AMC USA Sales : 1980's

The AMC Encore

AMC was in trouble. It's production systems were behind the times and the Japanese had up to date plants in the US challenging AMC's strength, small cars. Sales were falling and by 1982 the company was barely managing to exceed 100,000. Renault became a shareholder and brought capital, car models and company improvements.

The AMC models were phased out for Renault cars, the only one that survived was the Eagle. The Alliance was a Renault 9, the Encore an 11. As I see it, other Renault cars were sold at this time in the US, but I haven't included them as they were not classed as AMC models. I may have got that wrong and if anyone can add their take on the situation, please leave a comment.

Model	1984	1983	1982	1981	1980
Alliance	100,366	126,008	30,173
Encore	69,235	20,182
Eagle	20,654	31,207	35,206	43,221	32,641
Concord		11,513	30,872	59,846	64,991
Spirit		4,441	16,182	33,504	49,723
Pacer				111	2,083
Total US Sales	190,255	193,351	112,433	136,682	149,438

Things were now happening. The profitable AM General division was sold in 1983 due to issues with French ownership and defence contracts. In 1987, Chrysler bought AMC from Renault and it became the Eagle-Jeep division. Chrysler gained production capacity for a low price and got the Jeep brand with all the potential that offered.

The car range was switched dramatically. The Premier model was introduced, one developed by AMC during its time with Renault. The Summit (a Mitsubishi Mirage) was introduced and the Talon was a sports coupé the same model as the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Plymouth Laser. The Medallion was a Renault 21, built in France and replaced the Eagle (Concord 4wd) but didn't last long. That was the range in 1989, the rest deleted by 1998.

Model	1989	1988	1987	1986	1985
Premier	39,546	40,872	192
Summit	19,121	4,603
Talon	7,145
Medallion	3,907	14,712
Alliance		4,418	22,608	48,874	71,494
Eagle		1,392	4,564	7,239	12,776
Encore			2,162	16,241	39,174
Total US Sales	69,719	65,997	29,526	72,354	123,444

Summary: AMC was now the Eagle division within the Chrysler empire. At this point it was hard to see that it had a future, with minuscule sales and few models.

The first in the series (1970's) can be seen by clicking here.
For the next in the series (1990's), simply click here.

The Eagle Premier