The late Roy D. Chapin , Jr. , former chair of American Motors Corporation , like to tell apart about when AMC wanted to inaugurate a new car for 1958 , and cease up with the 1958 - 1960 Rambler American . Though sales of the 108 - inch - wheelbase Ramblers were climb , extra mathematical product were needed to hike sales event further . The small - car market extend the best chance .
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cable car buyers were displaying a mature interest in pocket-size foreign cars . AMC covered that grocery store with its imported Metropolitan , but the Met was only a two - passenger car ; for higher sales volumes an automobile capable of accommodate four or five was needed .
AMC considered convey out a revamp Metropolitan with a wagonlike roof that provided home distance for four people but engineer and product planner felt up the limitations of the Met ’s 85 - inch wheelbase were too great . They believed a 100 - inch wheelbase was need for the roominess that most emptor demanded . When they explained that to management , Chapin recalled , " Grins lighted up our cheek . ' Why , we already have such a car , ' one of us exclaimed . ' Our tools are still integral for the 100 - column inch Rambler . ' "
Chapin and then - chairman George Romney believed the minuscule Nash Rambler , last bring on in 1955 , render a unadulterated compromise between a big family gondola and a small import , so the decision was made to re-introduce it in an updated version . Of course , the fact that AMC was just about broke and could n’t afford tool for an all - new railway car made the decisiveness that much easier .
AMC was come on the death of an larger-than-life four - year battle . Since the corp ’s parentage in 1954 from the unification of Nash - Kelvinator and Hudson , sales of Hudson and Nash car had fallen dramatically . Hope for recovery come with the introduction of a new , larger Rambler for 1956 . It get off to a slow start but by mid-1957 , sale pop out to rise .
Romney by and by admitted , " honestly , we very virtually got knocked out of the car business in the cognitive operation of follow in our audacious determination to gainsay the Big Three by outflanking their production position . " Although 1957 finish with a financial loss , it was vindicated a reverse had start . The Ramblers were restyled for 1958 and novel larger Rambler - based Ambassadors made their debut .
To work up on AMC ’s growing momentum , Romney want to total a third car line . Thus make out the decision to resurrect the 100 - in - wheelbase Rambler as the Rambler American . To see how the American was styled , retain to the next page .
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1958 Rambler American Styling
To get an idea of how the 1958 Rambler American styling would look , engineers create a mock - up . According to Chapin , they expedited this by corrupt a second - hand 1955 Rambler from a local monger to serve as a construct car .
Styling director Ed Anderson put his man to solve on revising the small Rambler . As the tooling budget was very sozzled , the canonical car had to remain the same , with basically all major under - the - peel stampings unchanged . There was enough money to restyle some of the outside , but even there changes were limit .
introductory buffer shapes could n’t be drastically altered . However , since fenders , hoods , and decklids are bring out by a serial of stamping operation , small-scale changes in tooling and processing could be made to touch the visual aspect of the finished mathematical product . Thus , even though the cap , decklid , and roof panel were make over , the original dies were used .
Anderson never liked Nash ’s enclose wheel so he was happy to open up up the American ’s roulette wheel wells . The front line had been open up on the 1955 models , so all designers had to do was restyle the rear fender , making sure to incorporate a trailing rear sharpness – one of Anderson ’s favourite style marks .
Frontal styling was modified with a bounteous new mesh grille in place of the previous eggcrate pattern . The hood scoop and bulky " flying lady " ornament of the past were deleted , the later replaced by a simpler " wind split " ornament , and the chrome molding along the rocker panels was deleted . A flatter roof panel delivered a low flavour in profile , and the " greenhouse " was further modernized via a great wraparound rear window . Deleting the decklid ’s raised " spikelet " provided a placid show .
Chapin aim credit for another element of the American ’s restyling : He suggest turning the elliptical 1955 taillamp bezels upside down so that the red lense were now above the chrome - encased reflectors . This , too , achieved a slenderly different appearance with no cost in tooling .
The decision was made to call the new car the Rambler American , since dubbing it just a Rambler might cause confusion in buyers ' minds consider that was already the brand name in exercise for the larger AMC cars . Although the to begin with Nash Rambler had offered several two- and four - door body way , Romney worry about cannibalizing sales agreement of his larger , more profitable senior Ramblers so only one physical structure style was project . To keep costs to a lower limit – and to focus on entry - level buyers – the American was introduce only as a two - doorway sedan , a style that first appeared on the slight Nash in 1954 .
The American was n’t introduced to the public until late January 1958 . Hoopla was hold to a minimum , but an eight - pageboy pamphlet proudly laud that the Modern machine was " Here By Popular Demand . " AMC focalize on the Rambler ’s canonic appeal : " [ T]his is the one cable car that the modern American demand … a car that combats rising operating and maintenance costs by giving more miles per congius of gasolene with lowest upkeep costs … a car that is easy to green , service department and tactical manoeuvre in traffic . "
Romney explained the thinking behind the concept : " Essentially , it was simple : countenance ’s build an motorcar for the American citizenry that attract as much to their aboriginal intelligence as to their ego . " Naturally , economy of surgery was foreground ; after all , the Nash Rambler , " America ’s Economy King , " had won the Mobilgas Economy Run more often than any other make .
For more on the 1958 Rambler American , go on to the next page .
1958 Rambler American
Just two 1958 Rambler American model were offered for cosmopolitan cut-rate sale . The base Deluxe was priced at a simple $ 1,789 , which allowed AMC to boast the lowest - priced elevator car made in America . ( It undercut the austere two - door Studebaker Scotsman by just $ 6 . ) An American Super , with a few more " luxury , " was dog at $ 1,874 .
Meanwhile , the cheapest six - passenger 1958 Chevrolet and Ford both set off at around $ 2,100 . Fleet buyers were offered a three - passenger Deluxe business sedan – sans rearward arse – for just $ 1,775 , but that simulation was n’t mentioned in the regular brochures for the American .
Mechanically , the American was as dim-witted and honest as Ford ’s fabled Model A. The only engine available was AMC ’s smooth - running 195.6 - cubic - inch 50 - head six , a sturdy cast branding iron inline John Stuart Mill producing 90 horsepower and 150 dog pound - substructure of torque , the latter at a low 1,600 rev . A three - speed manual transmitting with column shifter was received .
Admittedly , the Rambler American Deluxe sedan was a spot stark within and out . Its modest cost did include directional signals , a front ashtray , manual bonce light , black rubber flooring mats , and a choice of vinyl - and - fabric or all - vinyl radical upholstery . candidly , though , bottom - line cars from the low - monetary value brands were all pretty austere in that era .
Super good example offered a caboodle more for the minor $ 85 price premium let in a comfortable froth - cushion front seat , front and rearward armrest , two sunshine visors ( in piazza of the Deluxe ’s driver’s - side - only visor ) , cigaret lighter , map and glove - boxwood lights , color - ordinate rubber storey enshroud , a trunk mat , two - whole step midland door - panel clipping , and an automatic attic light .
Supers also sported unsullied - sword windshield and belt modeling and rearward - tail windows that could be hustle down a few inches , all of which Deluxes lack . Some folks who bought the Deluxe opted to compensate a little more for a manufacturing plant - installed package that include the armrests , right - side sun visor , and cigarette lighter . Those detail could also be put in singly by the dealer .
The options list let in a number of worthwhile detail . Flash - O - Matic , a premium three - speed automatic transmission give rise by Borg - Warner , was far superscript to the two - upper automatics found on some other domesticated cable car and was very popular . Manual transmission with overdrive was also usable .
Other options included a impost direction wheel , two - tone pigment , cycle discs , radio , outside mirror , electric clock , tinted glass , windshield washers , oil - tub air cleaner , partial - flow oil filter , Weather Eye warmer , and , of course of action , AMC ’s famed Airliner reclining front derriere , a favorite at Lover ’s Lane .
To see how the 1958 Rambler American performed , continue to the next varlet .
1958 Rambler American Performance
To establish 1958 Rambler American performance , specifically its remarkable fuel thriftiness , AMC mastermind Carl Chakmakian and Les Viland drove an overdrive - fit out American from Los Angeles to Miami . Driving at an medium speed of 40 miles per hour and under National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR ) supervision , the Rambler achieved 35.4 mpg – just than many foreign cars . That was important because the American was being touted as an import choice .
It had other reward over importee . purchaser of foreign cars worried about obtaining part and serve . The American was make in the USA and plump for by more than 2,300 Rambler dealers , so parts and avail accessibility was far superior to the consequence .
Mechanix Illustrated ’s Tom McCahill declared , " There is n’t a honest steal in the world today . " He continued : " The Rambler American , with a minimum of chrome and nude of Little Phoebe , without four headlamp or built - in rattles , is an ideal - size small class auto . It ’s as good - looking for as any of the small consequence I jazz and better - looking than most . It will give up to 30 miles on a gal of gas ( and more , with Overdrive ) and will outperform any spell saloon selling for under $ 2,000 except in the corner section . … [ T]he Rambler has titanic room for four , plus a undecomposed - size trunk . … [ It ] is by far the most rattle - and - squeak - costless 1958 Detroit Cartesian product I ’ve driven - and I ’ve driven them all ! "
AfterPopular Sciencecompared an American to seven popular European cars it conclude , " [ T]he Rambler American probably is the good steal , at the cost , among the eight . "
Shoppers evidently get the subject matter . product in the short 1958 model class came to 30,640 units , or slightly more than twice the projected break - even rate for the auto . Of this more than half – 15,949 railcar – were Deluxe models , admit the 184 business sedans produced .
Despite adverse market conditions for the U.S. auto industry in 1958 , AMC recorded its first profitable year . The corp cover net profits of $ 26 million on wholesale sales to dealer of 189,807 Ramblers and Metropolitans versus a loss of $ 11.8 million on cut-rate sale of 119,586 units the prior year . Rambler was the only domesticated make to post an increase that yr , and demand would preserve to rise .
To record about the 1959 Rambler American , continue to the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .
1959 Rambler American
The 1959 Rambler American series was dilate to admit a couple of two - door post wagons . As the tumid Rambler Six / Rebel and Ambassador station waggon were offered only in four - room access versions , direction believed there ’d be piddling sales cannibalization from the American . Like the sedan chair , the Dipper was establish from 1955 dies and received the same modernizing styling touches .
AMC claimed its new model " compound the outstanding economic system and maneuverability of a humble car with the family room and carrying capability of a station station waggon . " With the rearward butt close flavourless , an American wagon could hold 52 cubic feet of cargo ; with the tailgate lower , a 90.3 - inch - long load floor was usable .
The Deluxe wagon was tagged at a mere $ 2,060 , and the Super version , which included a standard cargo - area mat and roof rack , started at $ 2,145 . By equivalence , an Opel wagon be around $ 2,400 and a Volvo PV 445 two - doorway beach wagon was $ 2,490 ! Even a new domestic rival in the stocky field , the Studebaker Lark , blame $ 2,295 for its base two - door wagon .
The resurgence of the station wagon consistency also stirred up a return of the Deliveryman commercial Plough . Previously made in limited numbers from 1951 through 1955 , it was fundamentally a three - passenger station waggon with no rear seat and an extended cargo floor . The 1959 was the rare yet : Just six were made , three with trash side panels and three in true sedan - pitch shape with all - sword sides . After this , the Deliveryman disappeared for upright .
Sedan prices were up by $ 46 from 1958 but still represented exceptional value . Standard equipment for 1959 was about the same as before , though Deluxe mannikin gained the roll - down rearward side windows . ( All wagons boast sliding windows to provide ventilating system for rear - buns passenger . )
Two surprising raw alternative were a " Twin Grip " limited - slip rear axle and dealer - installed tune conditioning . The accessibility of the latter boosted Rambler ’s popularity in southerly commonwealth and was a mark of its growing popularity with more affluent buyers .
Rambler gross sales occupy off in 1959 , helped observably by the American . For the fashion model year , product tripled to 91,491 cars as AMC struggled to keep up with requirement . Of these , 32,639 – almost 36 percent – were post Wain .
See the next pageboy to read about the 1960 Rambler American .
1960 Rambler American
The 1960 Rambler American blood grew further with a new body style and a third trimness degree . A four - threshold sedan chair was added to all series , include the fresh top - ancestry Custom range .
Unlike other Americans , the four - door was n’t hewn from old tooling . There had been a Nash Rambler four - doorway sedan chair in 1954 - 1955 , but it was build on a 108 - inch wheelbase with a commensurately tenacious trunk . This new four - door was mounted on the same 100 - in platform as the American two - door sedan and wagon .
Engineers and hairdresser were able to come up with a thoroughly - looking design that allow a with child enough rear - doorway opening . No four - door wagon was planned ; with a complete restyling due for the come twelvemonth the toll of tooling up a newfangled roof control board could n’t be vindicate .
It ’s likely that the four - room access sedan was added to counter Ford ’s new Falcon . Internal memos show that as early as May 1957 , AMC executives knew Ford was working on a compact gondola . That in all likelihood motivate AMC ’s 1960 slogan : " The Most Imitated Car in America . "
In March 1960 came the novel Custom serial . Its features included colouration - describe upholstery , usage steering roulette wheel , full cycle phonograph recording , carpeted floor mats , twofold horns , and bigger tire . Perhaps the most intriguing item on the Custom was a 125 - horsepower six - piston chamber engine . It had the same bore and apoplexy proportion as the engine in Deluxes and Supers but boast overhead valve and a compaction ratio raised to 8.7:1 . Because of blank problem , air conditioning was n’t useable with the ohv six .
In a test of 10 domesticated station wagons , Motor Trendfound that the American Custom could tally 60 mph from a standing start in 12.9 seconds . " Even some of the big V-8s do not perform that briskly . Yet it delivered mileage rivaling that of the Falcon,“MTsaid . In the 1960 Mobilgas Economy Run , a Custom two - door sedan chair returned 28.35 mpg over a itinerary of more than 2,000 mi , eat up first in the compact family .
Further proof of the American ’s olympian fuel economy came when an overdrive - equipped railcar drive seashore to sea-coast under NASCAR ’s insomniac eyes averaged 38.9 mpg . However , the most astounding demonstration was the record book fix in the Pure Oil Economy Trials , another NASCAR - supervised event : 51.281 mpg , which AMC wisely mark , " No car owner should bear to approach in routine driving . "
The 1960 American benefited from several improvements and refinements . The doorway were redesigned to open at a 75 - point angle – they previously opened 55 degrees – so entry and exit were much easy . bond pasture brake linings replaced the riveted type used antecedently , gene linkage for the manual shift was improve , and fuel capacitance was increase to 22 gallons . Exterior colour choices were expanded to 12 substantial and 22 two - note combination . Power steering was a new option .
There was more to the American ’s collection than just abject price and gamey gas mileage . Rambler resale values ranked among the highest . requirement for the American continued to grow , climb to 120,603 . While the Custom serial publication provided not quite 7,700 unit of measurement to that totality , the four - door sedan was a collision . It accounted for most 39 percent of assemblies , pass by the two - threshold as the most popular American .
In fact , these truly were AMC ’s " glory days . " In 1959 , sale frailty president Roy Abernethy noted that two eld before , a dealer could restrict for the inclination of Rambler ’s 100 best dealer by selling only 100 cars a year ; now , he say , " The lowest dealer on the list is selling more than 500 cars a twelvemonth and the top trader is travel at the pace of 3,300 cars a twelvemonth . "
That same yr , AMC report a pre - tax profit of $ 105 million , and the $ 60 million it got to keep after taxes was still well more than dual 1958 ’s figure . AMC ’s total sales for the fiscal class 1960 were 478,249 cars . The corporation report a net net profit of $ 48 million on tax income that exceeded $ 1 billion !
The former underdog was now riding high-pitched , and Rambler had an enviable image as a " David " against the " Goliath " of the Big Three . The cleverly recycled Rambler American had certainly done its part to help make that happen .
