(UPATED FROM 7/3/2030)
Joe Ligo’s (2020) film about the Nash/AMC Ambassador is well-researched but overly kind in discussing the car’s dying decade.
The “History of the Nash/AMC Ambassador” walks viewers through the unusually long life of the nameplate, which was launched in 1927 and discontinued after the 1974 model year. This film is part of the Auto Moments series produced by Ligo and posted on YouTube.
As with other AutoMoments films, Ligo packs a lot of information into a well-paced and visually engaging package. He also does a nice job of weaving historical analysis with personal asides about his own Ambassador in this 25-minute film.
Ligo’s passion for AMCs is endearing. I also appreciate his views about old car ownership. A big reason he bought a 1972 Ambassador was because he enjoys driving it down country roads. That’s a refreshing change of pace from those who see collectible cars primarily as investments.
Ligo offers a few views that could be debated. As a case in point, he calls the 1965-66 Ambassadors “some of the best-looking cars AMC ever built.” Styling is subjective, but I suggest here that these cars looked rather chunky and old-fashioned for such a new design.
Another small nitpick is that Ligo appears to question giving the 1965 Ambassador a six-cylinder engine. Why? The goal was to create a high-volume line. In the mid-60s even low-priced big cars offered sixes along with their eights.
Late-60s models not as successful as suggested
More significantly, the film seems to view the late-60s Ambassador through rose-tinted glasses. Ligo follows in the footsteps of Patrick Foster, who has argued that offering standard air conditioning on the Ambassador was a “brilliant marketing move” (2013, p. 99). Sales and market share actually fell in 1968, its first year. A facelift in 1969 did boost output, but that lasted only one year. Sales were rather poor from then on (go here for further discussion).
One of the film’s most revealing moments is when Ligo shares advertising consultant May Wells Lawrence’s take to the Ambassador. Quoting from her book, A Big Life (In Advertising) (2003), Ligo talks about how she had trouble defining the car’s unique selling points. Wells Lawrence even crawled into an Ambassador’s trunk to get a better feel for the car. Her firm pitched the idea of standard air conditioning.
Also see ‘AMC’s Roy D. Chapin Jr. succumbed to the illusion of bigness’
This was not a bad tactical move. However, it steered clear of the bigger question: Could AMC compete in the full-sized field with a stretched mid-sized car?
The film does not directly address this question. Ligo does note that the Ambassador did not have any more interior room than junior models based on the same platform. These included the Rebel from 1967-70 and the Matador from 1971 onward.
In addition, Ligo suggested that the Ambassador’s stretched wheelbase ahead of the cowl gave the car awkward proportions. Indeed.
Ligo overly kind about 1974 Ambassador’s looks
Ligo says nice things about the facelift given to 1974 models. Yes, the new front came off better than the Matador’s, which shared the same long-snouted bumper. Even so, the Ambassador was still one of the ugliest cars of the 1970s.
Also see ‘Richard Teague’s styling helped to kill American Motors’
The car was also too big. The 1974 models were 30 inches longer and 700 pounds heavier than the 1963 Rambler, which used the same platform. All that extra bulk added only two inches more rear-seat legroom and a bit of extra trunk space.
This land yacht was made by the same carmaker that hit its sales peak by offering a compact alternative to Detroit’s typical “Dinosaur in the Driveway” (Hyde, 2009; p. 186). Ligo does not mention this irony.
These are examples of how Ligo could have pushed his analysis further. Even so, this is a thoughtful and fun film about a nameplate that deserves more attention. “The History of the Nash/AMC Ambassador” should be of interest to both the historian and the collector.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SEARCH
- Foster, Patrick R.; 2013. American Motors Corporation: The Rise and Fall of America’s Last Independent Automaker. MBI Publishing Co., Minneapolis, MN.
- Hyde, Charles K; 2009. Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, and American Motors. Wayne State University Press, Detroit, MI.
- Ligo, Joe; 2020. “History of the Nash / AMC Ambassador: 1927-1974.” AutoMoments. Posted June 30.
- Wells Lawrence, Mary; 2003. A Big Life (In Advertising). Touchstone, New York, NY.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES:
- oldcarbrochures.org: AMC Matador (1972)
Just watched the vid and enjoyed it; thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed the video. The last Ambassadors that made sense were the 1965-1968 cars and station wagons. The 1969 front-end and 1970 rear-end were just okay, but afterwards, the cars were ungainly. The brilliant 1962-design for 1963 was A.M.C.’s high point, equaled only by the 1964 American and the 1970 Hornet. I liked and drove a 1968 Javelin, but my father whom was a G.M.-man through and through, advised me not to purchase an A.M.C. product. So, I bought a Chevy II Nova with a 250-cu.-in. six. and Powergilde. My dad’s best friend bought a 1967 Ambassador fully-equipped, in black and very elegant blue interior. It was like a limousine. Roy Chapin should have developed that car instead of extending its wheelbase and sheet metal further
Absolutely agree with what you said about developing the Ambassador, especially in light of the fact that AMC went from Classic to Rebel to Matador – no consistency there – and never got a decent toehold in the mid-size market with any of those brands. The Ambassador would have made (pardon the pun) a sensible competitor for cars like the Cutlass Supreme and Gran Torino.