Happy Mother’s Day! Many Happy memories of my late mom driving our 1950 Nash AMBASSADOR ❤. Great car kept until 59 with NO problems. Only traded (for a DeSoto with power steering) when arthritis made it difficult for her to park the Upside-down Bathtub 😉 which did not have power steering. While a far departure from traditional Nash, the 58 and 59 Rambler Classics and AMBASSADORS were actually good looking cars with many Nash features carried over.👍. From then on it was down hill for AMC larger cars! This illustration shows Rambler to great advantage. The AMBASSADOR was even better! 😎
All the advertising people loved featuring that 4-door hardtop. I, however, do not ever recall actually seeing one of them in real life. I would love to know how many they actually built – I’ll bet it was mighty few.
My inspection guy has that model in wagon its a very well specced car V8 factory air power glass and in good rust free condition, LHD and was found where rust isnt in the US, you guys wil know where that is.
They were introduced with the all-new 1956 models. Probably not very strong sellers for two reasons: Rambler buyers bought them for their practicality, not style. A typical Rambler buyer probably thought why spend more for a probably less sturdy more likely to leak window arrangement, and that rear quarter window not going away kind of ruined the effect anyway. Four door hardtop wagons showed up now and then in the fifties: 1957-60 Mercurys and 1957-58 Buicks and Oldsmobiles. Then some later GM wagons.
My dream garage might contain a 1956 Cross Country hardtop wagon. It’s a pretty amazing design. From a practical standpoint they and the all-new 1963 version suffered from one serious drawback: their coil spring rear suspension design meant a high floor in the way back, and the down sloping roof further reduced the height back there. They should have just used leaf springs in the wagon rear suspension.
A white roof like the one on the red Rambler hardtop is a nice feature in hot weather, especially if the car does not have A/C. Even with A/C, a white roof aids in comfort.
So why (looking at a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XSE web site) is a black roof the most common, if not the only, option for two tone painted cars?
1958 & ’59 Rambler brochures did an excellent job of making these cars look as long, bright and colorful as the “Bulgemobiles” Romney was railing against.
Size & economy may have been more “European”, but according to test reports, steering and handling weren’t. And the riding qualities were only mediocre, compared to the “Jet-Smooth” effect achieved by the Big 3. However, the handy size and tight build made up for this to many buyers. If I get to drive one, I can give you a more accurate report.
I would have liked to see separate Nash Ambassador and Hudson Hornet versions of the 1958 “Ambassador” with distinctive styling and features, but Romney nixed this last minute. As it was, only about 7,000 Ambassadors were sold in ’58, roughly the same as the ’57 Nash/Hudson total.
Rambler production was high and growing, but survival rate was about the same as contemporary Mopars–abysmal. Haven’t seen one in the longest time. Even in the ’80s I didn’t see them. One showed up on local CL–a pink one, but it was sold as a parts car and had no title.
The ungainly Continental Kit some of these came with ruined any advantage of compactness, and probably made the handling even worse!
The four door American sedans and wagons were tough and rattle free even when ten years old and having had little servicing or maintenance in rural new England .
They weren’t quick much less fast but they had great heaters and even when hauling around loads of whiny unhappy kids they soldiered on and the windows worked, tail gate latches didn’t fail etc .
Even the owners I remember were pretty apathetic about these things .
In 1969 ~ 1970 I logged a fair amount of time in the back seat of the American wagon, looking back it wasn’t a bad car at all but simply because it was a Rambler it was hated and made fun of endlessly .
Simply love 4 door pillarless hardtops. The small number of 1958 Ramblers that made it to Australia as new cars were all fixed ´B’ pillar versions. There may have been the odd 4 door hardtop but they would have been seriously exotic cars.
Makes you wonder if a surviving ‘58 Rambler 4 door hardtop today has become really collectable.
’58 was probably the peak year for these, but my parents waited a few more years and bought 2 Classic wagons in a row, a ’61 and ’63, both new, both green. My Dad’s no longer around (and my Mom wouldn’t know) why we bought them only 2 years apart. I do know why the ’63 stuck around only till April of ’65, my Dad was in an accident right in front of our motel room in Catonsville, on route 40, one guy waved my dad through into the parking lot whereas a guy in the other lane clobbered the ’63, totalling it. We’d just vacated our home less than 2 miles away, as we were moving to Vermont (first of 2 times)….my Dad was in the same career from graduation in ’56 till he retired in ’90, but he had many employers especially early on, and he had to work at their site, so we moved a lot back then.
First one was bought in Compton, CA. Not sure about the ’63, but probably around Murraysville PA. I speculate that the ’61 was in some dust storm when we moved back east (imagine moving from LA basin to Pittsburgh area in early 60’s…everyone thought my parents were crazy). Before that, my Dad had a ’56 Plymouth Plaza he bought after undergraduate studies were done. He didn’t know my Mom yet, so it had manual transmission, probably only a heater. Guess he went down a size buying the Rambler to replace it. Both Ramblers were 6’s, but with automatic because of my Mom. Wagon, probably due to my sister and I who came as a package, we had lots of baby junk to go with us. Though Mom, my sister and I flew to California from mid Atlantic, by the time we moved back east we were deemed old enough to endure the ride back (My Dad drove the Plaza himself to California, not only that, but toting a cooler full of a dangerous chemical packed in dry ice he needed for his job…never asked him what it was (2nd question I’d wished I’d asked him before he passed) but know he did run out of dry ice and had to stop at a military base (he had been in the Army before and wasn’t intimidated about stopping, especially since there were no nearby alternatives). We had the metal cooler he bought for the trip for many years, stood out since it was substantial and coolers seemed to be made not so well only a few years later (by late 60’s) compared to the ’59 he bought for the trip.
” … dangerous chemical packed in dry ice … 2nd question I’d wished I’d asked him … had to stop at a military base …” .
I’m probably not the only reader here wondering what mid-1960s “chemical” one might transport in a cooler, in a car, that needs dry ice.
But at the same time (late 1960s) I was able to buy gallons of chlordane to use against termites in my first house. Chlordane was banned in 1988 for all uses in the United States.
I remember these cars and they didn’t look long and low like this drawing .
Decent little cars IMO .
-Nate
Happy Mother’s Day! Many Happy memories of my late mom driving our 1950 Nash AMBASSADOR ❤. Great car kept until 59 with NO problems. Only traded (for a DeSoto with power steering) when arthritis made it difficult for her to park the Upside-down Bathtub 😉 which did not have power steering. While a far departure from traditional Nash, the 58 and 59 Rambler Classics and AMBASSADORS were actually good looking cars with many Nash features carried over.👍. From then on it was down hill for AMC larger cars! This illustration shows Rambler to great advantage. The AMBASSADOR was even better! 😎
Love the ad! Thanks for bringing it to us. Happy Mother’s Day to our lady members.
All the advertising people loved featuring that 4-door hardtop. I, however, do not ever recall actually seeing one of them in real life. I would love to know how many they actually built – I’ll bet it was mighty few.
My inspection guy has that model in wagon its a very well specced car V8 factory air power glass and in good rust free condition, LHD and was found where rust isnt in the US, you guys wil know where that is.
A 4dr hardtop wagon? Wow, that’s gotta be rare!
They were introduced with the all-new 1956 models. Probably not very strong sellers for two reasons: Rambler buyers bought them for their practicality, not style. A typical Rambler buyer probably thought why spend more for a probably less sturdy more likely to leak window arrangement, and that rear quarter window not going away kind of ruined the effect anyway. Four door hardtop wagons showed up now and then in the fifties: 1957-60 Mercurys and 1957-58 Buicks and Oldsmobiles. Then some later GM wagons.
My dream garage might contain a 1956 Cross Country hardtop wagon. It’s a pretty amazing design. From a practical standpoint they and the all-new 1963 version suffered from one serious drawback: their coil spring rear suspension design meant a high floor in the way back, and the down sloping roof further reduced the height back there. They should have just used leaf springs in the wagon rear suspension.
A white roof like the one on the red Rambler hardtop is a nice feature in hot weather, especially if the car does not have A/C. Even with A/C, a white roof aids in comfort.
So why (looking at a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XSE web site) is a black roof the most common, if not the only, option for two tone painted cars?
Serious answer : because looking cool is more important to the average vehicle buyer .
-Nate
1958 & ’59 Rambler brochures did an excellent job of making these cars look as long, bright and colorful as the “Bulgemobiles” Romney was railing against.
Size & economy may have been more “European”, but according to test reports, steering and handling weren’t. And the riding qualities were only mediocre, compared to the “Jet-Smooth” effect achieved by the Big 3. However, the handy size and tight build made up for this to many buyers. If I get to drive one, I can give you a more accurate report.
I would have liked to see separate Nash Ambassador and Hudson Hornet versions of the 1958 “Ambassador” with distinctive styling and features, but Romney nixed this last minute. As it was, only about 7,000 Ambassadors were sold in ’58, roughly the same as the ’57 Nash/Hudson total.
Rambler production was high and growing, but survival rate was about the same as contemporary Mopars–abysmal. Haven’t seen one in the longest time. Even in the ’80s I didn’t see them. One showed up on local CL–a pink one, but it was sold as a parts car and had no title.
The ungainly Continental Kit some of these came with ruined any advantage of compactness, and probably made the handling even worse!
The four door American sedans and wagons were tough and rattle free even when ten years old and having had little servicing or maintenance in rural new England .
They weren’t quick much less fast but they had great heaters and even when hauling around loads of whiny unhappy kids they soldiered on and the windows worked, tail gate latches didn’t fail etc .
Even the owners I remember were pretty apathetic about these things .
Nevertheless they kept on going .
-Nate
Proof that if you look are enough, you can find a praise worthy in almost any car. Our ‘59 Rambler American did indeed have a great heater.
Rob ;
In 1969 ~ 1970 I logged a fair amount of time in the back seat of the American wagon, looking back it wasn’t a bad car at all but simply because it was a Rambler it was hated and made fun of endlessly .
-Nate
Weather Eye!
Simply love 4 door pillarless hardtops. The small number of 1958 Ramblers that made it to Australia as new cars were all fixed ´B’ pillar versions. There may have been the odd 4 door hardtop but they would have been seriously exotic cars.
Makes you wonder if a surviving ‘58 Rambler 4 door hardtop today has become really collectable.
’58 was probably the peak year for these, but my parents waited a few more years and bought 2 Classic wagons in a row, a ’61 and ’63, both new, both green. My Dad’s no longer around (and my Mom wouldn’t know) why we bought them only 2 years apart. I do know why the ’63 stuck around only till April of ’65, my Dad was in an accident right in front of our motel room in Catonsville, on route 40, one guy waved my dad through into the parking lot whereas a guy in the other lane clobbered the ’63, totalling it. We’d just vacated our home less than 2 miles away, as we were moving to Vermont (first of 2 times)….my Dad was in the same career from graduation in ’56 till he retired in ’90, but he had many employers especially early on, and he had to work at their site, so we moved a lot back then.
First one was bought in Compton, CA. Not sure about the ’63, but probably around Murraysville PA. I speculate that the ’61 was in some dust storm when we moved back east (imagine moving from LA basin to Pittsburgh area in early 60’s…everyone thought my parents were crazy). Before that, my Dad had a ’56 Plymouth Plaza he bought after undergraduate studies were done. He didn’t know my Mom yet, so it had manual transmission, probably only a heater. Guess he went down a size buying the Rambler to replace it. Both Ramblers were 6’s, but with automatic because of my Mom. Wagon, probably due to my sister and I who came as a package, we had lots of baby junk to go with us. Though Mom, my sister and I flew to California from mid Atlantic, by the time we moved back east we were deemed old enough to endure the ride back (My Dad drove the Plaza himself to California, not only that, but toting a cooler full of a dangerous chemical packed in dry ice he needed for his job…never asked him what it was (2nd question I’d wished I’d asked him before he passed) but know he did run out of dry ice and had to stop at a military base (he had been in the Army before and wasn’t intimidated about stopping, especially since there were no nearby alternatives). We had the metal cooler he bought for the trip for many years, stood out since it was substantial and coolers seemed to be made not so well only a few years later (by late 60’s) compared to the ’59 he bought for the trip.
” … dangerous chemical packed in dry ice … 2nd question I’d wished I’d asked him … had to stop at a military base …” .
I’m probably not the only reader here wondering what mid-1960s “chemical” one might transport in a cooler, in a car, that needs dry ice.
But at the same time (late 1960s) I was able to buy gallons of chlordane to use against termites in my first house. Chlordane was banned in 1988 for all uses in the United States.