Eagle Premier - Legacy

Legacy

In its time the car was considered one of the sportiest sedans (by measure of road holding and drive precision) available on the American market. The fully independent suspension on all the wheels made for better ride quality and handling characteristics, as did the rack and pinion steering design. "The Premier was for its size, the lightest car that Chrysler built at the time, the stiffest (torsionally), and the best riding almost 8.7 inches (221 mm) of wheel travel vs. 4.5 for the K-cars that underpinned every Chrysler car then available. It benefited from decades of Renault experience with front-wheel-drive, and a good example will still impress even today." The engineering levels achieved in the Premier are arguably the most refined in a sedan that was then produced by AMC or Chrysler.

The original projections were to have annual production of 150,000 Premiers. Magna International had signed a contract in 1986 to supply body panels for the Premiers. As a result, the automotive supplier received $10 million grants from the governments of both Canada and Ontario to expanded the metal stamping plant in Milton, Ontario. However, the Premier did not achieve its sales targets, with calendar year production for 1989 only reaching 32,720 examples.

Critics have argued that Chrysler did not properly market the Premier, having confused its intended market. ES models were compared directly with the Audi 80, Acura Legend, and similar ‘import’ sedans, while LX models were aimed at a lower tier market competing against the Ford Taurus and GM A-platform cars (Buick Century, Chevrolet Celebrity, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera). Chrysler also ended up with six different brands after the purchase of AMC, just one less than GM, which was four times as large automaker. Not only could Chrysler not afford to properly promote and advertise each of its brands, it also faced the legacy of failure by French cars in the United States. Of the Premier and Renault Medallion (based on the Renault 21 sold overseas), Bob Lutz, then a Vice President at Chrysler, said they were “unsellable”.

The Premier carried many vestiges of AMC and Renault's engineering long after Chrysler acquired the car's design. For example, the vehicle identification number for the entire 1988 model year production retained AMC format. The AMC logo was featured on many of the car's components through to the end of production.

The introduction of a rebadged model named Dodge Monaco resulted from a contractual obligation to use 260,000 of the PRV engines over five years, a clause in the AMC buyout from Renault. The Monaco sold poorly, and both it and the Premier were cancelled in 1992. There was little marketing support for the Premier by the Jeep-Eagle dealers themselves because they were focused on selling the highly successful and more profitable Jeep models. Furthermore, the decision to eventually combine Jeep-Eagle with Chrysler-Plymouth dealers called for the long-term corporate goal of phasing out the Eagle brand. There were 139,051 Premiers and Monacos built at Bramalea. Chrysler paid a penalty for every car not produced and V6 engine not purchased from Renault.

These cars offered features that were considered quite advanced for their time. However, as a result, many vehicles have suffered from electrical problems, having proven to be one of the cars' bigger drawbacks over time. It was also chastised for various mechanical problems, particularly unreliability of the transmissions and frequent overheating of the V6 engine. Despite this, they are still seen as being a car that was on the cutting edge of design and features.

A new, highly advanced factory (called Bramalea Assembly) was built to manufacture the Premier at Bramalea, near an existing AMC plant in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. This state of the art plant was opened in 1986 and was one of AMC's assets that interested Chrysler. It was renamed Brampton Assembly after the buyout. Brampton Assembly was retooled for the production of the Chrysler LH-cars that debuted in autumn of 1992, including the Premier's replacement, the Vision, and the Vision's sister vehicles, the Dodge Intrepid and the Chrysler Concorde.

The Premier inspired many of the LH platform’s design features. François Castaing, formerly AMC's Vice President of product engineering and development, became Chrysler's Vice President of vehicle engineering in 1988, and as a result, the Premier was the starting point for Chrysler's new LH sedans. Although the cab forward styling was quite different, the engines in the LH cars were mounted longitudinally, like the Premier. This was "a hallmark of Renault's front-wheel-drive designs" and unlike any other car built by Chrysler to that time. The LH platform's dedicated transmission, the A606, was also quite similar in design to the electronically controlled automatic featured in four-cylinder Premiers. The Premier's body shell was used for LH prototype development mules, under which the LH drivetrain was tested.

Although only a four-door sedan, the Premier could be a "future classic" according to automotive journalist, Dan Roth, as "one of the best American cars of the last 20 years, able to hold its own against luxury European marques, and being a caretaker of the last AMC car (Jeeps aren't cars!) would be a responsibility we'd relish."