1971 AMX/3

Racking legend Mark Donahue checks out the AMX/3.

American Motors set out to erase its corporate econo-box image in 1966. The  Rambler name was downplayed and a classy quartet of concept vehicles hit the show car circuit.   

 

The AMX concept  was sassy and classy.

One of the four show cars was the exotic AMX.  Designed in-house by Charles (Chuck) Machigan, it was the inspiration for the production pony car Javelin and its beastly brother, the two-seater AMX. 

The 1970 compact Hornet (rear) and the subcompact Gremlin.

 

            Stockholders and consumers were excited. Javelin and AMX were followed by the stylish new Hornet compact and the adorable Gremlin, America's first domestically built subcompact. VP of Design, Dick Teague was ready to wow the public with the low and sleek AMX/2.

 

The AMX/2 was unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show in 1969.

            The response to the prototype was overwhelming.  President Gerry Meyers gave the go-ahead to modify the sensuously proportioned, two-seater AMX/2 and get it into production. 

Extremely practical but not exciting, the Rambler American targeted West Germany's Volkswagen. 

Morale was high among the stylists as they set out to make this beauty into reality. The guys in the studio joked as they worked that no longer would the company be known for winning the MobilGas Economy run with little Ramblers. For the record, stylist Bob Nixon confirms that the vehicle was referred to as AMX/2, AMX/3 and AMX/K during its development.

 

This running prototype AMX/3 was photographed in April of 1968.

            Only 43 inches from the ground and laid out on a 105-inch wheelbase, the package was simply breathtaking. Teague designed a new front and rear for the production model. Headlamps were concealed. The windshield was given a 60-degree rake. The counterbalanced engine cover opened from the rear with the aid of gas shocks. 

Bizzarrini of Italy handcrafted the bodies; the panels were beaten into shape and bolted onto a semi-monocoque frame. The engine was AMC's own 390 V-8, created by David Potter. Mounted behind the passenger cabin, the mighty 390 was so powerful that no existing transaxle could handle its torque; so one was created by OTO Melara.  

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            Brakes were vacuum-boosted and internally vented. Tires were different widths, front and rear. Independent suspension, adjustable shocks, anti-sway bars and coil springs made it a thoroughbred on the track. AMX/3 registered 0-60 in 5.5 seconds and did the quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds at BMW's test tracks at Nurenburgring.

The AMX/3 is right at home in Rome.

            The public got its first look at the AMX/3 on March 23, 1970 in Rome and on April 4 at the International Auto Show in New York.  The automotive press raved about the luxury sports car and many swore that it couldn't have come from American Motors! 

The 1970 Chevrolet Corvette was the AMX/3's domestic competition.

 Production of the hand-built AMX/3 was limited to two vehicles a month but the retail price was still twice that of Chevrolet's Corvette. After five of the dazzling beauties were built, the order came from Detroit to cut up the others. Four were destroyed but Bizzarrini finished the sixth one and kept it for himself.

Copyright James C. Mays 2001 All rights reserved.

1967 Rambler Rebel Briarcliff, Mariner and Westerner

In the 1960s, automakers' targeting of limited production models to specific markets began to proliferate on a grand scale.  Vehicles weren't just transportation anymore, for a few extra sales everything became special.  The Dodge boys pushed their White Hat Specials, Buick dealers offered the California GS Special, and Ford featured a Big Sky Country Special for customers in the Rocky Mountains. Regionalism became more pronounced as trends were charted and new markets for specific territories were discovered.

There was a common theme in the selling of these special vehicles. The   showcased offering was made different from its ordinary off-the-assembly-line kin by combining special options together in a single package.  By purchasing the extra cost goodies in a package, consumers saved money and dealers could afford to dicker a bit more, too.   This new type of thinking was calculated to meet the growing sophistication of the public's taste.  

The 1966 Rambler Classic.

The single most ambitious scheme to create cars that appealed to specific regions in the 1960s came from American Motors when the unique Rambler Rebel wagons hit the market. The name Rebel was a new name for the company's intermediate line, prior to 1967 mid-sized Ramblers had been known as Classic.  

Rebel was not just a new nomenclature, the car itself was new from the ground up.  No other vehicle to come from Detroit had been so changed in a single season.  The  strong, upright Teutonic look of 1966 gave way to sleek, svelte lines that featured the long hood/short rear deck theme with a graceful coke-bottle swell in the rear quarter panel. A long, hungry venturi grille caused Rebel look fast even with the gearshift lever in Park.  The company's designers made automobile history by being first to integrate the fenders into the bumpers.   Truly exciting and most rare for Detroit offerings, AMC's ultra-modern, thin-all V-8 powerplants were introduced in the all-new cars. 

Vince Geraci was a stylist at AMC.  He remembers how disappointed the team was when Motor Trend did not name the Rebel and Ambassador lines as Car of the Year. Despite their beauty, the automotive press mean-spiritedly dubbed AMC's whole lineup as 'the me-too cars' in the fall of 1966. Dismissing the stunning vehicles as copy cat also-rans, hacks wrote that the last independent would cease manufacture soon, just as Studebaker had scant months before. Customers didn't want to buy an orphan so they drove past the Rambler dealer when new car shopping that autumn.

Roy Abernethy, circa 1966.

In January of 1967. head honcho Roy Abernethy was forced into retirement and Roy Chapin took his place as President and CEO.  Chapin moved fast to regain the confidence of consumers and bankers. The company's product was good, but if the company was to survive, the cars needed to be flogged like never before. Chapin brought in new people to implement his lifesaving plan. 

The story goes that he was chatting with Henry Ford II at the Grosse Point Yacht Club and said he was thinking of raiding Ford for a VP of Sales.  Ford told him about Vince G. Raffolio who had done great things for Ford sales in Great Britain.  Chapin liked what he saw and brought him into AMC's head office on Plymouth Road. Raffolio looked at the product lineup and immediately ordered the three special Rambler Rebel wagons. Rambler had laid claim to as much as 10% of the American station wagon market for itself in the past before the company lost its sizzle. Dressing up Rebel wagons was brilliant.  

The one-off Rambler St. Moritz made the auto show circuit in 1966.

Jim Alexander worked at American Motors in 1967.  He recalls that the wagon trio was a hurry-up assignement.  In-house designer Wade O'Connell's special talents were called upon to create the insignias for the three special wagons. (He later created the immortal Gremlin character.) The specs and the option package list, that defined the models was drawn up. The hot stamps for embossing the insignias on the seats and soft trim were created in the shop and cost very little. Within days after Chapin's takeover, AMC's public relations people announced the sharp limited-edition wagons.  Full-page, four-colour advertisment advertisements were taken out in major magazines to show them off.

This American Motors' concept wagon, AMX III,  appeared in February 1967.

While limited editions weren't new, what was most unique was the bold distribution strategy.  Designers created the trio of Rebel wagons to appeal to a American consumers in widely diverse parts of the country, unlike localized offerings such as the St. Louis Mustang which was sold only in the Show-me State.

These three wagons were going to increase Rambler Rebel sales by 1,550 units for the factory. While dealers might have ordered their quota of wagons for the year and not be interested in ordering any more, zone managers now had an exciting traffic builder to offer, one guaranteed to lure people into the showroom. As Jim Alexander says, "Special editions meant there was something in the pipeline, it kept the factories working."  In the dark days of 1967 when American Motors' fortunes were at their lowest ebb, that was more than an accomplishment, it was a miracle.

            The resulting cars were breathtaking.  Westerner wore a ranch theme, and went to dealers in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit.  the Westerner's body was white and the side panels were simulated tan leather.  Inside the Rebel wagon the upholstery was white and brown vinyl. 500 of the specially trimmed Ramblers were sold in the Midwest and Southwestern states.

The Briarcliff  was seen on showroom floors in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Hartford, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Albany and Memphis. It was given a country club look and was decked out in traditional hunt club colours, designed to appeal to the ‘horsey set’ in  eastern markets.  The bright red finish was complimented with black camera grain side panels.  Inside the cabin, Don Stumpf, AMC's Director of Interior Styling, employed black antelope grain vinyl on the seats and door panels to compliment the exterior.  Only 400 of the classy Briarcliffs were built.

The largest batch in the trio, 600 Mariners were sold in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Eugene, Miami and Tampa and St. Petersburg markets. Each was decked out in nautical trim appropriate to coastal US markets.  The body colour was bright blue with side panels finished in a simulated bleached teakwood.  Blue antelope grain vinyl upholstery with blue suede bolster panels in the interior completed the sailing theme. 

All three special Rebel wagons were given  the 200 horespower. 4.75-liire (290-cubic inch) V-8, automatic transmission, power steering and brakes, radio, Rambler's famous Airliner reclining seats, heavy-duty suspension and white side walls.  The only options not offered were the bigger  5.6-litre (343-cubic inch) V-8 and the company's All-Season air conditioning.

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Copyright James C. Mays 1996
All rights reserved.

1979 AMC Concord

The 1979 AMC Concord featured a waterfall grille and rectangular headlamps.

 American Motors was a feisty little company. The last of the independent North American automakers took on The Big Three as well as all international competition with a great deal of flair. The company had long specialized in small cars and niche marketing. When it strayed, AMC got into trouble. The manufacturer nearly failed in the 1960s but reinvented itself with a stylish compact.

The 1970 Hornet was designed by AMC's in-house stylist Chuck Mashigan.

The classic Hornet design offered an almost endless number of variations. Its body was the basis for the sub-compact Gremlin. The Hornet spawned the SC/360, the Sportabout and the Hatchback. A Cowboy pickup truck was nixed at the last minute because there was no place to build it but American Motors of Canada, Limited did create a special Canada-only Green Hornet model. 

The 1972 Canada-only Green Hornet cashed in on the popularity of the comic book hero. A total of 300 of the limited edition model was built.

The company generated profits because its products shared common platforms. It didn't hurt that AMC purchased Jeep. That helped the economy of scale as costs dropped and revenues rose. AMX and Javelin shared much in common. Matador and Ambassador shared sheet metal, too.

All AMC vehicles in 1972 came with a simple, iron-clad 100-word warranty that covered everything but the tires. (Tires were covered by the respective manufacturers.)

In 1972 there were no new products in dealers' showrooms. That would have meant disaster for an ordinary automaker but AMC was ready to pull an amazing rabbit to pull out of the corporate hat--one that astounded the industry as it pioneered the first bumper-to-bumper, all-inclusive warranty.  A caring, common-sense pitch appealed to consumers and sales rose dramatically. Motor Trend magazine honoured AMC for its groundbreaking guarantee with a special Car of the Year Award.

The next year, the warranty was extended, much to customers' delight.

The 1974 AMC Matador two-door coupe was beautiful.

Then AMC found itself in hot water when the Matador coupe appeared in 1974. It didn't share many parts with anything else in the corporate Stable. Worse, it didn't sell.

The 1975 Pacer from American Motors was the most unique car of the 1970s.

The following year, Pacer bowed to the public. Initially the most distinctively different vehicle of the decade was a hot seller but customers shunned the thirsty six-cylinder engine when an oil embargo from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) brought gasoline rationing to Americans.

Pacer, like the Matador coupe, shared virtually no parts with any other AMC cars, either. The company's top brass had pinned its corporate stars on the stylish duo but those hopes would be in vain.

The Ambassador was the corporation's flagship from 1927 to 1974.

The full-sized Ambassador had been retired at the end of the 1974 season. Javelin was nixed. Gremlin and Hornet desperately needed replacing or at least be given massive facelifts. Dwindling sales meant fewer dollars for retooling and no new products translated into ever-declining sales. The cycle was downward and vicious. Worse, it the cycle was fast.

Richard (Dick) Teague was the company's vice president of design. Teague was the longest-serving style chief in the industry and was known as the Dean of Design in Detroit. He knew half a dozen ways to skin a rabbit. He and his boys were about to perform yet  one more magic trick that would stand the entire automotive industry on its proverbial ears.

The 1978 AMC Concord hatchback.

The faithful Hornet would get a new lease on life, reincarnated as a high-class contender in fancy ball dress. Stylists and engineers rolled up their sleeves. The versatile envelope took on a formal, posh look as it was fitted for opera windows and a padded landau roof. Headlamps, nesting in square bezels added to the ritzy look, as did the squared-up, tartan weave grille. Taillights were sophisticated affairs housed in a gracefully understated rear cove. The upscale exterior look was complete with classic colour-keyed wheel covers and a stand-up hood ornament.

The interior of the 1979 Concord offered 'civilized comforts and thoughtful conveniences.'

Inside the cabin, no expense was spared to move the compact into the luxury league. Fabrics were rich velveteen for sedans and a soft-feel vinyl for wagons and the Hatchbacks. Tasteful woodgrain applique was applied to the instrument panel. Upholstered and  faux wood-trimmed doors were fitted with handy map pouches.

Engineers contributed a highly reworked suspension that gave a "big car" ride. There was no money for new power plants but AMC's trusty sixes had enjoyed a solid reputation around the world since their introduction in 1964. Just to cover all the bases, the corporation's 5-litre (304-cubic inch) V-8 was available.

Marketing ensured there were options galore, ranging from air conditioning and sunroofs to sports packages and performance options.

The 1978 AMC Concord wagon.

Christened Concord, dealers were delighted. Offered as a two-door and four-door sedan, a four-door wagon and a three-door hatchback, consumers could chose among four swank models to drive.

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Public response was terrific. AMC produced 121,293 of the luxurious compacts in its maiden year. That figure was nearly double Hornet's production the year before.

For 1979, Concord was updated with four rectangular headlamps and a majestic waterfall grille. A new Limited model was introduced, replete with leather seats and a Niagara of power options.

This was AMC's 25th anniversary and a special edition was fielded to mark the event. Still, sales were down in North America--ever so slightly--as 102,853 units were produced in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Brampton, Ontario.

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Copyright James C. Mays 2002
 All rights reserved.