Rambler Six
Encyclopedia
The Rambler Six and the Rambler V8 are intermediate sized
automobiles that were built and marketed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1956 to 1960.
Launched on 15 December 1955, the 1956 model year
Rambler Six ushered a "new era in motoring has begun" according to George W. Romney
, President of AMC. The Rambler created and defined a new market segment, the "compact car
" as the automobile classification was called at that time. A V8 engine
powered model, the Rambler V8, was added in 1957.
marketplace that shifted from a seller's to a buyer's market
. The sales war between Ford and Chevrolet conducted during 1953 and 1954 had left little business for the much smaller "independent" automakers trying to compete against the standard models offered the domestic Big Three (General Motors
, Ford
, and Chrysler
).
The company was developing a new line of smaller models for 1957 under Styling Director, Edmund E. Anderson
. Although conventional business thinking states that bigger profits were made from sales of bigger cars, American Motors lacked the resources to develop a full-range of new models. As the head of AMC, George W. Romney
avoided a head-to-head battle with the Big Three automakers by focusing the company on the compact car. He "felt that with the Rambler I had the car of the future" and Romney "bet the farm on the Rambler" by spending US$
5.4 million on a "crash program to bring the 1957 Rambler to market a year earlier."
two-door (Nash Rambler
) versions were dropped. The new line retained the 108 inches (274 cm) wheelbase that was used for the previous four-door versions of the Nash Rambler, but the overall length was increased. The new Ramblers came only as four-door models. Along with the usual four-door sedan and station wagon
was a new four-door hardtop
(no B-pillar
sedan. Also, Rambler introduced an industry first, a four-door hardtop station wagon, called Cross Country.
The new car was described as "distinct and different .... can be recognized at any angle from its wide-open competition- type grille to the pronounced arch over rear window." According to automobile journalist Floyd Clymer, "economy and high-performance do not go hand in hand, but in the Rambler, the owner will find a happy medium ... though smaller, is safer than many cars. The welded, unitized body-frame construction offers above-average protection in collisions."
The AMC Straight-6 engine
for the new Rambler was based on the previous 195.6 CID block, but was improved and featured new overhead valves and produced 120 bhp. It was the only engine available in the 1956 Rambler. The automatic transmission was the GM-produced Hydramatic
(called "Flashaway" by AMC). A torque tube
drive system was used with a four-coil spring
suspension.
In 1956 Rambler was sold under both the Nash and Hudson brand names (the merged companies forming AMC in 1954). This model became the replacement for the large-sized Nash and Hudson models that suffered from dwindling sales. The Rambler was the only completely new "popular-priced" car in 1956. Reaction to the 1956 Rambler was very positive and advertising for the new model urged potential buyers to "Drive the Rambler - You'll Make the Smart Switch for 1956." Sales for the inaugural year totaled 62,700. Soon, the all-new "compact-sized" (as vehicles were defined at that time) model experienced a "sales explosion".
The four-door sedans and station wagons were offered in stripped Deluxe trim (I6 only), Super, and Custom trim (optional V8 engine). This was the first year the Rambler offered a new 250 CID AMC V8 engine
producing 190 bhp. The four-door hardtop station wagon was only available in the Custom trim with the V8 engine.
A companion model featuring AMC's new high-performance 327 CID V8 engine
was introduced in 1957. This was the Rambler Rebel
and it was an early "muscle car
."
with a new front end design with four headlamps, as well as the requisite new tailfin
s. A Borg-Warner torque converter automatic transmission with pushbutton gear selection on the far left side of the instrument panel was optional.
All Ramblers received a rust-inhibiting primer by dipping bodies into a vat of before the color coat was applied, a revolutionary process that was later copied by other automakers.
Sales of the Rambler six and V8 increased to 119,000 during a year when all U.S. cars were down in volume.
Improvements to the Rambler included new side trim with a full-with die-cast grille, as well as thicker brake linings and larger brakes for V8 powered cars. Engineering changes included fuel economy improvements with lower axle ratios and more efficient carburetor
for the I6 engines. An electrically engaged overdrive
units behind the three-speed manual transmission were also available. To increase longevity, Rambler mufflers were aluminum-coated on the inside and zinc-coated on the outside. On cars with automatic transmission cars, engine starting was now incorporated into the neutral pushbutton; thus, eliminating the ignition key start switch. Accidental starter engagement is prevented by a lockout when the engine is running.
A total of 11 models were offered for 1959, all four-door versions of sedans, station wagons, and Country Club hardtop (no B-pillar) body styles. Premium options and conveniences continued to be offered including "Weather Eye
" air-conditioning, air suspension on V8s, limited slip differential
s, an exterior mounted continental tire
, as well as the American Motors' exclusive individually adjustable and reclining front seats with headrests. Sales of the Rambler Six and V8 continued to increase.
and roof profile, as well as slanting both the windshield and rear window at a greater angle. The front end was simplified, while the tailfins became smaller thus highlighting the new tall taillamps. The overall length was trimmed by 1.6 inches (40.6 mm) because of a new spit-bumper design. Riding on 15-inch wheels the Rambler appeared to be larger than it actually was. The interior was also revised and the instrument panel now incorporated all instrumentation within a large oval in front of the driver.
The practice of separate Six and Rebel V8 models now ended with the focus on the Rambler name and the trim levels. Each series was offered with "Economy 6 or Rebel V-8 engines."
In 1960, the Rambler line was in third place in total industry sales in the United States.
brand name from its various sizes and similar model names. New nameplates were installed; the Rambler Six and Rambler Rebel V8 were both renamed the Rambler Classic
in 1961.
Mid-size car
A mid-size car is the North American/Australian standard for an automobile with a size equal to or greater than that of a compact...
automobiles that were built and marketed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1956 to 1960.
Launched on 15 December 1955, the 1956 model year
Model year
The model year of a product is a number used worldwide, but with a high level of prominence in North America, to describe approximately when a product was produced, and indicates the coinciding base specification of that product....
Rambler Six ushered a "new era in motoring has begun" according to George W. Romney
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973...
, President of AMC. The Rambler created and defined a new market segment, the "compact car
Compact car
A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
" as the automobile classification was called at that time. A V8 engine
AMC V8 engine
American Motors Corporation produced a series of widely-used V8 engines from the mid-1950s before being absorbed into Chrysler in 1987. Chrysler kept the AMC V8 in production until 1991 for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer....
powered model, the Rambler V8, was added in 1957.
Background
The new for 1956 Rambler was arguably "the most important car American Motors ever built" in that it not only created and defined a new market segment, emphasized the virtues of compact design, but also enabled the automaker to prosper in the post-World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
marketplace that shifted from a seller's to a buyer's market
Supply and demand
Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers , resulting in an...
. The sales war between Ford and Chevrolet conducted during 1953 and 1954 had left little business for the much smaller "independent" automakers trying to compete against the standard models offered the domestic Big Three (General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, and Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
).
The company was developing a new line of smaller models for 1957 under Styling Director, Edmund E. Anderson
Edmund E. Anderson
Edmund E. Anderson was an industrial designer in the North American automotive industry, notably as the lead designer for American Motors Corporation from 1950 to 1961. He was born in Boston. Anderson also worked in automotive design at General Motors until 1950, when he was recruited by George W...
. Although conventional business thinking states that bigger profits were made from sales of bigger cars, American Motors lacked the resources to develop a full-range of new models. As the head of AMC, George W. Romney
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973...
avoided a head-to-head battle with the Big Three automakers by focusing the company on the compact car. He "felt that with the Rambler I had the car of the future" and Romney "bet the farm on the Rambler" by spending US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5.4 million on a "crash program to bring the 1957 Rambler to market a year earlier."
1956
The 1956 four-door Rambler models were completely redesigned and the short-wheelbaseWheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
two-door (Nash Rambler
Nash Rambler
The Nash Rambler was a North American automobile produced by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation from 1950–55.The Nash Rambler established a new segment in the automobile market and is widely acknowledged to be the first successful modern American compact...
) versions were dropped. The new line retained the 108 inches (274 cm) wheelbase that was used for the previous four-door versions of the Nash Rambler, but the overall length was increased. The new Ramblers came only as four-door models. Along with the usual four-door sedan and station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
was a new four-door hardtop
Hardtop
A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style....
(no B-pillar
Pillar (car)
Pillars are the vertical supports of the greenhouse of an automobile — known respectively as the A, B, C or D-pillar moving in profile view from the front to rear....
sedan. Also, Rambler introduced an industry first, a four-door hardtop station wagon, called Cross Country.
The new car was described as "distinct and different .... can be recognized at any angle from its wide-open competition- type grille to the pronounced arch over rear window." According to automobile journalist Floyd Clymer, "economy and high-performance do not go hand in hand, but in the Rambler, the owner will find a happy medium ... though smaller, is safer than many cars. The welded, unitized body-frame construction offers above-average protection in collisions."
The AMC Straight-6 engine
AMC Straight-6 engine
The American Motors Corporation straight-6 family of engines was used by a number of AMC and Jeep vehicles from 1964 through 2006.-195.6:American Motors' first straight-six engine was the...
for the new Rambler was based on the previous 195.6 CID block, but was improved and featured new overhead valves and produced 120 bhp. It was the only engine available in the 1956 Rambler. The automatic transmission was the GM-produced Hydramatic
Hydramatic
Hydramatic was an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the Hydramatic was the first fully automatic mass-produced transmission developed for passenger automobile use.-History:During the...
(called "Flashaway" by AMC). A torque tube
Torque tube
A torque tube system is a driveshaft technology, often used in automobiles with a front engine and rear drive. It is not as widespread as the Hotchkiss drive, but is still occasionally used to this day...
drive system was used with a four-coil spring
Coil spring
A Coil spring, also known as a helical spring, is a mechanical device, which is typically used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces...
suspension.
In 1956 Rambler was sold under both the Nash and Hudson brand names (the merged companies forming AMC in 1954). This model became the replacement for the large-sized Nash and Hudson models that suffered from dwindling sales. The Rambler was the only completely new "popular-priced" car in 1956. Reaction to the 1956 Rambler was very positive and advertising for the new model urged potential buyers to "Drive the Rambler - You'll Make the Smart Switch for 1956." Sales for the inaugural year totaled 62,700. Soon, the all-new "compact-sized" (as vehicles were defined at that time) model experienced a "sales explosion".
1957
In 1957, the Rambler was established as a separate marque and these models became the foundation for the new company's best sales performance through the late 1950s. Sales increased to 82,000.The four-door sedans and station wagons were offered in stripped Deluxe trim (I6 only), Super, and Custom trim (optional V8 engine). This was the first year the Rambler offered a new 250 CID AMC V8 engine
AMC V8 engine
American Motors Corporation produced a series of widely-used V8 engines from the mid-1950s before being absorbed into Chrysler in 1987. Chrysler kept the AMC V8 in production until 1991 for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer....
producing 190 bhp. The four-door hardtop station wagon was only available in the Custom trim with the V8 engine.
A companion model featuring AMC's new high-performance 327 CID V8 engine
AMC V8 engine
American Motors Corporation produced a series of widely-used V8 engines from the mid-1950s before being absorbed into Chrysler in 1987. Chrysler kept the AMC V8 in production until 1991 for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer....
was introduced in 1957. This was the Rambler Rebel
Rambler Rebel
The Rambler Rebel is an automobile that was produced by the American Motors Corporation of Kenosha, Wisconsin for the 1957–1960 model years, as well as again for 1966 and 1967.- History :...
and it was an early "muscle car
Muscle car
Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high-performance automobiles. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Usually, a large V8 engine is fitted in a...
."
1958
The Rambler was faceliftedFacelift (automobile)
The automotive facelift comprises changes to a car's styling during its production run — often including new sheetmetal and/or interior design) with minimal changes to its underlying mechanicals — allowing a carmaker to freshen a model without complete redesign.A facelift retains the...
with a new front end design with four headlamps, as well as the requisite new tailfin
Tailfin
The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1957 and 1960. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry where it was the golden epoch of American autodesign.General Motors design chief...
s. A Borg-Warner torque converter automatic transmission with pushbutton gear selection on the far left side of the instrument panel was optional.
All Ramblers received a rust-inhibiting primer by dipping bodies into a vat of before the color coat was applied, a revolutionary process that was later copied by other automakers.
Sales of the Rambler six and V8 increased to 119,000 during a year when all U.S. cars were down in volume.
1959
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
for the I6 engines. An electrically engaged overdrive
Overdrive (mechanics)
Overdrive is a term used to describe a mechanism that allows an automobile to cruise at sustained speed with reduced engine RPM, leading to better fuel economy, lower noise and lower wear...
units behind the three-speed manual transmission were also available. To increase longevity, Rambler mufflers were aluminum-coated on the inside and zinc-coated on the outside. On cars with automatic transmission cars, engine starting was now incorporated into the neutral pushbutton; thus, eliminating the ignition key start switch. Accidental starter engagement is prevented by a lockout when the engine is running.
A total of 11 models were offered for 1959, all four-door versions of sedans, station wagons, and Country Club hardtop (no B-pillar) body styles. Premium options and conveniences continued to be offered including "Weather Eye
Weather Eye
The Weather Eye was a trade name for a Nash Motors-designed fresh-air automotive heating and ventilating system first used in 1938. This "Conditioned Air System" is characterized by a cowl-mounted outside air receiver that then passes fresh air through a heater core utilizing hot engine coolant for...
" air-conditioning, air suspension on V8s, limited slip differential
Limited slip differential
A limited slip differential is a type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts, but imposes a mechanical bound on the disparity...
s, an exterior mounted continental tire
Continental tire
A Continental tire is an upright, external, mounted spare tire behind an automobile's trunk compartment. The term also describes a non-functional bulge that is stamped into the trunk lid or a cosmetic accessory to the rear of the car giving the impression of a spare tire mount.-Development:The...
, as well as the American Motors' exclusive individually adjustable and reclining front seats with headrests. Sales of the Rambler Six and V8 continued to increase.
1960
The 1960 models featured numerous exterior and interior design changes. The greenhouse was made "lighter" with a narrower C-pillarPillar (car)
Pillars are the vertical supports of the greenhouse of an automobile — known respectively as the A, B, C or D-pillar moving in profile view from the front to rear....
and roof profile, as well as slanting both the windshield and rear window at a greater angle. The front end was simplified, while the tailfins became smaller thus highlighting the new tall taillamps. The overall length was trimmed by 1.6 inches (40.6 mm) because of a new spit-bumper design. Riding on 15-inch wheels the Rambler appeared to be larger than it actually was. The interior was also revised and the instrument panel now incorporated all instrumentation within a large oval in front of the driver.
The practice of separate Six and Rebel V8 models now ended with the focus on the Rambler name and the trim levels. Each series was offered with "Economy 6 or Rebel V-8 engines."
In 1960, the Rambler line was in third place in total industry sales in the United States.
Legacy
American Motors began the process of differentiating the RamblerRambler (automobile)
Rambler was an automobile brand name used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914, then by its successor, Nash Motors from 1950 to 1954, and finally by Nash's successor, American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1969...
brand name from its various sizes and similar model names. New nameplates were installed; the Rambler Six and Rambler Rebel V8 were both renamed the Rambler Classic
Rambler Classic
The Rambler Classic was an intermediate sized automobile that was built and sold by American Motors Corporation from model year 1961 to 1966...
in 1961.