AMC Four Wheel Drive Eagle A New Dimension In Transportation

While demand for four-wheel-drive vehicles soared in the early 1970’s, the available machinery accented off-road usage. American Motors Corporation was quick to respond to consumer interest in a new type vehicle combining the security of traditional 4WD with the comfort and convenience associated with 2WD passenger cars. The Eagle vehicle was first prototyped in 1972 and established package and design feasibility of a 4WD driveline applied to a unitized body. Four years later, with a new set of ingredients designed to overcome earlier problems of achieving NVH objectives, a concentrated development program was begun. The result, after several developmental phases, was the Eagle for the 1980 model year. The integration and application of AMC and Jeep engineering technologies that brought this project to fruition are herein described.