In 1988 Chrysler launched a new marque called Eagle -- which was supposed to sink its hooked talons into the soft underbelly of Japanese car sales and tear up the competition. It was sort of a competitor to GM's Pontiac division, in that it was aimed at the "sporty" driver, but also at Saturn in that it was aimed at stemming the catastrophic market share losses to the Japanese. Either way the brand was mostly a collection of badge engineered cars from other Chrysler divisions or captive imports from Mitsubishi...like this next one. Find this 1992 Eagle Summit DL Wagon here on eBay
bidding for $600 reserve-not-met with 4 days to go, located in Woodhaven, NY. Tip from Adam.
Eagle introduced the Summit sedan and hatchback riding on a platform shared with the Mitsubishi Mirage and Dodge Colt, but the wagon was based on the Mitsubishi RVR/Space Runner -- a comely hatchback/wagon that was fit for families and loony buyers. However, it did offer a CUV driving experience before the term was coined, with upright seating, good visibility, minivan style cargo storage, and available all-wheel-drive.
Back in the day, dealer service departments were rife with stories of irate customers who claimed that somebody swapped a "Mitsu-bishi engine into thar' 'Murican family car" but it was true they did come from the factory with a Mitsubishi logo stamped on the valve cover of the 1.8 liter 4G93 SOHC 16-valve 4-banger that should be good for 101 horsepower from the factory. It doesn't sound like much (particularly mated to a slushbox) but the Summit only tips the scales around 1500
See another oddball car from the 90s that could be used as a 2nd (or 3rd?) spare car for your family? tips@dailyturismo.com
Coincedently, another site posted this Youtube video of an Eagle Summit a few days ago.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAXMdfqAgak
Yep, some lunatic cross-bred an Eagle Summit and a Lancer Evolution.
That may be the most perfect vehicle ever built.
DeleteYes, and indestructible mechanicals.
DeleteI always preferred the Eagle's single sliding door to the Mitsu's conventional doors. I have to believe you're about 1000 lbs off on your curb weight though. Were these offered with a manual trans?
ReplyDeleteI looked up the weight and fixed the writeup. It was up to 1500 kg...slightly different story than 1500 lb.
DeleteLbs, kgs...Potato, zucchini....whatever. I thought that seemed a bit on the Elise side of the minivan spectrum when I typed it up, but all the Holiday Eggnog made it seem okay.
DeleteNice find on the RVR ad, Vince. Funny how Mitsubishi had a "Star Cars" tie-in to Star Wars in the early '90s complete with Lucasfilm Ltd. credits at the end. Maybe gave their (ex) corporate cousins at Chrysler / FCA some ideas regarding their current massive mooch-fest of the Star Wars frenzy, e.g. Stormtrooper themed Chargers and Fiat 500s.
ReplyDeleteIf this thing weren't on the other end of the universe I might grab it just on the off-chance that one of the bitsu-heads I know could find me a rolled Evo VIII or IX.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of this thing rolling around on top of 300HP of well-sussed-out AWD is just too sweet.