Great images which highlight how far Rambler/AMC production had fallen from the dizzying height of third place in 1961 (behind Chevrolet and Ford) to dead last behind ‘any’ Big 3 division in 1977.
Posts like this make me wonder, if I had been a new-car buyer in the mid-60s, if I might have chosen an AMC/Rambler. I root for the underdog, and tend to prefer simple and practical cars. Then again, I probably would have picked a nice Nova or a basic Chevelle for about the same money…
By the mid-70s, yeah, AMC was a combination of weird new models (Matador coupe, Pacer) and quickly aging older designs (Hornet, Gremlin), and was completely off my list.
One of the great ‘what ifs’ in AMC history will always be Roy Abernethy’s decision to spend AMC’s precious resources on expanding the line-up in an attempt to go model-to-model with the Big 3 instead of using the money to modernize AMC’s existing small cars to better compete with the Big 3’s compacts. The Rambler American was okay, but every year it got further and further behind as the Big 3 updated their cars.
In fact, AMC might even have been able to get a legitimate subcompact to market to do battle with the VW Beetle years before the Big 3, instead of the lame, sawed-off version of the Hornet that was the Gremlin.
Remember the first Hyundai Excels? Did you buy one – or two? That’s what AMC was offering. Old cars with new bodies. While an AMC held up better than those Excels – how long do you think you can keep reselling the old cars underneath those contemporary styles? Same market too – AMC sold cars to blue collar working families and folks needing a new ride but hadn’t the cash. Coming from a blue collar working neighborhood only 100 miles from Kenosha, you bet there were many dozens AMC products on our block. Yet – Hyundai nearly was out of business within a decade, too.
I remember AMC well. We had them. They were slow obsolete cars that held together well and looked as good as the Detroit Big 3. But you don’t take profits and make Marlins, Ambassadors, Pacers and Matadors expecting your Hornets, Gremlins and Javelins to freeze in 1970 mechanically and yet still sell in 1974.
If you had bought one of those first Excels, then it is possible that you might have bought an AMC product 25 years earlier. Same market, same idea.
It was the plight of the independents. They could update the chassis/drivetrain, or update the sheetmetal, but they didn’t have the money to do both. A terrific example of this was the good ‘ole, Hail Mary Studebaker Avanti. Completely revolutionary, modern styling, but on the old 1953 chassis.
The cheaper route of the two was the styling change, so, that’s exactly what the independents were forced to do, while the Big 3, with their much larger resources, were always able to stay way ahead of them.
It’s funny… I well know that infrequent styling updates (especially) or mechanical updates were the kiss of death in this era, but having grown up in that slightly later era where GM proved that they could keep offering the same truck for 15 model years (and Suburbans for 19), it doesn’t turn me off as much as it probably should.
My paternal grandparents did buy a new 1978 Concord on its merits, even though they probably could’ve afforded something much more costly. It was actually the car I rode home from the hospital in as a newborn, and they had it long enough that I remember it being parked in the garage and that it was a metallic coffee brown color. Was remembered as a very good car, except that the gear position pointer in the instrument cluster never pointed to the right gear, and the dealer never could figure out how to fix it.
The photos bring back memories…in my hometown, the railroad tracks ran right through the town square until they were removed in the summer of 1985. Beginning in August, the trains would be loaded with next year’s models. In those pre-internet days, that was the first chance to actually see the changes in next year’s models.
By the 1978 model year, those Pacer wagons and Matador sedans were virtually impossible to sell against the latest and greatest from the Big Three. Our local AMC/Pontiac dealer had two 1978 Pacer wagons, and both were loaded D/L models. I don’t remember him stocking any other Pacers during the 1978 model year.
The only thing harder to sell than a Pacer wagon was a Pacer coupe.
The top photo shows 1966 models going by the vertical taillights on the Classic wagons (the ’65 wagons had horizontal taillights similar to those of the sedans).
The basic American on top in dark blue has a certain appeal.
It’s interesting on the first train, that all of them have wheelcovers or hubcaps installed, except for the brownish Ambassador wagon! Wonder if it had the fancy optional wheelcovers? Or if they had been stolen at a stop along the way! For a little AMC trivia, anyone know what item none of those AMCs had installed at the factory, that most would have installed at the dealerships?
Thought about that as well. All vehicles also locked….otherwise a hobo’in free for all. And if ever sitting in a rail siding area today, would graffiti and tagging be a concern (no shrink wrap).
Kinda funny. AMC then was considered quirky and odd. The cars in the newer photo look better now than they did when they were new. Testament to the design of Dick Teague.
Hope we can get a pic of the “next car” , on the “60’s train pic. I see the tail end of Ford Fairlane’s in the pic here!!
Always had/have soft spot for the “67’s”.
(Cue the “Dragnet music)
It was a lot more fun before the sides of the vehicle carrier racks got enclosed. In the 1960’s, we would watch for the trains that had the new models being shipped before introduction to see next year’s styling. It was a brief glimpse, but it was fun for car-crazed youths.
Love those American club coupes. They weren’t nearly as common as the Classics. I suspect they were for fleet sales.
Matador Barcelona Edition!
Yes! I also like that the Concord sedan also has the same two-tone paint scheme as the Matador Barcelona.
Great images which highlight how far Rambler/AMC production had fallen from the dizzying height of third place in 1961 (behind Chevrolet and Ford) to dead last behind ‘any’ Big 3 division in 1977.
Posts like this make me wonder, if I had been a new-car buyer in the mid-60s, if I might have chosen an AMC/Rambler. I root for the underdog, and tend to prefer simple and practical cars. Then again, I probably would have picked a nice Nova or a basic Chevelle for about the same money…
By the mid-70s, yeah, AMC was a combination of weird new models (Matador coupe, Pacer) and quickly aging older designs (Hornet, Gremlin), and was completely off my list.
One of the great ‘what ifs’ in AMC history will always be Roy Abernethy’s decision to spend AMC’s precious resources on expanding the line-up in an attempt to go model-to-model with the Big 3 instead of using the money to modernize AMC’s existing small cars to better compete with the Big 3’s compacts. The Rambler American was okay, but every year it got further and further behind as the Big 3 updated their cars.
In fact, AMC might even have been able to get a legitimate subcompact to market to do battle with the VW Beetle years before the Big 3, instead of the lame, sawed-off version of the Hornet that was the Gremlin.
Remember the first Hyundai Excels? Did you buy one – or two? That’s what AMC was offering. Old cars with new bodies. While an AMC held up better than those Excels – how long do you think you can keep reselling the old cars underneath those contemporary styles? Same market too – AMC sold cars to blue collar working families and folks needing a new ride but hadn’t the cash. Coming from a blue collar working neighborhood only 100 miles from Kenosha, you bet there were many dozens AMC products on our block. Yet – Hyundai nearly was out of business within a decade, too.
I remember AMC well. We had them. They were slow obsolete cars that held together well and looked as good as the Detroit Big 3. But you don’t take profits and make Marlins, Ambassadors, Pacers and Matadors expecting your Hornets, Gremlins and Javelins to freeze in 1970 mechanically and yet still sell in 1974.
If you had bought one of those first Excels, then it is possible that you might have bought an AMC product 25 years earlier. Same market, same idea.
It was the plight of the independents. They could update the chassis/drivetrain, or update the sheetmetal, but they didn’t have the money to do both. A terrific example of this was the good ‘ole, Hail Mary Studebaker Avanti. Completely revolutionary, modern styling, but on the old 1953 chassis.
The cheaper route of the two was the styling change, so, that’s exactly what the independents were forced to do, while the Big 3, with their much larger resources, were always able to stay way ahead of them.
It’s funny… I well know that infrequent styling updates (especially) or mechanical updates were the kiss of death in this era, but having grown up in that slightly later era where GM proved that they could keep offering the same truck for 15 model years (and Suburbans for 19), it doesn’t turn me off as much as it probably should.
My paternal grandparents did buy a new 1978 Concord on its merits, even though they probably could’ve afforded something much more costly. It was actually the car I rode home from the hospital in as a newborn, and they had it long enough that I remember it being parked in the garage and that it was a metallic coffee brown color. Was remembered as a very good car, except that the gear position pointer in the instrument cluster never pointed to the right gear, and the dealer never could figure out how to fix it.
I shopped them. One short test ride and I knew it was “NO”.. lol
The photos bring back memories…in my hometown, the railroad tracks ran right through the town square until they were removed in the summer of 1985. Beginning in August, the trains would be loaded with next year’s models. In those pre-internet days, that was the first chance to actually see the changes in next year’s models.
By the 1978 model year, those Pacer wagons and Matador sedans were virtually impossible to sell against the latest and greatest from the Big Three. Our local AMC/Pontiac dealer had two 1978 Pacer wagons, and both were loaded D/L models. I don’t remember him stocking any other Pacers during the 1978 model year.
The only thing harder to sell than a Pacer wagon was a Pacer coupe.
Trunions on a train.
Starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker?
The top photo shows 1966 models going by the vertical taillights on the Classic wagons (the ’65 wagons had horizontal taillights similar to those of the sedans).
The basic American on top in dark blue has a certain appeal.
Liking the “2 door Classic /post sdn) . Not sure I’ve ever seen one in the real world.
It’s interesting on the first train, that all of them have wheelcovers or hubcaps installed, except for the brownish Ambassador wagon! Wonder if it had the fancy optional wheelcovers? Or if they had been stolen at a stop along the way! For a little AMC trivia, anyone know what item none of those AMCs had installed at the factory, that most would have installed at the dealerships?
Thought about that as well. All vehicles also locked….otherwise a hobo’in free for all. And if ever sitting in a rail siding area today, would graffiti and tagging be a concern (no shrink wrap).
Kinda funny. AMC then was considered quirky and odd. The cars in the newer photo look better now than they did when they were new. Testament to the design of Dick Teague.
Hope we can get a pic of the “next car” , on the “60’s train pic. I see the tail end of Ford Fairlane’s in the pic here!!
Always had/have soft spot for the “67’s”.
(Cue the “Dragnet music)
It was a lot more fun before the sides of the vehicle carrier racks got enclosed. In the 1960’s, we would watch for the trains that had the new models being shipped before introduction to see next year’s styling. It was a brief glimpse, but it was fun for car-crazed youths.