Eagle Premier
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| Eagle Premier | |
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| Manufacturer: | Eagle |
| Class: | Sedan |
| Production: | 1988–1992 |
| Successor: | Chrysler LH platform |
| Layout: | FF |
| Engine: | 2.5 L AMC inline 4 3.0 L PRV V6 |
| Length: | 192.8 in |
| Wheelbase: | 106 in |
| Width: | 70 in |
| Track: | 58.6 in (front) 57.1 in (rear) |
| Height: | 53.3 in |
| Weight: | 2,991 lb–3,068 lb |
| Related: | Renault 25 |
| This article is part of the automobile series. | |
The Eagle Premier was a development of a Renault car, inherited when Chrysler Corp. bought American Motors in 1987, and sold from the 1988 to 1992 model years. It was a large four-door sedan based on the Renault 25, and restyled by Giorgetto Giugiaro. It was also sold as the Dodge Monaco from 1990 to 1992.
Originally, it was meant to be called the Renault Premier, before Chrysler acquired AMC in 1987, and a few models left the factory with that badging. Early Premiers also carried a Design Giugiaro badge, removed after the car's mid-term freshening. The Premier's interior was designed by AMC's in-house staff.
The Premier was available in LX (equipped with a 2.5 L inline four-cylinder AMC unit, offered till the end of the 1989 model year) and ES trims (V6, 3.0 L PRV engine).
A new, highly advanced factory was built to manufacture the Premier at Bramalea, Ontario, near AMC's existing plant at Brampton.
The Dodge Monaco resulted from the fact that the Premier was considered a better car than Chrysler's own contemporary large-car entry, the Dodge Dynasty, and a contractual obligation to use 260,000 of the V6 engines from Bramalea in five years. The Premier's European roots meant that it was more sophisticated than what Chrysler was offering in its range, most of which was made up of K-car derivatives. The Chrysler LH series cars — regarded as the cars that saved Chrysler for the 1990s — are mechanically similar to the Premier.
In all, 139,051 Premiers and Monacos were built at Bramalea.
External link
- The Eagle Premier and Dodge Monaco home page (http://www.geocities.com/eagle_premier/index.htm)
- Eagle Premier - The Accidental Dodge (http://www.allpar.com/model/premier.html) provides detailed information about the Premier.