At $2,000, Could This 1988 Eagle Medallion Go Either Way?
Not only was today's Nice Price or No Dice Medallion sold under multiple brands worldwide, but its design also offered two engine layouts—transverse or longitudinal—depending on engine size. Let's see what such a rich history of unimportant facts might reasonably be worth.
It's a general consensus that Porsches are so much fun that you just want to take them everywhere. That includes places where the road runs out, which has engendered many a generation of Safari/Rally cars based on the 911 and even the mighty and rare 959. An even better choice for an overlanding experience is the Cayenne, as it already has a jump (literally) on ground clearance and can accommodate a roof rack and fat tires.
Last Friday, we looked at just such a beast. The 2008 Porsche Cayenne Turbo was far from a show car, but as an off-road travel companion, it seemed to have the goods. Needful in a number of ways, what it didn't have was a strong value proposition to go along with its rock-crawling prowess. That was evident in the comments, and, when we tallied the totals, in the massive 87% 'No Dice' loss it suffered in the voting.
Identity crisis
Okay, enough with the modified cars full of aftermarket tomfoolery. Today, we're starting out the week with a car that looks to be all-stock. That's a good thing, considering how appreciably rare a car it is, which means factory and/or aftermarket parts will be a bear to find. Fortunately, while the seller claims there is still wrenching to be done on this 1988 Renault/AMC/Eagle Medallion (more on that in a sec), almost nine grand of work has already gone into it to keep it out of the scrapyard.
Why would anyone want to? Well, despite its modest appearance—which is not helped by the failing clear coat—this model has an incredibly convoluted backstory involving three brands, two engine layouts, and one agreement to keep the car in-market despite lackluster sales.
The Medallion was introduced in late 1987 under the Renault brand, to be sold through the dealers of its then-partner, American Motors. One week after the model was announced, Renault signed an agreement to sell AMC to Chrysler as part of a deal in which Chrysler would acquire Jeep. That sale saw Chrysler agree to continue selling the imported Medallion and the larger Premier for five years, which required the models to be rebranded under the newly formed Eagle marque. This is on top of the fact that outside of North America, the Medallion was known as the Renault 21.
Fly like an Eagle
Here in the U.S. and Canada, the Medallion was made available with a single engine, a 2.2-liter SOHC inline-four with Bendix fuel injection that made a factory-claimed 1103 horsepower. That motor is mounted longitudinally; however, in other markets, smaller engines were made available and mounted transversely, a duality made possible by the drivetrain mounts being entirely dependent on a subframe. The reason for the switcheroo was that Renault lacked sufficiently strong transmissions for the larger motors that would fit transversely, so clever packaging was the result.
This Medallion has a three-speed automatic, and part of the nine-grand investment has gone into its rebuild. The seller warns that, while it is in running condition (or at least was last fall), it will need to be towed to a new owner's digs, as there is still work to be done to make it roadworthy.
It does appear to be a good foundation for that work, even if the paint has gone all surrender monkey on us. According to the seller, the main aesthetic issues are a cracked rear bumper, a broken turn signal, and the paint, which gives the car the appearance of being under a perennial coat of hoar frost. On the plus side, the interior is said to be in excellent condition, and a box-load of trim and other parts will be included in the sale. It has a nominal 120,000 miles and comes with a clean title.
No need to be nouveau riche
The seller says they want the Medallion to go to a good home. I'm not sure I even know what that means. This is an incredibly niche car in this day and age, and it's arguable that its audience is extremely small. As a result, anyone actually interested in purchasing it will obviously have an agenda for doing so. It's unlikely that some evil-doer is going to buy it with the sole intent of doing it dirty.
Regardless of motive, whoever buys this Medallion will need to cough up $2,000 for the honor of doing so. That's like four fill-ups at the gas station in a pickup, so while not chump change, some debate should be had over whether it's an appropriate use of said money.
What do you think? Is there, somewhere out there in the motoring miasma of quirky car buyers, someone for this Medallion? More importantly, do you think that particular individual should spend $2,000 on this car's quirks?
You decide!
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