AMC/AMX. - American Motor Corporation

[grizz]

One of those American brads that seems to stand in the shadow of many bigger brands.

But I have always liked quirky, and a bit different.

The outsider, the weirdo.

Photodump


Wikipedia

American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.[3]

American Motors' most similar competitors were those automakers that held similar annual sales levels such as Studebaker, Packard, Kaiser Motors, and Willys-Overland. Their largest competitors were the Big Three—Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler.

American Motors' production line included small cars—the Rambler American, which began as the Nash Rambler in 1950, Hornet, Gremlin, and Pacer; intermediate and full-sized cars, including the Ambassador, Rambler Classic, Rebel, and Matador; muscle cars, including the Marlin, AMX, and Javelin; and early four-wheel drive variants of the Eagle and the Jeep Wagoneer, the first true crossovers in the U.S. market.

Regarded as "a small company deft enough to exploit special market segments left untended by the giants",[4] American Motors was widely known for the design work of chief stylist Dick Teague, who "had to make do with a much tighter budget than his counterparts at Detroit's Big Three", but "had a knack for making the most of his employer's investment".[5]

After periods of intermittent independent success, Renault acquired a major interest in American Motors in 1979, and the company was ultimately acquired by Chrysler in 1987.

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[pedalcarjoe]

OK confession time

I used to own a very nice black Pacer a while back, I bought it from my old mate Ivan McCutcheon, sadly no pics

it was magazine featured and that is when I saw it was for sale and realised the owner was Ivan and the rest is history as they say

I seem to remember the original owner had added that many extras it virtually double the final cost of the base car.


I also tried to buy this one

[rodharris83]

Hot Rod Garage on Motortrend were going to build a Javelin Race Car tribute, unfortunately it doesn't look like they'll finish it







Have some cool ones instead....

[brachunky]

It's almost an unwritten rule on RR to respect everyone's choice of car/truck so I apologize to anyone who has one but the Pacer is that one car which does not, even in the slightest way do it for me. I admit that I have never driven one (maybe I should?) but it just looks awkward and just not American enough although I understand the market it was competing with. No offence meant.

[pedalcarjoe]

Sept 26, 2023 20:55:58 GMT brachunky said:

It's almost an unwritten rule on RR to respect everyone's choice of car/truck so I apologize to anyone who has one but the Pacer is that one car which does not, even in the slightest way do it for me. I admit that I have never driven one (maybe I should?) but it just looks awkward and just not American enough although I understand the market it was competing with. No offence meant.

non taken and I get the "not American enough" bit, they are too short for a start

but

you should really drive one if you ever get the chance to, then you will know you were right

[chandlergti]

My neighbor growing up had an AMC “The Machine”, I thought he was cool but he was probably a 40 year old guy who lived with his mom. He had an amazing root beer with gold accents Baldwin motion camaro as well. The machine and the hornet sport coupe are my favorites over the more popular Javelin and AMX

[crockpot]

I came across an AMX on our travels, I'll post it up when we get home.

[v8ian]

My mate has an early Javelin, 401 ,4 speed car, dark metallic green, I coveted that car, scary quick thing it was too, I sort of have a soft spot for AMC cars, and would jump on a Marlin if I could afford one, or find one over here for that mater,

[ratchart]

A few AMC/Rambler spots from the UK.















I like the weirdness/alternative approach of AMC cars, despite or because of their design flaws. I think of them as an American equivalent of BL; never fashionable, always in some sort of crisis financially, and always slightly off the target with contemporary design trends, but all that that makes them more interesting now.

[akku]

Too many Pacers have fallen intro Waynes World "Mirth Mobiles" to the point that some people who are into them get kinda tweaky about it. I guess its same if you like any form of Reliant 3 wheeler and get sick of Del Boy comments.

I like AMC. They were at one the red headed step child of the US auto industry but at the same time they were the group which seemed to contain all the most interesting and innovative brands. In the US these guys were first to the party with things like superchargers, unitary construction, hatchbacks, ugh, google it - there will be a list. Theres an almost unfathomable range of brands who were all independant makers who went into the AMC mix (unlike say Ford who invented all* of their brands out of the Ford main brand)

I had an AMC / Rambler American (It was badged as both, possibly due to being an export model) - it ended up in Germany for some reason - it was RHD so that was some kinky German who wanted that.

Great cars, I would have another, probably a "great daily driver" as they tend to be a little smaller than most Yank Tanks (they never developed the giant platforms of the late 60s and early 70s) and with excellent* parts availability

One of my first proper yank car experiences was back in the late 1980s or maybe 1990 I met a guy who was waxing his AMC Gremlin Pro Street machine at the seafront in Southsea - obviously for the pose. We chatted, and it had a 401 out of an Ambassador, tunnel ram, loads of goodies and we got a ride in it. What a fantastic machine. I'd seen cars like it in magazines and at shows but this was my first ride in one.... fantastic

This was mine.

[akku]

Also also there is more technical and historical misinformation out there about AMC than any other US brand for sure.

The 289 engine is not a Ford. The 327 engine was not a Chevy. They did use transmissions from other makers but then who didn't? They have Borg Warner, Chrysler and GM boxes depending on when you look. Also a range of their own boxes and also Muncie. Yes you can use certain parts from Ford and Mopar on them (valve lifters, rocker arms, etc) but its a genuine AMC engine etc.

[grizz]

Sept 27, 2023 9:36:21 GMT akku said:

Too many Pacers have fallen intro Waynes World "Mirth Mobiles" to the point that some people who are into them get kinda tweaky about it. I guess its same if you like any form of Reliant 3 wheeler and get sick of Del Boy comments.

I like AMC. They were at one the red headed step child of the US auto industry but at the same time they were the group which seemed to contain all the most interesting and innovative brands. In the US these guys were first to the party with things like superchargers, unitary construction, hatchbacks, ugh, google it - there will be a list. Theres an almost unfathomable range of brands who were all independant makers who went into the AMC mix (unlike say Ford who invented all* of their brands out of the Ford main brand)

I had an AMC / Rambler American (It was badged as both, possibly due to being an export model) - it ended up in Germany for some reason - it was RHD so that was some kinky German who wanted that.

Great cars, I would have another, probably a "great daily driver" as they tend to be a little smaller than most Yank Tanks (they never developed the giant platforms of the late 60s and early 70s) and with excellent* parts availability

One of my first proper yank car experiences was back in the late 1980s or maybe 1990 I met a guy who was waxing his AMC Gremlin Pro Street machine at the seafront in Southsea - obviously for the pose. We chatted, and it had a 401 out of an Ambassador, tunnel ram, loads of goodies and we got a ride in it. What a fantastic machine. I'd seen cars like it in magazines and at shows but this was my first ride in one.... fantastic

Thank you.

I wanted to call the thread, AMC - The company that should have been much more.


You,have absolutely summed it up.

[pedalcarjoe]

Sept 26, 2023 18:34:56 GMT pedalcarjoe said:

OK confession time

I used to own a very nice black Pacer a while back, I bought it from my old mate Ivan McCutcheon, sadly no pics

it was magazine featured and that is when I saw it was for sale and realised the owner was Ivan and the rest is history as they say

I seem to remember the original owner had added that many extras it virtually double the final cost of the base car.


I also tried to buy this one

I think if I could find a good one at realistic money I'd more than likely chance another one.

I'm not sure if there are any good ones left in the UK




sits back and waits for someone to prove me wrong

[pedalcarjoe]

I did make enquiries about this a couple of weeks ago





it ended up going to the USA

[79cord]

Sept 26, 2023 20:55:58 GMT brachunky said:

The Pacer ...but it just looks awkward and just not American enough .

Always the irony of the Pacer; that it was still VERY American underneath, trying to look ultra-modern European.. Further confused by the application of huge bumpers, wood trims & ugly grilles!

[akku]

Sept 27, 2023 11:56:48 GMT 79cord said:

Sept 26, 2023 20:55:58 GMT brachunky said:

The Pacer ...but it just looks awkward and just not American enough .

Always the irony of the Pacer; that it was still VERY American underneath, trying to look ultra-modern European.. Further confused by the application of huge bumpers, wood trims & ugly grilles!

The Pacer was intended to have a Rotary engine and be a lot more radical than it was but budget cuts and non-cooperation of people who needed to colaborate on the project to make it happen meant the car was more conventional under the skin than it was meant to be. And knowing the American mechanic's reluctance to embrace anything new or understand anything not completely conventional (hey, I do love you guys, but) means the Pacer probably did a lot better as it was than it would have done if it were more technically advanced.

So many good ideas died in the US because it wasn't cast iron OHV simplicity.

The original Pacer was actually fairly pretty, the later models got a lot of whacky garnish, but then so did everything then. The ugly grill was to allow better cooling to fit the V8s in later models.

[79cord]

Given it was still a quite large, wide & heavy car in spite of its styling, it's just as well the rotary engine didn't happen, nor the proposed VW engines.