During its heyday in the 50s and 60s, the modest, gas stingy Rambler carved a very profitable niche, filling a product vacuum the other big three automakers were slow to respond to. Today there are numerous Rambler clubs in American paying homage to the inverted bathtub-shaped gadabout that was so popular 50 years ago.
While historians often date the arrival of the Rambler to the aftermath of the Second World War, the vehicle actually had much earlier roots. A Chicago native and bicycle maker by the name of Thomas B. Jeffery was the first to use the Rambler name. From 1878 until 1900 he did a brisk business selling two wheelers before switching gears and throwing in his lot (and production facilities) into the untested waters of automobile production.
Working out of a factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Jeffrey rolled out his first cars “ like the bike called the Rambler “ in 1902. It was in these early years that Jeffrey pioneered such breakthrough technical innovations as the steering wheel (autos previously used tillers to navigate), front mounted engines and the idea of equipping cars with a spare wheel-and-tire assembly that took a lot of the hassle out of dealing with blowouts.
1902 Rambler Model D
This is the car that put Rambler on the map, selling over 1500 in its first year.
By the time of Jeffreys death in 1910, his Rambler was one of the nations bestselling vehicles "over 3,000 that year" and was considered as technically advanced as any car on the road at that time. After Jeffreys demise, his son, Charles, assumed the leadership of the firm and renamed the Rambler the Jeffrey in honor of his father. It would be another 40 years before the Rambler name would resurface in Detroit again.
Charles Jeffrey, who didn't share the passion for the car business his father had, sold the company to former GM president Charles Nash. Nash, who quit GM after philosophical differences with founder Billy Durant, changed the Jeffrey name to Nash Motors Company and renamed its cars Nashes.
Nash Motors Co. prospered under Charles Nashs tutelage by gaining a reputation for being one of the best built cars in America, sales peaking in 1926 when the company sold 100,000 units. It wasn't until 1950, after Nash Motors shifted from war time production, that the Rambler, as most people remember it, made its debut.
Under the direction of Charles Nash's successor, George W. Mason, the Nash Motors Co. (now called Nash-Kelvinator Corporation through a merger with the well-known appliance maker) began development of a small car that could be produced inexpensively for the post World War II economy.
In 1950, Nash revived the Rambler name with what they called "America's first compact car." GM and Ford had also considered building smaller cars after the war, but had abandoned the idea because their mid-size models were selling well.
Compared with standard cars, the Rambler was indeed compact. The Chevrolet's wheelbase, for example, was 115 inches, and it weighed some 3.200 pounds. The little Rambler had a 100-inch wheelbase and was a mere 2,420 pounds. Steel shortages limited the amount of raw materials that Nash-Kelvinator could get, so Mason turned the Rambler into a two-door sedan with a convertible top with plenty of standard features not offered on many full-size cars of the day.
The Rambler got a big boost when popular columnist Tom McCahill of Mechanix Illustrated gave the new compact a glowing review. In the May 1950 issue of the magazine McCahill reported that the little Rambler had a top speed of 84 to 86 mph as well as "excellent riding qualities and quite a bit of snap and punch.
The Rambler became the most successful of the early post-World War II American compacts, which included Kaiser-Frazer's Henry J (and a re-badged version called the Sears Allstate), Willy's Overland's Aero and Hudson's Jet.
Some 26,000 Ramblers were produced during its first, short, model year. In 1951, Nash built 80,000, a remarkable achievement for a new model from a relatively small company. But Nashs success was short-lived and the company began to lose market share to the big three.
The 1951 Rambler two-door Country Club hardtop
The year 1954 was a pivotal year in the history of the Rambler as Nash-Kelvinator and the Hudson Motor Car Company merged forming the American Motors Corporation (AMC), two companies that were seeing declining sales compared to GM, Ford and Chrysler.
It was also the year visionary car man George Romney was elevated to the top spot at newly formed AMC. It was Romney who made the difficult decision in 1957 to drop the Nash and Hudson brands -- two of the oldest marquees in the business, and the company's legacy -- to concentrate exclusively on the compact Rambler line. Now under the Rambler name were models that included the Rebel, American, Classic and Ambassador.
1965 AMC Rambler Classic 660
It turned out to be a brilliant stroke: AMC's sales quadrupled in two years, and Rambler passed Plymouth to become the third best-selling make in the U.S. As chairman and president of American Motors until 1962 when he quit launching a successful run for governor of Michigan, Romney played a key role in bringing the compact economy car to the U.S. public.
Romney oversaw marketing for the Rambler, which he zealously promoted. Lambasting the large chromium-laden cars produced by the big three he declared: "Who wants to have a gas-guzzling dinosaur in his garage . . . Think of the gas bills!"
George Romney on the cover of Time Magazine April 4, 1959
Romney also began a campaign to slash production costs, which involved sharing common parts between the Rambler Ambassador and Rambler Classic models. Beginning in 1962, all "senior" Rambler models would share the same wheelbase and body parts, with trim and equipment level distinguishing the Classic from the Ambassador. Just as important, major stamped sheet metal panels were shared between the new 1963 Ambassador and Classic body.
A local auto analyst at the time said: George Romney has brought off single-handed one of the most remarkable selling jobs in U.S. industry. He has taken a company that only three years ago was on the brink of the grave, the butt of countless jokes ("Did you hear about the man who was hit by a Rambler and went to the hospital to have it removedω"), and given it a new and vibrant lease on life.
February 1963 Motor Trend Magazine Cover
The pinnacle of AMCs success was in 1963, when the Rambler line received the Motor Trend Car of the Year award. But the companys halcyon days were numbered. By the middle of the decade, the Rambler name had acquired a stodgy image and AMC began to phase it out in favor of AMC marquee models. AMC made repeated attempts to enlarge its market niche, with performance cars such as the Rambler Marlin, AMC Javelin, and AMC AMX and luxury cars like the AMC Ambassador, but despite critical approval consumers still identified Rambler only as a manufacturer of economy cars. The last domestic car under the Rambler moniker was in 1969 although the name continued well into the 1970s in international markets, including Mexico and Australia.
Some AMC historians believe that if the company had not abandoned Romney's strategy of concentrating on a single compact platform (an approach that worked spectacularly for Volkswagen in the 60's) it might still be around today.
As for Romney himself, he never wavered in his enthusiasm for his Rambler. Trapped once in a St. Louis traffic jam, he lectured a taxi driver that the mess never would have happened if everyone drove smaller cars. "Next time, try a Rambler," he advised as he left the cab.
For more information about Michigan's automotive and labor heritage, go to www.motorcities.org.
