Do vloggers represent the future of automotive history?

I must admit to spending almost as much time lately with video-based auto histories as their “print” siblings such as websites or magazines. That’s partly because of the spillover effect of working on some non-automotive media projects, but I also find myself increasingly tilting toward the view that the future of the auto history field belongs to video.

This doesn’t strike me as being a particularly good thing because a typical video has a tendency to dumb down its subject matter compared to, say, a magazine-length article. That said, I find it striking how even some fairly low-grade vloggers can generate viewership that vastly overshadows old-fashioned bloggers.

So let’s do a quick survey of seven vloggers that I have come across. As it turned out, most of them have posted episodes on the AMC Ambassador, so I have highlighted them here as a way to better compare and contrast their approaches.

Joe Ligo presents a history of the Ambassador

Joe Ligo’s AutoMoments YouTube channel is one of the longer-lasting venues of video-based auto histories. As a case in point, five years ago he posted a history of the Nash/AMC Ambassador.

This is arguably the best-quality video among those discussed here, both in terms of visuals as well as substantive content. For example, he includes video footage rather than stills and offers useful factual tidbits.

However, I have previously criticized this episode for being overly kind about the last few iterations of the Ambassador (go here for further discussion).

Adam Wade reviews a 1971 AMC Ambassador

Adam Wade’s Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History is another one of the longer-running vlogs. Two years ago he did a 14-minute episode that focused on what he described as the “strange features and quirks” of a 1971 AMC Ambassador Brougham four-door sedan.

In other words, Wade focused on the car’s design and engineering as he did a video walk around a nicely restored Ambassador. Along the way he interjected historical background about the car’s designer, Richard Teague, and made comparisons with competing makes. He also pointed out who produced various components.

This is the most detail-oriented walk around of an Ambassador that I have come across — and it shows the value of a vlogger’s depth of knowledge.

Hopeless Car Guy offers Ambassador history

Three years ago The Hopeless Car Guy channel on YouTube posted a 14-minute episode that ran through the 50-year history of the Ambassador. Unlike Ligo’s piece, this one relied entirely on still images and heavily focused on product specifications.

Although some production figures were offered, there was very little historical analysis. However, the episode did conclude with the useful point that a larger 1974 Ambassador “seemed like a bad idea, particularly in lieu of AMC’s dinosaur-fighter history.”

Ambassador history has more sizzle than steak

This Old Car is a channel on YouTube that has unusually high production values. A particularly good touch was use of television commercial footage. However, the visuals sometimes struck me as overproduced, such as a frequently jarring transition between scenes.

In addition, I found the content flow confusing. It started by going through Ambassador models year by year but then jumped from 1960 to 1964. And while the announcer talked about the 1966 DPL model, images were shown of a 1965 Ambassador 990 and a 1967 DPL. Then the narrative jumped to discussing sheetmetal changes in 1970 without first addressing the major redesign in 1967 and facelift in 1969.

What’s even more curious is that the episode’s title, “AMC Ambassador: Why it Could Never Keep up With GM, Ford and Chrysler,” was not substantively addressed in the 10-minute video. That’s too bad because it was a decent analytical angle.

Vlogging is easy when you just cut and paste

I have mixed feelings about Green Hawk Drive’s episode on the 1974 AMC Ambassador. On the one hand, it has somewhat more historical analysis than any of the other videos shown here. On the other hand, the visuals are entirely stills and have a decidedly cut-and-pasted quality.

As a case in point, the announcer discusses the Ambassador’s weak sales as three of Indie Auto’s production graphs are shown on screen without citation or my permission. This is copyright infringement. If the producers of Green Hawk Drive keep on doing this, they risk racking up legal expenses and creating ill will with professional colleagues. Nobody likes to see their work stolen.

The irony is that Green Hawk Drive’s visuals would look much better if they did their own. Of course, that would take effort — which they are apparently allergic to. This raises the question: What other journalistic corners have they cut?

A more humorous approach to a walk around

Five years ago Regular Car Reviews did a walk around of a 1972 AMC Ambassador Brougham four-door sedan. This episode included more product specifications and video footage of the car in motion than others posted here. A brief history of the nameplate was also included in a conversational tone.

For example, an announcer stated that the Ambassador was “unpopular in its glory days and forgotten [there]after. It’s like a kid visiting their high school a year after graduation and then a teacher says, ‘I thought you died.'”

That’s a reasonable criticism of the Ambassador, but comparing the production totals of the 1972 models to those of a Chevrolet Corvette wasn’t very meaningful. Then again, the primary goal of this episode would seem to be infotainment.

Where boobs dress up dry Powerpoint slides

Our last vlogger is the Car Collector Enthusiasts channel on YouTube. I am including them even though they didn’t have an AMC episode because their approach was particularly odd.

On their home page all of the teasers for their videos include pictures of women, mostly scantily clad. But when you click into an episode, you will find what amounts to a set of PowerPoint slides without meaningful graphics.

The factoids can be hilarious. Consider the episode titled, “How Spacious Is The 1961 Lincoln Continental?” Consumer Reports stated that the Lincoln, which was the same size from 1961-63, “seems less roomy and better suited to four than six passengers” (1963, p. 184). Yet Car Collector Enthusiasts says that the Lincoln was “notable for its spacious design and dimensions” and can “comfortably fit up to six passengers.”

This may be the newest of the vlogs in our group — it was launched in early February — but has already generated more than 33,000 views.

Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.

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RE:SOURCES

• Car Collector Enthusiasts; 2025. “How Spacious Is The 1961 Lincoln Continental?” Posted June 10.
• Consumer Reports; 1963. “High-Priced Cars.” April issue: p. 184 (no link).
• Green Hawk Drive; 2025. “The Final AMC Ambassador: Luxury That Nobody Bought.” Posted June 21.
• Hopeless Car Guy; 2022. “Model History: Nash/Rambler/AMC Ambassador.”
• Ligo, Joe; 2020. “History of the Nash/AMC Ambassador.” AutoMoments.
• Regular Car Reviews; 2020. “1972 AMC Ambassador Brougham Sedan: Regular Car Reviews.”
• This Old Car; 2023. “AMC Ambassador: Why it Could Never Keep up With GM, Ford and Chrysler.”
• Wade, Adam; 2025. “Ultra Quirky Cars: 1971 Ambassador is Strange & Charming.” Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History. Posted July 4.