Eagle Medallion
Manufacturer	Renault
Also called	Renault Medallion
Production	1987 – 1989
Predecessor	Renault 18i/Sportwagon AMC Concord
Successor	Eagle 2000GTX
Class	Compact
Body style(s)	4-door sedan 4-door station wagon
Layout	Front-wheel drive
Engine(s)	2.2 L I4
Transmission(s)	5-speed manual 3-speed automatic
Related	Renault 21

The Eagle Medallion was a rebadged and re-engineered North American version of the French Renault 21. While the cars were built on the same platform, the French market 21 and the American market Medallion differed in features, powertrain availability, frontal styling, and trims. Automakers, also known as carmakers, automobile manufacturers, motor manufacturers, or the automobile industry are companies that design and manufacture automobiles. ... For the author, see Mary Renault. ... The Renault 18 is a large family car produced by French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1993. ... The AMC Concord was a compact car made by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) starting in the 1978 model year and continuing to 1983. ... The Mitsubishi Galant is an automobile manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors since 1969. ... Car classification is subjective since many vehicles fall into multiple categories. ... The Rambler American introduced in the late 1950s was an early compact car. ... Cars can come in a large variety of different body styles. ... A notchback full-size luxury sedan. ... Estate car body style (Saab 95) A station wagon (United States usage), wagon (Australian usage, though station wagon is widely used) or estate car (United Kingdom usage) is a car body style similar to a sedan car but with an extended rear cargo area. ... In automobile design layout is the place where both the engine and driven wheels are. ... Front-wheel drive is the most common form of engine/transmission layout used in modern passenger cars, where the engine drives the front wheels. ... The straight-4 or inline-4 is an internal combustion engine with four cylinders aligned in one row. ... “Gearbox” redirects here. ... The Renault 21 was a midsize car built by the French manufacturer Renault between 1986 and 1994. ... The Renault 21 was a midsize car built by the French manufacturer Renault between 1986 and 1994. ... An automobile platform is a shared set of components common to a number of different automobiles. ...

Origin

The Medallion was developed by Renault and became a captive import for its corporate partner, American Motors (AMC), at the beginning of the 1987 model year. Originally conceived to replace the slow-selling Renault 18i/Sportwagon and the venerable, but canceled AMC Concord in AMC/Renault showrooms, the Medallion was badged as a Renault and remained that way until the Chrysler Corporation bought out American Motors in August 1987. It then became a captive import for Chrysler and was sold as the "Eagle Medallion" through the newly formed Jeep-Eagle division.^[1] Captive import is an automobile marketing term denoting a foreign-built vehicle which is sold and serviced by a domestic manufacturer through its own dealer body. ... American Motors Corporation (AMC) was an American automobile company formed on January 14, 1954 by the merger of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company. ... The Renault 18 is a large family car produced by French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1993. ... The AMC Concord was a compact car made by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) starting in the 1978 model year and continuing to 1983. ... The Chrysler Corporation was a United States-based automobile manufacturer that existed independently from 1925–1998. ... Jeep-Eagle was the name of the automobile sales division created by the Chrysler Corporation when it bought the assets of American Motors in 1987. ...

Design

The Medallion used a 2.2 L I4 engine that was borrowed from the European Renault 25. It was mounted in Renault's then-traditional longitudinal (north-south) configuration, which drove the front wheels through either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 3-speed computer-controlled automatic. The longitudinal engine placement was unusual at a time when most contemporary front-wheel drive cars used a more space-efficient transverse engine layout, but it also made for easier access for maintenance and servicing, as well as a smaller turning circle. The straight-4 or inline-4 is an internal combustion engine with four cylinders aligned in one row. ... The Renault 25 is an executive car produced by the French automaker Renault from 1983 to 1992. ... In automotive engineering, a longitudinal engine, also sometimes known as a north-south engine, is an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicle, front to back. ... A manual transmission (also known as a stick shift, straight drive, or standard transmission) is a type of transmission used in automotive applications. ... The automatic gear selector in a Ford Five Hundred vehicle An automatic transmission (commonly abbreviated as AT) is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, thus freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually (similar but larger devices are also used for railroad... Front-wheel drive is the most common form of engine/transmission layout used in modern passenger cars, where the engine drives the front wheels. ... A transverse engine is an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle. ...

The reason for this layout was that the torque of Renault's larger engines (over 2 L) had proven to be too high and longitudinally mounted engines help reduce torque steering. The front-wheel drive gearboxes on a longitudinally engine are centrally mounted meaning they have equal-length axle shafts. In Europe, Renault 21 models with small and less powerful engine displacements below had a transverse engines, just like smaller models such as the Renault 9. On the other hand, high-end models with engines of 2 L or more retained the longitudinal layout of the previous Renault 20 and 30 series. The same layout was used for the Renault 25, whose engines all had displacements in excess of 2 L. For other senses of this word, see torque (disambiguation). ... Torque steering is an effect in front wheel drive cars caused by large amounts of torque affecting steering in such a way as to make the front wheels squirm (oscillate) from side to side under heavy acceleration, noticeable to the driver by the steering wheel being tugged back and forth... The Renault 9 and Renault 11 are compact automobiles, launched in the early 1980s, by the French car manufacturer Renault. ... The Renault 20 and Renault 30 were automobiles designed and built by French manufacturer Renault between 1975 and 1983. ... The Renault 25 is an executive car produced by the French automaker Renault from 1983 to 1992. ...

When the original European Renault 21 models were shown for 1986, they featured a different design compared to contemporary cars of the era and the new French automobiles most closely resembled the Audi 100 versions that were introduced in 1983. The interior of the Medallion was spacious compared to similar cars in the compact segment. The sedan was also notable for its rather commodious trunk. The station wagon was unique in that it offered a longer wheelbase than the sedan, and featured a front-facing third-row seat, such as in the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser and Ford Freestyle. Base models came in DL trim, while customers could choose up-level LX models, with more standard features, in both body styles, for the duration of the Medallion's run. The Audi 100 was a mid-sized automobile from Audi, made between 1968 and 1994. ... This 1931 Ford Model A features a separate trunk on its rear trunk rack. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Vista Cruiser was a station wagon built by the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors from 1964 to 1977, which was based on the Oldsmobile Cutlass/F-85 model, but had a longer full-sized car wheelbase (120-121 inches) than the intermediate sedan chassis (115-116 inches) it was... For minivan, see Ford Freestar. ...

Starting in model year 1988, the Medallion was sold under the then-new Eagle brand, and importation continued through the 1989 model year. Eagle was a marque of automobiles sold in the United States and Canada from 1988 to 1998. ...

Sales

While reviews were initially favorable, the Medallion had a poor launch into the North American market because of AMC's limited marketing resources and persistent industry rumors of problems and Chrysler's takeover of the company, which overshadowed the Medallion's introduction. Therefore, the car never sold well. Although it was a solid entry in a highly competitive market segment, Chrysler decided to cease importing this model from Renault at the end of the 1989 model year.

Robert Lutz, the head of the Chrysler Corporation at the time, said in his 2003 book "Guts" that the Medallion, and its larger line mate, the Premier were "salesproof" in that no matter how attractive and competitive the cars were, customers in large enough number to ensure success just wouldn't take notice. Robert Bob A. Lutz (born February 12, 1932, in Zurich, Switzerland) is the General Motors Vice Chairman of Product Development and Chairman of GM North America. ... Guts is a management book by Robert A. Lutz, former CEO of Chrysler. ... The Eagle Premier was an automobile developed by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) and Renault partnership. ...

In reality, the imported Medallion competed with Chrysler's domestic Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler models, which may have resulted in a lack of enthusiasm within the company for marketing the Medallion - and the Premier - properly.

v • d • e Renault S.A. Current: Twingo • Clio • Mégane • Laguna • Vel Satis • Kangoo • Modus • Scénic • Espace • Koleos • Logan Numeric: 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 25 • 30 1970 – 2005: Alliance/Encore • Fuego • Medallion • Premier • Torino • Rodeo • Safrane • Avantime 1945 – 1970: 4CV • Caravelle • Colorale • Dauphine • Dauphinoise • Floride • Frégate • Ondine Between wars: Celtaquatre • Juvaquatre • Monasix • Nervastella • NN • Primaquatre • Reinastella • Viva Grand Sport • Vivaquatre • Vivasix • Vivastella Pre-WWI: 10CV • 12CV • 35CV • 40CV • L/M • N(a)/N(b)/S • N(c)/Q/U(a/e) • R/T • U • AS/V • Taxi de la Marne • Towncar • Voiturette • X/X-1 • Y Alpine: A106 • A108 • A110 • A305 • A310 • A440 • A441 • A442 • A443 • A610/GTA Renault Sport: Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. • 5 Turbo • Clio Williams • Clio Renault Sport • Spider • Mégane Renault Sport • Clio V6 Renault Sport Concept vehicles: Alpine 210 RS • Altica • Argos • Be Bop • BRV • Ellypse • Espace F1 • EPURE • Evado • EVE • Egeus • Etoile Filante • Fiftie • Fluence • Initiale • Koleos • Laguna • Mégane • Nepta • Next • Racoon • Scénic • Steppe • Talisman • VESTA 2 • Wind • Zo • Zoé • Zoom Vans and trucks: Estafette • Fourgonette • Kangoo • Express • Kerax • Magnum • Mascott • Master • Midlum • Trafic • 50-series • Renault B90 et B110 Version 4x4 Dacia: Gamma • Logan • Solenza Renault Samsung: SM3 • SM5 • SM7 Formula One: RS01 • RS10 • RE20 • RE20B • RE30 • RE30B • RE30C • RE40 • RE50 • RE60 • RE60B • R202 • R23 • R24 • R25 • R26 • R27 • R28