1.01 Cars of the 50'S –
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American Motors Corporation Model Descriptions and General Information 1.01 Cars of the 50's – Hudson and Nash Combine to Become American Motors Once the plan fell through to acquire Packard, Nash moved ahead with its own grand scheme - which began in 1955 with the real start of American Motors. For the 1955 year, American Motors combined the Nash and the Hudson product lines under a common manufacturing strategy, while retaining both the Nash and Hudson established dealer networks. The fast-selling Rambler model was sold under both the Nash and Hudson labels in 1955 and 1956, eventually becoming a marque in its own right, and the mainstay of the company. Regardless of what they were called, these were badge-only engineered Ramblers (along with similar Metropolitans) were identical, aside from hubcaps, nameplates, and a few other minor trim details. The pre-existing full-size Nash product line was continued and the Nash Statesman and Ambassador were handed over to Hudson where they were heavily restyled to become the "new" Hudson Wasp and Hudson Hornet. The two makes, while sharing a common body shell, were quite distinct, perhaps even more than they should have been. They were at least as different from one another as Chevrolet and Pontiac, and in some ways more so. The 1956 Ambassador V8. Hudsons and Nashes each used their own engines as they had Placed in the lighter Rambler body to ensure previously: the Hudson Hornet continued to offer the famous 308 good performance, the engine displaced only cubic inch I6 that had been America's stock car racing (NASCAR) 250 cubic inches, but it was a champion during the early 1950s, while the Wasp now used the very modern design. engine of the former Hudson Jet. The Nash Ambassador and Statesman continued with their own well-known Nash overhead valve and L-head sixes, respectively. Surprisingly, Hudson and Nash cars used different front suspensions, and the braking systems were different. Each brand had their own distinct sheet metal; with the only panels that interchanged between the two brands were the trunk lids! Even such expensive to produce items as window glass were unique in many cases, with the highly curved and expensive rear window glass that was not interchangeable. Inside, the dash panels were completely different. (So much for the economies of a merger). As noted in the introduction, the Packard V8 engines were available in the Hudson Hornet and Wasp, as well as their Nash counterparts 1957 Hudson. - and since they were expensive to procure from S-P - this did little This V8 car used the 327 AMC engine. to keep costs down. Later, the AMC designed 250 V8 would be offered, which did reduce costs. The big problem was that the merger diluted the Hudson brand in the eyes of the former buyers. Hudson fans disliked the soft handling and ride dialed in to their cars by Nash engineers who had little understanding of the performance image of Hudsons. The former Hudson buyers derisively nicknamed the new offerings "Hash" models. But the body designs were newer and more in tune with buyer preferences, however, and the softer suspension did offer an improved ride and much better driver and passenger visibility. Best, performance did improve, as did fuel economy; due to the utilization of the lighter weight Nash unitized body and the more powerful Hudson engines. It didn't hurt that Hudson finally had a modern OHV V8 with plenty of spunk, albeit a Packard one. The hammer fell in the 1958 model year, were the Nash and The restyled 1958 Ambassador. Hudson brand names were dropped in favor of the then popular Basically a Rambler with 9" added ahead of the Rambler name, and the dealership networks were combined. All cowl to achieve a 117" wheelbase, the car moved into new territory for AMC. There was to be no companion Hudson. 3 American Motors Corporation Model Descriptions and General Information Hudson components were removed from the manufacturing process and all body styles were now one. This move effectively relegated "Hudson" to the automotive scrap heap. The prototype 1958 Nash Ambassador and Hudson Hornet were to be built on a stretched Rambler platform, but at the last minute the car was renamed to the "Ambassador by Rambler" and all references to Hudson were removed. AMC consolidated the large and mid-sized models under the Rambler and Ambassador nameplates, utilizing one chassis, stretched for the larger car. This consolidation finally brought into 1958 Rambler American. focus Romney's concepts. The corporation continued the slow- The discontinued 1955 Nash Rambler selling, British-built Nash Metropolitan sub-compact, but it became was reintroduced as an all-new car. its own standalone brand that continued on for a few more years, finally being dropped after 1962. At the same time AMC tried something totally against all common practice, and never successfully duplicated from then until now - they reintroduced their 1955, 100-inch wheelbase Nash Rambler as the new "Rambler American". This car used the 1955 sheet metal, and had only a few mechanical modifications. It was a genius move, as the country was in a recession and it gave AMC a compact lineup that no other maker anticipated until a year or two later. AMC now spanned the sub-compact, compact, mid sized and full sized lines; with the 89-inch wheelbase Metropolitan, the 100-inch American, 108-inch Rambler Six and Rebel V8, and the 117-inch 1959 Rambler Ambassador. Ambassador. Under the leadership of George W. Romney, Rambler Same as the 58 with only different automobiles were among the best-known products among chrome and trim. At least George Romney is in the picture. consumers, with reasonably good sales. This was because Romney's vision focused on the economy end of the market, with mostly fuel-efficient or lower cost vehicles, which propitiously were introduced in the midst of a recession. But while it brought the company health then; this vision, reinforced by its products and their heavy sales in the recession period reinforced the public's view of the Company as a maker of "cheap" cars. As the economy improved, this image would hamper growth in the high growth decade of the Sixties. Thus, while the Big Three were introducing ever larger cars, AMC became a victim of its own success, and moved to "capture the economy market". However, during this time AMC did establish two core strategic factors which saved it from an earlier extinction and were the only means that let it survive as a smaller company: 1. The use of shared components in AMC products and 2. A resistance to follow the restyling race of the Big Three. Unfortunately, while these decisions saved the company then, they further pushed AMC into a niche that would not lead to expanded sales in the huge growth period of the mid to late 60s and left it undercapitalized. 1957 Ambassador. This V8 car used the new 327 AMC engine. Too bad it was so homely when compared to the Big Three's offerings. The 1958 car was a big styling improvement. 4 American Motors Corporation Model Descriptions and General Information 1.02 Cars of the 60's – AMC Establishes Two, No Wait A Minute, Three Identities American Motors produced a wide range of products during the 1960s as it sought to stabilize itself in the marketplace. In the early part of the decade, when smaller, more fuel efficient cars were sought by the public, and sales were strong. In 1961, the Rambler line ranked in third place among domestic automobile sales. Romney's focus on light weight, fuel economy and simplicity was very successful during this period, and was reflected in the firm's healthy profits. In these years the company was completely debt- free. In 1962, Romney resigned to run for Governor of Michigan. He was replaced by Roy Abernethy, who had been the head of sales during AMC's successful sales period. Unlike Romney, Abernethy believed that AMC could use its reputation of building reliable economical cars to morph into a new strategy that would follow AMC buyers as they traded up into larger, more expense vehicles; sales that had so far escaped AMC. The Company was flush with cash and feeling good. This may have been a false sense of security, but Roy was confident that AMC could run with the big dogs. Before Abernethy had his say, the 1963 Rambler and Ambassador bowed. This restyle was a dramatic departure from the previous stodgy mid-fifties designs and was clean and crisp – looking lithe, compact and racy, all at the same time. The Rambler Classic won the famous Motor Trend Car of the Year Award. Roy should have paid attention, but the styling die had already been cast. 1961 Rambler. The 1965 model cars were the first iteration of this new concept. The 1959 car with a different grille & chrome. While other makes were introducing newer The result was a longer wheelbase Ambassador series, along with styling, AMC stuck with older designs and by the the addition of convertibles for the mid and larger size model lines. 60's it started to hurt sales. Mid-year in 1965, AMC introduced a fastback personal luxury car called the Rambler Marlin. It arrived just as Ford unveiled its new pony-car, the Mustang, which stole any heavy publicity that this striking model might have created for the Company. The Marlin and the new Ambassadors, including the convertible, were supposed to emphasize personal luxury. As part of this strategy, Abernethy also called for the de-emphasis of the "Rambler" brand name.