I worked at an American Motors dealer when the Eagle line was introduced.
The Concord/Hornet station wagon was the first. They also included an
adaptation of the Gremlin as a 4x4. They were not sold as an off-road
vehicle, even though they raised the ground clearance. Were they unit
body?? As I recall - yes. Was the 4x4 system any good?? Yes. They used a
viscous coupling developed by their Jeep subidiary. It is the model for
nearly all automatic 4x4 systems used now. I remeber taking the station
wagon ou for a test drive with the head mechanic, we ran across a Jeep CJ
stuck in some sand. They had a Chevy 4x4 manual tranny trying to get them
out. We tied on to it with the Eagle and out it came. I was pretty
impressed. This was in Wyoming were 4x4 were used as 4x4's long before
the SUV craze hit.
Larry
78 Midget
PS I am on vaca in Wyoming so this is from a Powerbook and I forgot my
signature file.
>Rick,
>
>I remember reading this in a late Seventies 4 wheel drive magazine
>about the 4 x 4 adaptation of the American Motors Hornet line--I
>believe they were called Eagles (pre-Renault). Before the SUV craze,
>people hadn't figured out that some 4 x 4s really weren't meant for
>the Rubicon Trail...
>
>
>
>> > Early attempts to use
>> > unit bodies on mass produced 4x4s (American Motors?) were criticized
>> > because some weren't rigid enough, and would bend and deform over
>> > rough terrain, doing things like preventing doors from opening.
>>
>>
>>I don't think that AMC made 4X4 back when unit bodies came out. They were
>>more famous for very boring sedans.
>>Here is one piece of triva that you can win bar bets with though.
>>Q. What vehicle won the very first Baja 1000?
>>BONUS QUESTION
>>Who was the driver?
>>
>>Anyone, anyone? Bueller?
>>Answer to follow......
>>
>>Rick Ewald
>
>Chris Attias
>'64 MGB
>'84 Alfa Romeo GTV-6
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