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wasn't the 74 Ambassador the only full sized car to have AC as standard equipment?
I remember in COnsumer Reports tests the Ambassador, which weighed from 300-1000 lbs less than its competitors, fell clearly to the bottom of the ratings list.
wasn't the 74 Ambassador the only full sized car to have AC as standard equipment?
I remember in COnsumer Reports tests the Ambassador, which weighed from 300-1000 lbs less than its competitors, fell clearly to the bottom of the ratings list.
actually AC became standard on the Ambassador starting in 68...although you could order a AC delete car for a credit. For some reason that he can't remember my dad order a 68 this way....
Thanks for the nod to the Bantam in the Jeep story!
I've got a Bantam and two 1959 Rambler Americans...
Would like to get an old Jeep again... in the meantime my 87 Samurai has been 100% trouble free.
I like the old Ramblers and we had plenty of Hornets, Gremlins and Javelins on the lot as trades and they all sold well... remember AMC was one of the last companies to still offer a real overdrive even in the 70's.
Never heard anyone say they were ahead of their time...
Whenever I think AMC, I shudder to recall the Matador sedans that the LAPD purchased from 1972-1974. Great powertrains (the 401 ci engine was FAST!!), but nothing else to speak of. Being a "bare bones" fleet vehicle, none were equipped with power anything - brakes, steering, windows - A/C and radio delete. I had two Matadors catch fire and burn to the ground while on regular patrol. During a pursuit, I drove over a railroad grade crossing at high speed and all four side windows came off their tracks and dropped down into the doors. I was never so glad to see those vehicles go to salvage and replaced by Plymouth Furys.
Whenever I think AMC, I shudder to recall the Matador sedans that the LAPD purchased from 1972-1974. Great powertrains (the 401 ci engine was FAST!!), but nothing else to speak of. Being a "bare bones" fleet vehicle, none were equipped with power anything - brakes, steering, windows - A/C and radio delete. I had two Matadors catch fire and burn to the ground while on regular patrol. During a pursuit, I drove over a railroad grade crossing at high speed and all four side windows came off their tracks and dropped down into the doors. I was never so glad to see those vehicles go to salvage and replaced by Plymouth Furys.
We had one of those for a few years... it was all red and started life with the local fire department.
It had a heater/defroster and that was it... not even an automatic and of course no power steering, air, carpet, etc... it sure could go fast in a straight line and under the hood changing plugs was a piece of cake...
Someone told me the county bought them at fleet rates and paid $2300 for the bare bones 4 door v8.
I bought a 1981 Eagle Limited wagon 4x4 and kept it longer than I had ever kept any car up to that point -- 5 years and 50K+ miles. It was a good car right to the end, but when one of the shocks locked up I traded it for an '86 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. (THAT piece of crap was the mistake of a lifetime!)
I'd purchased the Eagle with the heavy-duty towing option. The shocks could be aired up with a toggle switch on the panel, powered by a little compressor under the hood that would double for airing up the tires, an inflatable raft, etc. I towed my 20' i/o boat with it. It was our "family wagon" and quite comfortable for Mom, Pop and the 2 kiddies, handled snowy roads or steep boat ramps with ease.
The "Romney Ramblers" 1954-63 were extremely reliable for American built cars. I had a 1962 Rambler Classic, and a 1961 Rambler American. They both had 196 cubic inch sixes, but the Classic had overhead valves, and the American was a flat head. The ohv 6 was so smooth that when I was at a red light everyone riding with me thought the motor had died, because it was so quiet and smooth. It had seven main bearings as opposed to the four of the Chrysler slant 6, and other sixes of the time. The only thing I didn't like about those cars was that they had vacuum windshield wipers! The American's wipers would stop under the least amount of acceleration. The Classic's weren't as bad because it had a "dual action" fuel pump. The bottom part of the pump got the fuel out of the tank, and the top part gave a vacuum boost to the wipers. The wipers rarely stopped, but they still slowed down on acceleration. AMC was the last manufacturer to abandon the vacuum wipers. They were available into the 70s!
Ahead of their time? They made the Pacer didnt they? lol I dont think they were ahead of anything.
The AMC Pacer was ahead of its time for sure by US standards. It was designed to take a Wankel engine but GM dropped the idea and never produced the engine for rather strange reasons. AMC had to rely on the underpowered straight 6 engine.
AMC was convinced that the rotary engine will be the standard industry engine. AMC was to buy the engines from Curtiss-Wright before developing its own Wankel engine. AMC then decided to purchase the GM Wankel instead. The 1973 oil crisis frustrating the uptake of the Wankel engine. Rising fuel prices and proposed US emission standards added concerns. By 1974 GM R&D had not succeeded in producing a Wankel engine meeting both the emission requirements with good fuel economy. The company cancelled the project. As GM managers were cancelling the Wankel project, the GM R&D team released results of their most recent research, which claimed to have solved the fuel economy problem, and building reliable engines with a life-span above 530,000 miles. These findings were unwisely ignored when the cancellation order was issued. This of course affected AMC. The cancellation of GM's Wankel left AMC to re-engineer the Pacer to house the AMC Straight-6 engine.
The AMC Pacer was ahead of its time for sure by US standards. It was designed to take a Wankel engine but GM dropped the idea and never produced the engine for rather strange reasons. AMC had to rely on the underpowered straight 6 engine.
AMC was convinced that the rotary engine will be the standard industry engine. AMC was to buy the engines from Curtiss-Wright before developing its own Wankel engine. AMC then decided to purchase the GM Wankel instead. The 1973 oil crisis frustrating the uptake of the Wankel engine. Rising fuel prices and proposed US emission standards added concerns. By 1974 GM R&D had not succeeded in producing a Wankel engine meeting both the emission requirements with good fuel economy. The company cancelled the project. As GM managers were cancelling the Wankel project, the GM R&D team released results of their most recent research, which claimed to have solved the fuel economy problem, and building reliable engines with a life-span above 530,000 miles. These findings were unwisely ignored when the cancellation order was issued. This of course affected AMC. The cancellation of GM's Wankel left AMC to re-engineer the Pacer to house the AMC Straight-6 engine.
While there's some truth to this you can't blame GM for AMC's failures. While the Wankel engine was, and is a great design as Mazda has proven the Pacer has always been considered a joke. I'm not trying to take away from AMC's accomplishments either, because I think you have it backwards. The AMC straight 6 was a proven reliable power plant for many years, but the Pacer only saw 5 years of production.
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