History of the Nash / AMC Ambassador: 1927 - 1974 | AutoMoments 

My father was a Nash/AMC guy throughout the 50s and 60s. I grew up in Statesmen and Ambassadors. Thank you for sharing their story and the memories. One of my fondest memories is driving through the high desert in California at sunset in our 64 990H secure in the back seat and watching the stars come out and listening to Streisand sing "People". I also remember the "Desert Only" setting that closed off the flow through air and gagging on my dad's c Marlboro smoke. We moved to Alaska from Texas in a brand new Tahiti Turquoise 68 SST with a black vinyl top. This was before the Alcan highway was paved. 1400 miles of dirt road. What a great testament to the build quality of AMC! Thanks again!

So well done! As a fellow AMC owner, I feel like you got right to some of the most important moments. I learned a few things, too.

I had a 1970 Ambassador station wagon. I drove all my high school friends everywhere. Great car.

You and I think alike, we both have Ambassadors because we love and want them and luckily they are affordable. My Grandfather was chief project engineer at Jeep and when he retired he bought a 71 360 white with a black vinyl top Ambassador 4 door sedan in 1970. Great car. In 75 when he passed away my mother had it till 1980. Then it was sold to a young family of 4 who loved to have it. It served our family well for 10 years and kept on for the other family long after. I loved that car and missed it greatly and in 2003 finally found my Ambassador in Colorado where I met Terry Gale from the Rambler Ranch. What a great man and car guy. Now 17 years later I still have my 73 401 blue 4 dr Ambassador sedan and a great back story on how I met Terry ( the greatest and best collection of AMCs ever) and am still friends with. I've Rambled on enough, but just have to say AMC collectors are some of the best kind of people to associate with and it's always fun to get together with our cars and drive around.

I highly respect the owner’s statement that he owns this car because he likes it, not for it’s investment potential! That’s the same reason I have 3 1967 Ambassadors and a 67 Marlin (same car, different roof!) as well as a 1958 Edsel Citation. Excellent presentation of a worthy automobile. Thanks for making it available!😸

Thank you for posting this very interesting documentary on Rambler/ Nash/ AMC Ambassador! To be honest I was never really a fan, but you've certainly enlightened me and gained my respect! Thank you! PS: I just watched your video a second time and I have to compliment you on the truly excellent job you did! The pictures, the information, and your great descriptions has really made this a wonderful RU-vid video. You won me over to the car too!

First car I ever drove was my dad’s 1963 Rambler Classic. He bought it because it was MT car of the year.

Wish American Motors was still around. Owned a 1969 Rebel and a 1983 Spirit. Great cars.

Thanks for the memories Joe, your summary of AMC's history as a brand was excellent. My father owned a 1969 AMC REBEL 4dr. Sedan. It was a sharp looking car finished in a tu-tone 'Prairie Gold" body with a "Frost White" steel roof, W/W Tires, and Full Wheel Covers. A contrasting Khaki Tan cloth & vinyl interior completed the look. It was equipped with a 304 C.I. 2bbl. V/8, A/T, P/S, P/B, AM Radio, and a dealer installed, after market A/C hung below the dash. The car was comfortable on long trips, and gave my dad, and his wife, good service with the exception of the A/C, which was plagued with a coolant leak that could never be successfully corrected. A problem during the hot, humid summers of rural, southern Georgia!

Such a great video! Loved the detailed history of the lineup. I agree, the mid 60s models were among the best looking. I never had an AMC, or a Rambler, but many friends families proudly drove some of the models you paraded past ya here. I appreciated them for their slightly quirky nature and basic good sense. Thanks is for sharing this with us ... I’ll be watching it again and again!

Joe, you and I are cut from the same vinyl. I’ve studied AMCs since I was a kid and bought Foster’s first AMC book shortly after it came out, then wore it out. In my spare time, I make alternate histories where AMC managed to survive. I have long lamented that AMC dropped the Ambassador name too soon, and that they should have just downsized it to the Matador wheelbase for ‘75 and replaced the Matador sedans and wagons, much like the Concord replaced the Hornet, keeping it going for at least awhile longer. That way, the much different looking Matador coupe would have stood on its own. Surely that would have been more profitable, since the Matador 4-doors and Ambassadors sold about the same. I’m partial to the 1972-74 models, in particular, as well, and hope to have one someday, in my garage. Probably a ‘74 sedan. Your videos are my inspiration and I’m so glad you made this one about a long-lived and unjustly overlooked model.

Loving a certain car needs no explanation.There is no accounting for taste, it just speaks to you on a deep level. She's a beauty, brownness and all.

Well, at least AMC kept the Hudson Hornet available for another three years (1955-'57) after the 1954 Hudson-Nash merger. Very good historic background on AMC. You really did your research! Thanks for sharing!

I must say I enjoyed the ending to this video almost as I did the car itself. Not because I was bored or wanted it to end (in all honesty I could watch this car for hours and listen to you talk about AMC for ever). But I’m a sucker for a fantastic finale to a solid production. Your choice of John Philip Sousa’s “The Directorate” whole heartedly complements the Ambassador’s style and you’re narration at the end of the video. Like the ending to 1962’s “The Music Man” I can watch this video over and over and never not leave with a smile on my face and a joy in my heart. You truly are an ambassador of AMC.

I remember the Ambassador as a quality car. In the 1960's and early 1970's the manager of the Coop Store in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, Mr. Ken Canning drove a new Ambassador each year. It was the kind of car that belonged to well respected community leaders like store managers or the mayor of a small town. It was an upscale working class car that turned heads. I have great memories of the Ambassador.

Awesome! I live near the last AMC dealership in business in NC. The family happens to also have the AMX that belonged to the late Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. I enjoyed a tour there several years ago with the patriarch of the family. It was fantastic! Thanks for producing and sharing this history.

So glad to see your Ambassador on RCR, a fun review! And wow, what an awesome overview of the Ambassador. Didn't realize the model dated back as far as it did. Personally, I really like the '57 Ambassador...but then again, I also absolutely love the '55 Hudson. There's a guy in my small town who owns a handful of Hudsons, and his red '55 with the Packard V8 is probably my favorite. That being said, I think my dream Ambassador would be a '72 coupe, 401 if I could find one. I think even the four doors are nice looking, but I love the reverse slanted C-pillar on the coupes. AMC made some pretty cool cars back in the day!

Loved this video and all the history. Brought back memories. My parents bought a 71 Ambassador wagon in 73 for our family of 6. It was a replacement for our rusted out Valiant. We drove it over 200,000 miles on the original 360 with 2 bbl carb and BW 3sp automatic until the body and frame rusted so bad that it would no longer pass PA safety inspection. We sold it to someone in nearby OH who needed the engine which my dad and I had replaced the worn timing chain and gearset.

I'm my college years in the early 2000s there was a small mechanic shop across the street from my mother's house and parked on the side was a blue AMC Ambassador. To this day I have no idea if they planned on fixing it or what, but I once dared to peek inside the window and it looked intact, it even had some sort of safety sticker still on the dash. What became of the car I will never know, but I'm glad I wasn't the only one at a young age to appreciate AMC vehicles. Love your channel!

My father loved AMC cars and even owned a few shares in the company. At one time we had three in the driveway: A 1969 Rebel Station wagon (which replaced a 1963 Rambler wagon), a 1969 Javelin, and a 1973 Gremlin (yellow with a roof rack!), my first car. Later my father also had a '76 Gremlin, in copper metallic. (Whatever happened to those memorable car colors?) My Gremlin had only a straight six, but it had power steering like like your Ambassador, Joe. I could literally turn a corner using only one finger on the wheel! Great video, Thanks!

Saw rcr’s vid and immediately knew it had to be you. Brown on a whole new plane of existence

I owned and drove a 73 Ambassador equipped with 15 inch wheels and in my experience the car handled exceptionally well in snowy conditions.

Great video. My favorite was the new for 74 front end on the station wagon. The Ambassador and Matador wagons retained the 1967 body which had a very smooth line front to rear. There was no high kick up on the rear doors. It is unfortunate they did not glue the 74 nose on the Matador sedan and wagons starting in 75.

The second car I ever owned was a 4 year old 1966 Ambassador, shiny black with a green satin interior. I loved that car. Only cost me $650 at the time, a bargain and a half!

I like that you keep it looking original and you've definitely taken good care of it!

Absolutely awesome video history! I even had to get my drivers licence in an AMC.

Quality production!! Your channel is one of my YT favorites.

Enjoyed! As an owner of a 67 two door and 68 wagon I agree that there is no better platform for watching the scenery roll by. Say hello is you get to the next Kenosha homecoming.

Mt Dad (RIP) was a partner in Marshall Auto Co., the oldest Nash/AMC dealership in the US (unfortunately, loooong gone!). I remember Dad's first new car was a burgundy, 1948 Nash coupe. I owned two AMC's...a "64" Classic with a 284 ci V-8, and my first new car was a "66" Ambassador with a 327 ci V-8. The dealership was located in Flint, Mi., so Nash and AMC were viewed as "foreign" cars by my buddies (Flint was, and is, a GM town). None-the-less, the ones I owned were nice cars, reliable, and had decent performance (my 64 was a standard transmission and a four barrel installed, quicker than a pal's Impala SS). Nice video, brought back a lot of memories.

Thank you for the wonderfol report. I love this cars so much ♥ love greets from near Berlin ( German )

Your Ambassador was on RCR ;) Got a good kick out of it ! 👍

The AMC ambassador, was the flagship model that came standard with inline 6 cylinder engines, years ahead of it's time.

My '59 Ambassador was a rare sight even in 1971 when got mine from my parents. I used to get ribbed by some of the guys in high school about it being an 'old mans car,or the batmobile with its tail fins,but with its 270 hp V8 it certainly was no slouch! With no V8 emblems it fooled alot of them. I always get comments at car shows today about how rare they are or of one an aunt or uncle once owned. Mine may also be one of the few if not the only one left with working factory air coil ride suspension,an option rarely orderd and only available for a few years. Thanks for this great informative video.

Another great video! Thanks Joe, i look forward to the next one.

I came home from the hospital in 1957 in my dad's 1948 Nash ambassador. he bought it new in '48 unit body construction and overhead valve engine

Excellent work! Your videos are so interesting, and your voice overs are well written.

What a beautiful car! God I wish AMC was still in business.

Your car is a beautiful example of the series! I loved the early 70's American Motors cars!

I thought your last video was great, you just outdid yourself again. Excellent job!!! Your car is a perfect time capsule of the 70s. Love the color!!! My favorite engine was the torquey, rev-happy 258 six. Thanks again for sharing this awesome video!!

Enjoyed learning more about the Ambassador history. I Worked at AMC Kenosha from 1973 thru 1977, had a 1973 Ambassador Brougham, same color of yours. Really enjoyed that car. Spent my last 2 years there as a production supervisor on the "respot line" making Pacers.

Great documentary on the AMC Ambassador, and Nash. I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you!

Your love for your Ambassador is evident. I enjoyed your narration. Happy motoring! it is a boat 😊

Thank you for the stroll down memory lane. I had a pacer and loved it. I wanted a gremlin but couldn’t afford it at the time

You did an excellent job with this video. It was interesting from start to finish.

Awesome car you got there. The most comfortable Ambassador they ever made. I used to work for a Rambler dealer. When the first 1970 Ambassador came in, I couldn’t believe it was an AMC car. The seats were big and plush, and it rode like a Cadillac. My Ambassador was a 67, identical to the dark blue one in the brochure. My first car was a 62 American (beige to boot, yikes). Then a 65 Classic 770, 69 Rambler ( no longer called “American”, and was the last Rambler”), Then a 70 Hornet, 71 Gremlin. then a 74 Matador Brougham, copper color, and a few years ago, a 75 Hornet 🐝 apple 🍏 green with Alpine white top (stood out like a sore thumb). I had almost no trouble with any of them. I did all the maintenance on them myself. Very easy to work on. I sure miss AMC.

Probably the finest automotive RU-vidr out there. And that is saying a lot!

WELL DONE.BRINGS A FLOOD OF MEMORIES.THANK YOU.

Congratulations on an excellent video! You had me mesmerized by every sentence and picture. Loved every minute of it...

In the late 60's I bought from Floyd Silvers a 1947 Ambassador. It only had in excess of 300,000 miles on it. Floyd said he put a new engine in it every 100,000 miles weather it needed it or not. The last six he put in had a 100 percent counter balanced crank shaft. The earlier ones were not fully balanced. Floyd worked for Nash in the parts department before, during, and after the war years. When the war started he was stuck with an old and aging Nash. He complained loudly and constantly. He never noticed that his coworkers were asking him what he was going to order when autos were being built again. Floyd had asthma and his summer trips to the west caused a lot of breathing distress. That was the beginning of the "Weather Eye" He also specified the two tone paint colors he wanted. Those colors never available on production models. The 47 models shared the same unibody but the Ambassador was mounted on a full frame. That allowed the longer hood and front structure. The Ambassador was 7 inches longer from the windshield forward. Not long after the war ended Floyd got a call one evening from the Port Washington, Wis Nash dealer asking when he was going to pickup his new car. I said he never ordered one. He was told told that a brand new Ambassador had just came from the factory with his name on it. He asked what color it was and when told he understood. His coworkers had ordered it for him. He took delivery and many years later he sold it to me saying he knew I would take care of it. He worked for Nash for many years after the war ended and anytime the factory obsoleted parts that would fit his car they were given to him. When I drove from SW west Wis to Port Washington in late 1968 the car was just full of extra parts. He died not long after that. BUT NOW the story gets very interesting. In 1947 the Indy pace car was to be a Nash. But the factory did not have at the ready. So they used Floyds car. It was brand new. Floyd had a photo of Clark Gable sitting on one front fender and a race official on the other. Sadly I only got the car not the photo. If you scroll around the internet you will find photos showing this car on race day.

Now I know what the hubcaps in my bathroom mean. I Thought they were Studebakers! thanks Kitchen Bob

I have one of those 1954 Ambassadors with factory air like in the advertising at 4:57. That ad is out of a magazine. A photo at the bottom shows the interior. What's interesting is the car in the ad doesn't have air conditioning. The a/c vents were on the top of the dash and they're missing. 😊

Really nice finding some informative videos! I just purchased an all original 1972 Ambassador SST Station Wagon with a 4 bbl 360, such a cool car!!!

Love your channel and love Ambassadors!!

Great job with the vid. Love AMC, love Ambassador Brougham!

Great video. lots of good info. thanks

U did a great job on that. Thank u

Great retrospect! I have owned 3 Ambassadors, a 1964 990 4dr, 327-2 barrel, a '66 DPL hardtop, 327-4 barrel, with the houndstooth upholstery, and a '71 Brougham wagon, 360-2 barrel, woodgrain side paneling. Acquired all of them used, loved the interior trim, beautiful, good handling cars. The '65-'66 dashboard was the most attractive dash AMC ever designed (and shared with the Marlin). Another AMC attribute I never see mentioned, is the dual, ball bearing ashtrays. These cars had loads of personality. Wish I still had the '66, or the '71. My '68 Javelin, and '63 American wagon, could use some high class company!

I LOVE the 880 2-door sedan in the brochure picture. What a great looking car. As a teenager in 1977 I had a 1970 SST 2 door hardtop with cruise, air, tilt and the very comfortable reclining seats. It had the same engine as yours. Nice, comfortable car. From one AMC geek to another, enjoy!

Thank you, great work you've done here. My first car 1980 AMC Spirit , white with multicolored side pinstriping down the length of my hatchback, I truly miss that car. Huge AMC fan myself obviously, if I could find an 1980-81 Spirit white with those side stripes I'd grab it immediately. Cant find one. Again thank you its great to see someone else whom has such passion for these incredible cars from Wisconsin. You've kept youre AMC beautifully , looks like new and the ride on that car butter smooth. Great vid

My first car was a well-maintained one owner '66 Ambassador, then 9 years old and just over 100K miles. She was an all-black 990 sedan with power steering and brakes, the 4BBL 327 V8, and BorgWarner 3-spd AT. (Little did I know, that 10 years later I would begin a 26 year career working for the AT components division of BorgWarner!) At 275 (gross) HP, she was a quick old lady that could move faster than her chassis could handle! After buying the car, a mechanic friend gave me a tour underneath, and I learned that '66 was the LAST year for the most archaic chassis still in production at that time. The front suspension used trunions, the rear suspension was an A-frame and torque tube arrangement. It was a rather quirky vehicle to drive. The steering was geared slow... it tracked well on the highway, but when a heavy person sat in the back seat, the car would self-steer toward the side they sat on. The brakes were overboosted and touchy... in wet weather, you could be certain they would pull to one side or the other, but never certain which side. The trans shifted harshly but it never slipped. The engine started fine in any weather and was very responsive, but for a 3500 lb. car, the fuel mileage was lousy. There were no inner liners in the front fenders... the floorboards were rotting through and the driver's footwell filled up with water on rainy days. Two years later, compression in one cylinder was very low, and oil consumption was very high... time to move on. Fond memories nevertheless.

A great historical presentation, thank you, I sure enjoyed it!

Very nice video. Thanks for making this. I learned to drive in the 1961 Rambler Classic. I very much enjoyed your AMC History.

Fun and informative video. Thanks for making it.

Very Nice vídeo! Thank you for upload!

Excellent history lesson of a great Car manufacturer that did things differently.

Great video, totally enjoyed it!

Beautifully presented. I really enjoy your straightforward, few-bells-and-whistles approach, with speech so clear and well-paced it could be used for English Second Language students.

It's cool to have your own treasured classic. Ambassador is a legend in it's own right

The quality of your videos is amazing! I have fond memories of a '59 rambler my dad owned back in the mid 90s. Great little car with distinctive styling that really appeals to me. Wish I had been old enough to drive it. Also really like your '72 Ambassador.

You did a great job on this. I saved it. You even did a great impersonation of Mary Wells.

What a great video! AMCs continue to fascinate me.

Well done! I thoroughly enjoyed that history lesson.

Great video thanks for posting

In 1970 for my 15th birthday, my dad gave me his 1963 Ambassador 880 which was Motor Trend Car of the Year. I loved that car. It was a light car with a 327 V8 with positraction and could spin both tires for about 6 feet. I drove the hell out that car and it was totally reliable. edit: a few years later I bought a 70 AMX 360 4-speed with Go Package and 3.73 pos. AMX was unique and fast.

Such a great history. I love every Nash except the compacts starting in the 50s. The 1957 Nash Ambassador, healthy 327 cid v8, the lighting flash along the sides, the floating grill and duel verticals and of course that double bed. Thank you so much for sharing.

Ain't nuttin wrong with lovin'an Big Ole 70's Land Yacht ⛵. My wife & I used to have a '76 Olds 88. Best driving & ridin car ever.

Well done. Your "anyways" and "passenger mirrrr" are wonderfully mid-western!

Another excellent video, being from this side of the pond (Ireland) American Motors is not a car company you grow up hearing about. Their history is fascinating, and the cars are very interesting. Thanks again for sharing your story on you car.

This needs to become a series and so you should do the last half of AMC's existence!

Much appreciation for an excellent documentary on this history. I'm glad the 65-66 body lived on in Argentina for several more years but with a big six Renault engine and 3 speed manual on the tree.

Thanks for such a great and in-depth look at the history of the awesome "Ambassador". 👌 Best of luck with your beautiful model, and bless you for keeping the "Nash" and "Rambler" and "American Motors" namesakes alive!!! 😀😊❤☺💖😘

Very well done documentary.

As a kid of the 60s this was a fun facts video plus a nice stroll down memory lane, thanx!

Thanks for the researching the history of the Ambassador! My grandfather had several during the fifties and sixties. I was especially interested in the advertising agency being the ones to suggest the idea of standard air conditioning in the Ambassador. I remember AMCs ads in the magazines and TV during those days. That ad agency really gave AMC a boost that they needed back then.

My late-father was a salesman for AMC in the early-'60's. BTW., he called the old Nash, "Upside-down Victorian Bathtubs". He lamented that it was, "Almost impossible to get the permission of a young ladies father to take her out on a date with those seats which folded into a bed!" lol, can't say as I blame the fathers there! In the early '60's Pop would bring home dealer "Demo's" of varying variety and option packages; of which, the vicious, sporty and powerful AMC 'Rebel' was my personal favorite. Anyway, and as always, Great video with superior and detailed content, thank you! (P.S., I will happily give you the 1974 Monroney sticker price for your AMC 'Ambassador'! Which was "$3152.20", base price. (Seems fair... to me anyway!) God Bless!

Thanks for this informative and fun video joe! Also I saw rcr and you didn’t disappoint: amc shirt is the best

Then there is the Hindustan Ambassador, which is very iconic in India. It made a comeback in 2019. I fondly remember riding in one of those little cars during a two month stay in South Asia.

I don't understand why you don't have more subscribers? Your show is awesome, one of the best car history shows.

I had completely forgotten about the manual vents in the foot wells of vehicles of this era. Thanks for the flashback!

congrats, excellent explanation and a wonderful restauration of tht Ambassador

What a great video. A lot of AMC automobiles were very good looking. Glad you did a short "history" of AMC and your Ambassador is very beautiful! Thank you so very much for posting! PS: I would love to see a video about Packard. Thanks!

Great vidéo! Thanks!

Who knew! Excellent video! Thanks!

Thank you, good show.

Great vídeo. Congratulation. AMC Ambasador story si awesome!! Thanks.

Joe, just read your article in Hemmings about your recent troubles with your Ambassador. Hope you will be documenting your journey in an upcoming video (or series of videos!). As a fellow AMC enthusiast I really love your channel!

Mom bought a new 1969 Ambassador SST station wagon at Keys Motors on Van Nuys Boulevard. I used it often on high school dates, Mullholland drive... until I got my first car, a '56 Ford 2 door Customline Ranch Wagon.

So well done! In my body shop I worked on a very nice '72(?) Ambassador that could be your car's twin up here in Maine. Rambler/AMC sure has some real design hits and misses! Gotta love the '61 for it's "sad monster" front, the clean '63/4s, and my personal favorite the '67 Marlin. The roofs on the earlier Marlins were very much ill proportioned, but the one-yr.-only '67s were one of the best designed fastbacks America ever had to offer. Keep on Ramblin'!

thanks for the memories

So are you - also an Ambassador. You present with dignity - and your clear voice and measured speech could be of value for English-second-language training.