While neither a turbo nor AWD, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Talon is a survivor that looks ’90s cool. Let’s see if, when we look at its price, we like what we see.
Have you ever tried blue cheese ice cream? I know, the immediate reaction is that it sounds really gross. Truth be told, it’s actually amazing and oh-so-fancy. Another thing that sounds off is a sports coupe that has been saddled with an automatic transmission. Sporty cars should be visceral in experience, with every element—steering, handling, and even shifting—being ESP-like extensions of the driver’s arms, legs, and butt. The 1988 Honda Prelude Si we looked at yesterday had most of the right stuff, including a rev-happy DOHC four, disc brakes all around, and even 4-wheel-steering!
Unfortunately, its transmission duties were by way of a four-speed automatic, which made everything else seem a little superfluous. Another flaw in its armor was the $10,500 asking price set by the seller. That demanded a manual, or at least museum-quality presentation, neither of which that Prelude possessed. The result was an over-the-top 88% No Dice loss.
The Eagle has landed
Seeing as we’ve been enjoying some matronly Japanese sporty cars the last couple of days, let’s keep the streak alive with yet another, albeit one that was actually assembled here in the U.S.
This 1992 Eagle Talon is a car with a convoluted and very interesting history. The Eagle brand was created, whole cloth, by Chrysler in the late 1980s as part of the agreement hammered out with France’s Renault over the former’s purchase of Jeep. The acquisition of Jeep resulted in Renault bowing out of the U.S. auto market and the total dissolution of the long-flailing American Motors brand.
As a replacement, that marque’s Eagle model name was elevated to brand status, encompassing a rag-tag collection of models, including two former Renault models—the Medallion and Premier—which Chrysler was obliged to sell as part of the Jeep agreement. The brand’s lineup was further fleshed out with the home-grown Vision sedan plus a bunch of Japanese captive imports born out of Chrysler’s long-term relationship with Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors. Finally, there was the Talon, another Mitsubishi design, sold contemporaneously as both the Plymouth Laser and Mitsubishi Eclipse. These, however, were built in the U.S.
Acting Normal
That was at Chrysler and Mitsubishi’s joint-venture factory, anointed as Diamond Star Motors, and located in the humorously-named city of Normal, Illinois. Introduced for the 1990 model year, the Talon was marketed across two generations over the next eight years. It ended up being the last man standing in Eagle’s lineup when Chrysler “Ol’ Yeller’d” the brand in 1998. Plymouth’s Laser lasted only half as long, leaving just Mitsubishi’s Eclipse to carry on the vanguard for a few generations more into the new millennium.
Diamond Star Motors didn’t last that long, however. Mitsubishi bought out Chrysler’s stake in the plant in 1991 and, in 2015, closed it entirely. The shuttered factory was bought by the electric vehicle maker Rivian in 2017 and today, it pumps out the R1T and R1S BEV trucks.
Unlike the computers on wheels now being built in Normal, this Talon is laudably old-school and wholly analog. That includes a gasoline-powered 135-horsepower DOHC four and a five-speed stick for a drivetrain. It also means good-old gauges, including an odometer that says the car has done a modest 97,000 miles. The only major downside to the car’s lack of modernity is the automatic seatbelts that annoyingly are always there, creepily trying to strangle you when you get into the car. This was how passive safety was handled before airbags became par for the course.
Low miles, new parts
According to the ad, this Talon’s transmission has been rebuilt, a major job that also saw the replacement of the car’s clutch. Despite the lower run time, the gearbox apparently has a minor issue with its third-gear synchro. Other flies in the car’s ointment include a dent in the passenger door apparently due to an over-zealous opening, non-functioning R12 A/C, and a weird woodgrain appliqué on the dash and center console.
Other than those notables, the car seems to be in great and, perhaps more importantly, almost completely stock condition. The seller does say that the car has a “a burble/pop tune,” whatever that means. It’s also very clean, and its wild electric teal over grey velour color combo is something we sadly don’t get from the motor industry today without paying big bucks for a custom. The title is clean, and the car comes with a stack of maintenance records going back to when it was new.
Let’s talk
The asking price for this survivor Talon is $4,500. The seller seems open to negotiating even that modest amount as they have added the amorphous “OBO” after the price, and encourage interested parties to “Hmu and let’s talk.” To be fair, this is a base model of Talon and, hence, not nearly as desirable as the higher-end turbo AWD editions. That being said, it’s still a great-looking car with a lot going for it. And that $4,500 asking isn’t out of line, is it?
What do you think? Does that $4,500 price make this Eagle pretty fly? Or is that too much to ask, given the car’s age and spec?
You decide!
Facebook Marketplace out of Lawrence, Kansas, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Glemon for the hookup!
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