The Medallion is probably the least remembered American Motors car. That’s because it was built by Renault in France and sold at Jeep-Eagle dealers after Chrysler bought into AMC in 1987. They were supposed to be sold at both Renault and AMC dealers, but the cars were rebranded as Eagles for 1988 and 1989. The Eagle and Jeep product lines were the reason why Chrysler decided to acquire AMC. The seller has a 1988 edition that has had work done, but more remains. Located in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, it will have to be towed away by its next owner. It’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $2,000.
Renault bought into troubled AMC in 1979 to gain access to a broader dealership network in the U.S. The Medallion was a rebadged version of the French Renault 21, a mid-size car by American standards, and originally it was intended to be sold at both companies’ shops. But the Chrysler deal came along just days after the Medallion was announced, so for its two years it was sold at the new Chrysler Jeep-Eagle stores. The car uses front-wheel drive with a 2.2-liter inline-4. Apparently, the car sold well in Europe, but you didn’t see many of them here when new, and almost none now.
The seller believes this car is only 1 of 20 that are still operable (we don’t know how that conclusion is reached). It ran as recently as a few months ago, and the seller can attest to $9,000 in repairs that were done at or before 120,000 miles. That includes rebuilding the automatic transmission. More work is needed, and the seller has a list that was developed by a “classic car specialist.”
Rust is minimal because it lived out west for many moons. The body is decent, but the clearcoat on the grey paint is shot. The rear bumper is cracked, but the red interior is said to be in excellent shape for the age of the vehicle. You have three avenues you could go down: fix just what’s needed for it to function, perform a total restoration, or use it as a parts car if a better Medallion comes your way. Rocco B., thanks for the interesting tip.
Oh my,,,goodness, if there ever was a smoking gun to the demise of such a once great car, this was about as low as it sank. Not to rip on the car itself, I think they were okay cars, but if the Alliance didn’t kill AMC, this was the final nail. By the late 80s, it was clear, the Asians had a stronghold on the US consumer, and not much could top that. I’m surprised whoever was in charge of AMC at that time,( Joseph Cappy) actually gave little thought in a knee-jerk reaction to try and sell something, not sure as to what Americans wanted, obviously fueled by European attitudes . To be extra clear, I’m not sure who shmoozed Iacocca into keeping the Renault line, all he really wanted was the Jeep and adios to the Renault.
As I recall a requirement to continue selling Renault vehicles for a period of time was a contractual part of the deal that was made in Chrysler’s acquisition of AMC. (I don’t remember the details and am too lazy to look it up.)
What was not required, but Iacocca quickly did, was to destroy virtually all pre-1980 AMC parts as well as their tooling. All that was left was some dealer stock that may have not been returned and some stock saved by individuals.
For an inside view of what it was really like for AMC to be under the thumb of Renault, see the book “The Last American CEO” by Jason Vines and Joe Cappy.
The last mistake that AMC made.
20 left? More like nineteen and a half. Can’t blame this one on AMC. It was a cheaply made French car that AMC basically had to sell. And Eagle was just a badge-engineered brand selling other vehicles, mainly Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Renault, under its own name. This wasn’t a bad looking car in its day, it’s too bad Renault didn’t add a little thought to engineering and quality when they slapped these together.
The only rental car that ever broke down on me. It lasted a few days, but on the way home, it quit on top of a hill on I-80 in PA. I rolled down the hill about a mile or two to the next exit at the bottom of the hill, found a pay phone, and got a ride home. Can’t remember even seeing a picture of this car since…until today.
Drove one as my demonstrator for a couple of weeks back in the day. Roomy, those deliciously comfortable French seats, and handled better than most anything else being offered in its size/price range. No clutch did vaporize what little fun might have been wrung from the 2.2. The Renault product really did expand/improve the abysmal AMC auto offerings of the day but that ain’t saying much. As That AMC guy said earlier, keeping the Renault product around for a couple of years was contractual and nothing else. Chrysler did their best to kill it off way before that. Sadly, the Eagle Premier/Dodge Monaco was a fine car but came to the segment too late.
Drove one as my demonstrator for a couple of weeks back in the day. Roomy, those deliciously comfortable French seats, and handled better than most anything else being offered in its size/price range. No clutch did vaporize what little fun might have been wrung from the 2.2. The Renault product really did expand/improve the abysmal auto offerings of the day but that ain’t saying much. As That AMC guy said earlier, keeping the Renault product around for a couple of years was contractual and nothing else. Chrysler did their best to kill it off way before that. Sadly, the Eagle Premier/Dodge Monaco was a fine car but came to the segment too late.