She ain’t pretty. She ain’t fast. And God knows, she’s anything but sexy. But she’s strong, enduring, and way, way ahead of her time. She’s the AMC Eagle, and she’s about done with your dirty looks.
Mama, What Are You Talking About?
Now, if you’re not familiar with the canon of finely tuned, exceptionally designed, American passenger vehicles of the mid 1980s– don’t worry, Mama’s gonna school you. AMC is the hit factory that brought us such beauties as the Pacer, the Gremlin & the Matador. And what they lacked in curb appeal, they made up for with foresight & innovation. You see, AMC did wacky things like using paint primer on the body to prevent rust, embracing the hatchback, utilizing panoramic windows, and coining the term “crossover vehicle.” Yup, the Eagle was our country’s first mass-produced four-wheel drive passenger car. Take that Subaru, Volvo, BMW and all of you other SUV bitches!
The AMC Eagle Is Personal For Me
My father was an adman and worked on the AMC account. His work gave him one of these babies in the mid-1980s, and we had a ball. Sadly, its bargain price and fun factor couldn’t outweigh its ugly mug, so Mom kicked that baby to the curb. But I digress..
What’s additionally impressive about this car (and God knows it’s not that rear end— which has the dubious distinction of looking dented when it’s not) is the fact that some little old lady in my neighborhood is still driving one.
Now, before you tree-hugging, condescending, self-righteous snobs go tossing attitude around — consider this: in the past 30 years, you’ve probably been through at least three cars. You may have even dumped one into the landfill in favor of a more “eco-conscious” choice like a Prius. I’m going to pause for a minute while you rethink that decision… yeah, I’m sorry too.
The point is, while we’ve all kissed a couple of frogs looking for the car that could be both fun to drive and function as needed, perhaps even taking us off-road, our friend in the AMC Eagle has stood by silently, gloating. She knew all along that the crossover is what we wanted. And she’s delighted that 30 years later, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc, have caught on. Congratulations.
2025 Update: There’s An AMC Documentary Series!
If you dig this type of post, you will surely want to watch PBS’ “The Last Independent Automaker.”
I remember my friend having an Eagle SX4 with a manual transmission and I was watching these guys try to climb a hill in their 4X4 pickups Dodge, Toyota, & Ford were all present, and I got in my friend's Eagle and easily crested the hill without spinning a tire. One of them traded his truck in for one the next week.