1963 Rambler

 The 1963 Rambler Ambassador 880 Cross-Country Wagon
 sold for $3,329 and weighed in at 3,275 pounds.

After five long years of uphill battle against its ever-increasing foreign and domestic competitors, Rambler Canada was ready with an assault of its own for 1963. It was an unforgettable attack; one that caught the entire auto industry by surprise. Rambler's shared Classic and Ambassador envelope was new from stem to stern. Prices were just right; all Ramblers were now domestically built, save the sassy little American 440 convertible.  Folks in the Brampton, Ontario head office rubbed their hands in the delicious anticipation of really knocking the socks off the competition.

At a special company picnic, the 1,200 employees and their families got to see a sneak preview of the new Ramblers before anyone else. The event was made even more memorable with a visit by Peter the Clown, a popular television personality, and none other than CBC newsreader-and Rambler spokesman-Earl Cameron. 

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AMC's  Metropolitan was discontinued at the end of the 1962
 selling season.

For the first time in American Motors’ history, there was no Metropolitan on the showroom floor. Manufacture of the tiny import had been discontinued in 1960 but it took two more years to clear out the backlog. Consumers took home 330 of them in 1961. In 1962, Marty Fine, a Rambler dealer in Calgary, cleaned out the last of the Metropolitan stock from head office and sold the lovable little rascals to his eager clients in Alberta. 

With the adorable Metropolitan gone and no replacement, American Motors simply abandoned that entire under-$2,000 segment of the market. For some 4,000 consumers who thought that the $2,184 Rambler American was too expensive, the rock bottom-priced Austin Mini, the DKW, the NSU Prinz, the Simca and the Skoda were all Metropolitan substitutes in 1963. 

1963 Austin Mini by BMC.

1963 Simca by Chrysler of France.

The only imported Rambler this year was the 440 American convertible. 

The 100-inch wheelbased American took the honours of being the smallest Rambler this year. It was on its third-year of the style cycle. Since the basic envelope was the same, much was made of the 45 important improvements to the vehicle, including “a wide selection of colour-coordinated interiors in rich vinyls and fabrics to satisfy the most exacting taste.” The least expensive of the tribe was the plain-Jane 220 two-door sedan. With its $2,184 price tag, it undercut the most bare-boned Studebaker, Chevy II, Ford Falcon and Valiant by a country kilometre. 

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For 1963 the six-cylinder Flying Scot was offered in
125-horsepower form for the Rambler American convertible.
Other Rambler Americans received the tried and true
90-horsepower L-head, first seen in the 1941 Nash 600.

Of course, the real competition for the smallest Rambler came from abroad. The rise of the Pound Sterling and other European currencies along with higher tariffs imposed by Ottawa meant that the Rambler American would now do battle with a whole host of European contenders including the Austin A40, the Morris 1100, the Fiat 1100, the Hillman 1600, the Triumph 1200 and the Renault R8. 

The Rambler Classic was a completely new vehicle. The guys at Track & Traffic tested a 660 four-door sedan. They described it as a “solid, functional machine” and noted that the interior dimensions were substantially larger as a result of the Scena-ramic curved side window glass. They waxed most enthusiastic about the cabin. “From a decorator’s point of view the interior of our test car was tastefully done, using a subtle combination of colours that would be easy to live with for extended periods. Long-wearing, simple to clean fabrics are used on the seats, the doors are covered with a moulded, two-tone vinyl, while the floors are covered with carpeting of exceptional beauty.” 

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Despite unabashed praise for the famed Weather Eye heater, the Dual-Safe brake system and the Airliner reclining seats, they deemed the Classic to be “conventional” and rated its qualities as “satisfying” while hoping for spectacular. They summed up their test experience with this remark: “After spending several enjoyable days with it, we concluded that the Rambler is the car we would like to give our Grandmother as a present. Easy to drive, completely dependable, sensibly sized and with ample interior space, Rambler suits the practical individual.”

With a list price of $2,734, the 1963 Rambler Classic 660 
represented value to thousands of Canadians.

Billed as the only homegrown passenger car with big-car room and comfort combined with small-car economy and handling ease, the Classic 550 two-door sedan listed for $2,538. It competed squarely against the domestically built Corvair, Chevy II, Falcon, Valiant, and Studebaker. It stood up most solidly against the imported Austin A60, the DKW 1000, the Envoy, the Hillman Super Minx, The Morris Oxford, the Renault Caravelle, the Vauxhall, the Volkswagen 1500 and Volvo’s PV 544. 

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 From the rear, Rambler Ambassador carried styling
cues that made it distinct from the Classic.

At the very apex of the Rambler summit shone the Rambler Ambassador. Heretofore, it had always been designated as Ambassador by Rambler. The wording of the name was a subtle nuance designed to elevate the luxurious Ambassador above its more economical kin. Management decided that was no longer necessary. For the first time since the marque debuted, every car on the dealer’s showroom floor carried the Rambler emblem. 

Like its sister Classic, the Ambassador was fresh from the ground up. With promises of delivering more style, more luxury and more V-8 performance, the Ambassador 880 four-door sedan listed for $2,978 and the 880 Cross-Country Wagon sold for $3,329. 

The Rambler Ambassador could be ordered with reclining
 bucket seats and a centre console in 1963.
The Twin-Stick semi-automatic transmission is shown.

Folks have always been willing to shell out a couple of bucks for extras. Popular add-ons for this year’s Ramblers included $7.50 for a block heater, $90.50 for the Weather Eye Heater--both practical for our long, harsh winters. One could write a cheque for  $31.95 for the Airliner reclining seats and $30.05 for headrests and $56.95 for five seat belts. It cost  $11.25 for windshield washers, $13.40 for backup lights, $212.00 for the Flash-O-Matic transmission, $15 for undercoating, $32.50 for two wheel rims (for snow tires), $20 for a set of full wheel covers and $15 for whitewall tires. 

 Airliner Reclining Seats made into Twin Travel Beds,
 saving frugal travellers bundles of money on the road. 

Rambler Canada's executives were more than happy with Track & Traffic’s evaluation of “satisfying” rather than “spectacular” when all was said and done. Motor Trend magazine had named Rambler as its Car of the Year. The Brampton factory had doubled in size during the year to keep up with the avalanche of orders. The company started exporting right-hand drive Ramblers to the UK in February, accounting for half of the Canadian-built automobiles imported by Britain that year. 

Rambler placed sixth in the domestic automotive sales chart for the calendar year with 27,019 sales according to Canadian Automotive Trade, (Ward’s Automotive Yearbook reported 28,602 sales) right behind fifth place Volkswagen and fourth place Valiant. Workers in Brampton built 30,167 Ramblers during the 1963 calendar year and a total of 27,411 units during the model year and the 1964 picture was only going to get brighter. 

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 Copyright James C. Mays 2005 All rights reserved.

1960 Rambler

When the American Motors Corporation had been formed stateside in 1954, it was the marriage of two great automotive pioneers: Hudson and Nash. A de facto amalgamation was ordered immediately to streamline the Canadian operation. Though the two sales entities remained separate in the Dominion, Hudson production ceased in Tilbury, Ontario and was transferred to the Nash plant in Toronto over the Civic Holiday weekend. American Motors of Canada, Limited was formally incorporated in January of 1956, nearly two years after its American parent.
For the 1956 model year, only Nash and Hudson Ramblers were assembled in the Toronto plant. Records show that 5,584 cars rolled out the doors, a high point for the independent automaker. For 1957, Rambler was no longer a model of Nash or Hudson; it became a brand in its own right. Head office in Detroit determined that it would be too costly to retool the Toronto facility for the 1958 vehicles. It would be cheaper to import the cars than to assemble them domestically. More than 300 workers were laid off permanently in July of 1957.

The product line at American Motors was as different for the 1958 selling season as a canoe is from a three-masted schooner. Gone to dry dock were the grand Hudson and Nash marques. In their stead was a range of stylishly updated compact automobiles. The 117-inch wheelbase Ambassador by Rambler was the new corporate flagship, flanked by the smaller Rambler 6 and 8 models as well as the lovable 100-inch wheelbased Rambler American. The Rambler fleet was complete with the tiny Metropolitan, imported from the UK. Calendar year sales reached 5,389 units and Rambler held down 15th place in the industry, hard on the heels of the popular Morris.

From St. John’s to Victoria, folks were enchanted with the quality and price of the Rambler lines. Sales simply exploded in 1959 to 9,231 units-and that was before adding in 911 British-sourced Metropolitans. Those figures catapulted the independent automaker into 11th place. Once the dust had cleared, Rambler was squarely ahead of Austin and gaining hard on Buick. Rambler’s success was being watched with close interest in Detroit. Analysts believed that Rambler would crack the 10,000-unit mark in 1960. If it did, it would be viable to built cars again in the Dominion.

American Motors of Canada, Limited entered in its third year as an integrated company when the 1960 models were launched. Executives wisely decided that the corporate name was a real mouthful and the company would be known simply as Rambler Canada. The name rolled off the tongue as easily as hockey, beer, moose and snow.


Everyone at Rambler Canada was nervous. With the manufacturers’ launches of their 1960 models, Rambler no longer had the field to itself. Studebaker had launched its Lark last year and it had captured 16.8 percent of the domestic pie. Now Ford fielded the Falcon and Frontenac and GM’s Chevrolet Division launched the Corvair. Chrysler Canada dumped DeSoto entirely and introduced the Valiant as its new compact brand. If Rambler were to succeed in such a crowded field, it would have to be more desirable than the competition.

Prices for Ramblers--in Canadian dollars, f.o.b. Kenosha, Wisconsin--ranged from $1,996.97 for a thrifty Rambler American to a whopping $3,508.26 for the ritzy nine-passenger Ambassador Custom 8 station wagon. While Ramblers’ prices started with the competition, they ranged far higher than other domestically built compacts. Drawing on their upscale Nash and Hudson heritages, Ramblers simply dripped in value and the higher priced models vied with Cadillac in luxury.

Ambassadors sported new mesh grilles. Last year’s mile-high fins were reigned in sharply and now appeared as tasteful accents over smart cathedral tail lamps. A new instrument panel offered easy-to-read gauges and dials in an oval cluster.

There were eight posh Ambassadors to tempt consumers. The compact luxury car offered virtually every amenity found in Cadillac, Imperial and Lincoln save the electric seats. Nash had introduced the first four-door hardtop wagon in the industry back in 1956 and this year’s version cost a cool $3,468.46. The least expensive Ambassador was the four-door Super 8 sedan with its $2,879,72 price tag.

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 Lesser Ramblers included the Rebel Custom 8; the Rebel Super 8; the Custom 6; the Super 6 and the Deluxe 6. With prices starting at $2,346.09 and running up to $3,249, these sixteen offerings were the company’s bread and butter models. They competed directly with Valiant and the Studebaker Lark.

The only Ramblers with two doors were to be found in the American line, which boasted two- or four-door wagons in addition to sedans. Automatic transmission and air conditioning were optional equipment, though far more were ordered with the chic extra-cost continental spare.

Last but not least in the showroom were the Metropolitans. Updated last year with vent windows and an opening trunk, the little cuties from Britain now cost $1,895 for the hardtop and $1,945 for the convertible, f.o.b. Toronto.

Though the odd Hudson and Nash owner came in to dealerships to trade, most of Rambler’s sales were what is known in the business as ‘conquest’ sales; that is to say that people traded other makes of cars for Ramblers. Folks were impressed enough to purchase 10,961 Ramblers and 616 Metropolitans, though the company dipped to 13th place in sales for the calendar year.

Despite the percentage drop, actual sales were up and no one was discouraged in Brampton, not by a long shot. A glance at the sales chart revealed that the small car was no flash in the pan; the compact car was here to stay. Some 43,000 compacts had been built in Canada in 1960, another 18,000 brought in from the US and 177,000 imported from Europe. One out of every three automobiles sold in the country were—well—really small. Before recessing for Christmas, Parliament would pass laws to curtail the imports in an effort to preserve the domestic automobile industry.

Of the Top Ten selling passenger cars sold in calendar year 1960, five were compacts. Volkswagen took third place with 31,146 sales; Vauxhall was fifth with 21,530 sales; Ford’s new Falcon enjoyed ninth place with 14,733 units sold and GM’s new Envoy held down the tenth spot with 13,089 sales.

Rambler’s new factory in Brampton, Ontario would turn out its first car on Christmas Eve of 1960. Rambler was hot. Sales would sizzle like peameal bacon in the frying pan, as the little company would steal the Number Ten spot in 1961 with 11,946 Ramblers and 533 Mets sold.

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Copyright James C. Mays 2004 All rights reserved.