Posts from ‘AMC’
Classic Car Ads: Newspaper Bargains
What was with the big floating heads? Why were so many of the advertised vehicles displayed at extreme angles? And why, tell me why, no one bothered to have these delightful ads proofread?
Forgotten Concept: Rambler Tarpon
Rambler Tarpon Concept
This is an installment in a series of posts looking back on show cars that we feel deserved a little more attention than they got. If you have a suggestion for a Forgotten Concept topic, please shoot us a line or leave a comment below.
Classic Car Ads: Cars of 1974
1974 AMC Matador
It was a bad year to sell cars, especially large American cars. For those not yet alive, 1974 arrived towards the end of the OPEC Oil Embargo—and the related record-high gas prices—and at the beginning of a mild recession.
Classic Car Ads: Coupes of 1971
1971 Ford LTD
If you’ve been following auto stuff long enough, you’ve likely come across the descriptor 2-door sedan. Some will argue that all 2-door vehicles with a trunk are coupes, while other folks argue otherwise. According to the editors at website Curbside Classics, this is the real story:
Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast
Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you’ve come to the right place. Join the editors of Consumer Guide Automotive as they break down everything that’s going on in the auto world. New-car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast.
Photo Feature: 1969 AMC Javelin SST
1969 AMC Javelin SST
Note: The following story was excerpted from the February 2019 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
After the successful Romney years, American Motors Corporation stumbled in the mid Sixties. One misstep was the Marlin. It began as the well-received Tarpon show car based on the compact American chassis. Had AMC stayed with the original concept, it would have had a sporty compact to compete with the Ford Mustang in 1965. Instead, Marlin was stretched to fit on the midsize Classic chassis and sales were minuscule.
1964 Mercury Marauder
Say the word “hardtop” and any vintage-auto enthusiast knows what you’re referring to: a closed-roof car with a pillarless roofline (i.e., no door posts to break up the flow of the styling). Though there were earlier examples of the basic concept, General Motors kicked off the hardtop as we know it by introducing a pillarless-coupe body style in its Buick, Cadillac, and Oldsmobile product lines midway through the 1949 model year.
5 Cheapest American Cars of 1977
1977 Ford Pinto
I was 12 years old in 1977, and the biggest news—really the ONLY news—of the year that was of any real consequence to me was the release of Star Wars. I still recall waiting for two hours with my shockingly patient parents in the lobby of the now-defunct Edens Theater in Northbrook, Illinois to secure tickets. I’m pretty sure this was the day the movie opened.
1972 Chevrolet Kommando
It’s sort of like a strange dream. Everything feels familiar, but somehow changed, in strange and wonderful ways. That’s how I feel whenever I revisit the cars of Australia, and also the vehicles of South Africa.
Compact Cars of 1969
1969 Plymouth Valiant 100 4-door Sedan (with 200 Decor Group)
Sadly, our official home-office archive of Consumer Guide new-car-test magazines is pretty thin before 1970. We do have a digest-size magazine from 1967, but it’s most prices and such—no photos, no specs, and no test-drive evaluations.
