TCR Auto Insurance Blog

Through the years, there have been different vehicles produced for the global auto market. Year in and year out, car manufacturers always come up with new models or upgrade existing ones. Some of the vehicles will forever be etched in the memory of the auto industry. These cars have set the bar higher for the succeeding generation of vehicles. Time passes and cars which have earned the praise of the auto industry are now considered classics.

A memorable model of time passed. One vehicle which can be considered as a classic on its own is the Eagle Premier and this one is made by Chrysler. Eagle is the defunct marque owned by the Chrysler Group and is formed from the remnants of the American Motors Corporation. That in itself gives the Premier a claim to immortality since it is the very last model with direct roots from the American automobile company founded in 1954.

While the Premier may not bring with it the flair and popularity of its rivals, it is considered as one of the best American cars in the last 20 years or so. Auto enthusiasts call the Premier a vehicle with a European styling and with an American price and size. The European connection of the Premier is in its platform which it shares with the Renault 25. In fact, the Premier was originally slated to be called the Renault Premier. But financial woes forced the French automaker to sell the struggling American Motors Corporation to Chrysler.

It is widely known in the automotive circle that Chrysler wanted the Jeep brand owned by AMC. After the AMC went to Chrysler, the Premier was released under the Eagle brand.

Chrysler chose to exploit the European roots of the premiers and aimed to attract the attention of car buyers who have set their sights on European brands such as Audi, Mercedes, Saab, and Volvo. To give the premier a truly European look, Chrysler enlisted the help of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s ItalDesign.

While the exterior design of the car is not as stylish as European rivals, its clean lines and simplistic design cues set it apart from its competitors. The platform of the Premier is one of the strong selling points of the vehicle. The platform that the Premier shared with the Renault 25 is stiff and light which gives it an advantage over some of its competition. The Premier’s powerplant is a 3.0-liter PRV V6 engine. The said engine was rated to produce 150 horsepower. While the power output may seem minimal, that power gives the Premier respectable performance during its heyday.

During its introduction, the Eagle Premier became the first vehicle from Chrysler to be equipped with a three-speed automatic transaxle. The vehicle can also be equipped with performance enhancing parts such as an Eagle cold air intake system to give it extra power.

While consumer acceptance of the Eagle is good, Chrysler did not reach their goal of producing 260,000 units of the Premier. In 1992, the line was discontinued making the Premier the last car with direct roots at the American Motors Corporation.

The auto industry has gone green with the threat of global warming continually increasing. Automakers have started developing and manufacturing green vehicles or automobiles designed to have limited greenhouse gas emission. General Motors is one of those automakers pushing through with their promise of introducing eco-friendly vehicles in the auto market.

Recently, The Auto Channel reported that the Chevy Equinox, another green vehicle being developed by the Detroit automaker received the Green Car Vision Award from Green Car Journal. This is the first time that the said award was given. The Chevrolet Equinox was named for the award at the ongoing Washington Auto Show.

The Chevy Equinox beat four other nominees for the award. These are the BMW Hydrogen 7, the Honda FCX Clarity, the Phoenix Electric SUT, and the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. These four vehicles and the Chevrolet Equinox are classified as advanced limited production vehicles.

Ron Cogan, the editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal, said that the Chevrolet Equinox is the best vehicle out of the five to show the way forward in making the industry greener. “The Equinox Fuel Cell is visionary on many levels,” said Cogan. “Zero-emission vehicles destined for our highways in the years ahead will take many forms, from small car platforms to large. Powering a popular crossover model with a future fuel such as hydrogen, and doing so seamlessly with an efficient powerplant that creates no CO2 greenhouse gases, is exemplary and Chevrolet should be commended for this.”

The Chevrolet Equinox got the award thanks to its highly advanced powertrain. The said vehicle is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. This powertrain is complemented with features which consumers in the future will be seeing as standard features like StabiliTrac and OnStar. Apart from those features, the Equinox is also equipped with front and roof rail side impact airbags designed to protect the occupants of the vehicle in the unfortunate event of a crash.

The Equinox also caught the attention of the panel of judges by the fact that it is already being offered to fleets and customers to try it out. Over 100 units of the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell will be made available to consumers in California, New York City, and Washington D.C. for three months.

The Chevy Equinox receiving the award at the said motor show is further indication that Detroit automaker General Motors is serious in its promise to manufacture green vehicles with auto parts as reliable as Dodge bumpers.

Started during the war that divided the United States, the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed after the Civil War and heralded an era of new unity and hope for the United States. But, before the railroad was even started there were many hurdles to overcome, and the fact that it was ever built is a tribute to human resilience and endeavour.

The discovery of gold in California in 1849 suddenly propelled the state from one that attracted little interest as it was considered a barren wasteland into one that people raced to inhabit and exploit. Suddenly, plans for a Transcontinental Railroad that only several years earlier were ridiculed as unworkable and over-ambitious were revived resulting in an 1853 Act of Congress. However, conflicting interests between North and South prevented an agreement being reached on the route. Ironically, it was not until the outbreak of the Civil War that the Transcontinental Railroad became a reality. With Southern opposition removed from positions in federal government as a result of secession, the Senate and House of Representatives passed the Pacific Railroad Acts in 1862 and 1864, which eventually paved the way for the construction of the railroad. Under this legislation the railroads were granted use of building materials and land across 20 million acres and received government support for loans amounting to $60 million.

Groundbreaking took place in January 1863 in Sacramento, California by the Central Pacific Railroad and in December of the same year at Missouri River bluffs near Omaha, Nebraska by the Union Pacific Railroad; sparking a competition between the two companies to see who could finish first.

Both companies had to overcome many problems and challenges, including material and labour shortages, before their momentous task was complete. However, despite all the logistical problems and frequent attacks and disruption from Native Americans, the railroad was completed after six years and is still one of the most momentous engineering projects ever carried out in the continental USA.

At 12:20 p.m. on Monday 10th May, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah, the insertion of the final spike marked the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The official ceremony was witnessed by about 600 workers and dignitaries, a bottle of champagne smashed over a special laurel tie to huge applause and a telegraph was sent to the nation containing one word; ‘Done’.

Once complete, the railroad instantly propelled its western coast terminus at Sacramento to prominence. The future Californian capital had acted as the distribution point for the building materials while the railroad was under construction and once completed saw a massive influx of prospectors and settlers from the East. As a result the city underwent a building boom which led to the construction of many homes, civic buildings, shops and hotels in Sacramento, which were vital to temporarily house the rush of settlers before they decided upon their final location within California.