1958 Rambler

The Ambassador Custom four-door sedan was Rambler’s flagship in 1958. The car sold for $3,426. The Ambassador Country Club four-door hardtop was listed at $3,538.

Oh, it was a brave new world that American Motors marched into as the 1958 selling season opened. Missing from the lineup were the two great founding names that came together in the 1954 marriage—Nash and Hudson were no more. 

Nash was built from 1917 to 1957.

Hudson was built from 1909 to 1957.

Putting all their eggs into one basket, the boys in head office had bet their corporate fortunes on the compact Rambler. Well, nearly all. In place of Nash and Hudson, a posh new flagship appeared. To distinguish it from its lesser Rambler kin, the new car was subtly christened Ambassador by Rambler. Then, there was the tiny Metropolitan, a sub-compact built for American Motors and imported from the United Kingdom.

Some Rambler models had been assembled in Toronto last year but the unprofitable factory was shuttered for good in July 1957. Now the entire product lineup was imported, Ramblers arrived from the United States and Metropolitans from the United Kingdom. Officials at the head office on Toronto's Danforth carefully gauged the public’s reaction as the new Ramblers were introduced to Canadians on October 22, 1957. 

Instrument panel of the 1958 Ambassador by Rambler featured symmetry of design and decorator-style.

The Ambassador was given a 2 971-millimetre (117-inch) wheelbase, all of that extra length stretched in front of the cowl. The car was every bit as luxurious as Cadillac and Lincoln, matching them in terms of comfort and optional equipment, save power seats.

Quad headlights in the fenders flanked a narrow upper grille opening in which the word “Ambassador” was spelled out. The lower grille spread across the entire front of the car. It was of an egg crate design, split at the middle by a heavy rib. A chrome guard ran the full length of the bumper and dipped into a “V” at the centre. Long parking lights and turn signals were cleverly tucked between the bumper guard and the bumper. Front fender tops were dressed to the nines in chrome windsplit and gunsight fender guides.

From the side, the unit-body envelope was extremely clean, punctuated only with wheel well flares and a fuselage shape that blasted off from the trailing edge of the rear fender to culminate in a taillight. Subtle, elegant fins rose in the rear quarter panel. The understated look continued into the rear. Canted knife-sharp fender creases held ovoid tail lamps. The lights were accented with a chrome bar that ran the length of the rear deck, below a distinctive emblem and trunk lift.

1958 Ramblers are loaded into boxcars for shipment from the factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

In the US market, six Ambassadors were offered. Here, only four were sold, each with AM’s 5.3-litre (327-cubic inch) V-8, generating 270 horsepower. The mill transferred power to a three-speed manual synchromesh transmission or the optional Flash-O-Matic automatic transmission.

Standard equipment on Ambassadors included a padded instrument panel and sun visors, an electric clock, the Airliner reclining seats and foam for the rear seat cushions. 

The Rambler 6 Super four-door hardtop was sold in a choice of 14 solid colours and 16 two-tone combinations. It sold for $2,874.

Ramblers shared the same body shell as Ambassador. The smaller cars continued on the same 1 080-millimetre (108-inch) wheelbase they had enjoyed since 1956 but were extensively restyled. In the open upper grille, the word “Rambler” was spelled out in standup chrome letters. The lower grille was composed of large, simple chrome rectangles, their outer edges capped by an attractive ribbed section in which round parking lights and turn signals were housed. These Ramblers promised European small car economy and handling ease, rugged dependability, with the big car room and comfort that Canadians expected.

The least expensive Rambler was the Deluxe Sedan. It sold for $2,598 and tipped the scales at 1 336 kilos (2,947 pounds).

The Deluxe, Super and Custom made up the Rambler 6 series. All were equipped with six-cylinder engines that displaced 138 horses. 

3. 
   
   
4. The Rambler Economy 6 (left) was a 127-horsepower mill that could be bumped up to 138 horses with a Dual Throat Carburetor. The Rambler Rebel 215-horsepower V-8, with its velvety performance, is shown on the right.
   

The Rambler Rebel family boasted V-8 power with a mean four-barrel carb set up. That potent little combo rated a healthy 250 horses, more than enough to allow an RCMP cruiser to eat a little dust.

Ramblers were selling just fine but top brass wanted a bigger slice of the action. They could have that if they offered a vehicle in a size between Metropolitan and the Rambler 6. Deals with Austin and Volkswagen for joint production were explored but came to nothing. 

Making a mid-year bow was the 1958 Rambler American. The two-door sedan sold for $2,398 in Super trim and weighed in at  1 113 kilos (2,500 pounds).

In a bold move, the 1955 Rambler was dusted off and re-introduced to the public, mid-year, as the Rambler American. Never before in automotive history had a discontinued model been resurrected. Advertising called the American’s styling “chic.” Company officials talked of calling the new model the Canadian or the 100 here in Canada but in the end that did not happen.

With its emphasis on economy, boasting more cabin space than any of the small European imports and carrying a rock bottom price tag, the American was immediately popular with the practical consumer. Tried and true, folks from St. John’s to Victoria welcomed back their old Rambler friend as they struggled to take inflation out of driving. With a starting price of $2,265 for the Business Sedan and $2,283 for the base sedan, sales of the modestly appointed two-door American soared through the roof.

The 1958 Rambler American was the only small car—domestic or imported—that offered an automatic transmission.

The American was powered by the 3.2-litre (195.6-cubic inch) L-head six that had first debuted in 1940. As thrifty as ever, it was now tweaked to 90 horsepower. The three-speed transmission was standard equipment but advertising wasn’t shy to brag that Rambler’s American was the only small car available on the market with an automatic transmission.

Ramblers could be dressed up with as many options as there are orchards in the Okanagan Valley. The Flash-O-Matic drive, overdrive, the V-8 Powr-Lok Axle, Power Steering, Power windows, power brakes, Solex tinted glass, the highly efficient Weather Eye heater or the industry first All-Season Air Conditioning. One could have the pushbutton all-transistor radio with twin speakers for the Ambassador or an extra speaker on other cars, the classy Continental tire, an anti-glare rearview mirror, heavy-duty rear springs and shock absorbers. A total of 16 two-tone paint jobs was available as well as front foam cushioning for the Deluxe models. Seat belts, travel rack straps and Child Guard door locks were all optional equipment, too. 

With a list price of $3,459, the Rambler Rebel Cross Country Station wagon found plenty of owners in 1958.

Colours for Deluxe and Super models were Classic Black, Brentwood Green, Lakeshore Blue, Mardi Gras Red, Gotham Grey Metallic, Frontenac Grey, Frost White, Kimberley Blue Metallic and Saranac Green Metallic. In addition, Custom models also came in Cinnamon Bronze Metallic, Alamo Beige, Autumn Yellow, Georgian Rose and Mariner Turquoise Metallic.

It would be a great year for American Motors of Canada Limited. With 5,389 units delivered, Rambler would shoot up to 15^th place in calendar year sales, ahead of Studebaker and behind Morris. In addition, Metropolitan sales added another 1,777 units to the final 1958 figure.

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

Copyright James C. Mays 2005
All rights reserved.

1962 Rambler

 The 1962 Rambler Ambassador station wagon whispered elegance and class.

Few cars have ever captured the nation’s imagination as the little Rambler did. Born of Nash and Hudson parentage, the stylish, thrifty compact car came from nowhere to shatter sales records month after month and year after year until the economy king jumped up to grab the Number Ten spot in domestic sales in 1961. It would do even better in 1962.

Here at home, Rambler competed with Ford’s Falcon, Fairlane and Mercury’s Comet. GM Canada offered the Corvair and Chevy II as bowties and just to be on the safe side, introduced a Chevy II clone, called Acadian, for its Pontiac-Buick dealers. 

Domestic competition for Brampton's Ramblers included the 1962 Acadian, fielded by GM Canada.

Chrysler trotted out the Valiant brand to replaced the failed DeSoto and in Hamilton, Studebaker launched its Lark. With a trio of compact cars in the market, GM Canada held a cool 36.9 percent of the economy car sales. Ford’s Falcon and Fairlane gave Oakville's blue oval 27.9 percent. Rambler grabbed an even 18 percent; Valiant took 10.7 percent and Studebaker’s Lark was sitting pretty with 6.5 percent.

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

            In addition to doing battle with domestic competition, Rambler duked it out that year with Volkswagen, Vauxhall and Envoy, Renault, a plethora of Austin models, British Ford, Morris, Morris Minor, MG, Volvo, Standard and Triumph, Mercedes-Benz, Hillman, Austin-Healey, Peugeot, Simca, Sunbeam, Wolseley and Riley, DKW, Datsun and a smattering of other imports.

A handful of Datsuns was purchased by Canadians in 1962.

 Individual sales for most compact cars were small, but altogether they added up to 75,026 sales. By a seal’s whisker, nearly as many Canadians bought a set of pint-sized wheels as they did full-sized Chevs that year.

Rambler owners never needed to book overnight accommodations when travelling;
Airliner reclining seats turned every Rambler into a four-wheeled Hilton.

            Rambler’s Ambassador was new and smaller for 1962. In fact, it shared the exact same body shell as the Classic. In previous years, Rambler’s flagship had ridden a 2 917.8-millimetre (117-inch] wheelbase and was billed as “Ambassador by Rambler.”  It was a small but subtle way of making the car appear a mite classier. In 1962 it was clear that Ambassador was solidly popular and the distinction was no longer necessary. It was rechristened Rambler Ambassador. There were other differences that were small but important. 

 American Motors offered a 5.4-litre (327-cubic inch)  V-8 engine of its own design but only in Ambassador models.
The engine was designed by David Potter at Kaiser-Frazer. He brought the plans with him to AMC when K-F moved to Argentina.

Ambassadors were blessed with American Motors’ ultra-modern 5.4-litre ( 327-cubic) inch V-8 engine, sumptuous interiors, nice touches like shag carpeting-an industry first-and enough other posh trim appointments inside and out to distinguish it easily from the six-cylinder Classic. Canadians liked Ambassador, 25 percent of all domestic Rambler sales for the year were for the ritzy and powerful, V-8 compact.

    The Rambler Classic was a highly popular model in 1962. 

            Classic was Rambler’s bread-and-butter car. Like Ambassador, it rode on a 2743.2-millimetre  (108-inch) wheelbase.  Without being a stripper, it promised hundreds of thousands of miles (ancient Canadian units of measure) of no-nonsense, six-cylinder transportation geared to the economy minded. Classic took the lion’s share of corporate sales because it was a low-cost, value-added car that delivered all that it promised and more.

 The four-door Rambler American sold for $2,480 f.o.b. Brampton, Ontario.
Initially the compact was to be sold in Canada as the Rambler 100, according to Vince Geraci who was a designer for AMC. 

            Even smaller than Ambassador and Classic was the Rambler American. The 2 540-millimetre (100-inch) wheelbase made the American fun to drive. It came in five lively models, including a hot little ragtop version. The styling--by Edmund Anderson--was so crisp it was almost impossible to believe that the basic shell had been around since 1950.

  In its final year, the Metropolitan carried a price tag of $1,875.
Only eight Mets were sold in Canada in 1962. 

            This was the ninth and final year for the company to offer its captive import, the Metropolitan. Sourced from Austin in Longbridge, England, the bite-sized British-built car arrived on showroom floors as a two-door hardtop coupe or a convertible. 

Small did not mean cheap at American Motors. The cars bristled with innovation and thoughtful touches. Every Rambler came with a Double-Safety Brake System: two completely separate sets of brake lines guaranteed a sure stop. It was such an important feature that the Ministry of Transport would make it mandatory on all 1967 automobiles.

Each Rambler was dressed in an acoustical ceiling liner that absorbed 30 percent more road noise than other cars. The ceramic-coated muffler and tailpipe were guaranteed “for as long as you own your new Rambler.”  The oil needed changing only once every 6 400 kilometres (4,000 miles) and an oil filter was fitted as standard equipment.

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

These cars not only came with their famed Airliner seats that made into comfy and practical beds, orthopaedic doctors had designed the front seat supports so that passengers would benefit from maximum comfort and experience minimum fatigue even on long trips. Extra cost bucket seats reclined too, turning into “Nap Couches.”  Headrests were optional, though legislation in some provinces viewed them as comfort items rather than safety features and did not allow them to be installed on the driver’s side of the vehicle.

The new factory in Brampton, Ontario had only opened officially in January of 1961. It hummed along, already strained to capacity, its workers churning out ninety cars a day. Station wagons and the Americans were imported but that was temporary situation. Busy as beavers with plant expansion, by the time the 1963 model year rolled around Americans would be home grown, too.

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

Model year sales were ranked by the automakers and published in Canadian Automotive Trade. The picture looked like this in 1962: The most popular car sold in Canada was Pontiac with 79,834 sales. Number Two was the full-sized Chevrolet (GM listed Corvair and Chevy II as separate makes) with 76,659 sales. Full-sized Fords filled the Number Three spot with 31,229 sales. The stylish, new Ford Fairlane held down the fourth spot with 21,415 sales. West Germany’s Volkswagen owned the fifth spot with 20,733 sales. Rambler leaped from tenth to sixth place with 20,229 sales; Chevrolet’s new entry, the Chevy II started in seventh place with an impressive 17,514 sales; the Ford Falcon dropped from fifth spot to settle in at the number eight spot with 15,911 sales. The full-sized Mercury Meteor held down ninth place with 15,831 sales. With 15,382 units sold, the Number Ten spot belonged to Valiant. 

 Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

Copyright James C. Mays 2004 All rights reserved.

1970 1/2 AMC Gremlin

April Fool’s Day 1970 was picked as the launch date for
American Motors’ subcompact car.
 Gremlin listed for $2,398 f.o.b Brampton, Ontario.

"What would you do if you had to compete with GM, Ford and Chrysler?" was the question burning everyone’s lips at American Motors in 1968. Like little Suzie, the last of the independent automakers was in trouble deep. Its Rambler line had tumbled from a dizzying 35,273 cars produced in 1965, holding a full 5.3 percent of the market, making it one of the most popular automobiles in the Canada to land somewhere near the bottom of the heap. Things were bad enough that when Studebaker folded its tent in 1966 in Hamilton, Ontario, pundits and industry analysts alike predicted American Motors would follow in short order, joining Studebaker in that great Scrapyard in the Sky.

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

American Motors top brass vowed to the public it was here to stay and the company was committed to building automobiles. It could reach back to an automotive heritage that began with the construction of the first Rambler in 1902. Top brass acknowledged that the company had been most successful when it reached for and claimed the title of economy king and publicly pledged to return to those small, economy roots. In order to stay afloat, AMC divested itself of its profitable Kelvinator appliance business--after 33 years--and then sold REDISCO, the corporate finance arm.

Weighing in at 2,633 pounds, the 1970 ½ Gremlin
was the first subcompact built by a Big Four automaker.

In order to stay competitive, the team had to deliver products that were exciting to the public—and those products had better arrive quickly—one right after the other. The new head of the firm, Roy Chapin, announced there would be a new model from AMC every six months. The pace was dizzying—even for the auto industry. The luxurious fastback Marlin was unceremoniously dumped and replaced with a sizzling pony car, the Javelin. Javelin was hot and it was followed by the stunning two-seat AMX sports car.

With scarcely enough time to catch their collective breaths, dealers took down the old Rambler signs and hung out the new corporate logo. They saida final ‘goodbye’ to the faithful Rambler and popped the champagne corks for a smartly styled, all-new compact called Hornet.

Three home runs in a row weren’t enough for American Motors. There were more steel beauties on their way up to bat. Ever the pioneer, AMC was the first of the Big Four automakers to enter the subcompact market with a domestically built vehicle. It is absolutely true that head stylist Richard (Dick) Teague designed the tiny car on the back of a Northwest air sickness bag.

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

The look was brilliant—Teague sawed off the back of the Hornet and added massive reverse-slant C-pillars that gave the design an unforgettable wedge-shaped profile. A wide, wrap-around grille and oversized flares at the wheel wells added to the sassy looks. Tooling added up to a mere $8 million, chump change around Motor City.

Just to be on the safe side, the Gremlin’s overall design was subjected to a probability study. Marketing invited 1,000 owners of compact and imported cars to view small cars and included the yet unnamed Gremlin among the groupings. The reaction was overwhelmingly favourable. The public had no idea who the maker of this cute little car was but they wanted to buy it.

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

Gremlin was AMC's foot soldier, off to battle
 the mighty Volkswagen.

 On April Fool’s Day of 1970, the adorable Gremlin bowed to the public. Highly unique from stem to stern, this subcompact boasted a generous six-cylinder engine. Advertising took on Volkswagen head-to-head. Designed to win back a good percentage of the market being gobbled up by imports--primarily Datsun, Toyota and VW--Gremlins were displayed on university campuses throughout Canada to create awareness and drum up interest among young buyers.

At only $2,398, the car was billed, tongue-in-cheek as the first domestically-built import, “the kind this country has needed for a long time.” Gremlin offered twice the power and double the fun of Volkswagen’s 57-horsepower engine; claimed to be a regular gas grouch delivering 495 miles on a tank of regular fuel and boasted a smaller turning circle than a Beetle. A Gremlin was only 2.5 inches longer than a VW, too.

The entry-level price got one a basic, two-seat runabout. There were no frills whatsoever. The flooring was rubber and the rear window was fixed into place. Only a handful of people bought the unadorned stripper. Buyers could upgrade to the four-passenger version and lots of Canadians did exactly that. 

Whether one bought the two- or four-passenger Gremlin, under that long, bubble-blistered hood lurked AMC’s tried and true 199-cubic inch, six-cylinder engine that scuffed up the asphalt faster than snow melts in April. With a seven main-bearing crankshaft, the mill was virtually indestructible. All 128 horses were mated to a three-speed manual transmission or an optional automatic shifter.

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

Gremlin interiors were smart and stylish.
 The bucket seats were optional.

Like Mattel’s Barbie, Gremlin could be had with an tasteful extra-cost accessories tailored to drivers' needs. AMC’s frisky little fellow was given 30 carefully selected optional equipment items including a very fast 145-horsepower motor, power steering, power brakes, a remote control mirror, electric windshield wipers and washers, air conditioning, tinted glass, an AM push-button all-transistor radio, a block heater, a roof rack, rally stripes, full wheel discs, bucket seats and a twin-grip differential. In addition, there were seven complete option packages available. 

American Motors workers caught Gremlins in the factory anddeep-dipped them in rustproofing before triple-painting the little rascals in any of 13 colours, including Classic Black, Frost White, Matador Red, Hialeah Yellow Bittersweet Orange, Bayshore Blue, Sea Foam Aqua, Mosport Green, Tijuana Tan and Sonic Silver. If those weren’t enough, the ultimate hues were borrowed from cousin AMX and left the factory floor wearing Big Bad Blue, Big Bad Green and Big Bad Orange.

The 1970 1/2 AMC Gremlin was 161 
inches long—only 2.5 inches longer 
than a VW Beetle—

and rode on a 96-inch wheelbase.

The smallest AMC offering got off to a good start in an abbreviated model year, racking up 12,618 builds in Brampton, many of them headed south to the United States. Things would get even hotter in 1971 as 26,348 Gremlins scampered out the doors of the Brampton, Ontario factory, scooting all over the continent for fun and frolic with their new owners.

The subcompact that looked like a sports car, loaded like a wagon and turned on a dime turned out to be the single best-selling model AMC ever built. Though it has been more than three decades since the last Gremlin rolled out the factory doors, they’re still occasionally seen on the nation's highways and byways. This writer spotted one yesterday and that made him grin from ear to ear. “Long live Gremlin!” he was heard to shout as he waved and honked from behind the wheel of his Ambassador wagon. 

Visit my old car website at: The Oilspot Eh!

Copyright James C. Mays 2006 All rights reserved.