AMC Ambassador
From Free net encyclopedia
The AMC Ambassador was an automobile produced by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1958 until 1974. The vehicle was known as the AMC Ambassador, Ambassador by Rambler, and Rambler Ambassador at various times during its tenure in production. Previously, the name Ambassador had applied to senior top-trim level Nash brand cars. Throughout its life, the Ambassador represented AMC's premium North American offering.
Contents |
Ambassador by Rambler, 1958-1961
Image:RamblerAmbassador59sed.jpg Following George Mason's unexpected death in the fall of 1954, George Romney (whom Mason had been grooming as his eventual successor), succeeded him. Romney recognized that the Nash and Hudson brand names no longer had any appeal in the marketplace, and that AMC's future rested with its Rambler models. While development of an all new Nash Ambassador was almost complete, designers were also working on a Hudson equivalent. Pre-production models used in early photographs show models badged as both Nash and Hudson Ambassadors (the V-shaped grill of the 1958 model was taken from the stillborn Hudson version). Before releasing the new 1958 models, Romney and senior management made the decision to end both the Nash and Hudson brands.
Rambler would be sold as a stand-alone make of American Motors. However, it was felt that the public only associated the name with small, economy models, and it was decided that the larger Ambassador would be marketed as the Ambassador by Rambler rather than as the Rambler Ambassador to lend an air of exclusivity, despite the fact that the car bore the name "Rambler Ambassador" on its front fenders.
The 1958 Ambassador was a substantially longer car than the Rambler Six and Rebel V-8, although both lines shared the same basic body, styling and visual cues. AMC stretched the wheelbase from 108" to 117" and added nine inches to the body, all ahead of the cowl. Model identification was located on the car's front fenders and rear trunk lid. Super trim level Ambassadors featured painted side trim in a color that complemented the body color; Custom models featured a silver anodized aluminum panel on sedans and vinyl woodgrain panels on station wagons. Ambassadors came in four-door sedan, four-door hardtop sedan and four-door pillared and hardtop station wagon body styles.
Model offerings remained constant, except for the departure of the hardtop station wagon after 1960. Styling remained related to the high volume Rambler line from 1958 through 1960. Image:RamblerAmbassador61Wag.jpg In 1961, however, the Ambassador received a unusual new front end design overseen by AMC's in-house design department headed by Edmund Anderson. It consisted of a trapezoidal grille and headlights that floated in a body-colored panel, while the front fenders arched downward and forward of the leading edge of the hood. Different than anything else on the market, AMC's marketing department promoted the look as "European". While the new look was meant to distinguish the Ambassador from the lower-priced Ramblers, it was neither a consumer success nor well received in the automotive press. Its failure helped to further cement the idea that the Ambassador best served AMC as an extension of the Rambler line rather than as a uniquely styled stand-alone model.
Rambler Ambassador, 1962-1965
Image:RamAmbass63 sedan.jpg Declining sales pushed AMC to fold the Ambassador into the Rambler line beginning with the 1962 model year. The 1962 Ambassador emerged as a well-appointed Rambler Classic, trimmed from the 117" wheelbase of 1961 down to the 1962 Classic's 108", and the line included a two-door pillared sedan for the first time.
Romney left AMC in 1962 to become the governor of Michigan. Meanwhile, a completely redesigned Rambler lineup appeared, following Romney's philosophy that Rambler's best chance for survival lay in smaller cars that had the greatest number of interchangeable parts. This lineup was introduced in September 1962 for the 1963 model year. The Ambassador's shape was made smoother, and considerable interchangeability between it and the Classic, and even the upcoming 1964 American, was achieved. Wheelbase was increased to 112".
Succeeding Romney as CEO was Roy Abernathy, who began planning for a larger, more elegant Ambassador for the 1965 model year.
1964 introduced minor trim changes and options. The "electric-shaver" grille on the 1963 model was replaced with a flush-mounted design, and the engine and transmission options were widened. A two-door hardtop body style was added for the first time since 1957.
By 1965, AMC shifted its focus away from compacts, based on Abernathy's belief that AMC could take on the "Big Three" automakers if their products were made more mainstream. The Ambassador's wheelbase was lengthened four inches, this time to 116".
AMC Ambassador, 1966-1974
Part of Abernathy's strategy included phasing out the Rambler name, which he believed the public associated so strongly with compacts that it was a hindrance to AMC's other models. So, for 1966, the Ambassador would be the first model badged as being a product of AMC. During these years, Ambassadors were available in base 880, midrange 990 or highline DPL trim levels.
In 1967, AMC introduced a completely restyled Ambassador, now on a 118" wheelbase. The convertible was offered again for 1967; it would be the final year for Ambassador convertibles (1,260 were built). Also in 1967, AMC shifted its fastback Rambler Marlin, rechristened as the AMC Marlin in 1966, to the longer Ambassador chassis and restyled body. While attractive, sales of the cars were disappointing. Abernathy was released from AMC by its Board of Directors later that year.
For 1968, SST trim replaced DPL trim as the Ambassador's premium trim level. AMC, which had been a pioneer in the field of air conditioning through its Kelvinator division, became the first car manufacturer to make air conditioning standard equipment on an American-built car – something that even Cadillac and Lincoln hadn't done to date. While all Ambassadors came with air conditioning as standard, consumers could order the car with a delete option and credit to the base price if they so desired. As AMC pointed out in their advertising campaign for the Ambassador, the only other make to have air conditioning as standard equipment in 1968 was Rolls-Royce.
Image:69Ambassador.jpg In 1969, the Ambassador received a major restyling, with a longer 122" wheelbase (the longest AMC ever), introduced "valley pans" along the tops of the inner fenders, and revised taillight designs that eliminated the bisected end units and replaced them with wider units. The base and DPL models had no reflector panel connecting the taillights; the DPL did.
In 1970, the rear end was treated to an overhaul, along with the concurrent Rebel intermediate. The clean rear treatment of the 1967 to 1969 models was replaced with softer styling that integrated the taillights into the bumper and included new rear quarters and a new roofline. The front grille received a modest restyling. The model continued with only minor changes through 1973.
In 1973, the Arab Oil Embargo was the crisis of the day, and big cars took a sales beating across the board. The Ambassador was no exception, with its 13 mpg fuel economy. Unfortunately, a major restyle had been in the works for two years — long before the oil shocks — and AMC was forced to introduce a bigger than ever, completely restyled 1974 Ambassador in September 1973. The 1974 Ambassador was available only as a four-door sedan and station wagon; the two-door hardtop was dropped after 1973 since the intermediate Matador would adopt a new coupe body for 1974 and the shared body would no longer be possible.
The energy crisis so deeply impacted the Ambassador's sales that in June 1974, the final Ambassador rolled off the Kenosha assembly line, bringing an end to a name that had been in continuous production for over 47 years.