Three views of Garrett Rambler’s warehouse sale, taken by Forth Worth’s WBAP-TV in 1963.
Vintage Dealer Snapshots: A Rambler Warehouse In 1963
– Posted on November 6, 2023
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Curbside Classics Archives
Three views of Garrett Rambler’s warehouse sale, taken by Forth Worth’s WBAP-TV in 1963.
That’s awesome!
No hail damage to deal with, the cars stayed out of the blazing Ft.Worth sun. I’d have gone there just to shop without being outside in 108 degree heat. Like a kid at a candy store.
This was in 1964 when AMC was really a big player.
Very clever for marketing, in a state like Texas. The warehouse interior has an agricultural look and feel, like a cattle sales barn. As the patriotic bunting, adds to the ‘County Fair’ vibe. While the warehouse, and ‘bulk’ sales environment, helps buyers think they are getting the lowest prices. Great concept, and very practical!
As for the Rambler Classic, before my time, but one of the cleanest domestic cars of the era IMO. They aged better into the 1970s, than many early ’60s designs. Such as most pre-Engel Chrysler products, which did not date well.
The exposed rafters remind me of another favourite Rambler Classic image, I’ve posted here before. A Classic in front of the then new Ottawa Station in 1966.
That’s because it IS a cattle barn. Garrett Rambler rented some of the barns at the Will Rogers Coliseum for a big “warehouse sale” (“Biggest selection of Ramblers under one roof!”)
Of course using cattle barns as car showrooms brings a whole new definition to the “new car smell,” but folks in Ft. Worth in 1963 may not have minded…
Here’s an ad for the event:
Thanks for looking into this! All makes sense. I mistakenly was originally thinking this was a production facility, or warehouse. The rectangular windows, and window style, contributing to me thinking in this direction.
We have our own cattle barn located here in downtown Ottawa, built in 1898, that seems perfect for a car sales event. Known as the Aberdeen Pavilion, the exhibition hall hosted cattle exhibits during the annual Central Canada Exhibition, for decades. It has never hosted an automotive sale, as the building has been city-owned, since new.
Wow – that’s the nicest-looking cattle barn I’ve ever seen!
Built during the Victorian era on the annual exhibition site, they added more detail and elegance to the structure, when under design.
Note the workers sitting on the frame, while under construction, in the upper left corner.
As it was a cattle barn, it was allowed to deteriorate at times during its lifespan. Early 1900s.
The ’63 Rambler Classic was the direction that US full size cars should have gone in, instead of increasing their size and weight in the decade that followed, worthy of their COTY award from MT and one of the best and most practical all-around family cars of the ’60s imo. great Pics!
I love the idea of a bunch of Ramblers in a cattle barn. I can only imagine the questions:
How do they steer?
I can’t find ones with leather – that’s because cow hide.
Did they move elderly, stodgy customers along by saying get along little fogey?
Sorry. But this is both cool and hilarious all at once.
Impressive display of parking skills, especially since it was a short event. All those cars needed to be moved through the narrow aisles and parked FAST.
That’s one heck of a bunch of “Ramblers”!!
Neat ~
Being TEXAS it wasn’t cool inside that barn but so many Ramblers, it boggles my mind to think how much $ is tied up right there .
-Nate
Lots of wagons here. Seems like wagons were always a healthy percentage of AMC sales.