[2][3] The new organization was responsible for continuing the promotion, sales, and product engineering for Jeep and the remaining AMC vehicles, most notably the Eagle model.

It was a method to absorb nearly 1,200 American Motors dealers into Chrysler's distribution system and have them "meet stronger quality standards".

Upon its release, the Eagle Premier was described as "a world-class car" by automotive journalists[6] and was praised for its "... incredible 122 cubic feet of interior room..." along with "European handling.

"[7] A review in the October 1987 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine praised its "...state-of-the-art electronics..."[8] The newly established Jeep-Eagle Division business strategy was to increase Jeep production and focus more money on marketing.

[11] However, they evolved from the innovative, full-sized Premier and the imported mid-sized Medallion into a hodgepodge of cars developed between Chrysler and Mitsubishi.

American Motors had phased out domestic-built rear-wheel-drive passenger cars after 1983 and their Japanese front-wheel-drive imports did not achieve sales successes.

Thus, AMC/Jeep dealer sales and service expertise was focused on the four-wheel drive Jeeps and AMC's Eagle AWD models.

Chrysler marketed the SJ Jeep Grand Wagoneer until 1991, leaving it almost entirely unaltered from the final American Motors rendition before the buyout.

The objective of the Eagle Division was to target consumers that "are young, independent-minded, educated and affluent-baby boomers and their younger brothers and sisters, Generation X.