AMC-American Motors
AMC-American Motors MODEL-BY-MODEL
Not exactly what you’d call an American Muscle Car. But, it serves to illustrate where AMC was with its Rambler brand in the early 1960s. Ramblers were cheap, good on gas, well-built & reliable.
AMC was quick to jump on the musclecar-wagon. They dressed up a Rambler American & added their hot little 290 small block V8. This one’s a convertible. But by ’67 GM had moved on to big blocks in their musclecars.
The Javelin was AMC’s foray into the Pony Car Wars. To make the AMX, they shortened the wheelbase and eliminated the back seats, making it a 2-seater. Unfortunately, AMC pushed it as the lowest-priced 2-seat sports car in the US, competing with Corvette. Bad move.
Introductory year for the new Javelin. Designed by the legendary Dick Teague, the Javelin was bigger than the Mustang, nicer than the Camaro & reasonably fast. Even the Highway Patrol liked them.
The second year for the AMX brings more options and more power.
The Javelin was AMC’s answer to the Mustang, Camaro & Firebird. Good cars, just too little too late.
Second-generation Javelin got a new body & moved upmarket with a new emphasis on ‘personal luxury’ instead of raw performance. It was the 70s after all.
AMC stuffed a 304 V8 into the little Hornet to create a sub-sized muscle car.
