What’s the Best AMC To Celebrate the Brand’s 70th Anniversary?
Back in 1954, the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation merged with the Hudson Motor Car Company to form the fourth-largest automobile company in the United States. Once all the Wall Street types did their financial machinations to appease stockholders from both companies, a new company called American Motors Corporation (AMC) emerged in May of 1954.
That pivotal moment in American corporate history is quickly approaching its 70th anniversary, so now we wonder aloud about the best example of AMC engineering, design, and marketing gusto. If you don’t have the ideal AMC in your heart, here’s a cheat sheet to get you inspired.
My choice is pretty obvious, mostly because of its impact on America both then and now:
It wasn’t until 1970 that AMC made what was the most impressive, far-reaching, and impactful business decision of the company’s storied history. That’s when it added Jeep to its portfolio, and it might be the only legacy from AMC that modern-day American citizens in any city, state, or zip code across the country can recognize. We enthusiasts may love Javelins, Hornets, Matadors, Eagle 4x4s, and a precious few of us adore the Summit, but there can only be one winner in my mind.
I doubt anyone at AMC could even imagine Jeep’s long-term success, but they likely saw a glimmer of hope in the Civilian Jeep (CJ). AMC knew this brand had merit in its stable, and it was wise to buy it up from Kaiser Motors. So now I hand the reins to you, and every member of the Hagerty Community: What’s the Best AMC To Celebrate the Brand’s 70th Anniversary?
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I would use the AMX. This was the best car they ever did and it represents AMC .
The Jeep is not really AMC. Jeep was really a Willys not originally a AMC. Then it was a Chrysler and now Stellantis Jeep is a brand of its own and never really represented the true AMC line.
AMC was a story of survival and engineering to save money. They recyles many cars, ideas and modified many designs to bring new product out when they had so little to spend on it.
One has to wonder how much they could have done if they had the money.
AMC ran on what GM, Ford and Chrysler each would just waste a year.
Agree with hyperv6 completely. The AMX is my pick, and Jeep ain’t AMC.
To use Jeep is like someone getting credit for a paper someone else wrote.
Their car lines are really what they were all about. Just look at the Hornet. It was used for the Gremlin, The Eagle and in wagons, 4×4, coupes and sedans. Imaging getting that much out of one design?
They really did not advance jeep much as it pretty much was paying the bills and doing ok. It was the creativity with in on the cars how they tried to revive the line with little money.
MS-DOS wasn’t made my Microsoft, but its a huge part of their legacy. Splitting hairs is fine, but I bet AMC made incremental upgrades…not to mention the wildly successful Cherokee. AMC gets all the credit for that.
If Dos did not come from MS I would not give them credit either.
The Cherokee roots go back to the jeepster. Again not AMC. The later really did not do great till Chrysler money came in.
As for the the late cars like Summit most would have to look it up to know what it was.
The two cars that best fit them is AMX and of all things the Gremlin. It is a long shot the Gremlin get built but yet it did and it made money. Good marketing on a very cheap car worked.
I would never buy an AMC but I have to admire how the company and the people who worked there made so much our of nothing.
Then marketing things like Levi interiors and more were great marketing ploys.
Jeep is still Jeep and there own brand. Let the AMC cars for once have the spot light they deserve.
We have celebrated Jeep more than enough
I was talking about the XJ Cherokee, which was a clean sheet AMC design with legions of fans. All AMC, and one of the best Jeeps ever made.
It was not that good as few remain today. Also it was not anything Ford and GM had already done.
It found improvement under Chrysler and most people remember it more as a Chrysler.
I would say the Hornet and the number of cars that came from that platform may have been their most significate car. It kept them open for several decades. Not a great car but what they did with it paid enough to keep the company functional.
Jeep never really was a factor with AMC till the late 70’s when the Wrangler package became popular and even then the roll over issues were much of a lawsuit issue. The death wobble was real.
Just have to agree to disagree. The other post appear to be more targeting the cars not Jeep. Many folks see Jeep as Jeep not AMC. It may have been a part of AMC but it kind of was it’s own deal. To did give reason for Chrysler to buy AMC. It was not the cars of that era for sure.
I see way more Cherokees than I do Blazers (but not Explorers), they are still around here in the rust free south. But yes, agree to disagree.
That was another point. THey still build Jeep and Cherokees.
We are remembering AMC and often that is about them not the spin off company that is still alive.
Note you see more Cherokees because they all look alike Ford and GM changed their products and they are just another FWD SUV now. I have one here.
I expect Ford does well selling the present models just do to the fleet sales to the police.
As for the old models. You live south. Up here the Jeeps rotted away. So did the Fords. Many S10 blazers still exist. They were not perfect but most were saved and now have a V8 in them.
I think as the comments continue to come in they will not be Jeeps bases on the early comments.
There may be a number of the new generation that never even knew they were part of AMC.
I see a comment on the Pacer. It left a big mark. It was really like the Aztek. Not a bad car but just ugly. Also the fact it was slated to have a Rotary engine till GM killed their program due to emissions and poor fuel mpg.
Yet today we still talk much about the Pacer as a cult car.
“Death Wobble”
Overstated and over reported related entirely to worn suspension and steering components, or an incorrectly engineered lift kit.
GM fans always fall back on “death wobble” because it allows them to forget about the factory bump steer and component strength issues associated with GM torsion bar IFS.
Many millions of miles are traveled by solid front axle trucks every year and there is no engineering flaw in the suspension design. GM torsion bar IFS is a flawed design with excess bump steer. No way around it. That’s why most GM IFS sit low, so
the tie rods are parallel with the control arms. Crank the bars, enter exaggerated bump steer.
XJ may have got a bump from Chrysler, but the 4 door explorer and s-10 blazer emerged AFTER the XJ. Many of the early XJ issues were associated with the GM 2.8 V6. Once the 4 liter inline 6 and Aisin-Warner AW4 transmission was used, it came into its own.
The Rebel Machine. I had one, & it was a true unicorn. And it was very rarely beaten in a street race, much to the chagrin of all the big 3 muscle car drivers.
I never had one but was going to nominate it. This is a great looking car with really clean lines and it had the performance to match. I would love to have one but these things are out of my reach.
Every company that has ever owned Jeep has went out of business. It will happen again-they’ve overpriced everything. Javelin and AMX represent the brand! Listen to a Wisconsin guy who repaired many a Hornet and Matador owned by the college and State in my work study job at UW-Eau Claire in the late 70’s. Those cars were not the ideal. But they ran forever, Firestone 500 tires nonwithstanding (couple of Matador wagons rolled–people didn’t sue then). Have buddies with 70 AMX’s, had a college roommate with a gorgeous 73′ ram air AMX. All are the high point of Kenoshadom.
I have loved AMC since I was a little kid. Growing up and still living in Wisconsin I always felt more of a connection to the brand. I would go to car shows with my brother and dad and would always point out the AMC vehicles. My dad (a diehard Chevy guy) would always say I was crazy. He would say “they made refrigerators!” I own a 69 AMX and it’s my one of my dream cars and I absolutely love it. Since owning it I have converted my brother who now owns a 70 Javelin, and my dad, Mr Chevy wants a Rambler Rouge! Took them awhile to come around! To answer the question the true unicorn and IMO the best AMC was the Javelin Trans Am.
Both the Rebel Machine and the AMX would have to be at the front of this conversation, not to mention the SC/Rambler, but I think you can go back even further and mention the original 1957 Rebel and/or the 1955 Rambler as both being great examples of what AMC was capable of on an always tight budget.
The Rebel was one of, if not the first American car with a large block V-8 in a mid-size car which would become the thing to do 7-10 years later for everyone else, it was capable of 0-60 speeds in under 8 seconds which would be considered quick even 30 years later. Arguments can be made that it was the first “muscle car” and included many features considered “de rigueur” for later performance cars.
The Nash Rambler (later to be AMC in ’54-55) invented the compact car class in the US. Low priced and reasonably well appointed, it remained basically the same through ’55 and then was reintroduced in ’58 on the same wheelbase using the same tooling. It was enormously successful for the company especially when they had the segment to themselves until 1960 and was a perfect example of reading market demand and doing much more with less.
I grew up an AMC kid in Kenosha County. My Dad worked there from 1958 to 1988. My vote is for the Gremlin, there was nothing like it. I’d also like to add the entire 1967 line. Redesigned cars with new V8 engines.
Pacer.
Is this just real life? Is this just fantasy?…
Thank you I forgot this car. Imagine if they had brought this car to market with the rotary engine that was originally panned for it. When GM froped the Rotary program AMC and to stuff the inline six in a small space and then they redesigned the hood for the V8.
I bought a brand new AMC spirit in 1980 I worked at Ford for the same price I could have bought a Pinto no thank you,the spirit was a far better car if AMC was still around, I would not hesitate to buy another one.
Another one that slipped my mind. It was really a Gremlin with a nicer body on it. Then it was an Eagle with 4×4 later on.
Good call.
A good pair of shoes was better than a Pinto.
I have 1983 Jeep Renegade.
Mechanically, a great 4 X 4.
But, on a quiet night you can hear it rusting away!
I’m a long-time Jeep guy, but honestly, I never owned one made by AMC. In fact, I’ve never owned ANY AMC product, so maybe my vote here won’t count. If I just sit here and think, “what AMC vehicle made a big impression on me and that I think of as being connected to the brand”, I honestly come up with the AMX – followed CLOSELY by the Pacer! I reject the suggestion that the Pacer was “ugly” – it was a bit weird, yes, but it had some wonderfully advanced ideas designed into it. I only put it behind the AMX because back-in-the-day, I was a performance-car guy.
However, to be fair, when AMC bought Jeep, I think they saved that brand – or at least they kept it alive until Chrysler came along with the money. Kaiser was losing ground drastically and it quite possibly could have killed Jeep had it stayed there. Of course, it could be argued that the Jeep purchase saved, AMC. Either way, it was a big deal at the time, and quite controversial. I distinctly remember the Jeep crowd I hung with being all up-in-arms (“What? Rambler is gonna build Jeeps?”). So, I’m giving some credit to American Motors for Jeep. It’s just maybe not the “best” AMC to celebrate, IMO.
best by far the AMX3 mid engine Italian design puts all others to shame I have actually drove #1 many times
Like driving a Ferrari
Toss-up between the Javelina and the AMX. My first car was an AM (American Motors before the C) Ambassador. 2 door with a 343 4 barrel. It could fly! Not the prettiest, had a few girls turn me down because of the car “your taking me out in that!!!” There loss!! Wish I had that AM Ambassador back!
My brother had a ’68 Javelin automatic with the 343 4-barrel. He bought a ’69 with a 4 speed for $200 and put the manual tranny into the ’68 in our parents driveway. Man, that car flew!
The 2-seat AMX, hands down.