To accompany yesterday’s piece about the junkyard dweller, I thought we could show this more basic but still roadworthy Premier.
Apart from the unfashionably long overhangs, the clean, boxy styling has held up remarkably well. Shame about the cheap aftermarket hubcaps.
The interior is in just as nice condition as the exterior. This is an obviously well loved car with an owner who values cleanliness.
The dealer badge suggests this has been a locally owned car, possibly driven by the same person over all these years.
Strange looking car the long overhangs are really stupid it gets clown car proportions.
It’s French.
As is Bryce’s car, I believe. 🙂
It must handle well then.
I don’t see it as being that strange looking. It sort of resembles the Nissan Maxima of that same era(88-94) in its looks.
What? In that they both have 4 doors? lol
I can’t see much of a resemblance, either. The Maxima looks much more modern than the Premier, even though it isn’t much newer. However, I do see a slight resemblance between the Premier and a similar-vintage Mazda product, perhaps a 929.
I’d say it looks very much like the earlier Hyundai Stellar – also by Giorgetto Giugiaro
Talk about selling out…sad. He did come up with some stunning designs later, though, like the Alfa 159.
Just like the C3 Audi 100/200/5000.
Normally I don’t get all the front overhang bashing that goes on here but even I’ll make an exception in this case. The awkwardness of the overhang itself is made even worse by the modestly flared fenders and narrow front track
I agree with Bryce. Renault’s designers blew it.
IMO, they could have (and should have) designed a very attractive car. Given the large dimensions, and nice proportions, the designers had to work with. Using Photoshop, all I did was move the front wheel/wheelwell approximately 1 foot forward. I also removed the chrome door edging, continued the chrome body trim to the bumpers, darkened the B pillar, and darkened the tires.
Voila! A much more attractive design… very Mercedes like, and better IMO than anything Chrysler was selling at the time. It makes the Dodge Dynasty look very dated. It almost seems like the design was sabotaged, pushing the front wheels so deep. The Photoshopped version also allows the rear overhang to look more balanced now. Simply by moving the front wheel forward, making the overall shape better balanced. Styling-wise, this could have been a very attractive car. Although, very Acura and Mercedes-like. The correction seemed so obvious. I think this car should have been more successful, if styled right.
It’s not just a matter of moving a few things around on a drawing board. Moving the front axle forward improves the proportions but would have required AMC/Renault to completely re-engineer the drivetrain layout. The engine in the Premier is mounted longitudinally and sits entirely in front of the axle, just as it does in most Audis.
Very general observations here are noting the excess overhang on this car… that speaks something in itself. Design and marketability needs to factor into the engineering.
Accommodating the longitudinal engine, I feel a few additional inches of body aft of the front wheels would have helped. Average styling can stagnate sales, as much as other shortcomings. More competitive looks could have helped make this car more profitable. Look how much more attractive, and better selling, the extended Aerostar van was for example. Compared to the stubby original. The better looks was a factor, beyond it’s added practically.
Besides limited marketing, I’d say the styling of this car didn’t match the competition. Hurting it in the market.
guys, this car is about 25 years old. styling trends and priorities were different back then.
cripes.
25 years ago this design trend was ten years old. Really, I could easily see this being chic in 1978, but in the post Taurus age? Hell, K-cars had better styling than this car by then.
“Introducing the all new 1987 Car!!!”
Those seats look quite comfy.
That was my first thought. Unusual for me, I actually would prefer them to the leather in yesterday’s Premier.
IMHO, they would have been better off by just market a federalized Renault 25 that is way better looking with long hood, short trunk and eye catching interior.
http://cars-database.com/data_images/models/renault-25/renault-25-09.jpg
http://www.autowp.ru/pictures/renault/25/autowp.ru_renault_25_baccara_2.jpg
I certainly find the 25 better looking but it was probably thought to look too French for mainstream sales.
That looks very Saab 9000. Not a bad thing when you have awkward furniture to move.
A better pic:
The Renault 25 was the last big Renault that sold really well during its production years. These cars were everywhere in the eighties and early nineties. Designed by Robert Opron (Citroën SM and CX). Typical French looks, although more conventional than big Citroëns. Great comfort and handling.
See how the Opel Signum and the USDM Chevy Malibu Maxx hide the length of their overhangs by including some of the grill & headlight elements wrapping around the sides into the front fenders (wings). While not quite as long as the Renault design, still a rather long overhang…
I can see a bit of Renault in the doors and glass,seen plenty Renaults but never an Eagle.In fact I’ve seen more Edsels than Eagles!
Haha – ditto! I’ve also seen more Essexes, Elfins and Eunoses…
To me this car also looks like the 1980’s Mitsubishis (Galant/Magna) or Hyundai Sonata of the same era
The exterior styling seems to ape the 1983 Mazda 626. Only with ungainly front and rear overhang proportions, as David and Bryce state above. The Mazda styling works. With more sophisticated wheel well sculpting as well. The 626 came in a nice looking 5 door hatchback version too.
That’s the Mazda I was thinking of! Yes, it’s all about the proportions.
Wow, is that ever one Spartan interior. Even for those days.
Man, if it weren’t for the thicker C pillar I couldn’t tell which end is which
As much discussed the other day, these cars have merits for interior space and trunk space, and the largish formal styling gives them a certain presence. All of which presented all the problems discussed integrating this mutt from the failing AMC into the Chrysler product line. It comes across bigger and more contemporary then most Chrysler products at the time, but giving it flagship status would have made a complete mess of Chrysler marketing, and those that knew the history of these cars stayed away in droves – not a good quality for the upper end of your product line.
That dash comes across as ’80s GM A, W, or N body – not a look that I liked.
Another great find! Wish I could come across one of these.
Gotta love that luggage rack – presumably an Iacocca touch!
Those were a very odd trend popular at the time. My parents two door Ford Tempo that had one as well. They were a bit flimsy and probably only good for prematurely rusting out trunk lids. I can’t imagine that almost any actually saw any luggage tied to them.
Not this Premier or a Tempo, but some cars actually looked good with the luggage racks. The most recent car I remember seeing a good amount with these luggage racks was the ’97-’05 Buick Century.
Thanks, David, for reminding me how interesting I find these cars. Perhaps that’s in part due to their obscurity, but I find the styling inside and out to be crisp and tastefully restrained, and there’s the French connection, too, which means ample suspension travel and good balance.
Those were the days when an exposed cup holder was considered cheap.
I actually see a lot of the mid-80s Mitsubishi Sigma in the proportions/overhang. The Sigma/s smaller of course, but still some similarities.
Long front overhang + short rear overhang = OK
Short front overhang + long rear overhang = OK
Long front overhang + LONG rear overhang = funny looking
+1
on four door cars yes, but two doors…
Rear wheel positioning still looks odd. Would look nicer if rear wheels were 3-4″ further back.
What is that?
Momo Mirage
I was wondering when CC would feature a Premier. I owned an ’89 ES AND a late 1991 Dodge Monaco version. Great ride and rather good handling for their size; the front seats of the Premier were possibly the most comfortable car seats I have have ever used. Poor quality electrical components were the primary issue with the Premier, though it did go 150K miles over 10 years. The Monaco was traded on a ’93 Intrepid ES 3.5……which is another story.
I remember seeing on an old AMC fanboy page a picture of an Allure,the 2 door version . It looked real good .
So that’s what a Premier looks like without the hideous motorized seatbelts mandated by the Dept. of Transportation.
BTW, anyone know what year this Premier is? I’m thinking either a ’90 or ’91.
When I was in elementary school, like 5th-6th grade, 1995-97 I guess, I was on the “safety patrol” just so I could be the one who opened the car door for the car pool students so that I could check out all of the cars, haha.
Anyway, I remember a blue Premier just like this a younger kid’s mom drove. It stood out back then as something I didn’t see too common.
I was a safety patrol in 6th grade, 1971-72. I did it because I got out of 20 minutes a day of class time (5 minutes early out or late in, 4 times a day). I came to know the car of every mom who drove kids to school. There was no better job for a young car-spotter than being a safety patrol.
Later Premiers had floor shifters only, and the 1992 had different grille and tails, then got dropped.
Chrysler did eventually redesign the car, into the LH line. So, they got some return from investment.
Game Show Network is currently replaying a late-eighties game show, Sale of the Century, which seems to be perpetually giving a Premier away as it’s top prize. Though they never reference it by name in the opener; it’s just “a luxury automobile.” Heh.
I remember these cars being absolutely lambasted by my grandparent’s copy of a used car buyers guide (recreational reading my car-obsessed 10 year old self), with a supposed quote from a couple whose Premier died while crossing railroad tracks or something to that effect. Very dramatic.
Bizarrely enough I was searching the site for articles on Premier the night before this was posted. Does that qualify for CC effect status?
I think whoever owns this one needs to get the white alloys off the Junkyard Classic Premier. They’d look great with the blue paint, and much better than the K-Mart wheel covers!