loved it
When I graduated high school, I had an 82 Concord and almost had an Eagle wagon the year before (and this was back in 2010).
I am not American, and not a fan of many American cars, but I love every car AMC produced, good or bad they each have a uniqueness
Grew up with AMC’s. My brother had a ‘68 Javelin then a 71 Gremlin. My father had a Rambler American, a Rebel and then a Matador and an Ambassador. I had a 1980 Spirit then an 85 Eagle. You have to give props to AMC they had great imagination were willing to take chances and were way ahead of their time with some revolutionary ideas and designs. It’s to bad they were always underfunded and seemed a little to far ahead of the general public to understand!
Growing up in Anchorage, Alaska the main cars on the road were Eagles or Subarus. Everything else was a truck. 4-wheel drive was a winter necessity back then along with an engine block heater you plugged in every night if you didn't own a garage.
In 1979 I saved up money to have driving lessons at the local driveing school. My 1st lesson was in a 1978 AMC PACER. I remember TVs ads, they was making a 3ft hero sandwich.
The car drove good, but the shape was different.
I used to see these on the car lot. That was the car for me! I was a bit too young to drive.
I believe these cars would be so popular now. I mean ahead of it's time is an understatement.
Crossover as a vehicle description has become mostly an academic term, at least in America. Though it was popular to talk about crossovers from the end of the 90s until about 2010 or so, most people like to refer to their Honda CRVs and Subaru Forresters as SUVs. It is very cool to dig into the past with the AMC Eagle to discover early days of unibody all wheel drive hatchbacks that everyone is buying these days. Thanks for the video!
I love this channel for seeing cars that existed probably when I was just starting to form memories out the side window of my mom's villager van, yet I can't remember many of the cars on the road at that time. The one that I always remembered was the Mitsubishi Eclipse though, and I have NO IDEA why I remember that specific car.
Being a Pennsylvanian I used to see these everywhere. And everyone that I knew that had one raved about how good it was in the winter as they were tanks, even more so when fitted with winter tires. A few car lots even used these as plow vehicles (I don’t know if a company made kits to attach plows or if they were made using modified parts from a truck, but I do know they worked really well)
I too thought there were a bit odd looking, but I actually kinda like it’s oddball styling nowadays. It’s a shame AMC/Chrysler didn’t stick it out a few more years as the SUV craze was just around the corner, and these definitely would have seen a second generation (or more)
The Subaru Outback was, at least when it first came out (remember the Paul Hogan ads for them?) was basically this same sort of design, a lifted wagon.
Speaking of design I have always curious if they had an all new second gen Eagle design drawn out as I’d absolutely love to see what they had planned and how it would have looked.
Great video!
Brought back some great memories 👍
Take care!
For the tiny budget AMC had I think they threw all thier money into the development of the grand Cherokee. That was ready to go when Chrysler bought them out.
True information about AMC Eagle: ruclips.net/video/C9oSwaEV1_4/видео.html
We had a 1982 concord. Comfortable car.
I remember these at junkyards as a kid. I may still have an AMC badge somewhere in a drawer.
I almost bought one of those Eagles at a used car lot back in 1996 but out of my corner of my eye...in the back of the lot...being washed by the car lot owner's teenage sons...I saw a 82 Chevy Monte Carlo !
I would love to see a video on the Chrysler K-car and all of the derivatives that were made!!!!
WOW I was 18 when these came out. I thought they looked so weird because of the ground clearance. Many complained how difficult it was to climb in and out because …well, 1980.
Thinking this was the coolest car when I was 6 is why I drive an Outback today. This thing was way ahead of its time.
I always thought the Eagle Spirit was a good looking car back in the day, probably one of the best looking vehicles that was part of the true Eagle brand. Thanks for reminding of the Eagle Vision. I couldn’t remember what they had named that one.
I had one in 2005/2006 ... Funnest car I had ❤️❤️👏👏👏
My first car was Chevy S-10 Blazer Tahoe pack ( not a big blaze that Tahoe was small .... But 4x4 n fun as the AMC Eagle)
Definitely this car I wanted to own from USA especially western trim wagon. Awesome vid👍
I've always loved these and the VW Golf Country.
The old AMC building off Plymouth is
slated for demolition. Beautiful building.
I had a 1980 Subaru gl wagon, loved that car....
Perhaps an episode dedicated to that and/or the brat?
🤘
When I was a kid in the late 80s, I would always see an Eagle wagon parked at a carwash close to a few stores my mom and some other relatives would take my brother and me to. I would and still do consider it a weird, hideous looking vehicle even though it was tough, durable, and ahead of its time.
My friend in High School, 1980s got a relatives used Eagle. The AMC car ran decent, north western rural PA.
A friend of mine had a amc eagle in early 90s.
The Renault Alliance was my first car. It was the most structurally unsound car offered.
I'd love an episode on the Chevy Blazer. The Cyclone and Typhoon would be cool too.
It’s such a shame AMC couldn’t succeed. They made some really cool cars and had great ideas! Some days I’ll own a ‘68 AMX!
I remember baja-ing through mud pits with one, was very impressed on the beating it took
It looks super cool , away ahead of its time.
A friend of mine had one and even her mother,too.
My dad worked for American Motors from 1976 to 1986, and I'm disappointed he never brought one of these things home as his company car. That would've been cool.
My uncle owned one for a time. Maybe a few over his lifetime.
I’d LOVE a modern day AWD Eagle Talon today. They should launch a modern version of the Eagle vehicles. They would do well.
Loved my 1981 Amc SX/4. Iron duke 4 speed
The first car i remember my parents owning was the amc hornet. Back in 1980. Wasn't a bad car but way better than the Chevy vega my parent bought after that.
The Eagle has landed!!!
I remember they were brown, fake wood with spoke hubcaps. I couldn't drive yet, but I wanted a Subaru Brat👍
I remember Brats. They were marketed to 🎿 crowds. Winter areas. 4x4.
I always wanted an Eagle but never had enough money to spare for one.
So I settled for my similar second choice. I still drive my 2001 Jeep Cherokee.
Holden in Australia offered the Overlander in the early 70s. It was effectively a 4x4 chassis mated to their sedan, wagon, ute, or (most Australian of all) panelvan bodies.
The original eagle cars were so far ahead of their time it was almost ridiculous.
I miss AMC cars they were so cool and had a lot of class and character imho. I loved the AMC Gremlin and the AMC Eagle SX4. The powerplant of the Eagle SX4 was underpowered but imagine a engine swap hemi powered AMC Eagle SX4 heck yeah!!
Bring the Eagle back with refinements. It would sell like crazy.
Always wanted a eagle
I had one of these station wagon and it would go just about anywhere, sadly it couldn't handle Illinois salted roads 😕, I'd gladly get another one though
I don't know of any cars that can handle salted roads.
Love these cars!