The Complete Book of AMC Cars
American Motors Corporation 1954–1988
by Patrick Foster and Tom Glatch
The book presents a chronological survey/review of the cars of AMC, but not presented with the usual approach (as found in other books) by decades. Rather The Complete Book of AMC Cars is organized by significant milestones and car groups during the company’s history.
Thus, the first chapter titled “In the Beginning” shares brief background of the companies and respective leaders of each that joined to form American Motors Corporation in 1954. The chapter goes on to cover Hudson and Nash models year by year through 1957.
“In the Beginning,” top left is the beautiful Italia badged as a Hudson. Beneath is actor William Holden posed in front of a Nash-Healey he drove in the movie Sabrina. Top right is a short-lived Hudson Jet and below a Nash Metropolitan.
By its very title, “The Great Rambler Years,” readers know big changes have taken place at AMC. Models offered 1958 through 1963 are the American, Rambler 6, Rambler Rebel, Ambassador, and Metropolitan. Other significant and unanticipated changes during this timeframe had been the unexpected and sudden death of George Mason with George Romney replacing him at the top only to resign half-a-dozen years on in order to run for governor of Michigan.
As the image immediately below shows, Chapter 3 tells of the next phase of AMC now with leader Roy Abernathy and models named Ambassador, American, Classic, Marlin, and later adding Javelin and AMX and reviving the Rebel model. But, as authors Glatch and Foster write, “perhaps Roy Abernathy should have upgraded his cars rather than simply change brand names,” for as 1967 dawned he was “invited to step down as CEO, replaced by Roy D. Chapin, Jr with William V. Luneberg promoted as the new president.”
Third chapter’s title and facing page tell of the next period in AMC’s history.
Another chapter, another era 1970 through ’74 and “The New-Generation Cars” saw the Gremlin “introduced on April Fools’ Day” no less. Also debuting was the AMC Hornet to accompany the newly restyled Rebel. Ambassador “remained much the same” while “Mark Donohue put his mark on the Javelin,” and the “AMX was still quite a performance bargain.” In 1972 Matador was added replacing the Rebel.
The latter half of the ‘70s were fraught with challenges for the entire auto industry as it labored under “the burden of governmental Catch-22” to increase safety protections and meet requirements “without great sacrifices in power and driveablility.” AMC introduced the Pacer to accompany Gremlin, Hornet, and Matador in the lineup adding Concord in 1978 and Spirit the following year.
As the decade concluded “AMC pulled back from the brink chiefly by cutting its workforce, consolidating plants and concentrating on a few small cars and specialized vehicles.”
As chapter title indicates, the latter half of the ‘70s was challenging for AMC.
The following year with AMC still on the brink of failure Renault purchased 22.5 percent of the company with its newly introduced full-time four-wheel drive Eagle model leading to the last chapter focused on detailing products titled “The Eagle Years” and by which time Renault had increased its ownership and was exerting its influences. But even that wasn’t enough for in the end it was Chrysler (now Stelantis) acquiring AMC mainly for its Jeep brand and absorbing many of its employees.
“The Eagle Years” would prove to provide the vestiges of AMC the way forward.
Foster and Glatch wrote this: “After the sale, Bob Lutz, Chrysler’s then-president and chief operating officer—and one of the finest automotive minds in the industry—stood in awe of what AMC had accomplished, writing, ‘With almost no resources, and fighting a vastly superior enemy, they were able to roll out an impressive succession of new products.’“
The book’s concluding chapter recaps “AMC in Competition” from 1968 through 1975 while the Epilogue opens with: “Most of American Motors’ physical assets are gone today. The big factories in Kenosha and Milwaukee were knocked down years ago . . . AMC’s beautiful headquarters building in Detroit . . . was demolished more recently. The men and women who worked there continue to take pride in the legacy of a distinctive company that struggled mightily against enormous odds and succeeded for more decades than anyone thought possible.”
A fine book chronicling AMC with interior and exterior details for each model produced each year 1954 through 1988.
Copyright 2024 Helen V Hutchings (speedreaders.info)
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