AMC Eagle
The AMC Eagle was produced by the former American Motors Corporation, released for the 1980 model year and based on the AMC Concord range. The vehicle utilized an "on-the-fly" all-wheel drive system (mechanism similar to the Jeep Cherokee, also produced by AMC) and had a noticeable increased height compared to competitors' automobiles. At the time, the Eagle was a logical extension to the Concord range: since AMC made Jeeps it made sense to combine off-road technology with a passenger car range. It is now considered ahead of its time, creating the model which vehicles such as the Subaru Outback, Audi A6 Allroad, Volvo XC70 and Holden Adventra follow: that of the "raised" station wagon. Unlike the later cars, the Eagle was available as a 'Kammback', essentially a three-door hatchback with a very vertical tailgate; a four-door sedan, a five-door station wagon, and a three-door fastback topping the range with an SX/4 variant. The Kammback and fastback had two-wheel-drive equivalents in the AMC Spirit range, itself developed from the earlier AMC Gremlin. As the range developed, the three-door models were deleted. Toward the end of the Eagle's life, only the station wagon remained. Sadly, the Eagle eventually suffered from sluggish sales, reliability, and mileage concerns, leading to its cancellation in 1987 after AMC’s merger with Chrysler.
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