Chrysler to Discontinue Eagle Brand at End of 1998 Model Year
29 September 1997
Chrysler to Discontinue Eagle Brand at End of 1998 Model Year
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 29 -- Chrysler Corporation
notified its dealers today that it will discontinue the Eagle brand
at the end of the 1998 model year.
"The Eagle lineup was designed to appeal to buyers looking for
contemporary styling, high performance and advanced technology at attainable
prices, and it succeeded at that," said James P. Holden, Chrysler's Executive
Vice President - Sales and Marketing.
"It has been an important element in the remaking of Chrysler
Corporation," Holden said. "In the past decade, Eagle has introduced our
products to thousands of customers who might not otherwise have considered
a Chrysler vehicle. And thousands of those customers, initially attracted
to Eagle, began shopping other Chrysler brands.
"As they have migrated to Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler and Jeep(R) vehicles,
Eagle sales have declined to a point at which the volume no longer justifies
the expense of maintaining the brand," Holden said.
Eagle's U.S. sales in the 1996 model year declined 44 percent from 1995.
For the 1997 model year through August, they have declined an additional
48 percent, with 2,340 U.S. dealers selling just 16,025 cars -- fewer than
seven cars each -- in 11 months.
Chrysler has mailed notices to those dealers outlining the termination of
their Eagle Sales and Service Agreements, effective September 30, 1998.
Virtually all of the 2,340 franchised Eagle dealers also hold at least one
other Chrysler Corporation franchise.
About 1,100 Eagle franchises, mostly in smaller communities, are part of
dealerships which sell all Chrysler brands. Most of the rest are in
dealerships that include Jeep or Chrysler/Plymouth/Jeep franchises.
It is expected that Eagle dealers will continue to sell the Talon sports
coupe (the only Eagle vehicle in Chrysler's 1998 lineup) through the model
year.
Any Chrysler Corporation dealership may perform warranty or non-warranty
service on Eagle vehicles.
The Eagle brand was launched by Chrysler in 1987, to be carried by about
1,500 former American Motors Corporation dealers who became part of the
Chrysler dealer body with Chrysler's acquisition of AMC that year. Eagle's
initial products were vehicles that had been part of the AMC lineup. In
recent years, the Talon, built in Illinois by Mitsubishi Motors, has been
Eagle's best selling model.
Until 1996, Eagle's U.S. sales each model year ranged from about 50,000 to
more than 70,000 vehicles. Peak sales were 75,214 in 1989. The second
highest year was 1993, with sales of 73,962. By the 1996 model year, Eagle
sales had dropped to below 35,000.
Eagle sales in Canada, where there are 337 dealer outlets, totaled about
2,000 vehicles in the first 11 months of the 1997 model year.
SOURCE Chrysler Corporation
