It is one of the great automotive questions that will never be answered. As a company, AMC was able to produce a number of interesting and innovative vehicles with a minuscule budget and a lot of creative thinking. It makes you wonder just what they could have produced with a development budget approaching those enjoyed by General Motors or Ford. Barn Finder Rocco B located another one of the company’s interesting cars for us, so thank you so much for that Rocco. The 1984 Eagle Sedan is located in West Racine, Wisconsin, and is listed for sale here on Craigslist. If you would like to become the next owner of this AMC, it will cost you $5,500.
Finished in Garnet Metallic, the Eagle is quite an attractive looking car. It does have a few minor marks, the most obvious being on the passenger side front corner of the bumper. The rest of the panels and paint look to be in good condition, while there are no obvious signs of rust issues. The external chrome and trim appear to be in very nice condition, as does the glass.
The interior of the Eagle provides a nice combination of red vinyl with cloth inserts on the seats. Once again, the interior isn’t perfect, with some obvious marks on the door trims, and the carpet is also faded. Having said that, it has survived remarkably well for a passenger car from the first half of the 1980s. There are a couple of cracks in the wheel, but the rest of the plastic looks to be quite good. I really think that a new carpet set and a deep clean would have the interior of the Eagle looking quite good. The interior isn’t packed full of luxury items, but it is fitted with factory air conditioning.
There are no photos of the engine of the Eagle, but we do know that it is a 258ci straight-six, with a 3-speed automatic transmission. It is here that AMC broke new ground, and was a long way ahead of the opposition. Ostensibly a rear-wheel-drive, the Eagle featured on demand four-wheel-drive, making it an innovative vehicle. This feature is one that we take for granted today in many vehicles, but the Eagle was really one of the first “crossover” vehicles. The owner says that the Eagle starts and runs well and that it has recently received new shocks, struts, tires, and an exhaust system. That all sounds like good news for the next owner.
There is no doubt that the Eagle was an innovative car that deserved to be a sales success. It was developed on a meager budget and featured a mechanical package that today we take for granted. For all of its promise, AMC struggled to sell the car in substantial numbers. In fact, in 1984 they were only able to sell around 4,200 sedans the same as this one. While those sorts of numbers don’t make this an especially rare car, it does mean that with the wagon outselling the sedan at a ratio of 5:1, sedans simply don’t come onto the market that often. A reasonable example will generally sell for around the $9,000 mark, while a pristine one can sell for close to $14,000. I would say that this one is quite a nice car, and the $5,500 asking price looks to be extremely reasonable.
We’ve been over and over the causes of AMC’s downfall, and there were many, but as the author states, this was not one of them. It was, I consider, the last good ( not great, they had their assembly problems too) car AMC produced. These cars had everything, and by rights, should have saved the company, and did, for a while. Any other company would have taken the profits from a car like this and invested it in new ideas, but it was too late for AMC, and the profits probably padded some executives with a swanky lifestyle, as their ship was sinking. This sure is a nice one, a testament of what good cars they were. Some rural letter carriers STILL use them.
I am friends with a man who remained a tiny AMC Dealer until The End. The last two new-from-the-factory cars he sold were an ’84 wagon and an ’84 sedan. I know from past conversations with him that he concurs with your opinion, in that he has told me that “the ’84’s were the best cars AMC ever built.”
Well someone’s gotta say something about flippers, and mention the Mecum plate blank. At least it’s not on a trailer.
Ok I will. Obviously he bought it smart and now is able to still sell at a reasonable price to someone else
I can’t see those plates as being a selling point. Would make sense to me to title and plate it in my own name before re-selling. I can’t help but be suspicious of any deal that someone wants out of nearly immediately.
I thought that perhaps it was bought for nearly nothing… But I’d be wrong: https://www.mecum.com/lots/CH1018-347168/1984-amc-eagle/
So the seller invested some cash and labor in new parts. Maybe the money is to be invested in something a bit more sporty?
tryin to remember – not all were the AWD (or whatever the proper labeling is). Does this have it. Article not clear enuff to know…
EDIT:
yes, this 1 is.
Eagles were 4wd, concords were the same body/ interior but 2wd
Well, all the nice things being said about this car and AMC, in general, for the most part I agree. But, this seller is not showing all the car he could/should. Only one interior pic…of front seat, no rear seat pics, no engine bay pics, no underside pics. What’s the old saying, “If ya wanna sell it, ya gotta show it.”
Lovely looking car. It’s a damn shame that the Eagle 4wd was discontinued when it was. However dated it may have been, it had great things about it. My favourite thing is the ability to engage and disengage 4wd without having to stop to do that, without worrying about wrecking the differential in the process.