The Subaru Outback has created a huge genre that it essentially owns: the lifted AWD wagon. Almost 200k are sold in the US per year. It’s propelled Subaru’s relentless growth for decades, since the first Outback appeared in 1995. No one has challenged that to any meaningful degree.
But before that, there was the Eagle.
And of before that, there was the Subaru 4WD wagon. But back in the seventies, the Subaru 4WD wagon was hardly mainstream, finding its first toeholds on the American market in quirky places like the mountains of Colorado, California, Vermont and Oregon.
The Eagle—which arrived in 1980—was as all-American and mainstream as it got. It was of course an American Motors Concord with a full-time AWD (Quadratrac) system, and a healthy dose of ground clearance, a two-tone paint job, some cladding, bigger wheels and tires and fender flares to go with them.
Which was of course exactly all the things that differentiated the Outback from the regular Legacy AWD wagon. And that made all the difference in the world, as in quite likely saving the company, as Subaru was in a bad way in the early 1990s. The Eagle formula created a winner for Subaru, and it’s never looked back.
The big difference was that in its best early years, the Eagle wagon sold some 25k units, but then sales dwindled away to some 5k in 1987 and a mere 2,306 in 1988, its last year.
Why did the Eagle crash and the Outback fly? Undoubtedly for the same reasons just about every other American car line has failed: The Outback was a much more suitable package to the kind of buyers that really wanted an AWD wagon. It was more economical than the Eagle’s big thirsty 258 CI (4.2 L) pushrod six that managed all of 110 hp and had some 3,500 lbs to motivate. Subarus were high in quality like other Japanese brands; AMC struggled with that…quality. And Japanese cars were just strongly favored by the kind of demographics that were embracing the values that Subaru was pushing: Outdoorsy, natural, hip, etc..
That’s another quality American Motors struggled with, until its European-inspired Cherokee arrived in 1984. That changed everything, and the Eagle was made utterly redundant by it, which of course mostly explains its steep drop in sales after 1984. The Cherokee was effectively the first true crossover, in the sense that sucked in buyers who previously wouldn’t have considered a trucky SUV, thanks to its four doors, decent ride and handling, and space-efficient unibody construction.
I’ve covered the details of the Eagle’s curious conception and birth here, so this time, we’ll mostly admire this well-worn survivor. After 40 years, it’s showing its well-earned patina and a few other signs of aging, but its still looks quite solid overall.
This is a top of the line Limited, and I’d forgotten that these had “loose pillow” seats in leather. I didn’t get a good shot of the dash.
So here’s a brochure shot, that shows it to best advantage. My memory is that they weren’t exactly a pinnacle of quality, in terms of materials and fit. That duct under the steering wheel to the a/c outlet shows how antiquated this car was, as the Hornet dated back to 1969. AMC was the master of cobbling things up in the ’70s; the Studebaker of the times.
The back seat has obviously had fewer seat-miles.
AMC’s design history is a study in contrasts: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. And the original 1971 Hornet Sportback wagon was clearly in the first category, previewing the stylistic benefits of a steeply raked rear window/tailgate. They became almost universal eventually. And it made the Eagle look more contemporary in the early eighties than it had any right to be. I can’t imagine any Big Three wagon from 1969 that could still be sold in the mid-eighties, even with AWD and a jacked up body. Can you?
This Eagle has flown too close to the sun a bit too much.
A fender-bender that wasn’t.
It’s a crossover; of brougham and Jeep.
Valle Vidal is where I’d like to be right now; it’s a pristine mountain basin in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico. And that sticker was advocating for it being spared gas and oil exploration, which happened in 2006.
This is the first Eagle I’ve seen in a while, and I can’t help but wonder how much longer it’s going to be before it gets replaced by an…Outback.
CC AMC Eagle Sedan and Wagon: “What The Hell Is This?” PN
CC 1984 Jeep Cherokee: AMC’s Greatest Hit, Thanks To Renault PN
CC 1982 Eagle SX/4: The Trickster PN
Why in the heck does this writer get so upset with the lower left vent? What is wrong with that? Oh, maybe it’s because it’s an AMC and not some Japanese car. Never mind.
He pointed it out as an example of circa-1970 engineering that the Big 3 had long since moved on from but AMC couldn’t afford to.
AMC wasn’t behind the times at all, the 1970 Rebel/Ambassador and Javelin had wholly conventional A/C vents integrated into the main dash just like any car from the big three, and had for some time. The Hornet’s design was a major step up from the previous American that used a tacked on under dash 3 vent AC system, where the Hornet ran ducting through the top center of the dash and to the sides like any modern setup.
The design is certainly distinctive and by 1981 it was completely outdated in what AMC was now pitching as a top of the line vehicle but there’s no reason to assume the initial design was a crude limitation of AMCs resources. It appears that lower tray was an option outside of A/C
Non-AC
And looks like no dash vents anywhere.
But either way, no outboard blank tabs or plates on either driver or passenger side, only in center stack.
Because it’s a perfect example of how crude AMC products were in the early ‘80.
The wife’s uncle had an ‘81 Eagle and I was taken back on how unrefined it was. Typical of AMC – a great idea (making a 4 wheel drive passenger wagon) but terrible execution and build quality. And, they were not exactly cheap either. He said MPG was about 15 and it had a propensity to eat tires, a set lasting no more than15K miles.
Great write-up Paul. From the interior shot of the instrument panel (and the brochure shot) the steering column lock looks like the General Motors lock in use at the time. You mentioned AMC being the Studebaker of the times. Did AMC use a GM steering column along with GM locks and keys?
AMC probably did use a GM steering column.
I read somewhere in the early/mid 1980s as a student, that in a GM car, 70% of the content was made by GM. Ford was 50/50. Chrysler was 30/70. I imagine AMC would trend like Chrysler.
As to the steering columns…
You’d be surprised at some vehicles, many often better than their GM competitors, that used “Saginaw Steering” steering column assemblies. As in 1990s Honda Accords and Chrysler minivans.
Yes AMC used Saginaw steering columns. You can use a GM lock cylinder in the column to replace it and that is what you will get when you go to the store. However you can not use a GM key in the original lock. The groove on the side of the key is in a different place. IH also used Saginaw Column and the same “not GM” lock cylinder and keys as supplied to AMC
Chrysler also purchased Saginaw columns in a number of years, however they had the money to have it customized.
The Eagle was simultaneusly ahead of the times ad behind the times. AMC was anongst the first to release the appeal of a go-anywhere car like this, and through its Jeep parts supply had what was needed to put it in production, The Eagle 4×4 sold well for the first few years, but it was oviously a 12 year old body but then the Cheorkee 4 door arrived in AMC showrooms and quickly started stealing sales with its modern body. The CUV/SUV craze was in full swing.
When these came out, my father thought they were just about the perfect vehicle. But he stuck with stuff like a 2WD Toyota pickup with snow tires and bags of salt in the bed during the winter.
Today, he’s consistantly kept a Subaru Outback.
This is the first that I’ve seen this car having a gauge cluster in front of the gearshift lever. A poor spot, the driver would have to take their eyes off the road to check readings.
The lower left A/C vent is reminiscent of Mopar’s air vent doors on the lower left in the ’70s.
An orthopedic surgeon colleague of my father’s replaced his wife’s Cressida with one of these in ’83 or thereabouts when she was pregnant with the third kid. They lived (and still live) in a large house next to a lake at the end of a winding forest lane that wasn’t paved until the early 2000s, and I’m sure the daily workout of bouncing down the rutted path shook the Eagle to pieces long before it needed to be replaced in 1985 with a Suburban for the third kid (and the fourth kid in 1989.)
Paul, the orthopod, kept his ’73 BMW 2002 under a tarp.
I don’t know that I ever realized the two tone color scheme on the Eagles was exactly like what Subaru and (now via the black cladding and wheelwell trim) everyone else adopted. It’s attractive in blue, that copper color seems to be the default on the majority of them.
The first year of Outback wasn’t lifted, for 1995 it was just a minor trim level of Legacy wagon, possibly to gauge reaction, then for 1996 it got the lift and the raised roof etc and the rest is history.
I wonder if anyone has ever gone to the trouble of putting an AMC V8 into an Eagle Wagon? Seems like the real world fuel economy wouldn’t be that different. Now that I think of it, likely it would be easier and more frugal to put the fuel injection from the H.O. version of that 6 cyl that Jeeps got right before that I-6 was fazed out.
Back in the late 90s when I was still a subscriber to FourWheel and OffRoad magazine there were a few Eagle 4×4 running around the Reader’s Rides section. Most of them had been modified when possible with the Jeep parts that would work.
Yes people do put the EFI 4.0 in, often including the 5sp and part time transfer case, it also in not uncommon to hang the 4.0 EFI on the 4.2, or mix and match both for a EFI 4.6.
I was in Colorado during this. We had Jeeps. They were iconic and although not a quality product, they were numerous and most daily repairs were handled by the owners and friends. CJ5 and CJ7 were about as dependable as typical US products at the time.
Then there were Japanese cars. They were dependable, but not intended for off-roading. Folks drove them around the Front Range and pushed them over I-70 nicely.
When we got the Subaru 4WD wagon, it was seen as dependable, quirky and a possible daily driver in the Rockies. But they were costly, in comparison to other Japanese cars. They were cheaper than Jeeps, but then again, they weren’t Jeeps. The Subaru 4WD had admirable qualities, but were narrow and a weird.
Then there were AMC Eagles. It was a near-decade old Hornet that AMC had been selling forever. AMC wasn’t a brand with a bright future. The Eagle was a Hornet/Jeep? When it arrived, it was already dated-looking, cost a lot more than a Hornet, which we were all familiar with, and had Jeep quality, as I had mentioned earlier, was not seen as reliable.
What could have succeeded was if AMC, like Subaru finally did in 1980, was able to offer the Eagle with a new body – not an old Hornet. When Subaru went into its new generation with the 4WD – it became a hit. After a few years of earning its stripes on mountain roads, the new Subaru with 4WD sold like crazy and there were no mark-downs. The entire Subaru line up became a seller’s market. Had AMC offered a new generation with 4WD – it would have been far more successful.
AMC covered their bases with the new Jeep Cherokee and the Cherokee was around a long time, so it was understandable if some at AMC just saw the Eagle replacement as the Cherokee. What would have happened if AMC offered a Cherokee with AMC styling? I believe it would have worked.
The Eagle was successful, but as the Jeep Cherokee. After Subaru returned to its 4WD roots in the mid 1990s, it also became a success.
When I was in high school there was a young lady who drove a heavily used FWD Loyale as her first car. Even as a teen I couldn’t figure out why anyone would buy a Subaru that wasn’t AWD. To me that was the only compelling reason to purchase one.
Eventually Subaru caught up to my way of thinking. 😉
Subaru offered front wheel drive cars in the US years before Datsun and Toyota; a time when the only Honda car here had a two-cylinder air-cooled engine. When the Datsun F10 showed up, Subaru had been selling their standard FWD sedans and coupes for about five years. Toyota took another few years to offer the FWD Corolla Tercel, and Honda didn’t have a comparably-sized car until the 1977 Accord. Although Subarus today are synonymous with brilliantly-marketed substandard goods, they really didn’t have an unusually high rate of engine failures before their cams moved to their heads. A neighbor of mine once pointed out that as recently as the early ’80s, Subaru had the highest customer satisfaction scores in the country.
Indeed, in 1976 my Father needed a 2nd car, we’d just moved back up to Vermont (1st was in mid 60’s) and wanted something good in the snow, but small since gas shortages were recent memory. Most small cars were still RWD, he looked at the F10, what turned him off (no, not the styling) was a vent on the hood, as an engineer (actually chemist) it smacked of being an obvious engineering change, guess it had something to do with caburator icing…even though we were familiar with and liked Datsun, they didn’t have any other FWD models at the time. He ended up buying a new FWD only Subaru DL, they did have a few AWD models (think they were all wagons then?) but Surbaru was pretty much unknown, from the dealer in Winooski. It was an alright car, but chinsey, the hood flew open when it didn’t fully latch causing it to buckle when the car was only a year old, and for the rest of the time he owned it there was a shock cord that went between the front 2 wheelwells holding the hood down. My sister inherited it in 1980 when he got a Dodge Omni (also FWD), but it didn’t last too much longer after that.
My Dad did buy another Dodge (his last one was a 600 bought in 1986) but never another Subaru…we’d left Vermont about the time they started getting popular, my brother-in-law never gave them a 2nd glance until they became the car of the US ski team and he could park my sister’s for free.
We moved to Texas 40 years ago, no longer need the FWD, but cars transitioned to it about the time we moved here, RWD would be fine for us but hardly any cars except Chrysler and expensive imports still offer it so we stick with FWD….don’t need AWD, never had it when we lived up north, back then it was only in trucks, even AMC hadn’t come out with it in cars yet (did so just about the time we moved south).
Back in 1980 when the Eagle was new, my folks decided they wanted a 4wd wagon, so they chose between the Eagle and the (also new for ’80) Subaru. They test-drove the Eagle, but were a bit apprehensive about AMC’s quality and whether the company would be around much longer. They ended up buying a Subaru GL instead.
Ironically, their Subaru had a lot of reliability issues. The 4wd was fun and novel at the time, but the rest of the car was horrendous. In hindsight the Eagle may have been the better choice.
My folks’ bad Subaru experience turned them off to the brand for quite a while, but then in the mid 1990s they gave Subaru a try again, found the quality better, and my mom has owned Subaru wagons ever since.
The folks at Subaru didn’t understand why Americans were buying their cars. So, they tried to copy the success the other Japanese brands were having and didn’t do well. Fortunately for them, they found their niche with the Outback and it happened at the right time.
I guess it is a Boomer thing. I can’t figure out their popularity over the competition. Seniors love them.
From the last photo … the “lifted” Eagle seems barely taller than the Mk4 Golf in front of it.