What Happened to the Eagle Car?
By Fei Lim

Throughout the long history attached to the automotive world, many cars come and go. The same can be said for the Eagle, which hailed from the Chrysler Corporation. Although, the brand spent a short amount of time on the automotive market, two selections made a respectable impression on the public. At one point, the Eagle Vision sedan and the Talon coupe could be seen decorating many highways and streets. Today, the Eagle is no longer produced, while faithful drivers may still have one tucked away in the garage.

After Chrysler purchased the American Motors Corporation (AMC), the Eagle was produced, which took its name from the AMC Eagle. Soon after, a division of car marketing was born with both the Jeep and the Eagle at the forefront. The first models of Eagles to hit the market were called the Eagle Premier and the Eagle Medallion. Even the beginning of their history was tainted with a miscommunication with the public. Most of the brands were revamped versions of other vehicle models, including the first selections, which were designed with former corporate partners. Since too many hands were involved with the creation of the cars, the lack of product recognition proved a harsh reality for the Eagle.

Eagle Brand Cars

The Eagle Premier was produced from 1988 to 1992 and was known for sharing some of the same parts as the Renault 25, which contributed to the creation of the vehicle.

The Eagle Medallion was a compact car that lasted from 1988 to 1989, which presented almost the same appearance and features as the Renault 21.

The Eagle Summit was a re-badged version of the Mitsubishi Mirage. From 1989 to 1996, this subcompact car was produced. The Eagle Vista (1989-1992) was also a re-badged version of the Mitsubishi Mirage that was produced from 1983 to 1986. This particular model was only sold in Canada.

The car that lasted the longest on the market was called the Eagle Talon and shared similar features to the Plymouth Laser and the Mitsubishi Eclipse. It would become one of the most popular brands that Eagle offered.

For only a year, the Eagle 2000GTX was a re-badged version of the Mitsubishi Galant, which was sold only in Canada from 1991 to 1992.

The Eagle Vision was produced from 1993 to 1997 and was one of the three original LH-cars that Chrysler created. In Europe, this car was known as the Chrysler Vision.

Why Did the Eagle Car Fail?

There are many reasons why the Eagle car did not live up to the expectations that Chrysler saw for this vehicle. For starters, the appearance and marketing for all of the Eagle brand cars came from similar or identical selections under the Mitsubishi or Chrysler name. Since the same vehicle was sold under a better-known name that had already gained the respect of the public, Eagle cars were sidestepped. The newness of the brand was a hard mountain to climb for the company and since there weren't any unique Eagle options to promote, the engineering of the car line greatly suffered.

The Eagle car also lacked a place in the car market and struggled to gain an identity within the Chrysler line of cars. Too much competition also hurt the Eagle brand. The Summit often competed against the sales of Toyota and Honda, while the Vision and Talon made a go at the consumers siding with the Pontiac brand. The popularity of Dodge would also eventually take the glory of marketing Eagles as a sportier brand.

When it comes to major competition, Jeep probably proved to be the greatest threat. In the showroom, both brands were marketed at the same time. Eagle could not compete with their sales or the new trend seen with SUVs that began in 1991. When Ford created the Explorer, sales for SUVs made records, prompting Jeep to answer with the Grand Cherokee. In the shadow of the Jeep brand, Eagle brands paled in comparison.

Since the Eagle Premier was introduced in 1988, the brand cranked out millions of cars under the company name, until it was eventually phased out in a series of stages. In 1996, the public said goodbye to the Mitsubishi (once known as the Colt) family of cars under the Chrysler name. This meant that the Eagle Summit, Dodge Colt, and the Plymouth Colt would no longer find a place on the assembly line. In 1997, the Eagle Vision was discontinued as well (which bore an unmistakable likeness to the Chrysler Concorde and Dodge Intrepid). The final car made for Chrysler under the Eagle name was the Talon, which lasted until 1998. With its discontinuation, the entire Eagle brand folded as well.