Dropping the respected figure of Nash and Hudson chair to the maturation of the 1960 - 1961 AMC / Rambler Ambassador . It probably was n’t the smartest thing George Romney ever did , but it was n’t that important , either . The crucial decision – made after AMC president George Mason died in 1954 and Romney take the helm of the newly christened American Motors – was to foreswear vie across - the - board with the Big Three .
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Romney did this by concentrating intemperately on theRambler , which had carve out a niche for itself with economy - tending buyer . For 1956 he had restyled and expatiate the Rambler line , and by 1958 ’s unexpected recess he bet like the Wizard of Oz : gross sales of full-grown cars bottomed , and Romney was leave gloat over his sudden succeeder . It was a case of brilliant timing . All over the country people were get into Ramblers .
American Motors , which had break along at the 100,000 - car level for its first three year of life , abruptly incur its sales repeat . A year by and by they doubled again . By 1960 , Rambler was number three in the diligence , displacing traditional third - place Plymouth . It was the first time an " sovereign " had scored that high since the 1929 Essex .
The conclusion to flatten the Nash and Hudson brands was made not to kill off two o.k. old name , but to emphasize AMC ’s departure from late exercise . Indeed , up until almost the last moment , a large Rambler - based elevator car called the " Ambassador " ( the old Nash model name ) had been in clay model form give birth Nash and Hudson badge .
When this good example in conclusion emerge in product as the 1958 " Rambler Ambassador , " it was find to be only modestly downsized from the premature vainglorious Hudson and Nash . It lost four and one - half inches of wheelbase and a hundred - unmatched Egyptian pound , but it was still power by the AMC 327 V-8 and had even more horsepower than the ' 57 big car . That made it livelier , but without stretch your imagination too much , you could call it a kind of accelerator pedal - guzzling dinosaur – the eccentric of automobile Mr. Romney said he was n’t build anymore .
" It was a hedgerow – a kind of failsafe , " remembered former AMC chair Roy D. Chapin , Jr. " If the diminished gondola ploy went defective , we had the Ambassador shell and could exposit on it . As it happened , the small cars did n’t go bad , so the Ambassador kind of hang around as a sidelight . " A valid summation indeed , as in model year 1958 , the Ambassador ’s first yr as a Rambler , they managed to sell exactly 1,340 examples .
Go to the next varlet to regain out about the styling and sales success of the 1960 - 1961 AMC / Rambler Ambassador .
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Continued
There were only three trunk manner for the 1960 - 1961 AMC / Rambler Ambassador , all four - doors : a sedan , hardtop , and hardtop Wain , though some wagons were available in six- or eight - rider configurations . There were also three clipping levels : Deluxe ( with flashy trim for fleet use only ) , Super , and Custom . This all combine to give nine permutation , among which several are exceedingly rare : only 302 Deluxe fleet - sedans , 637 Super eight - passenger wagon , and 435 Custom hardtop wagons .
custom disagree from Supers in modest items of physical structure trim and offered a clock , full wheel disk , froth rear seat shock , padded hyphen , and padded Dominicus visors as stock equipment . floor Leontyne Price started at $ 2,395 for the fleet model Deluxe , and surface to about $ 3,200 for the Custom hardtop wagon . Typically equipped , an Ambassador Custom sold for $ 4,000 , or about $ 300 more than a comparable Nash Ambassador back in 1957 .
Styling was confined to a facelift , but it came off well on the 1960 model : a full - width eggcrate grille , surmounted by place upright - up alphabetic character spelling AMBASSADOR . One new characteristic was a compound windshield , which wrapped around at the top as well as the sides . A full - breadth bodyside molding , shut in brushed aluminum on Customs or painted two - tone color on superintendent , added to the notion of length and further distinguished the Ambassador from the much brusk Rambler . Performance , with the 327 delivering 250 or 270 bhp , was seemly but not exciting ; these were not hot rods that would extend any challenge to the heavy - pulley-block Chevys , Fords , or Plymouths .
American Motors had a banner year in 1960 , progress nearly half a million cars . It was by far the largest volume on record , and for the first fourth dimension in AMC history , sale topped $ 1 billion . But it is important to recall ( and AMC did ) that the Ambassador was very much a peripheral product , and that successfulness largely calculate on the Rambler .
With that in judgement , perhaps , a rather dissimilar array of models was tender in 1961 . The public ’s fascination with four - threshold hardtop was waning , so these were give the ax . Sedans and wagons with schematic B - pillars were all that rest .
The fleet - series Deluxe stayed on , though it saw just 273 copy ( the Ambassador was scarce a fleet - eccentric elevator car ) . A novel entry was the five - passenger Custom 400 , a luxuriousness Custom with front bucket derriere selling for $ 200 more than the standard edition . The idea was to take reward of the new cult for bucket nates and pin shifts , but AMC had no floorshift , and its column shift was notoriously clumsy .
The ' 61 retained the honest-to-god bodyshell but was radically facelifted , the front fenders extended to a prowlike front end that looked like an old Spanish - American War battleship . The quadriceps femoris headlamp were now place outboard of a smaller , horizontal - taproom grille that peak in the essence , repeating the sharp - nosed composition . Side trim and interiors were scuffle ; the drivetrain was unaltered .
It was n’t a effervescent year for anybody – sales were well down from 1960 , and AMC ’s small cars were faced with potent rival from the new Big Three powder compact . The Ambassador accounted for less than 19,000 unit , and ladder up another smattering of ultra - rarities : The eight - passenger beach waggon scarcely made 1,000 sales , and the Custom 400 , introduced late in April 1961 , found only 831 buyers .
For 1960 - 1961 AMC / Rambler Ambassador stipulation , go to the next page .
1960-1961 AMC/Rambler Ambassador Specifications
The 1960 - 1961 AMC / Rambler Ambassador ’s performance was acceptable , but no match for the big - pulley Chevys , Fords , or Plymouths of the era .
Specifications
Engine : ohv V-8 , 287 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.00 × 3.25 ) , 250/270 bhp
contagion : ohv V-8 , 287 cid ( 4.00 × 3.25 ) , 250/270 bhp
Suspension front : upper and lower A - limb , coil springs
abeyance rear : live axle on 4 - link trail subdivision , scroll bounce
brake system : front / rear drums
Wheelbase ( in.):117
Weight ( lbs):3343 - 3592
Top focal ratio ( mph):NA
0 - 60 miles per hour ( sec):NA
