It’s been more than 25 years since the USA’s smallest carmaker bit the dust-and its passing was scarcely noticed. AMC made some pretty eccentric cars, that appealed to a small market-they tried hard, but were so small and had finacial limitations. By the 1970’s their cars were technically and stylistically obsolete…and its been a long time since I’ve seen any.
Anyway, last week, I went to a local car show-and there it was-an immaculately restored 1968 Rambler sedan. I couldn’t understand why somebody would spend all that money on such a dog of a car!
So is there a small group of people that actually LOVE AMC cars? What do they see in those cars? :smack:
In 1966, I got to ride in one of these, all the way to Cape Hatteras. There were light houses, and beaches, and body surfing, and horsehoe crabs, and pretty gals dressed in paper miniskirts, and the Rolling Stones playing ‘Paint It Black’ on the radio. What’s not to love about that car?
I know someone who usually has one or two of these in various states of restoration in his barn. He seems to like them, but I guess it takes all kinds.
You can get good money for a good-condition Javelin or Matador. The Pacer is not collected, AFAIK. Old Jeeps, of course, are collectible.
Anyone remember the AMC Hornet with a factory ram-air scoop? Saw one on the road once but didn’t get a chance to look under the hood. Assume it had a small block in it.
You could order a Gremlin with a 402. Never saw one but it was an option.
But that would be wrong.
I’m not sure whether this is more of a General Question, asking about the (hypothetical) possibility of a Nash Fan Club or more of an IMHO poll whether anyone would be interested.
We’re going to try it in GQ first, because it is certainly not a Great debate.
[ /Moderator Mode ]
As to why, I would guess it has something to do with them being cheap, relatively easy to maintain, and nowadays, quite rare.
Personally, the last AMC machine I ever had anything to do with was a miserable, clapped-out Hornet fastback that was my younger brother’s first car (he called it the “green latrine”, which should give you some idea of its overall condition) but late-model Javelins, AMXs and Matadors were fairly stylish despite being let down somewhat by the poor rust-resistance of their bodies, flimsy interior trim, and their rather basic and outdated running gear. Things like the Gremlin and Pacer may be harder to justify as collector vehicles, but they were at least somewhat different, stylewise, from equally lame contemporaries such as the Chevy Vega and Ford Pinto. The AMC Eagles, which were more or less four-wheel drive Hornets, also deserve mention, IMO, for being one of the earliest examples of all-wheel drive in ‘regular’ roadgoing passenger cars. Of course, I think most people would consider an Audi Quattro to be considerably more collectable.
Come on down here to beautiful Spring Grove, PA-home of P H Glatfelter paper, where everyting smells like a gym locker. I’ll point you to two guys who have a slew of Pacers, Gremlins, Matadors, Ambassadors, Hornets, AMXs, Javelins, and any other AMC model I might have missed. They also have a Hudson or two. 
My high school girlfriend’s stepfather collected Pacers, fer cryin’ out loud. He had/traded at least 5 different ones (always in possession of at least three) in the year and a half we were dating. This was in 83-85.
There is a Rambler club in the Seattle area (Cascade Ramblers), and I myself am the proud owner of a 1964 American convertible, red with red & white interior (which I’m trying to sell; anyone want to get into the hobby?)
Right, that should be a 401, not a 402, correct?
I owned a '73 Javelin, AMX (Pierre Cardin version) with a 401, 4 speed. Pretty cool car, got tons of looks. I boat anchored the motor and ended up selling it for $4,000 not running. Around here there are AMC clubs and lots of shows and collectors since AMC was in Racine, not to far from Milwaukee.
Since I actually owned and drove a '72 Gremlin, I’m probably the wrong person to venture a guess on how many people might actually love AMC cars.
Racine or Kenosha?
I doubt if there’s anything that *nobody * collects.
I think my 1984 Renault Alliance fell under the AMC banner.
When I saw this thread, my immediate reaction was
“Yes there are collectors of AMC cars, they’re called scrap metal dealers”.
That car was a disaster.
Kenosha, sorry. The two are the same to me so I gets them confused. :smack:
Don’t any of you squares remember the Marlin?
IIRC, tho I was too young to drive, they were pretty kickin’ cars.
At least looks-wise.
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Gremster!