In 1988, Chrysler boss Lee Iacocca announced what he called “the first new North American car brand in 30 years,” and its name was Eagle. 

How quickly we forget. Though its life was short, there was once an American car brand called Eagle (1988-98). The marque was created when the Chrysler Corporation acquired the American Motors Corporation, purchasing the shares held by French carmaker Renault for around $1.5 billion. To smooth the transition for consumers and dealers, the American Motors name was dropped and the Eagle name, previously used on AMC’s four-wheel-drive passenger cars, became the brand identity of the newly formed Chrysler division.

As things turned out, there were four items of noteworthy value for Chrysler in its purchase of AMC. First and foremost, of course, was the popular Jeep brand and product line. Next was an almost-new assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, which Chrysler continues to operate to this day. Third was a front-drive executive-class sedan jointly developed by AMC and Renault. Based on the Renault 25 and launched in 1988 as the Eagle Premier, the well-engineered car became the springboard for Chrysler’s long-running LH platform of 1992-2004. Finally, Chrysler acquired the services of AMC’s talented vehicle development chief, François Castaing, who became vice president for vehicle engineering at Chrysler.

To launch the new Eagle brand, there was only man for the job: Lee Iacocca, president, CEO, and chairman of Chrysler, and the public face and voice of the automaker as well. (And he was also the chief architect of the AMC deal, naturally.) In the 1988 commercial spot below, we note that the messaging has been tweaked a little to speak to Canadian viewers. Video follows.