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.
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. In reality, the corporation was drawing a tighter bead on "import intenders," and rather than working with an independent Renault, Chrysler shifted the Eagle models to badge engineered cars sourced from its Japanese partner since 1971, Mitsubishi Motors. At the time, Chrysler was investing in the Diamond-Star Motors manufacturing joint venture and building a new plant in Normal, Illinois, with an annual capacity of almost a quarter million vehicles.
The smaller Eagle Summit from Mitsubishi was a stop-gap model intended to give Alliance and Encore owners somewhere to go for a few years, but with the Medallion they were stuck with for a couple of years due to legal issues with Renault.
The imported Medallion also competed with Chrysler's domestic Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler models; which may have contributed to a lack of enthusiasm within the company for marketing the Medallion - and the Premier - properly.
Read more about this topic: Eagle Medallion
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