Joe Ligo’s AMC movie, ‘The Last Independent Automaker,’ is worth supporting

1970 AMC AMX

Joe Ligo is kicking into high gear a fundraising campaign for his long-anticipated movie about AMC, called “The Last Independent Automaker.” The revived project is slated to be aired as a six-part series in 2024 on Public Broadcasting Service television stations as well as online (Ligo, 2022b).

This project is worth supporting regardless of your interest in American Motors. Auto history films are much rarer than books because they can be considerably more complex — and costly — to produce. If Ligo’s series is successful, that might open the door to more of them.

Project revived with new approach and expanded team

We last checked in on the project in February 2020, when the intent was to create a movie. Since then Covid and workload constraints brought the project to a standstill. In deciding to revive “The Last Independent Automaker,” Ligo partnered with Maryland Public Television to distribute six, 30-minute episodes to PBS stations across the country. One report stated that the series will kick off in spring and episodes will be organized by time period (Lewis, 2022).

The project team was expanded to include filmmaker Jimm Needle and automotive historian Patrick Foster. Ligo is listed as the producer and director, with Needle playing the role of a co-producer and “creative consultant.” Foster is a co-producer and writer.

Also see ‘Classic film shows human side of Studebaker’s end’

A GoFundMe page was set up with the goal of raising $10,000. As I write this, upwards of $6,000 has come in (Ligo, 2022b).

Ligo (2022a) recently wrote that he quit his day job to complete this project. That strikes me as a meaningful risk given how relatively few automotive history buffs appear willing to pay for content unless they are required to do so (such as by subscribing to Collectible Automobile in order to get the magazine). That said, risk taking is generally what moves forward the field of auto history, so I give Ligo a lot of credit for his persistence.

1970 AMC Rebel Machine
Marketing materials suggest that “The Last Independent Automaker” will have plenty of images of AMC sporty cars such as the 1970 Rebel Machine (Old Car Brochures).

Series appears to make use of film’s greatest strengths

The series will attempt to present AMC’s history in a narrative that is compelling to a general audience. For example, Ligo stated that “(r)unning a car company is anything but boring, and the story of American Motors includes plenty of ambition, innovation, betrayal, and even one assassination” (Gilboy, 2022).

Ligo stated point blank to Hagerty that his goal was to produce a series which isn’t just interesting to “car guys” (Peek, 2022). That suggests a more general overview of AMC than Foster’s books.

Also see ‘Classic film shows human side of Studebaker’s end’

In addition, Ligo appears to be exploiting the advantages of film over print by emphasizing human elements, such as through interviews and historical video footage. For example, the project team has recorded more than 30 interviews with former AMC employees, from “people who installed hubcaps on the assembly line, to stylists who designed the cars, to engineers who made them work, to multiple CEOs who ran the company.” The team has also “sifted through over 100 hours of old video tapes, including vintage TV commercials, sales training sessions, and footage from inside AMC’s Kenosha factories” (Ligo, 2022a).

The series will apparently address issues that typically don’t get much, if any, attention in automotive histories. As a case in point, AMC is looked at through the lens of employees such as “the women who braved the rampant sexism of an American auto plant in the Fifties to those who had white-collar positions at the company’s offices, and the various discrimination issues that were so prevalent for so long” (Lewis, 2022).

1975 AMC Pacer and other small cars
The film’s trailer includes snippets from interviews that paint AMC products such as the Pacer and Gremlin in a cheerleading way. Will this reflect the film’s overall tone (Old Car Brochures)?

Will Foster update questionable aspects of his analysis?

In his past videos about AMC products, Ligo has tended to defer to Foster’s analysis (go here). Thus, my guess is that he will do so here, particularly since Foster is listed as the film’s writer. That raises the question: Will Foster update his analysis over his previous writings?

Also see ‘The downside of auto historians writing about their friends’

As we have previously discussed, there are a number of areas where Foster’s narrative can be questioned (e.g., here, here and here). Perhaps most notably, Foster has more harshly criticized the leadership of AMC head Roy Abernethy than his successor, Roy Chapin Jr., even though the latter presided over much more costly mistakes such as the 1971 Javelin, the 1974 Matador coupe and the 1976 Pacer (e.g., 2013).

In basic business terms, the Chapin regime was remarkably reckless. Will the series address that in a direct way or paper it over with rah-rah rhetoric about the little guy having to take more chances? The trailer suggests the latter.

1956 Rambler ad with Romney
The trailer shows portions of an interview with Mitt Romney, the son of AMC head George Romney. Mitt’s comments provide useful context. Click on image to display full ad (Old Car Advertisements).

Donations being sought to cover production costs

Ligo (2022a) is understated in explaining why he needs donations: “Even though we have partnered with a PBS station for distribution, we (the producers) still have to raise the money to fund this project. Filmmaking is expensive. I’ve personally spent thousands of my own dollars financing this already, because that’s how committed I am. But I can’t do the whole thing alone.”

Also see ‘Counterfactuals and whether AMC had a chance of survival’

This is a key point that needs to be underlined: Good historical research takes time and money — particularly when you are doing a film. As old timers pass from the scene, why should we expect younger people like Ligo to dedicate themselves to the field if it is financially unsustainable?

All and all, this film series sounds promising — and I would invite you to show your support for it. You can find out more about “The Last Independent Automaker” at its website, Facebook page and GoFundMe page.

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RE:SOURCES

Patrick Foster's latest AMC book

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