Eagle Medallion

The Eagle Medallion, also marketed as the Renault Medallion, is a rebadged and mildly re-engineered North American version of the French Renault 21 marketed by American Motors Corporation under the Renault brand for the 1988 model year, and by Chrysler's Jeep/Eagle division for the 1989 model year.

The front-engine, front-wheel drive, four-door D-segment, or mid-size Medallion was launched in North America on 1 March 1987. The Medallion was imported from France, sharing its platform with the Renault 21. Just eight days after the North American introduction of the Medallion, Renault initiated the sale of its stock in American Motors to Chrysler on 9 March 1987.

The Renault 21 was introduced in Europe in 1986 to compete in the large family-size market, such as the VW Passat. Its design was the work of Giorgetto Giugiaro. Modified to meet United States requirements for safety and emissions, as well as being rebadged as the Medallion, it became a captive import for Renault's corporate partner, American Motors Corporation (AMC). It went on sale on 1 March 1987 as a 1988 model and filled the market segment gap for AMC/Renault dealers following the slow-selling Renault 18i/Sportwagon and the venerable AMC Concord. Both the 18i sedan and Concord had been discontinued after the 1983 model year, while the Sportwagon version of the 18i was marketed through 1986. Therefore, from 1984 until 1987, AMC/Renault dealers offered no sedan larger than the small C-segment Alliance. The larger D-segment Medallion sedan was thus important to dealers by offering a broader product line to buyers.

The Medallion was an Americanized version of the Renault 21, "a highly successful car in the European market." The Medallion was the second entry in a three-model marketing effort to expand market coverage for AMC/Jeep/Renault dealers beyond the four-wheel-drive Jeep utility vehicles. The first product in that plan was the C-segment Renault Alliance that launched for the 1983 model year, while the third was the E-segment Eagle Premier, which launched ten months after the D-segment Medallion. AMC/Renault was planning to sell between 40,000 and 45,000 Medallions annually.

Badged as the Renault Medallion at its press launch in the winter of 1986, retail sales began on 1 March 1987 - just eight days before Chrysler agreed to buy Renault's shares in American Motors - as an early 1988 model. The Medallion retained its Renault branding after the Chrysler buyout, through the end of the 1988 model year, despite Chrysler's formation of the Jeep/Eagle Division in the fall of 1987. The Medallion was launched as a 1988 Renault model before Chrysler's buyout of AMC and before the separate Eagle marque existed. The new corporate owner waited until the beginning of the 1989 model year to rebrand the Medallion as an Eagle - Chrysler's first new brand since 1955, to avoid selling the Medallion under both the Renault and Eagle nameplates during 1988. As an Eagle, the cars did not include Chrysler's "Pentastar" logo, but prominently featured the Eagle head logo.

The cars were marketed as "Eagle Medallion" for the 1989 model year and sold through the newly formed Jeep-Eagle division. As a distinct Chrysler subsidiary, the nearly 1,200 AMC-Jeep-Renault dealer organization would initially remain independent. As part of the buyout, Chrysler would continue AMC's program for U.S. distribution of the new Renault Medallion for five years, but not to sell the originally contracted number of the French imports.

The Medallion was built in Maubeuge using the platform of the European market Renault 21, and imported from France. It was re-engineered for the U.S. and Canadian markets and differed from the Renault 21 in numerous features, trims, frontal styling, more substantial bumpers and safety-related features, as well as powertrain availability. The final assembly of options and trim was performed at a facility at the U.S. port of entry.

The front-wheel drive Medallion used the 2.2 L I4 engine that also powered the European Renault 25. It was mounted in a traditional longitudinal (front-back) configuration, driving the front wheels through either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 3-speed computer-controlled automatic. The longitudinal engine placement was somewhat unusual for a front-wheel drive car of this era, as the transverse engine layout is typically more space-efficient. However, Audi, SAAB, and Subaru used longitudinal engines with front-wheel-drive in this era, as well.