When exactly did Rambler stop being a brand and become just a nameplate?
Well, it sort of depends. The 1966 Marlin and Ambassador were the first ambassadors of the new brand name, AMC. But the Classic and American soldiered on as Ramblers yet for a few more years.
The Rebel flew the Rambler coop in 1968, leaving just the American. Which was struggling by this time, as sales slipped below 100k in 1968 and 1969. AMC decided on a two-prong approach: drop its price to compete directly with the imports.
As well as drop in its hottest engine (a 390 four barrel with 315 hp) in the cartoonish Hurst SC/Rambler. But there’s no Hurst SC/Ramblers on the load being delivered; looks like one of the $1998 import-fighters.
By 1970, the name Rambler was history. 1957 to 1969; thirteen years was pretty short for a brand. But we haven’t forgotten it it, at least not hereabouts.
Of course, it was a nameplate (of Nash, and briefly, Hudson) before it was a brand that then became a nameplate. And before *that*, Rambler was a brand, sold by the Jeffereys corporation. But after 1913 (according to Wikipedia) the Jeffereys Corporation changed the name of the make to “Jefferys” and the model name became “Rambler”. How very confusing.
According to the Wikipedia article, Rambler was once the 2nd best-selling brand in the US (behind Oldsmobile). The year was 1902.
From time to time, I’ve thought of the Allman Brothers 1973 song Ramblin’ Man, a great tune where he says he was born in the back seat of a Rambler. Being the literalist that I am, that never made sense to me. Nash didn’t call their car a Rambler until 1950. The writer was 30 when the song came out, so if it was true, he’d have to have been born in one of those turn of the century Jefferys. Unlikely in 1943. Surely the car-related lyrics in a song couldn’t have been wrong?!
He was born in the backseat of a Greyhound bus, though.
Rollin’ down highway 41.
On a scratchy one-speaker AM radio of the type that was just about universally found in, umm, Ramblers, it can kinda sound like Allman is singing “Ra-a-a-mm-bler.” And, it would have made sense, as a play on “Ramblin’ Man.”
My 4 years of high school ended the same year the Rambler name disappeared. If only our family Rambler had disappeared before I started driving. If only my parents had only bought an Impala or Galaxie. If only. . . .
In retrospect, we didn’t own the Rambler forever. It just seemed that way. Whenever I see a Rambler American today, the lyrics to Frank Zappa’s “Status Back Baby” come to mind.
RIP Rambler. Hope nostalgia has the good sense to leave you dead & buried.
Given the truly massive number of dead brands Stellantis controls I wouldn’t count on a revival of any of them.
Ask your doctor if Stellantis is right for you……..
Mt brother’s father-in-law was a longtime L.A.P.D. officer and said that he and his fellow officers referred to the Matador police cars as ‘Ramblers’. The cars were well regarded be the department..
Honestly that is the best use of Stellantis, a made up drug name
I get the feeling FCA and PSA decided that “(Anything) Motors” sounded hopelessly 20th-century and intentionally chose a name that sounded more like a tech company, the better to compete with all the upcoming EV startups.
la673, maybe also to make people think it’s a new company, not carrying the baggage of Fiat and Chrysler. You don’t change a name that’s well-regarded.
There are other issues at play though; I’m sure the folks at Peugeot, Citroen, and for that matter Opel would not appreciate playing second fiddle to Fiat and Chrysler in the merged company’s name. Then there’s the matter that Fiat and Chrysler’s sales have dwindled since the FCA merger. Chrysler has only two products left, and both are in dwindling categories (large sedans, minivans). Oops, I forgot they hang two names on their minivan now – three if you include Canada – but the Voyager (US) and Grand Caravan (Canada) are just decontented Pacificas. Meanwhile, Fiat is hanging on by a thread in the US and not doing great elsewhere in the world either.
There’s another song who mentionned a Rambler titled “Sausalito Summernights” by a band from the Netherlands named Diesel and was #1 in Canada in 1981.
I don’t know if the Rambler in question was the American or the Rebel/Classic/Ambassador.
I always liked the name of Emmylou Harris’ backup band, giving abbreviated credit to Nashville, The Nash Ramblers.
And of course, the classic:
While riding in my Cadillac, what to my surprise…
Then there’s the album that was recorded entirely in a Rambler American converted into a recording studio (and the “making of” video)…
How about The Rolling Stones’ “Midnight Rambler”? (just kidding–that song was really about a serial killer . . .)
Rambler always seemed like a model name to me, but maybe that was because my mother called them Nash Ramblers. Sort of like Ram today.
Then there was that awkward period before 1972-ish when AMC became the brand name. There was American, then that “AM” logo.
The AMC brand seemed to disappear again in the last few years when the Eagle was the only real American Motors car left. This ad is from 1985, and there’s no “AMC” identification; the car is referred to as the “American Eagle”. I recall it being that way right to the end in ads and brochures.
Also, there was a few months overlap after the Eagle brand was created after the Chrysler takeover (for the Premier etc.) but before the old Eagle AWD wagon was discontinued. During that time the model was called the “Eagle Wagon”, technically making it the Eagle Eagle.
In the fall of 1979, I was standing behind two older gentlemen in a store’s checkout line. They were talking about the “new four-wheel-drive car” that had just been introduced by…”Rambler.”
They’re the sort that, twenty years earlier, would’ve referred to the Rambler as a Nash.
FWIW, the SC/Rambler was available in at least one other traditional color scheme (dark red). It’s interesting how the last line of the ad specifically mentions cars like the Roadrunner, GTO, Cobra Jet, and Mach 1, all of which seem like a better buy for the same money as the SC/Rambler (at least the Road Runner and Cobra were about the same price). No mention, at all, of more direct, compact-class competitors like the Nova SS396, Dart GTS or Swinger 340. And the very next year, the Duster 340 came out for a measily $2547. That car was a true musclecar bargain.
Further, the other musclecars all were engineered more as a whole. The SC/Rambler had performance equipment kind of tacked-on, with one of the most vivid being an aftermarket Sun tachometer attached to the steering column via a hose clamp.
On the other end of the spectrum, back then, the ‘new car for under $2,000’ was a big target to shoot for. Besides the 1969 Rambler, AMC managed to do it with the Rambler’s replacement, the Hornet, the following year. Ford, likewise, was able to hit the sub-$2,000 for a brief period with the first Mavericks before the Pinto came out.
I think you’re thinking of the Rebel Machine that came in red as an option. I’m fairly certain the SC/Rambler only came with the two variations of the red/white/blue scheme, the other more “subtle” one having blue and red rocker stripes, rather than the oddly Sox & Martin like livery with the red sides as seen in the brochure
The spec is pretty good but I agree it’s value in perspective isn’t great, and even the most garish of muscle cars weren’t even close to this level of gaudy, and had much better styling(though the Rambler hardtop was pretty attractive compared to Falcons, and the hardtop one upped the Nova).
You’re right, I was thinking of the Rebel Machine that offered a much more traditional paint scheme. With the SC/Rambler you got ‘loud’ and ‘not-as-loud’ paint. I really can’t believe they wanted so much for one, either. For the price of a big-block intermediate musclecar, you could get a ‘compact’ big-block musclecar. Doesn’t seem like much of a deal, does it?
But, yeah, a regular Rambler American hardtop wasn’t a bad looking car. Because they couldn’t compete all that well with the larger cars, AMC, like Chrysler, seemed to put more styling effort into their compacts than Ford or GM. Even the last Studebaker Larks were pretty decent looking cars.
Like that American 2 door with the dog dishes. Just like the one my father had until 74, certainly a better car for our family of 5 than the VWs Corollas and Belletts that my single aunts and uncles were driving.
I seem to recall them being quite common so I was surprised to see the low sales figures. I wonder if they proportionally sold better in Canada much like Matrix/Vibes and Focus wagons did later?
That car you like looks just like one a friend’s older brother got from his grandma around 1975 or so. Light green, 3 speed and vacuum wipers – there could not have been many options on it. My opinion of the car was not helped that its owner was the cheapest human being on the earth and drove the car like every 1/8 inch pressed on the accelerator was going to get him a $40 fine. It was surely a slow car for anyone, but with that guy driving you needed time lapse photography to get any sense of acceleration.
A freind had a 66 Rambler that had oiling problems. The engine was sludged up to the point that the valves weren’t getting enough oil. His mechanic rigged up a pump to inject oil directly through the Valve cover to splash lubricate the valves. It worked. It smoked like Humphrey Bogart but it worked.
By 1970, the name Rambler was history.
In the US it was, but elsewhere in the world Rambler still had aways to go. The Rambler brand lasted through 1977 in the UK and Australia, and all the way through 1983 in Mexico where you could buy a Rambler Gremlin in the ’80s (the Spirit name wasn’t used there, although it got the Spirit updates like the larger side window). As for the cars themselves, Argentinians could buy a Renault Torino as late as 1981, which was a cleverly facelifted 1960s Rambler American.
…very cleverly facelifted. Here’s the interior and frontal view.
Interestingly other than the added Inboard lights and the loop bumper the grille shape is very similar to to the Tarpon concept
Very nice indeed, very European looking. I wonder what would’ve happened if AMC had done that instead of coming out with the oh-so-American looking Hornet?
In Australia there was a lot of anti-US feeling among younger folk back then because of the Vietnam war. We picked up the vibes in school, and had several teachers who stirred it up (ironically one was American!). I won’t comment on their politics, but you can guess. Of course the media did what media always seems to do best, and tried to whip it up even more.
Let’s just say that a name change to American Motors was just what Australia did not need right then, if they wanted to sell many cars. But then the French started nuclear tests in the Pacific, and everyone seemed to forgive or forget America.
“Rambler” lasted longer than “Geo” (9 model years).
That IH cab reminds me of the school buses I rode from first through eighth grade. I can still here Mrs. Kingsley winding that thing out in first gear!
The staying power of the Rambler name is pretty impressive, considering a lot of American Motors more notable products were made after the name was gone, but many people still referred AMCs as that fondly or derogatorily. Rambler stuck around as an informal name for American Motors et al, yet it doesn’t seem like Nash stuck around very long after it was put to sleep(or were there sticklers calling Ramblers Nashes in the 50s-60s?)
Rambler/AMCs sedans I’m sure we’re practical but they really did lack style as expressed by this dorky load. The American had a beautiful hardtop design(even if a bit dated by 1969)and I really like the Rebel/Ambassador 2 door hardtops, very underrated. Only thing I don’t really find attractive about the Rebel in this year was the grille surrounding the inboard headlamps with the outboard headlamps in their own little surround, it’s like they were trying to give it a Mustang like aesthetic in the cheapest way possible.
Always thought this model of Internationals looked rather droopy and sad.
The ‘Rambler’ name became synonymous the target market who largely bought them, with dowdy old maid schoolteacher or librarians, grandmas, and miserable miserly old cheapskate pinchpennies and grouches. ‘Youthful and exciting’ never came to mind when Ramblers were the object of attention. AMC, in an effort to recast itself as a youthful, energetic company in the late 1960’s, sought to diminish the Rambler name as a drag on its image. Youthful as ‘in’ then, and AMC tried to change to convince people it was too.
The only other car with an image as dowdy was the Studebaker Lark…
1969. We had put a man on the moon, but were still using black and white film!
…and the Rambler still had vacuum wipers. lol
Rambler and American Motors had such a dorky image that when my mother decided it was time for new, larger refrigerator in 1964, my brother and I tried to convince her to by a Frigidaire (part of vaunted General Motors at the time) rather than a Kelvinator. She went ahead with Kelvinator and I recall that “AM” logo.
The lounge in my college dormitory circa 1985 had a Kelvinator fridge in it, with “Product of American Motors” labeling on the inside on the lamp shield, which was the first time I was aware AMC had an appliance division (nice-looking fridge by the way, with extensive use of clear blue plastic and glass inside). I later learned that meant the refrigerator was made in 1968 at the latest.
As it turned out, the same company that gobbled up Kelvinator also wound up buying the appliance divisions of GM (Frigidaire), Ford (Philco), and Studebaker (Franklin, which made private-label appliances for Sears/Kenmore and Montgomery Ward). That company was White Consolidated Industries, a sister company to the White truck company. WCI itself got bought out by Electrolux in 1987.
Going the other way… either Rambler or Nash (I forgot which, maybe both?) sported the Kelvinator name on the VIN plate.
The full name of the company was Nash-Kelvinator Corporation after the 1937 merger that combined the companies. Although several automakers dabbled in the appliance business, only Nash gave the appliance division equal weight in the corporate name – they were a refrigerator company as much as a car company. Nash had some of the most advanced air conditioning in their 1950s cars, likely helped by Kelvinator’s experience.
Nash’s “Weather Eye” heating and defrosting system, introduced in the late 1930s, set the standard for the industry. The control panel for the heating and air conditioning in our 1973 Gremlin featured the “Weather Eye” name.
But, did the Nash name get such an obvious nod back from the Kelvinator division? I don’t believe it did. Maybe?
Odd you mention the Weather Eye. I have a Weather Eye AC technical introduction piece floating around my office. I’ve been trying to get around to reading it for some time.
But, did the Nash name get an obvious nod back from the Kelvinator division? I don’t believe it did. Maybe?
Odd you mention the Weather Eye. I have a Weather Eye AC technical introduction piece floating around my office. I’ve been trying to get around to reading it for some time.
My Father owned 2 Rambler Classics in a row, a ’61 and a ’63…both green, both with the 6, probably AM radio, and I think the ’63 had an electric rear window (the ’61 I think was crank operated). By June of 1965, they were gone, as my Father was in an accident right outside our Motel (we were moving from Catonsville Md to Burlington Vt and had to vacate our (ex) house…we were used to moving quite a lot in those days, as my Dad’s occupation moved him around the country for different employers…but he did get to stay almost 40 years in his last home (where my Mother and Sister still live).
No one else in their families had Ramblers, nor Nashes…in fact they were on their first cars (ever), my Grandfather bought his first and only car (’51 Chrysler), before that, my Mom remembers them taking the bus and walking (pretty much everywhere in their locality). My Dad’s family was similar, though he bought his first new car in 1956, a Plymouth, his father seemed to borrow vehicles when they needed them, and until 1963 didn’t own a vehicle. Neither of my Grandmothers died without ever having learned to drive a car. Wonder where my interest in cars came from, maybe more from the lack of cars in my early life.
If I were to choose, I’d go for a very early (1970-1972) Hornet, 2 door…I really like how they look, though the late 60’s Ramblers are nice too…but I’d prefer to avoid the trunions, so Hornet would be my preference.