**The Fascinating History of American Motors Corporation**

American Motors formed in 1954, when Hudson Motors and Nash-Kelvinator did the fusion dance and joined forces. Hudson made good cars, but they couldn't afford to redesign everything every year like all the bigger auto makers were doing. Nash-Kelvinator made refrigerators, and those little metropolitan cars. So, it seemed like a good idea for the two of them to team up and make smallish cars together.

It was a huge corporate merger, I'm talking the biggest in the history of history at this point. The two companies started calling themselves American Motors Corporation (AMC). Fancy. And for the first few years, their cars were badged and sold as Hudson's and Nash's. They started combining platforms and debuted a new Hudson Hornet and a Wasp.

You know the Hornet from that adorable cartoon car movie? It had all those cars with eyes. Uh, Transformers? No, no, uh, it was like, cars. Uh, Herbie: Fully Loaded? It's cars! Why are you telling me this? I don't know! I don't know either! I'm sorry! Thank you!

Now back to the show. Apparently, they thought people wanted cars named after terrifying bugs, like that movie... Herbie: Fully Loaded? And I guess that people were more interested in the Rambler brand.

**The Rise of AMC**

Around 1965, the company decided to start changing direction a bit and started making more large cars. The 2-door Rambler Marlin was developed to be a fancier, bigger alternative to the Ford Mustang or Plymouth Barracuda. It had a really, really cool badge too.

You know I have a soft spot for buff horses, but that's one buff fish! In 1966, they decided to move away from the Rambler moniker altogether and finally started badging cars with their patriotic family name, American Motors.

**The Golden Years of AMC**

1968 was the start of AMC's glory years when they started making two of their best-known models: The Javelin and the AMX. Dick Teague used his mad skills to design the first-gen Javelin as a sleek, semi-fastback coupe everyone could appreciate.

AMC just didn't have the funds to make multiple body styles like you could get with the Mustang and the Camaro. But, they made up for it by making a dang good car. The Javelin was a roomier, totally respectable, and affordable competitor in the pony car market.

You can still get 'em for cheap! It also had a really cool badge. The closest thing we have to a really cool badge now? The stingray on the Corvette and the stinger badge on the Kia Stinger. Honestly, two coolest badges in the game right now. Fight me in the comments!

**The AMX: A Performance Powerhouse**

You can get a Javelin with a straight six, but the one that you wanted was the one with the V8, baby! The appropriately named 'Go Package' got you a 343 cubic inch V8, making 280 Horse Powers. The AMX was released 6 months later, along with the new 390 cubic inch V8 you could get in either car, making 315 HRSPRS.

The AMX had only two seats and one foot less sheet metal between its front rear wheels than the Javelin. That meant it was extra sporty. AMX stood for American Motors Experimental.

Since no other US car companies were making two-seater sports cars, the AMX was actually considered a direct competitor to the 'Vette. And the 'Vette didn't really have another competitor. It still doesn't! We made a whole episode of Wheelhouse about it; I'll put the link in the description below.

The Society of Automotive Engineers even named the AMX Best Engineered Car of the Year. It featured cool new safety stuff like 3-point seatbelts and thinner, lighter safety glass that shattered into tiny little pieces in an accident so your windshield didn't slice your face off!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(engine revving)- It's the indecisive underdogthat couldn't figure outwhat kind of car company it wanted to be.While the big three was running Detroit,this little indie outfitquietly made (beep) carsin Kenosha, Wisconsin.Any Kingfish fans in the building?Yeah dude, I love headingout to Simmons Field,grabbing a brew and abrat at Uncle Mike's Pub,don't cha know?I do know.And you know what else?These guys made better carsthan their motor city competitors,from sick muscle cars,to the original all-wheeldrive crossovers,to revolutionary hour-long T.V. dramas.This is everything you need to knowto get up to speed on AMC.(upbeat arcade music)(horse whinnying)(intense dramatic music)- Hey James.What are you doing?- Trying to open this can ofNOS Energy Drink with my mind.(rising intense dramatic music)(can tab popping)And that, is how you use your brainpowerto get your baby boy Nolanto open your can of NOS Energy Drink.Now, back to the show.(intense dramatic music)(electronic beeping)American Motors formed in 1954,when Hudson Motors and Nash-Kelvinatordid the fusion dance and joined forces.Hudson made good cars,but they couldn't affordto redesign everything every yearlike all the biggerauto makers were doing.Nash-Kelvinator made refrigerators.And those little metropolitan cars.So, it seemed like a goodidea for the two of themto team up and makesmallish cars together.It was a huge corporate merger,I'm talking the biggestin the history of history at this point.(playful jazz music)We definitely underestimatedhow big of a story AMC has,so if I miss anythingand you wanna know aboutanother AMC car, let meknow in the comments.Anyway, after the mergerthe two companies startedcalling themselvesAmerican Motors Corporation.Fancy.And for the first few yearstheir cars were badged andsold as Hudson's and Nash's.They started combining platformsand they debuted a newHudson Hornet and a Wasp.You know the Hornet from thatadorable cartoon car movie,what was it called?It had, it had all those cars with eyes.Uh, Transformers?No, no, uh, it was like, cars.Uh, Herbie: Fully Loaded?It's cars.It's literally cars.Uh, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?Cars!Why are you telling at me?I don't know!I don't know either!I'm sorry!Thank you!Now back to the show?Yeah, back to the show!Apparently, they thoughtpeople wanted carsnamed after terrifyingbugs, like that movie...Herbie: Fully Loaded?(James shushing)And I guess that peoplewere more okay with Hornetsthan they were Waspsbecause the Wasp was dead by 1956.Have you guys ever had wasp honey?It tastes like Sriracha.You could buy a Rambler modelat either a Nash or a Hudson dealership.Just like you could buy an identical Neonsat both Plymouth and Dodge dealerships.The companies CEO George W. Romney,yup,Mitt Romney's dad,realized this arrangement was dumband decided to brand all thecars as Ramblers in 1958.Except for the tiny metropolitan thatwas imported from England.That was deemed weird enough to standon its own as a Metropolitan.The first all-new car AMCproduced following the mergerwas the Rambler Rebel in 1957.It had a 255 HRSPR, 327 cubicinch V8, and dual exhaust.(engine rumbling)There's not gonna be anyleaders in this episode Euros,because, this is America,and American car company.With a 17 second quarter mile,the Rebel was advertisedas the quickest 4-doorto hit 60 miles per,in America at the time.The Rebel was supposed to comewith this brand newelectronic fuel injectioncalled the Bendix Electrojector System.But, it had some bad bugsthat couldn't be worked outand the feature wasdropped before production.With a name like Bendix,it's probably for the best.In 1958, they also launchedthe Rambler AmericanWhich was actually the 3year old 1955 Nash Rambler.That is the only time that an old carwas successfully reintroducedand sold as a new car again.Good job, Romney.There were also a couple of big carscalled the Classic and the Ambassador.♪ The brand new '61 Rambler Classic ♪♪ The compact car most useful to you ♪In 1959, AMC hired Dick Teague.There's nothing funny about that.(snorts quietly)So, Dick Teague, talentedguy with a not funny namehad worked at GM, Packard, and Chrysler.He was known for designingincredibly good-looking carswith tiny budgets,something AMC really neededbecause they were always broke.You don't hear muchabout these cars today,but at the time,Rambler was the best-sellingname plate in the state.And remember, these guys are independent.AMC was taking on the big three.Around 1965, the company decidedto start changing direction a bitand started making more large cars.The 2 door Rambler Marlin was developedto be a fancier, biggeralternative to the Ford Mustangor Plymouth Barracuda.It had a really, really cool badge too.You know I have a softspot for buff horses,but that's one buff fish.In 1966, they decided to move awayfrom the Rambler moniker altogetherand finally started badging carswith their patriotic familyname, American Motors.1968 was the start of AMC's glory years,when they started making 2of their best known models.The Javelin and the AMX.(engine revving)(tires squealing)Dick Teagueused his mad skills todesign the first-gen Javelinas a sleek, semi-fastback coupeeveryone could appreciate.AMC just didn't have the fundsto make multiple body styleslike you could get withthe Mustang and the Camaro.But, they made up for itby making a dang good car.The Javelin was a roomier,totally respectable,and affordable competitorin the pony car market.And you can still get 'em for cheap.(computer errors chiming)It also had a really cool badge.The closest thing we haveto a really cool badge now?The stingray on the Corvetteand the stinger badge on the Kia Stinger.Honestly, two coolest badgesin the game right now.Fight me in the comments.You can get a Javelin with a straight sixbut the one that you wanted,was the one with the V8, baby.The appropriately named 'Go Package'got you a 343 cubic inch V8,making 280 Horse Powers.(engine revving)(tires squealing)The AMX was released 6 months later,along with the new 390 cubic inch V8you could get in either car.Making 315 HRSPRS.(engine revving)(tires squealing)The AMX had only two seatsand one foot less sheet metalbetween its front rearwheels than the Javelin.That meant it was extra sporty.AMX stood for AmericanMotors Experimental.(yells aggressively)(unified voices shouting)(faint flute music)Since no other US car companieswere making two-seater sports cars,the AMX was actuallyconsidered a direct competitorto the 'Vette.And the 'Vette didn't reallyhave another competitor.It still doesn't.We made a whole episodeof Wheelhouse about it,I'll put the link inthe description below.The Society of AutomotiveEngineers even namedthe AMX Best Engineered Car of the Year.It featured cool new safety stufflike 3-point seatbelts andthinner, lighter safety glassthat shattered into tinylittle pieces in an accidentso your windshield didn'tslice your face off.Neat!AMC was keen on makingthe AMX a performance hiteven before it went on sale.The AMX broke over 100 land-speed records,driven by racer Craig Breedlove.Yes! That name rules.(vehicle revving)Famous drag racers Lou Downingand Shirley "Drag-On Lady" Shahandrove 'em at the Strip.Yes! Cool names.And AMX almost won an FCCA Championship.And another came in 5thin the Cannonball Run.You can even rent one from Hertz.Hey Nolan, can you come here?- Hey James.- Hey do you want a Hertz donut?- Yes!(fist punching)Ow.- Hertz, donut?- Yeah.- Penske racing did well with Mark Donohuedriving the Javelin Trans-Am well enoughthat AMC homologated a specialedition Mark Donohue Javelinto legally get a rearspoiler onto the race cars.To bump up the cars profileseven more on the street,AMC added the big bad, thehighlighter tone paint optionson the AMX and Javelin.Big bad orange,big bad blue,and big bad green.These are some of the rarestand most collectible AMCsin the world right now.Everyone at AMC was sostoked on the AMX and Javelinthat they went full forceand built a mid-engine concept car,(yells loudly)the stunning AMX/3debuted in Italy in 1969.The lucky folks who got todrive the handmade prototypesaid the performance was world-class.The company brass authorizedproduction of thirty carsas the brand's new flagship model.But the cost to buildthem kept getting heavierfor the small auto maker,while the corporate piggybank kept getting lighter.So,(sighs heavily)we didn't get thatmid-engine American supercar.We did get some other sick,super rare AMC muscle cars.The '69 Hurst SC/Rambler was a sleeperin every sense of the word.Except for the red,white, and blue paint job,the big, old hood scoopwith the vacuum-operated butterfly valve,and the fact that it'sreally, really, really loud.Colby?(loud engine revving)The regular Rambler wasnever a performance car,but this one had thebuff 390 cubic inch V8pushing its compact body around.AMC built around 1,200 of 'em.And they turned outto be the quickest carsthat the company ever built.They were so quick,that people startedcalling them 'Scramblers'.People are clever.Then came the 1970 Rebel Machine.The same big V8 went inthe AMC's mid-size 2 door.Only this baby made 340 buffhorses and 430 TUERCKSPRS.That was even more than the AMX.The Cold Air package addeda big nostril-ed hood scoopwith a tachometer mounted on the hood,facing the driver.Around 2,300 of these were made.And most of 'em were paintedin red, white, and blue.By 1971, the muscle car marketwas already in steep decline,and so were AMC's profits.But they didn't want to giveup on making performance cars.Their answer was to raid the parts binto build the understated Hornet SC/360.The Hornet was their new compact car,so they dropped in anexisting 360 cubic inch V8,then added a hood scoop,and a little white stripeto let people knowsomething was different.AMC hoped to build 10,000 of these,but things were so bad,that they only made 784.As a a guy who's owned a bunch of golfs,I want one of these.Around this time, AMC tookover production of Jeeps,Including their militaryand postal contracts,that meant they also acquiredall of Jeep's profits,which would help theindependent company stay afloat.Meanwhile, the two-seaterAMX was killed offand the second gen Javelindebuted with bulging fendersand even more muscle bound looks.The AMX name becamea high-performanceJavelin package instead,and Penske racing took theupdated car to back-to-backTrans-Am Championships.Trans-Am cars are by far myfavorite looking race carsIn 1971, the mid-sizeMatador was introducedwith 2 door, 4 door,and wagon body styles.It was advertised as an all-new car,but it was really a gussied up Rebelwith a bigger front endand an Ambassador back endThe 2 door was called the "Flying Brick"because it had terribleaerodynamics for racing.Even though the Matadorwasn't truly brand newthey were good cars, thatbuyers tended to overlook.And they still tend to overlook them,there's a few on Craigslist right now.I think they're pretty slick.They look like cartoons.Dick Teague.(electronic beeping)It's not funny.It's not funny. What are you doing?You're like...34 years old, grow up.Now back to the story!Just do it.Now back to the story!You got it.Okay, you got it.Dick Teague(snorts loudly)Mister Teague and Mark Donohue redesignedthe frumpy 2 door "Flying Brick"into a sleek and sexysecond gen Matador Coupe.It looked so good, that itwon Best Styled Car for 1974from Car and Driver.Then, came the AMCwith possibly thegreatest name of all time,the Gremlin.It was America's firstdomestic built sub compact car.The backseat was optionaland only big enough for kids.It was weirdly nose heavydespite being rear-wheel drive,but that's probably 'causeit had a real flat butt.Just like me.(faint coughing)In 1975, the Mirthmobile was introducedas the first wide small car.Did I say Mirthmobile? I meant Pacer.Wayne's World was one ofmy first favorite movies.It looked like a fishbowl,and was originallydesigned to run a rotary.Which AMC had contractedto start building in 1973.But rotaries hit the gas tank hard,and the oil crisis putthe kibosh on that plan.So instead, the Pacer useda couple of inline 6 enginesand a couple of flames made it cool enoughto be Garth Algar's ride.Again, Wayne's World reference.I know a lot of you guys are too young,but I love that movie.You wanna be like big bro?Watch Wayne's World.In the late 70s,things weren't going great for AMC.They replaced the Gremlin and Hornetwith the Spirit and the Concord.But it had to recall over 300,000 carsat a cost of 3 million dollars.So they decided to partner with Renault,and started selling Renault5's as Le cars here in the US.In exchange, Renaultgot a 22.5 stake in AMC.That helped spike salesand profits back upeven though the economy was turning down.But AMC was still building their own carsin their inefficientKenosha, Wisconsin Plant.For the 1980 year, theylaunched AMC Eagle versionsof the Spirit and Concordas their new 4-wheel drive line.(engine revving)(tires squealing)- Much Better.- There was a coupe,there was a hatchback,there was a sedan,there was a wagon.So many sport-utilitycrossovers to choose from.You want a sick FWD-er no one else has?Find yourself an old AMC Eagle, kids.They're still cheap.For some reason, things quicklytook a turn for the worse,and sales plummeted.Renault took a controllingstake in the company,which made American MotorsCorporation a lot less...American.The Spirit and the Concordwere done by the end of 1983.AMC started building RenaultAlliance sedans in Kenosha,in that year.Surprisingly, the Alliance wasMotor Trends' Car of the Yearand at the top of Car andDriver's Ten Best list.It launched so successfullythat the dealer networkwasn't prepared to dealwith that kind of volume.Then, the cars started to fall apart.And they were done by 1987.Luckily, AMC still owned Jeep.The new Cherokee and Wagoneerwere really taking off,as SUVs started to become a thing,customers weren't buyingAMC cars anymore though.They made an agreement to let Chrysleruse some of the emptyspace at the Kenosha plantfor some extra cash.AMC's workers were madabout not getting raises,and there were rumors thatthey were sabotaging carson the line.Then, the Pentagon got mad,because they were stillmaking Jeeps for the militarybut now they weren'tAmerican, they were French.But AMC couldn't kicktheir French step-parentsout of the house,and had to sale that profitable business.AMC's longtime hero, Dick Teague(electronic beeping)You told yourself...You would not laugh atstuff like this anymore.Dick Teague left the company.- Some of the cars thatthese kids are doing,and you know a few years back,just a few years back,you look at those and say"God you're impossible,I'll never build anything like that,"so the future is just a, gosh, I just wishI could live to be a hundred years old.To see some of those thingsthat are gonna happen.- Renault was havingtheir own problems at the time,including the assassination of their CEOby French anarchists.So, they weren't so confidentabout their prospectsin the US market anymore.The fact that the 3 companies were alreadymaking each others' cars in the same plantmade it easy for Renaultto sell their AMC sharesto Chrysler in 1987.And that, was the end of AMC.And , it really sucks thatAMC isn't around today,but, I think we should begrateful that we had 'em at all.Dad.(dramatic retro music)(soft electronic music)- Uh, Gus. Uh, Johnson.- Tapes his mic to his finger.(men laughing)- This sucks.- It's so tight.(tape ripping)- I love a you.- He's very scared of this.