The AMC Ambassador 990
The year was 1965. The Ambassador, AMC’s top-of-the-line offer, was introduced in 1958. While the Ambassador model had achieved widespread success, Roy Abernathy remained convinced it could do better. He believed that AMC should venture forth into direct competition with the Big Three. The key to this was forgoing his company’s image as the… Read More »
The Ambassador Diplomat
AMC followed up the success of the 1965 Ambassador with the DPL model in 1966, otherwise known as the Diplomat. The Ambassador 990 remained more or less the same. The Diplomat was a 2-door hardtop that was marketed as a luxury model of a luxury model. Based on the body of Ambassador 990, the… Read More »
AMC Rambler American 220
The AMC Rambler American had a decade-long run that began in 1958. Its final hurrah came in 1969 when AMC completely redesigned the model and renamed it the Hornet. The American was aptly named. Auto consumers had shown a growing interest in smaller foreign cars. AMC was making the Nash Metropolitan to compete, but… Read More »
AMC Rambler American 440
As the success of AMC’s Rambler American grew, AMC put more effort into both upscaling the vehicle and marketing it. It was part of a turn-around engineered by then-CEO Roy Abernathy who took over AMC when George W. Romney was elected governor of Minnesota in 1963. Abernathy was interested in competing against the Big… Read More »
AMC American Rambler Rogue
In 1966, the Rambler 440-H was retagged as the American Rambler Rogue. The Rogue was the top-of-the-line model in the Rambler series. It was conceived in 1966 and had Roy Abernathy’s stamp of pretension written all over it. The Rogue was an audacious attempt to stick it to the Big Three – an affordable… Read More »
AMC Rambler Classic 550
The Rambler Classic ran from 1961 to 1966. It was an intermediate-sized car that spanned the tenures of two AMC CEOs and two very different visions for the direction of the automobile company. In its early years, AMC was all about engineering small economy cars that were practical, affordable, and didn’t milk you dry… Read More »
AMC Rambler Classic 770
By ‘65 it was Roy Abernathy calling the shots at AMC. His strategy was to throw everything he could at the Big Three automakers and see if AMC couldn’t broaden its market. Beforehand, AMC was known to produce sturdy, reliable, economy cars that were pump-friendly and cheaply maintained. Abernathy was sick of that niche…. Read More »
The AMC Rebel
The Rebel began as a rebranding effort on the part of AMC to save their failing Rambler Classic line. The Rambler Classic, which was the mid-size model between their Ambassador and their economy line, had a bit of a problem carving out its niche. In ‘65 it was being produced in 550, 660, 770… Read More »
The Buick Electra
The Buick Electra was a full-size luxury car manufactured by Buick for 31 years. It was finally laid to rest in 1990. But it began way back in 1959. Over the years, the various stylings of Electra resounded with the fashions of three decades worth of engineering. Most popular with collectors are the models… Read More »
Buick Invicta
The Buick Invicta had a much shorter run than the Electra. Nonetheless, Buick made some memorable cars during the four-year period between ’59 and ‘63 during which Invictas were made. The Invicta was a full-size car available in two and four-door hardtop, a two-door convertible, and a station wagon. With a 123-inch wheelbase, the… Read More »