Editing AMC Eagle (section)

===The concept===
[[File:1985 AMC Eagle wagon Hinton-4w.jpg|thumb|right|All AMC Eagles featured 4WD]]
[[File:Eagle dirt 02.jpg|thumb|right|AMC Eagle Wagon in off-road duty]]
[[File:1982 AMC Eagle 4-door wagon two-tone 05.jpg|thumb|right|AMC Eagle Wagon in two-tone finish]]
[[File:1982 AMC Eagle SX-4 (31404336770).jpg|thumb|right|AMC Eagle SX/4 liftback]]
[[File:1983 AMC Eagle at 2012 Rockville a.jpg|thumb|right|AMC Eagle Wagon at classic car show]]
[[File:1980 AMC Eagle Limited wagon in blue with woodgrain at Rambler Ranch 3of3.jpg|thumb|AMC Eagle Interiors focused on comfort and luxury]]

Fuel-thirsty vehicles built for rugged off-road were on the market, but 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."<ref name="Ernst"/> The objective was an affordable car with comfortable ride and handling on the road and superior traction in ''light'' off-road use.<ref name="Jacobs">{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MAEAAAAAMBAJ&q=There+are+three+versions+of+Eagle+ED+JACOBS&pg=PP137 |last=Jacobs |first=Ed |title=Passenger-car comfort, plus 4wd security for all-weather security |magazine=Popular Science |date=September 1979 |volume=215 |issue=3 |pages=90–91 |access-date=24 April 2022 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

The initial proposal for production of what would become the AMC Eagle came from [[Roy Lunn]], the chief design engineer for AMC Jeep.<ref name="egg">{{cite web|url= http://www.amceaglenest.com/images/Eaglebook/03bookthegg.pdf |title=The Egg – Development of the AMC Eagle |first=Doug |last=Shepard |work=AMC Eagle Nest |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110112215010/http://www.amceaglenest.com/images/Eaglebook/03bookthegg.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2011 |access-date=24 April 2022 }}</ref> "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 unibody platform.<ref name="egg"/> 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.<ref name="egg"/> Testing and further development proved the feasibility of a vehicle with greater ground clearance, larger 15-inch wheels, and a torque split closer to 50% – 50%, with Lunn recommending using the AMC [[straight-six engine]] coupled to an automatic transmission.<ref name="egg"/>

Thus, the AMC Eagle came about when Jeep's chief engineer joined a Concord body with a four-wheel drive system.<ref name="Sherman">{{cite magazine |last=Sherman |first=Don |title=All-Wheel-Drive Revisited: AMC's 1980 Eagle pioneered the cross-over SUV |magazine=Automotive Industries |date=February 2001 |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-69103689.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130501140243/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-69103689.html |archive-date=1 May 2013 |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref> Such a vehicle was a logical step for AMC, according to the CEO [[Gerald C. Meyers]].<ref name="Newsweek79"/> A second energy crisis had hit in 1979. Sales of AMC's highly profitable truck-based Jeep line dropped due in part to their low fuel efficiency.<ref name="Newsweek79"/> This forced AMC into a precarious financial position.<ref name="Newsweek79"/> 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 four-wheel drive (4WD) [[Subaru]] and the large-sized domestic 4WD vehicles such as the [[Jeep Wagoneer]].<ref name="Lamm80">{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1dkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA102 |last=Lamm |first=Michael |title=PM Owners Report: AMC Eagle |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=April 1980 |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=102–103 and 193–194 |via=Google Books |access-date=24 April 2022}}</ref> The Eagle models provided the most significant new boost to the automaker's profit mix.<ref name="Newsweek79"/> Sales were brisk since Day One,<ref name="Lamm80"/> with the manufacturer's [[suggested retail price]] (MSRP) for the basic two-door model starting at $6,999 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|6999|1980}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) and the 4-door station wagon at $7,549 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|7549|1980}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}). 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."<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert C. |last=Ackerson |title=Standard catalog of 4 x 4's |publisher=Krause Publications |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-87341-203-2 |page=8 }}</ref>

The early AMC Eagles had a full-time automatic system that operated in permanent all-wheel drive (AWD). The drivetrain added about {{convert|300|lb|kg|0}} to the Eagle's curb weight.<ref name="Lamm80"/> The AMC Eagles were also the first mass-produced U.S. 4WD automobiles with an [[Independent suspension|independent front suspension]].<ref name="Lombard"/> The 1963 Jeep Wagoneer and Gladiator pickups featured an independent front suspension with 4WD as well as the revised for 1980 truck-based [[Ford Bronco]] and [[Ford F-Series (seventh generation)|F-Series]] vehicles.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wright |first1=Jim |title=1963 Jeep Wagoneer First Test: Revisiting the Original, The Jeep becomes a gentleman. |url= https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/1963-jeep-wagoneer-first-test-archives/ |work=Motor Trend |date=3 September 2020 |access-date=11 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McNessor |first1=Mike |title=How Ford's Twin Traction Beam transformed the Bronco and F-Series 4x4s - Here's why you shouldn't hate Ford's Twin Traction Beam |url= https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2020/04/16/how-fords-twin-traction-beam-transformed-the-bronco-and-f-series-4x4s |work=Hemmings |date=16 April 2020 |access-date=11 December 2023}}</ref>

The AMC Eagle's central differential behind its [[TorqueFlite]] automatic transmission was a single-speed (without a low-range option). It featured a [[Viscous coupling unit|viscous fluid coupling]] for the quiet and smooth power transfer to the axle with the most 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.<ref name="Jacobs"/>

Designed as "reasonably size[d] passenger cars" offering a comfortable ride and handling on pavement, the AMC Eagles "behave more like [[mountain goat]]s" when off the road.<ref name="Jacobs"/> The value of 4WD in the AMC Eagle was apparent when driving in slippery conditions. They served in America's first ice-driving school.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schuon |first=Marshall |title=Teaching the skills of driving on ice |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/11/sports/about-cars-teaching-the-skills-of-driving-on-ice.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=11 March 1984 |access-date=9 July 2015}}</ref> The Eagle models provided the comfort and appointments expected of passenger models, combined with off-road technology offering an extra margin of safety and traction.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/automobiles/collectibles/09EAGLE.html |last=Sass |first=Rob |title=A Breed of 4-by-4 Hatched on the Fly |newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 March 2008 |access-date=9 July 2015}}</ref> The Eagle was designed for customers who "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.<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8tR3aBIi53sC&pg=PA102 |first=Bill |last=Kilpatrick |title=An Eagle of a Different Feather |magazine=Field & Stream |date=January 1980 |volume=84 |issue=9 |pages=102, 122}}</ref> The AMC Eagle did not compete with traditional, rudimentary 4WD vehicles. The company did not design the Eagle as an off-pavement recreation vehicle, but rather as a passenger car that offers added benefits.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Road & Track |volume=31 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vV1WAAAAMAAJ |title=AMC Eagle |year=1980 }}</ref> Not built for off-road performance as a [[Chevrolet K5 Blazer|Chevrolet Blazer]] or a [[Jeep Cherokee (XJ)|Jeep Cherokee]], the Eagle "will overcome mud, sand, snow, and obstacles that would stop ordinary sedans cold."<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cUpqF_NKRToC&pg=PA39 |pages=39–43 |title=4WD cars for all-weather mobility on and off road |first1=Jim |last1=Dunne |first2=Ed |last2=Jacobs |magazine=Popular Science |date=August 1980 |volume=217 |issue=2 |via=Google Books |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref>

The AMC Eagle was one of the first production cars to use an AWD system. Other 4WD automobile-type vehicles – the [[Subaru Leone|Subaru DL/GL]] (1972 for the [[Japanese domestic market]] and two years later in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://jalopnik.com/40-years-of-not-getting-stuck-a-subaru-awd-history-5966299 |title=40 Years of Not Getting Stuck: A Subaru AWD History |first=Máté |last=Petrány |date=12 June 2012 |work=Jalopnik |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=12 |title=Subaru Impreza |first=Graham |last=Robson |publisher=Veloce Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84584-042-6 }}</ref>), and much later the [[Toyota Tercel|Toyota Tercel SR5 Wagon]] (1983) - only had part-time 4WD systems that could not be engaged on dry pavement.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/08/curbside-classic-1984-toyota-tercel-wagon/ |quote=Toyota's first-ever front wheel driver ... extend the output shaft out the back of the transmission, and connect it to a driveshaft for the solid rear axle ... Not on dry pavement, though, because like most 4WD systems of the time, it had no center differential |title=Curbside Classic: 1984 Toyota Tercel Wagon |first=Paul |last=Niedermeyer |date=18 August 2009 |website=thetruthaboutcars.com |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref> The Eagle was also years ahead of Subaru's simplistic, part-time front-drive/4WD system, due to Roy Lunn's creativity and Jeep's experience producing 4WD vehicles.<ref name="Sherman"/> Another feature was the Eagle's independent front suspension, accomplished by mounting the front differential to the engine block with [[universal joint]]s and [[half shaft]]s to drive the front wheels.

As the first mass-produced American passenger car with 4WD of any type, automotive industry analysts were taken by surprise at the fact that AMC, a company most had deemed past its ability to produce competitive vehicles, turned the best of what they had into a revolutionary, novel, and all-around competent vehicle.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> In doing so, the small American manufacturer was seen as having cleverly pioneered a new market segment – one that would grow wildly over the next 25 years and beyond, as evinced by ''Four Wheeler'' magazine's conclusion in 1980 that the new AMC Eagle was, indeed, "The beginning of a new generation of cars."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.amxfiles.com/amc/eagle.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20080430161510/http://www.amxfiles.com/amc/eagle.html |archive-date=30 April 2008 |last=Foster |first=Patrick R. |title=AMC Eagle 4wd: Underfunded before its time |work=Autoweek Magazine |via=amxfiles.com |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref> Even as the automaker was struggling financially, "AMC's reputation for developing vehicles on the cheap is only exceeded by its legacy of [[Midwifery|midwifing]] the SUV", including the Eagle to be the precursor to one of the most popular vehicle types on the market.<ref>{{cite book |last=Padgett |first=Martin |title=Hummer |publisher=Zenith |year=2004 |page=26 |isbn=978-0-7603-1863-8 }}</ref> Indeed, the Eagle's basic concept - that of a station wagon with AWD, raised ground clearance, full range of power options, and automatic transmissions, as well as the rough-road capability - has inspired vehicles such as the Subaru [[Subaru Outback|Outback]] and [[Subaru Forester|Forester]] lines, the [[Audi A6 allroad quattro|Audi Allroad]], the [[Volkswagen Passat|Volkswagen Passat Alltrack]], the Volvo XC range, and many others.<ref name="Sherman"/><ref name="nytimes.com"/> Similarly, motoring journalist [[Marty Padgett]] described AMC's car-based 1980 Eagle, combining all-weather capability with better gas mileage, as "the first crossover," that was succeeded by whole generations of Subaru vehicles and other models.<ref name="Padgett, pp. 242–243"/>

A long-term road test conducted in 2009 of a new Suzuki crossover vehicle described the original AMC Eagle as "combined two disparate personalities – rugged, childlike playfulness and staunch paternal responsibility – in a way that few thought possible in 1980. And for all the Eagle's lowly heritage, it has set a lasting standard for utility and a friendly, innovative spirit that has eluded most of the compact crossovers on the market today."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.edmunds.com/suzuki/sx4/2009/long-term-road-test/ |last=Magrath |first=Mike |title=2009 Suzuki SX4 Long-Term Test |work=Edmunds Inside Line |date=15 January 2009 |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref> An article in a series about innovations and icons, the BBC wrote, "the Eagle was, in essence, the kind of segment-busting product that engineers and marketers spend entire careers trying to create."<ref name="Carney 2013" >{{cite web|url= http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20130925-the-unlikely-awd-trail-blazer |date=26 September 2013 |title=AMC Eagle, the unlikely trail-blazer |first=Dan |last=Carney |work=BBC |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203154514/http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20130925-the-unlikely-awd-trail-blazer |archive-date=3 December 2013 |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref>