AMC - American Motors Corporation
Genesis
AMC was essentially the result of the merger between Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company in 1954. The company was a generalist, producing series of cars of the saloon, sedan types, but at karge it also produced Military vehicles, Buses and delivery vehicles, Sport utility vehicles, Major home appliances, Commercial refrigeration, and Lawn care products. Subsidiaries were Jeep, Kelvinator, sold (1968), AM General (sold 1985), Wheel Horse (sold 1986), and Beijing Jeep (extinct 1987). The company was defunct in 1988.
Rambler Marlin 1966
AMC sportscars
As usual like other American manufacturers the company also tried to bring some dream in motorshow by producing sports cars and mild muscle cars, that were not quite successful, and in some cases, outright dangerous. But in the past, in Rambler time, the company designed a compact car, a fuel-efficient vehicle 20 years before there was any need for it (The "dinosaur-fighter"). The company soon acquired the reputation of building solid economy cars. nd facing the "big three" in the 1960s the company challenged this domination by introducing some innovations. The braking help called the standard tandem master cylinder in 1962, automatic shift indicator sequence, dual reclining front seats and Bendix disc brakes which helped keeping the company selling well and helped secured in the specialized press many articles. To stay in the race in the 1960s the company had to consent to annual styling changes requiring large expenditures, and launched an acclaimed 1966 new serie for the the full and mid-sized markets.
AMC AMX 1968
AMC Javelin SS (1968)
This large coupe typical of the US market suffered from a relative anemia of its engines, giving it medium recoveries. It was a Coupe 2 + 2 seats, Front engine - rear transmission, V8 cylinders, 16 valves 6.4 liters, 2 ACTs, 315 hp DIN @ 4500 rpm. 450 NM/3500 rpm, 0-100 Kph: 7.2 sec. Max. Speed: 220 Kph, 1400 Kgs, Length: 4871 mm; Width: 1910 mm; Height: 1330 mm; Wheelbase: 2794 mm, 268098 built. The Javelin was designed after the change of direction at the head of the group, which announced record losses, Roy Abernathy being replaced by Roy D. Chapin. The latter decides to revive its image and sales with a response to the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, and presents a coupe "compact" (in the US), affordable and with many engines, starting with the 6-cylinder in-line 3.8 liters of 147 CV and ending with the formidable V8 5.6 L of 284 hp. and 6.4 L of 315 hp. of OSH. Relatively light and fast, she gets encouraging results by being engaged in competition, especially Trans Am series where she often dominates the Mustang. However, with disappointing sales, AMC can not keep up with the giants Ford and GM. Production ceases in 1974, partly because of the oil shock. The AMX, a revamped version with a short wheelbase, will fail to ride this trend.
AMC Gremlin (1968)
A true meteor in American production, the "Gremlin" was one of the few "subcompact" to become popular. It was a Coupe 4 seats, Front engine - rear transmission, V8, 16 valves 5 Liters, 2 ACT, 150 CV DIN @ 4200T/min. 332 NM/2500 RPM, 0-100 kph: 9 sec. Max. Speed: 175 Kph, 1280 Kgs, Length: 4096 mm; Width: 1793 mm; Height: 1316 mm; Wheelbase: 2438 mm
Quoted here more for the anecdote than for its sporting value, which it did not have, the Gremlin was one of the only notable successes of AMC. Always seeking to offer models with the "European" identity, AMC had unveiled this strange coupe with a rear hatchback, particularly original if not aesthetic, and reminiscent of the first models developed in Europe shortly after the oil crisis and are familiar on our roads. What is however a clear difference with the European models remains its 6-cylinder of 100 hp, and its V8 of 4.2 and 5 liters, respectively developing 110 and 150 hp, the latter giving him good acceleration. The Gremlin has been one of the few AMC models to pass energy policy changes and draconian regulations without difficulty after 1973. However, it will hardly be copied in its hatchback style, original but disturbing in a still very Conservative.
AMC AMX (1968)
With a more compact, more European line, the AMX should be the most prominent sports, but its engines remained modest. Berlineta 2 seats, Front engine - rear transmission, V8, 16 valves 6.4 liters, 1 ACT, 315 hp DIN @ 4500 rpm, 0-100 Kmph: 8 sec. Max. Speed: 230 Kph, Length: 4650 mm; 19,100 built. AMC, a small consortium compared to GM, released a particular sports derivative Javelin coupe supposed to compete with Mustang or Camaro. The AMX must succeed him with most of the mechanics and suspensions of the Javelin, but all is mounted on a shorter wheelbase. We hope to give it more velocity. Its engines will go from 225 to 315hp, below what most musclecars from other brands offered. Nevertheless, the AMX-2 series came to pass before their production was stopped in 1970, the future AMX-3 390cv rear central engine, revolutionary in the US was also abandoned after a few prototypes. She would have been the only American rival of the Ford GT40.
AMC Matador (1970)
Just before the crisis, AMC unveiled this family coupe more than sporty, but which resisted better than the other models of the brand. Coupe 4 seats, Front engine - rear transmission, 8-cylinder V line, 16 valves 4.7 Liters, 2 ACT, 220 hp DIN @ 4400T/min. 315 NM/3000, 0-100 Km / hr: 8.8 sec. Max. Speed: 202 Kph, 1500 Kgs, Length: 5160 mm; Width: 1985 mm; Height: 1320 mm; Wheelbase: 2890 mm. AMC Matador 1971 was the company's cheap offer on the eve of the first oil shock. It was not one of the many outstanding muscle cars, but rather an honest road coupe, with a focus on safety. It was preceded by a sportier model, without rear quarter window, type "muscle-car". In 1973, its production ended and the following year was commercialized its improved version. The front did not change and still sported two large characteristic round headlights appeared on the Matador '71. It evolved after the crisis in coupe and sedan models, the 1978 coupe having a curious top-roof rear diligence, with "portholes" more than quarter windows.
http://www.matadorcoupe.com/MatadorSedan/index.html
http://www.matadorcoupe.com/
AMC Hornet SC430 (1971)
Dreadful sporty, the Hornet was hiding under the guise of an honest coupe "Subcompact" entry level. it was a Coupe 4 seats, Front engine - rear transmission, V8, 16 valves 5.7 liters, 2 ACT, 285 hp DIN @ 3200 rpm. 390 NM/3200 rpm, 0-100 Kph: 6.7 sec. Max. Speed: 220 Kph, 1320 Kgs, Length: 4562 mm; Width: 1793 mm; Height: 1330 mm; Wheelbase: 2743 mm 784 built at $ 2660. The Hornet was the tri-carriage in 1969 of the Gremlin. More conventional and motorized mainly by 6-cylinder in line, it will be available in sport version SC, with the Javelin V8, 245 and especially 285 hp, becoming a real muscle car.