The Cars of American Motors: An Illustrated History

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McFarland, Dec 22, 2011 - Transportation - 364 pages

Though American Motors never approached the size of Detroit's Big Three, it produced a long series of successful cars that were distinctive, often innovative and in many cases influential. This history examines AMC's cars from the company's formation in 1954 through its absorption by Chrysler in 1987. The Gremlin, Pacer and Eagle vehicles are examined in detail, as are the AMC custom cars of George Barris and Carl Green. The text details AMC's 1980s involvement with the French firm Renault and the design legacy of that joint venture, which includes the Hummer. The evolution of Jeep is covered from the 1960s through the 2000s.

Features include some 225 photographs; a listing of AMC / Rambler clubs, organizations and business entities, with contact details; tables of detailed specifications and performance data; data on technical devices, trim packages and all model variations; a comprehensive account of AMC / Rambler appearances in film, television and cartoons.

 

Contents

Introduction
1
1 Economy a Survival Recipe
3
2 The Transition from Thrift
18
3 Being One of the Big 4
74
4 Big and SmallGremlin to Ambassador
147
12 color plates containing 27 photographs
176
5 AMCThe Small Car Company
177
6 Bricklin Gremlin and Jeep
227
7 The Spirit of Hornet Goes OffRoad
247
8 Kenosha Serves Cafe au Lait
279
Appendix A
321
Appendix B
325
Chapter Notes
327
Bibliography
331
Index
333
Copyright

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About the author (2011)

Marc Cranswick is an artist and historian with a history of involvement with car clubs and the hobby of classic car ownership. He has written extensively on high performance German cars.

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