AMC – some fun facts
| What year was American Motors Corporation created? |
1954. The Corporate Merger creating AMC occurred May 1, 1954, combining two of the oldest independent automakers in America.
| Which two Independent US Automakers merged to form AMC? |
Nash and Hudson. Nash had gone through various names since its corporate founding in 1902 as the Thomas B. Jeffery Co, maker of Rambler automobiles. The Jeffery nameplate was applied in 1913, and became Nash in 1917. Hudson was formed in 1909, and started selling cars to the public in 1910.
| What was the last year of production for both the Nash and Hudson automobiles? |
1957. Both the Nash and Hudson badges were discontinued after the 1957 models, due primarily to slow sales and the costs that would be incurred in retooling the 1952-era body shells. AMC decided to "bet the farm" on the Rambler Nameplate.
| The Metropolitan, a "captive import" sourced from Austin of England, was badged as a: |
Nash, Hudson, and American Motors. Metropolitans were introduced as Nashes, and following the merger, were badged also as Hudsons- the badges were the only difference-- After the discontinuation of the Nash and Hudson badges after the '57 model year, they were marketed as "Metropolitan, by American Motors".
| What year was the Rambler American introduced? |
1958. The American was introduced in '58 as a reaction to increasing sales in the US by Volkswagen, Renault and others of compact cars. It was actually a re-issue of 1955 Nash Rambler tooling, with rather minor styling changes.
| What year did the Rambler line win Motor Trend Magazine's coveted "Car of the Year Award"? |
1963. The COTY award was presented on the strength of the totally redesigned Classic and Ambassador series, a very sensible, practical design for the era.
| The 327 V8 found in many AMC products in the late 50's and 60's was made by which manufacturer? |
American Motors. The American Motors 327 was introduced in 1957. It's a common misconception that it's a Chevrolet engine, since it shares the same displacement. Chevy's 327 was introduced in 1962, five years later.
| The Rambler Classic was replaced by which model in the AMC lineup? |
Rebel. The Rebel was introduced in 1966 as the Rambler Classic Rebel, replacing the 1965 model Classic 770H 2 door hardtop as the top of the line model. In 1967, the Rebel nameplate was applied to all of Rambler's "mid size" models.
| The Rambler Marlin was introduced in what year? |
1965. The Marlin was an ill-fated response to the Ford Mustang, and was hastily "cobbled up" onto a Classic bodyshell. It was based on the 1964 Typhoon show car, which was based on the smaller American body shell, and was much better looking.
| The '67 Marlin, which was the final year, was based on which AMC bodyshell? |
Ambassador. The Last Year Marlin was the rarest of the three years' production, only 2,545 made, but arguably were the best looking. They were discontinued primarily in order to make production room for upcoming new models.
| What was the LARGEST V8 ever factory installed in an AMC or Rambler vehicle? |
401 cid. The 401 was introduced for 1971, and was discontinued after 1974, except for police use in 1975.
| The 1968 AMX was a shortened version of which other AMC model? |
Javelin. The Javelin was a more proper reaction to the "pony cars" popularized initially by the Ford Mustang.
| The last rear wheel drive AMC convertible was the: |
1968 Rebel. The Alliance was FRONT wheel drive. '68 Rebels are quite rare; only 377 of the base model 550's were made and 823 of the plusher SST model were made.
| The SC/Rambler was created with input from whom? |
Hurst. 390 V8, 315 horse, 10.2:1 compression in a lightweight American 2 door hardtop bodyshell... A real screamer, there were only about 1,512 made. 14.2 quarter mile times were very common with no modifications. 12's were easily attainable! This from a RAMBLER!
| The Rebel Machine was based on which AMC model? |
Rebel. The 1970 Rebel Machine had a similar 390 V8 to the SC/Rambler. Only 2.326 were made, and boasted 340 horsepower in this application.
| The Gremlin was a shortened version of which AMC product? |
Hornet. The Gremlin was the first shot fired in the US "Subcompact" war of the early 70's, preceeding the Pinto and the Vega by about 6 months. It was introduced in the spring of 1970. As an aside, the rear seat from a 4 passenger Gremlin (there were Gremlins without rear seats) will bolt right into a 68-70 2 seater AMX... hmmmmmmmm....
| The last Ambassador was made in what year? |
1974. The last Ambassador was the 74. It was always based on the mid size AMC (Classic, Rebel or Matador), and when the Matador coupe was redesigned for '74, it was determined that the swoopy coupe style wouldn't suit the Ambassador, plus the largest of cars weren't selling well in the first US Gas "Crisis"...
| The Pacer was originally designed for what type of engine? |
Rotary. During the Pacer's gestation, General Motors was working on a Rotary of its own that they had agreed to supply to AMC for the upcoming Pacer, as well as their own Monza for 1975. GM pulled the plug on the program just about 6 months prior to production, and AMC, after spending tons of money to develop a car for the motor to go into, had to redesign at the last minute for an inline 6.
| The Pacer was available with a V8 in which model years? |
78 and 79. They're rare, but they were there, in 78 and 79- 304 V8's. That's why the front end of the Pacer was (unsuccessfully) restyled for 1978- to accomodate the V8. AMC was attempting to reposition the Pacer as a "personal luxury coupe" a la the Cutlass Supreme and Cordoba, since it had failed in its original mission as an economy car.
| Chrysler purchased a controlling interest in AMC/Jeep from Renault in which year? |
1987. Within just a few months of the announcement of the purchase, Chrysler closed the AMC factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin after allegedly promising to keep it open for an additional 5 years.