Editing AMC Eagle (section)

====1981====
[[File:1981 AMC Eagle Sport station wagon in blue metallic at 2021 PA meet 01of14.jpg|thumb|1981 AMC Eagle Sport]]
[[File:1981 AMC Eagle SX4.jpg|thumb|right|1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 liftback]]
[[File:AMC Eagle Kammback two-door sedan WI.jpg|thumb|right|AMC Eagle Kammback]]
[[File:AMC Eagle SX4 "Doesn't Always Need a Road" Ad.jpg|thumb|upright|1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 ad, "Doesn't Always Need a Road"]]

Changes to the standard (Series 30) Eagle lineup for the 1981 model year were significant. The General Motors- sourced {{convert|151|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} "Iron Duke" [[inline-four engine]] became standard equipment, as AMC's {{convert|258|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} I6 became optional. The I4 engine was only available with the manual transmission in the Eagle sedans and wagons.<ref name=RT81a>{{cite magazine |magazine=Road & Track's Road Test Annual & Buyer's Guide 1981 |issue=January–February 1981 |title=1981 Buyer's Guide |editor-first=Tony |editor-last=Hogg |page=80}}</ref> The AMC inline-six was redesigned to produce more low-end torque, as well as made smoother running, more economical, and required less maintenance.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Witzenburg |first=Gary |title=Driving the new AMC models |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=September 1980 |volume=154 |issue=4 |pages=100, 180 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RtQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA100 |via=Google Books |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref> The engineering improvements to the venerable AMC engine also reduced its weight by {{convert|90|lb|kg|0}} to {{convert|445|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}, thus making it "the lightest in-line Six in the domestic industry".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RtQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA180 Witzenburg, p. 180].</ref>

All Eagles took on a new plastic egg-crate-style grille divided into 24 squares at the front. The Eagle emblem was relocated to the grille header bar. Bumpers were updated so their end caps flowed smoothly into the Kraton plastic wheel arches and rocker panel trim. The Sport package, carried over from 1980 on all three body styles, used the Spirit's hood and grille header bar trims starting with the 1981 model year. At {{convert|183.2|in|mm|abbr=on}}, the Series 30 Eagle was also three inches (76&nbsp;mm) shorter than the previous year.<ref name=RT81a/>

Two smaller [[subcompact]] models, the AMC Eagle [[Kammback]], based on the [[AMC Spirit]] sedan (née [[AMC Gremlin|Gremlin]]), and the sporty Eagle '''SX/4''', based on the Spirit [[liftback]], debuted as "Eagle Series 50" models.<ref>{{cite magazine |page=58 |title=1980 Automobiles |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |volume=89 |date=1980 |quote=...the SX/4 and Kammback are descended from the Spirit/Gremlin... }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PdQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80 |pages=80–81 |title=Driving the new AMC Eagles |first1=Gary |last1=Witzenburg |first2=Moss |last2=Miller |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=September 1980 |volume=154 |issue=3 |quote=The Eagle Kammback looks very much like the old Gremlin. |via=Google Books |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref> The Kammback and SX/4 came standard with GM's {{convert|151|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} "Iron Duke" four-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, and power steering.<ref name=RT81a/> The Series 50 Eagles reflected the styling updates that the larger Series 30 models showed for 1981. The SX/4 model was available with a Sport package, as well. "Billed as 'the sports car that doesn't always need a road', the SX/4 two-door hatchback had a sporty look, but hardly qualified as a sports car."<ref>{{cite book |first=James M. |last=Flammang |title=Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1976–1986 |page=14 |publisher=Krause Publications |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-87341-133-2 }}</ref> The SX/4 has also been reviewed as "a car decades ahead of its time, it offered a sports car body with increased ground clearance and a four-wheel drive powertrain, creating an entirely new automotive genre overnight."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Branch |first1=Ben |title=The AMC Eagle SX/4 – An American 4x4 Sports Car That Was Ahead Of Its Time |url= https://silodrome.com/amc-eagle-sx-4/ |work=Silodrome |date=15 March 2022 |access-date=11 December 2023}}</ref>

At the beginning of the model year, all Eagles carried over the new-for-1980 permanent [[four-wheel drive|all-wheel drive]] system with a viscous fluid coupling that protected the suspension or driveline components from wear during dry pavement use. A "Select Drive" option, which allowed the Eagle to run in two-wheel-drive (RWD) mode and be switched to four-wheel-drive via a dashboard switch, was offered as a mid-year fuel economy measure.  The Select Drive system required the vehicle to be stationary when switching between two-wheel and four-wheel-drive.

Road tests by Gary Witzenburg in ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' described the 1981 "Sport" model station wagon as "Snowbird Supreme" after driving it in [[Detroit]]'s worst winter weather and noting the numerous improvements that were incorporated for the new model year building on the AMC Eagle's "soundness of design and originality of its concept."<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_9gDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA77 |page=77 |last=Witzenburg |first=Gary |title=AMC's Snowbird Supreme – The Eagle Wagon |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=June 1981 |volume=155 |issue=6 |via=Google Books |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref>

A road test by ''Car and Driver'' of the new Eagle SX/4 Sport reported that since it goes where most cars find impossible, it "doesn't require pavement to be fun."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lindamood |first1=Jean |title=Tested: 1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 Sport Goes Where Most Cars Can't |url= https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a35521676/1981-amc-eagle-sx4-sport-by-the-numbers/ |work=Car and Driver |date=18 February 2021 |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref>

Marketing of the new SX/4 highlighted experiencing what lies beyond the sports car. The advertising was about how the car looked, and with the four-wheel-drive feature, AMC's objective was to establish a new market niche: the off-road sports car.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://barnfinds.com/sporty-4x4-six-cylinder-1981-amc-eagle-sx-4-survivor/ |title="Sporty" 4×4 Six Cylinder: 1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 Survivor |first=Michelle |last=Rand |date=1 June 2023 |website=barnfinds.com |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref> Given AMC's meager advertising budget, most owners purchased them not as sports cars, but to allow them to go through mud and snow.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/09/junkyard-find-iron-duked-1981-amc-eagle-sx4/ |title=Junkyard Find: Iron Duked 1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 |first=Murilee |last=Martin |date=8 September 2011 |website=thetruthaboutcars.com |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref> Reviews in the early 2020s have described it as a "sporty crossover hatchback, built 25 years ahead of its time".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.autoblog.com/2022/11/05/junkyard-gem-1981-amc-eagle-sx4-sport/ |title=Junkyard Gem: 1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 Sport |first=Murilee |last=Martin |date=5 November 2022 |website=autoblog.com |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref> The new model was yet another response to the "many times the odds were stacked against this bold, little automaker from Kenosha, Wisconsin, and how they just kept coming up with new attempts to do things in a novel way."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1981-amc-eagle-sx-4-ready-for-anything/ |title=1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 – Ready For Anything |first=Joseph |last=Dennis |date=28 April 2020 |website=curbsideclassic.com |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref> The SX/4's design has been described as simply attractive and successful because it had no polarizing features.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1981-amc-eagle-sx4-series-50-this-bird-has-earned-its-wings/ |title=1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 Series 50 – This Bird Has Earned Its Wings |first=Joseph |last=Dennis |date=12 April 2022 |website=curbsideclassic.com |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref>

Production for the 1981 model year was 5,603 Kammbacks, 17,340 Liftbacks, 2,378 two-door sedans, 1,737 four-door sedans, and 10,371 station wagons for a total of 37,429 units.<ref name="eaglenest81">{{cite web|url= http://amceaglesden.com/history1981/ |title=1981 AMC Eagle History |work=AMC Eagles Den |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref>