page_title: AMC Eagle
section_title: The concept
hierarchical_section_title: AMC Eagle / History / The concept
caption_attribution_description: AMC Eagle station wagon crests an earthen berm in eastern Iowa.
context_page_description: The AMC Eagle is a compact four-wheel drive passenger vehicle manufactured and marketed by American Motors Corporation over a single generation, 1979–1987.
  Introduced in August 1979 for the 1980 model year, the coupe, sedan, and station wagon body styles were based on the AMC Concord.
  The AMC Eagles were the only four-wheel-drive passenger cars produced in the U.S. at the time. They were affordable cars offering a comfortable ride and handling on pavement together with superior traction in light off-road use through AMC's innovative engineering and packaging. Although the definition is not precise, the AMC Eagle is today known as one of the first crossover vehicles. All models featured "passenger-car comfort, plus 4wd security for all-weather security." Fuel-thirsty vehicles built for rugged off-road were on the market. Comparable sedan and compact station wagon models were not available from other manufacturers, especially at the Eagle's price point, and AMC "predicted that consumers would embrace a vehicle with the comfort of an automobile, but the ride height and foul-weather capabilities of a four-wheel-drive utility vehicle."
context_section_description: The initial proposal for production of what would become the AMC Eagle came from Roy Lunn, the chief design engineer for AMC Jeep. "Project 8001 plus Four" was Lunn's code name for a new "line of four-wheel-drive vehicles with the ride and handling conventions of a standard rear wheel drive car" built on a uni-body platform. In February 1977, AMC contracted FF Developments to build a prototype vehicle based on a production V8 powered AMC Hornet with drive torque split 33% front and 66% rear. Testing and further development proved the feasibility of a vehicle with greater ground clearance, larger 15-inch wheels, as well as a torque split closer to 50% – 50%, with Lunn recommending using the AMC straight-6 engine coupled to an automatic transmission.
  Thus, the AMC Eagle came about when Jeep's chief engineer joined a Concord body with a four-wheel-drive system. Such a vehicle was a logical step for AMC, according to then CEO Gerald C. Meyers, as a second energy crisis had hit in 1979, and sales of AMC's highly profitable truck-based Jeep line dropped, due in part to their low fuel efficiency, leaving AMC in a precarious financial position. The Eagle provided a low-cost way of bridging the gap between AMC's solid and economical, but aging, passenger car line and its well-regarded, but decidedly off-road-focused, Jeep line, as the Eagle used the existing Concord (and later, Spirit) automobile platform.
  The Eagle also bridged the sizable price gap between the low-end imported 4WD Subaru and the large-sized domestic four-wheel-drive vehicles like the Jeep Wagoneer. The Eagle models provided the biggest new boost to the automaker's profit mix. Sales were brisk since Day One, with the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the basic 2-door model starting at $6,999 (US$21,718 in 2019 dollars) and the 4-door station wagon at $7,549 (US$23,424 in 2019 dollars). The Eagle represented a "burst of AMC's genetic creativity...quickly captured the attention of many American drivers who found its unique union of four-wheel drive safety and security with the comfort of an automobile."
  A first in mass production passenger cars, the early AMC Eagles came with a true full-time automatic system that operated only in permanent all-wheel drive. The four-wheel drivetrain added approximately 300 pounds (136 kg) to the Eagle's curb weight. The AMC Eagles were also the first mass-produced U.S. four-wheel-drive vehicles with an independent front suspension.
  The AMC Eagle's central differential behind its TorqueFlite automatic transmission was single-speed (without a low-range option) and used a viscous fluid coupling for quiet and smooth transfer of power to the axle with the greatest traction, on wet or dry pavement. The central unit consisted of closely spaced, wavy clutch plates operating in a "honey-like Silicone fluid" performing a "limited-slip function" between the front and rear drives, as well as under adverse driving conditions sending torque to the axle with the most traction.
  Designed as "reasonably size[d] passenger cars" offering a comfortable ride and handling on pavement, the AMC Eagles "behave more like mountain goats" when off the road. The value of four-wheel drive in the AMC Eagle was apparent when driving in slippery conditions, and they were used in America's first ice-driving school. The Eagle models provided the comfort and appointments expected of passenger models with off-road technology offering an extra margin of safety and traction. The Eagle was designed for customers that "must get through regardless of road or weather conditions (doctors, police, emergency personnel and so on)" as well as those living areas of bad weather or roads, and adventurous hunters and fishermen. The AMC Eagle did not compete with traditional, rudimentary four-wheel-drive vehicles. The company did not design the Eagle as an off-pavement recreation vehicle, but rather as a passenger car that offers added benefits. Not built for off-road performance as a Chevrolet Blazer or a Jeep Cherokee, the Eagle "will overcome mud, sand, snow, and ob
caption: AMC Eagle Wagon in off-road duty
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "2852", "Image ImageLength": "2060", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image PlanarConfiguration": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2007:06:18 13:33:17", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "394", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4804", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "722"}