American Motors Corporation Model Descriptions and General Information

Ambassador: 1958 - 1961 Dropping the "Nash" and "Hudson" names from the Ambassador line was a last minute decision made by George Romney, who felt that " should be the brand name. AMC would later live to regret this decision, but 1958-1961 would seem to vindicate this decision. A number of cars were made with Nash and Hudson emblems ahead of the Ambassador nameplates on the sides of the front fenders. Factory photos exist showing the "Nash Ambassador" nameplates on these cars. Early factory literature also has noticeable airbrushing of the Nash emblems out of the catalogs. 1958 Ambassador Custom 4-Door . The decision accomplished one thing; "Hudson" died as a nameplate, never to be resurrected. 1958 Ambassador The 1958 Ambassador was built using the 108" Rambler , but nine more inches were added to the front end past the cowl. Thus the of the Ambassador was increased from 108" to 117. This was intended to give the Ambassador a more elegant look - but in a way, it was a scam, because the Ambassador had no more interior room than a Rambler! Ambassadors came in four- door , four-door hardtop sedan, and station wagon body 1958 Ambassador Super 4-Door Sedan. styles. Model offerings were constant from 1958 through 1960. The 1958 car carried "Ambassador" model identification just above the grille, on the front fenders, and on the rear deck lid. The side of the car featured dual "jet-stream" side moldings, which were painted a contrasting color on Super Models, with paint used for the insert complementing the body colors. "Super" nameplates were on rear fenders of Super models. Silver aluminum side trim was used inside the moldings on Custom models. Custom series cars also had model nameplates on the rear deck lid or tailgate. Three bright metal windsplits were placed on the 1958 Ambassador Custom Hardtop rear window pillars of and sedans and on the wide pillars Station Wagon. of station wagons. 1958 Production bounced back to a healthy 14 thousand; almost 5 times the 1957 total. 1959 Ambassador The 1959 Ambassador retained the same basic styling from 1958, with the changes being similar to those that were made on the Rambler and V8. The gap above the upper grille bar now had "Ambassador" spelled out in stand-up block letters; and similar lettering appeared on the deck lid or tailgate. Custom models had silver aluminum trim inside dual side moldings, in a similar effect to 1958. However, these were "Scotch-Lite" 1959 Ambassador Custom 4-Door Hardtop. reflecting panels and were found on the rear of the back fenders (see picture). The four-door hardtop was now called "Custom Country Club"; and this name was written on the rear wingtips. The other models, depending on their trim line, read "Custom" or "Super" in the same area. The front of the side trim spear had "Ambassador" lettering at its tip. The side trim, although similar to the Rambler, had more of a lightning bolt shape than a missile look. The upper molding "zigged'" ala a lighting bolt, just below the rear side window, but the lower molding did not, running straight back to the wing-end. The 1959 Ambassador Custom 4-Door Sedan. Ambassador grille was distinctive in that it had a full-width horizontal central bar, instead of a cellular grid type insert. Like the 1958 model, the bar had a V-shaped dip at its center. Production for 1959 rose to almost 24 thousand – nearly twice 1958.

19 American Motors Corporation Model Descriptions and General Information

1960 Ambassador The continuing tweaking of the 1958 redesign actually came to maturity in the 1960 model, not in the last year, 1961. The 1960 car, like the Rambler, was clean and crisp, with all the elements working together, rather than looking like a bunch of add-ins to the 1957 car. The roof was lined up with the rest of the car, unlike the earlier versions, which were thinly disguised versions of the '57 Rambler's. The extra nine inches in wheelbase now worked to its advantage – making the car look much more elegant and flowing, where the Rambler might have looked "boxy". 1960 Ambassador Custom 4-Door Hardtop. On the Ambassador series, the letters above the grille spelled "Ambassador", and the name also appeared on the deck lid or wagon tailgate as well. This car featured the new compound wraparound windshield and a distinctive grille design. The lower grille insert was aluminum and ran fully across the front of the car with a pattern of medium sized square openings stamped out of the metal. The front fender ornaments were a "bomb-sight" design, then quite popular. The side trim was made up of dual moldings running in a tapering line from the middle of the extreme rear side of the body and 1960 Ambassador Super 4-Door Sedan. coming to a point on the front fender just in back of the dual . On Custom models, an aluminum beauty panel insert was placed within the moldings and, on all models, the word "Ambassador" was inset into the molding at the front tip. Scripts placed on the deck lid of passenger models or tailgate of station wagons identified Super or Custom models. Foam rear seat cushions; full wheel discs; electric clock; padded dashboard and padded sun visors were standard on Customs. An inexpensive DeLuxe series was built in limited numbers as a 4 and 2-Door model for fleet use only and was not shown in the brochures with regular car models. The car sold in almost exact numbers of 1960 Ambassador Custom the previous year with 23,798 units leaving the factory. 4-Door Hardtop Station Wagon. 1961 Ambassador The 1961 Ambassador was promoted as a high-performance Luxury "compact", though the wheel base of the car and its exterior dimensions did not change. This was likely in response to the fact that all other makes in the Ambassador's supposed market were longer, lower and wider as each year went on, and the Ambassador had not changed since 1958. In and attempt to distinguish the Ambassador from the Rambler, which it had looked exactly like since 1958, the 1961 the Ambassador received an unusual new front end design. The front body styling was highly revised. Although based on sheetmetal, the front wheel openings were 1961 Ambassador Custom 4-Door Sedan. extended into a highly sculptured, bullet-shaped panel which blended into protruding, flat bullet-shaped front fenders where the headlights were located. The entire front panel of the car was set back several inches from the fender tips where they joined the new front bumper. There was a new one-piece aluminum grille, one- piece front bumper and bold dual headlights. The grille was "veed" toward the top and angled backwards so as to end up under the jutting hood. This gave the front of the car an odd "protruding chin" look. The grill contained seven fine horizontal bars and a trapezoidal outer surround. A gold "Ambassador" script was located in the lower left corner. An Ambassador shield also appeared at the center of the hood, just above the grille. 1961 Ambassador Super 4-Door Sedan. Side trim included identification for the Super or Custom series just ahead of the front wheel openings. A horizontal side spear was

20 American Motors Corporation Model Descriptions and General Information fitted that branched out into a dual molding on the rear doors and fenders. This had an anodized aluminum insert on Custom series. There were identification shields on the roof and fin-shaped front fender top ornaments with bright metal extensions towards the rear. New for 1961 was a low powered version 327 V8, equipped with a 2-barrel carburetor and only 8.7:1 compression. Rated at 250 horsepower, it was designed to run on regular gas and deliver better economy. This was the standard engine, with the former 270 HP 4-barrel now the "power pack" option for a hefty $47.50. Classic models had a Handi-Pak carrier, padded dash and visors; rear foam cushion and hood insulation as standard equipment. At a time when the competition was getting more luxurious, AMC decided that the hardtop station wagon and hardtop sedan were to 1961 Ambassador Custom be discontinued and were not offered in 1961. 4-Door Station Wagon. Toward the end of the year (late April 1961), a "Custom 400" series was released. This model replaced the bench front seat with bucket seats. The new look was meant to distinguish the Ambassador from the lower-priced Ramblers, but it was not a consumer success and was not well received in the automotive press. The styling of the entire AMC line had also run its course by this time. The result was a sales decline over 1960 of over 21%; down to 18,842. That failure helped to bolster the idea that the Ambassador was a high-end extension of the Rambler line rather than a uniquely styled standalone offering. The factory agreed and next year would make that thought a reality.

21