1984 AMC Eagle Manufacturer Promo
AMC’s versatile Eagle line returned in tact for the 1984 model run. With a 4-door sedan and station wagon, plus the Spirit based SX/4 hatchback. base engines in all three were the new corporate 2.5 liter, with the ageless 258cid six as an option. Selec-Drive, on the fly 2/4 wheel drive, and a 4-speed manual transmission are standard issue. A 5-seed overdrive and 3-speed automatic could be ordered. However thanks to the massive support from French partner Renault, AMC’s long flirtation with extinction was coming to an end, but this also meant the Eagle wasn’t long for the world. Have a look back to see how AMC touted its Selec-Drive system over newer competing entrants from Subaru and Toyota.
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Lol, with that Toyota wagon, that test was so flawed. The Toyota was way further down the hill. I dislike Toyota very much, but that definitely was not a fair comparison!!
The toyota kinda rolled back. I’d assume it was a standard. Whereas the eagle probably was not. Atleast in my opinion anyways.
They must have dumped the clutch or something in the Toyota. Being part time 4wd, it should have pulled itself right up without any wheel spin at all.
Check out the last name of the engineer speaking at 10:45. Talk about a guy that should have his name changed.
Why?
I count 3 out of 5 commenters as Toyota apologists. It’s called the 1 wheel peel and results when you have an open diff and traction problems. A regular FWD Toyota would experience exactly the same thing. The Eagle was much heavier and had a 4WD system that was designed to give superior performance, not cheapness.
Perry is correct. Even in 4×4, the Toyota (or any similar system) the power goes to the wheel with the least traction. That is why the Toyota skid as it did. The Eagle had a limited-slip viscous coupling which, much like most “modern” awd systems, could put the power to the wheels with the most grip (remember Subaru’s ad…transfers power from the wheel that slips to the wheel that grips?….same thing). I have an Eagle, and it is, especially for its age, ridiculously amazing in the snow. One thing to note: the 1986 Eagle, for reasons unbeknownst, had an open center diff with no viscous coupling. An ’86 Eagle would have done the same thing. This was corrected for 1987.
I remember these cars when they were new. I also (sort of) remember when they ended production. In 1996, Subaru would begin selling the Outback, based on the Legacy. Subaru Outback basically picked up where the AMC Eagle left off eight years earlier.