Amid Grand Predictions for Early Success
But the ’97 Visions were virtual reruns, and Talon sales were languishing, too. It proved a timely move. A prime motivation was Chrysler’s desire to cut overhead by trimming its dealer body, which it did over the next few years by combining Jeep-Eagle stores with Chrysler-Plymouth outlets wherever practical. With all this, no one was surprised when Chrysler dropped Vision after ’97 and Talon after model year ’98, thus ending a nameplate that had seemed a good idea 10 years before, but just didn’t pan out.
There was no question of continuing the outmoded AMC Eagles (which died early in the model year), nor the small, problematic Renault Alliance and Encore that AMC had built in Kenosha since 1983. That left just two remnants of the former Renault regime: the midsize V-6 Premier and the compact four-cylinder Medallion. Both were front-drive Renault designs like Alliance/Encore, but had been rushed to the U.S. Medallion was a French import, basically a “federalized” Renault 21. Premier was a Canadian-built notchback based on the European Renault 30, complete with surprisingly dull styling by Giugiaro of Italy. Both these cars became 1988 Eagles by the mere substitution of a new (and rather handsome) badge, but they sold no better as such, being conventional for Renaults but still too quirky for most Americans. Chrysler buyout in a last-ditch effort to reverse sagging AMC sales.
Price was a likely factor in this lackluster performance. Though Vision was carefully pitched between its LH sisters, Eagle dealers complained it was tough to sell because customers thought it overpriced. If buyers did understand, they didn’t show it, for production of the 1996-97 models sagged to about 15,500 combined. Chrysler countered that Visions came with more standard equipment than comparable Intrepids and Concordes, and urged dealers to make sure customers understood that. It also didn’t help that the car itself was little changed, though the ’96 ESi received two worthy upgrades in standard 16-inch wheels (replacing 15s) and Chrysler’s new AutoStick feature that allowed the automatic transmission to be shifted somewhat like a manual.
Symbolizing power and nobility since Roman times, the name of America’s national bird has been used over the years on products ranging from pencils to potato chips — and cars, of course. As a make, however, the only Eagle pertinent to this book is the one established by Chrysler Corporation from the remains of American Motors Corporation. In fact, no fewer than six different automakers operated under the Eagle flag before World War I, four in the U.S. Durant Motors produced its own Eagle in 1923-24, and Chevrolet used the name for its deluxe models of 1933. In the late ’60s, Eagle was a natural choice for the competition cars built by the All-American Racers firm of driving legend Dan Gurney.
