March 9th, 2008 NY Times Article

[IowaEagle]

Here it is.  Rather brief.  A few errors.  But Hey!  We made the NY Times!

On Line Version

Print Version

[eaglesx4]

Outstanding Mr. Shepard, people will read from some locations and still not know what an Eagle is but it will bring smiles to the faces of those who have owned or owned an Eagle and bring memories to those who had them in the past.

[MetalBird]

Way to go Mr. Shepard!
You secure the rights to reuse it yourself?

[IowaEagle]

We are working on that.  To reuse in the book.

[Pack Rat]

Good stuff  .

[bigdog56e]

  Doug,
           OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                               Eddie

[68AMXGOPAC]

Eggcellent!Ruffle up yer feathers and do a strut.

[Hokie Eagle]

Sweet!

How did this come about?  Did you contact them IE, or did they contact you wanting to do a story?

[IowaEagle]

He contacted me via e-mai from here.   I also gave him Roy Lunn's number.

[rmedon]

Looks good.

I'm still amazed that they are giving the Eagle this recognition.

[Gil-SX4]

Good write up, I'm sure it will get some more people interested on the AMC Eagle.
So are we going to have to call you Mr. Shepard from now on?
I like the way he describes us not as collector but as AMC Eagle owners that love the good and bad qualities of our AMC Eagles.

[IowaEagle]

Of course Gil.    Yes, he found Eagle owners a breath of fresh air when compared to other's who think their particular favorite car was the be all, end all of all cars ever made.   AMC Eagle owners (and most AMC'ers) do look at things differently.

[iwananeagle]

You mean our Eagles aren't the be all, end all cars ever made 

[IowaEagle]

Well of course they should be.

[79eagle]

Wonderful Article.  I wouldn't be surprised if it increases the value of our cars.

[Ökensörn]

Verynice!

Followed by a slow steady clap from the crowd.   

[IowaEagle]

Thank you all.   

[Hokie Eagle]

Wonderful Article.  I wouldn't be surprised if it increases the value of our cars.

Aren't they already priceless?   

[Eagleholic]

way to go Mr. Shepard great article....

[Roadmaster]

great article!!  how cool is that!  i made sure i sent that article to all my relatives who think i'm nuts for loving my Eagle.
nice to have this article to back us up, we now have the NY Times telling the world we are way cooool!!

[IowaEagle]

Its started to show up in a few other forums/blogs too.  Kind of amazing I think.

[matt1971]

Hi. Matt here. Excellent article Doug!

[Eagle Kammback]

NRumbler (on the Car Crazy Community) also just sent me the article, as well as this one:
http://collectiblecars.nytimes.com/View_Listing.asp?ListingID=COL710117

[Gil-SX4]

Thats Luca 1981 AMC Eagle Kammback, he has a lot of pride and hardwork in it to keep it as original as possible.

[IowaEagle]

Yup!  Our only member from Italy and a fine car it is.

[mominkie]

What an awesome article.  "While mechanical parts are still easy to find (because much of it interchanges with Jeeps), trim items and body panels are all but extinct."  okay I identify with this my search for a couple of inches of rubber to complete the look of a bumper. 

IowaEagle you must be incredibly proud.  Great last words of the article.  Congratulations!

[IowaEagle]

Thanks.  He kind of messed up that story.  I know why we were invited to the car show.  They wanted to include AMC owners (they also invite other brands too).  I was the only Eagle there.  There were a couple of AMX's, a Javelin and a Gremlin.  One of the AMX's is now on display some where (where is it Bill?).  There was a hail storm rolling in the from the West and of course everyone panicked.  And the show did end early just before the storm hit.  I have never seen so many nice cars leave so fast to get under cover.  Of course, I drove home in it -- why not?

[83Eagle!]

Thanks for posting it.  Nicely done.  I enjoyed the artice and I posted it at work with all my other Eaglenest printouts.  I love that the Eagle is still being talked about this long after production was halted.

[mominkie]

Thanks.  He kind of messed up that story.  I know why we were invited to the car show.  They wanted to include AMC owners (they also invite other brands too).  I was the only Eagle there.  There were a couple of AMX's, a Javelin and a Gremlin.  One of the AMX's is now on display some where (where is it Bill?).  There was a hail storm rolling in the from the West and of course everyone panicked.  And the show did end early just before the storm hit.  I have never seen so many nice cars leave so fast to get under cover.  Of course, I drove home in it -- why not?

I have been the only AMC Eagle in the shows I have entered and they put me in "Best of the 80s" because they have no idea and they have not included the category.  But we (YOU) are making in-roads I think at by having the Forum, having the articles, and books.  I think it will be expected and then a category for the AMC to be at car shows and cruise. 

[IowaEagle]

Some shows have an AMC category, not many, unfortunately.  Maybe we will start seeing more as AMC owners become more vocal.  The show at the Tama/Toledo meet has no classes which does hurt AMC as the judges seldom consider any orphan car.  Yes Eagles are hard to place into a specific class -- show organizers do not know, so they take our word for it.

[68AMXGOPAC]

Was at a customers house yesterday doing a bid,and they suddenly blurted "hey you have one of those Eagles don't you!".Smiling I said yes, and they started rumaging through thier papers looking for "some article" they thought was great! I told them I had seen it, and was a member of the club.
This prompted a lengthy discussion, and a trip down to the shop to see it  .
Not sure wich was the highlight, thier interest and attention to Eagles and AMC lore, or the contract I got
  Thanks again Doug, nice job!

ps: It was the Eagle that won.

[rmedon]

It's nice that some folks, besides us, noticed.

[IowaEagle]

That is amazing.  Not that you got the contract.  That they read and remembered the article.  Egg to you.

[projectscreamingeagle]

nice man. i like the part about the corvette owners... panzies. jk lol

[PAcowboy]

HEY Gang:

Just read the article by Mr. Shepard.

Brief, but nice. The last part about the "hail dimpling, like badges to thier tough old cars", brings me to tell about an accident I had back in September, this year.

I was stopped, getting ready to make a Left-Hand-Turn across traffic. Left signal ON.
Suddenly, I heard a car skidding and in my rear-view mirror, I see this mini-Blazer plow into my right rear-end.
A"sick feeling", for sure. This guy comes up to my door and asks, "Are you alright?" I said I was, unhitching my seat-belt, I got out and said, "How am I going to fix this thing?"

He told me he had Insurance. I said, "But, this is an '88!" I'm feeling real sick as I walk around to the rear....I just LOOKED! I could not beleive it...There wasn't any damage to my car! "WOW"!

He hit me at about 25 mph. I still can not beleive it. I looked at his car....

The front end was GONE. It was a 2005 Chevy Blazer. The whole front-end was non-existant. The bumper was hanging off to the left side, on the ground, both head-light modules were hanging out over the fenders, the grill, gone, hood was pushed back 6-8", left fender was smashed and buckling out over the left wheel, the rad support was pushed in on the fan. About $4200.00 damage. AND, he said, "the car was not his. It was his Step-Fathers."

I did get a 2" shallow smile on my bumper and a small scratch on my right tail-light lens. But, no damage. The first thing I did was see if the rear hatch opened. It did! Everything worked fine.

My Insurance gave me $846.50. I put it in the bank and a sticker over the smile. this summer, I'll touch-up the silver on my tail-light lens.

Tough old cars....FOR SURE!

[pLaYtHiNg]

Yup, poor old PT's been rear ended several times... I think people just get lost in her beauty... Just Kidding!  LOL  She sure didn't sustain major damage.  I have a Bumper end cap that needs to be replaced in the rear... ad that's about it.  One of those time I got rear-ended I got back a couple grand!  (Well the guy that hit me went nuts and started punching my car)!!  That aggravation certainly doesn't show on the car!  They are indeed tough!

Doug, hadn't read this article until now!  Excellent job!  Now I'm gonna have to find it and put it in PT's little Eagle scrapbook!

[IowaEagle]

Tough old birds is right. 

[RamblerMan]

All I can Say is Outstanding, good to get some exposure and maybe open a few eyes to a lot of potential. AMC cars are an affordable way to enter the collector car hobby, and some day they will be more appreciated by more people. Great Article!

[IowaEagle]

Thanks again. 

[Whuntmore]

That is awesome Doug. 

As much as I hate to admit it, that kind of an article is too 'Few and Far Between'.  Actually, it's more then long overdue.

[IowaEagle]

I agree, we don't see good press that often, even when hindsight is involved.

[Whuntmore]

Doug, consider doing something with saving that article - It now asks me to log in, and I can't view it anymore.

[IowaEagle]

That is odd, both links worked for me and I am not a subscriber or registered user.  Have you tried it again?

[Whuntmore]

yup, it could be cookies.  but either way, it asks me to log in to view the page.  So I can't view it.  I've tried it several times since, and I'm not a registered user, or even gone to read the NY times before.

[Whuntmore]

checked it again, I can view the print version

[vangremlin]

Thanks for resurrecting this thread.  I had not seen this article before, I think it does a good job of capturing the spirit of the Eagle!

[IowaEagle]

I liked that the author visited with real Eagle people, not referring to old media.