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HomeAmbassador

Ambassador

1963 Rambler American 2-door hardtop closeup
Design Notes

1961-63 Rambler American: Would it have been better without a restyling?

February 21, 2023 Steve 13

Paul Niedermeyer (2023) recently suggested that the 1961 Rambler American’s “two-box” styling “just doesn’t work for me.” That makes sense. The newly reskinned car represented one of the most extreme — and awkward — examples […]

1972 AMC Ambassador
Editor's Note

Reader complains that Indie Auto bashes the AMC Ambassador

March 28, 2022 Steve 13

Someone I will call Bob has taken Indie Auto to task for our story about the AMC Ambassador. This discussion does a good job of summarizing what Indie Auto is and isn’t all about, so […]

1972 AMC Ambassador proposal by Brooks Stevens
Design Notes

Proposed 1972-73 design could have saved AMC from ill-fated 1974 Matador coupe

February 4, 2022 Steve 15

The above image apparently shows an early design proposal by Brooks Stevens for a reskinned AMC Ambassador planned for 1972-73. The design has a resemblance to mockups pictured in a Patrick Foster (2013) book. These […]

1965 Rambler American 440H
Letters to the Editor

AMC’s Roy Abernethy should have invested more in mid-sized cars

January 12, 2022 Steve 13

CJ recently wrote an exceptionally thoughtful comment that I would like to highlight on the front page as a letter to the editor. This missive was in response to the story, “Historians differ on origins […]

Inside Indie Auto
Editor's Note

Thank you for helping to make 2021 a good year for Indie Auto

January 3, 2022 Steve 0

Before getting too far into the new year I should say a few words to close out 2021. Last year was a good one for Indie Auto. We produced some solid content despite increasing the […]

1965 AMC Ambassador sketch
Multimedia

Joe Ligo is overly kind in Nash/AMC Ambassador film

September 9, 2021 Steve 3

(UPDATED FROM 7/3/2020) 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 […]

1974 AMC Matador and other cars
Media Analysis

Was Mac’s Motor City Garage wrong about the 1974-78 Matador coupe?

August 9, 2021 Steve 3

Fred (2018), a Mac’s Motor City Garage commentator, argued that a story about the 1974-78 AMC Matador coupe was riddled with “typical mistakes that get repeated again and again” by “one hack Internet report after […]

1974 AMC Ambassador fake design
Fake Design

1974 AMC Ambassador: GM envy to the ZiL degree

August 7, 2020 Steve 7

The 1974 Ambassador’s ZiL-like styling shows how AMC had succumbed to “GM envy” in the 1970s. This car was so big and ugly that it was doomed to failure. Yet American Motors wasted scarce resources […]

George Romney made eight big mistakes at AMC
History

George Romney made eight big mistakes at AMC

July 10, 2020 Steve 8

George Romney may have been one of the U.S. auto industry’s best post-war leaders, but he made eight big mistakes while leading AMC from 1954-62. Some of his bad moves were costly enough to almost […]

1967 Rambler Rebel 550 2-door coupe
History

How American Motors abandoned its uniqueness in the second half of the 1960s

January 1, 2020 Steve 0

The most strikingly quality of American Motors’ car designs developed in the mid-60s was how quickly the automaker ditched the Rambler look in favor of styling mostly indistinguishable from the Big Three. This was a […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3
  • 1954 Chevrolet was beginning of the end for GM’s brand hierarchy
    April 21, 2026 17
  • 1980 Pontiac Phoenix 5-door hatch
    Bigger didn’t prove to be better for General Motors in late-70s and 80s
    April 17, 2026 39
  • 1963 Ford Galaxie
    Might Detroit have embraced front-wheel drive earlier if McNamara had stayed at Ford?
    April 16, 2026 7
  • Cheap dealer car
    How much do Trump policies have to hurt auto industry before it supports Dems?
    April 14, 2026 19
  • 1975 Ford Thunderbird
    Ford design in the 1970s was a real step down from the previous decade
    April 10, 2026 24
  • 1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
    The sad story about buying a 1981 Monte Carlo right out of college
    April 9, 2026 2
  • Why the 1968-69 Javelin was not Richard Teague’s best AMC sporty coupe
    April 6, 2026 9
  • Mitsubishi dealer in Spokane
    Indie Auto is moving — although you may barely notice
    April 8, 2026 4
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 136
Society of Automotive Historian award to Indie Auto

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  • Steve on 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible didn’t catch on
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  • Albert Fredrick Godwin on 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible didn’t catch on
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  • Terrance Smith on Even Motor Trend complained about the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado’s brakes
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