Making American Motors Great Again?

Whereas the DeLorean book was a bit of a ripping yarn, this one is more for wonks.

Written by, according to the blurb, AMC authorities Patrick Foster and Tom Glatch, you get a well-written and copiously illustrated tome that reviews every one of AMC's production cars from its founding until its foundering. These include the Ambassador, AMX/Javelin, Eagles, Gremlin, Hornet, Jeep, Marlin, Matador, Metropolitan, Pacer, Rambler, and Rebel.

You may remember some or all of these cars. I remember most, and I liked quite a few of them. I thought the Javelin/AMX were cool competitors to the muscle cars on offer from the Big Three, and the Marlin was a very cool large fastback that reminded me of – but which predated, if I remember correctly – the Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Charger.

Then there was the Metropolitan, a nifty little tiny car that I always thought would be at home with Shriners in a parade, and the Gremlin, a small car that looked as if its designers' pens ran out right after they finished the C pillar. Laughable.

On the other hand, a former good friend and business partner had one back in the late 1970's and he not only liked it but it served him well despite the ridicule hurled at him by a former good friend and business partner.

Then there was the Pacer, which I remember being billed as the world's first wide small car. And it certainly was wide! It looked like a goldfish bowl on wheels. Still, its shape was iconic enough that it was chosen as the vehicle of choice for Wayne and Garth in the movie Wayne's World. 

Who can forget the head bobbing scene when they're driving along listening to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"?

As it turns out, one of the things I didn't know about AMC was that for quite a while it was run by a guy named George Romney. The book notes that he was a Mormon who spent time in Mexico but came back to the USA and was tapped to helm AMC before, eventually, going on to become Governor of Michigan.

Ah, but perhaps he's most well-known today, or at least most infamous, for having fathered "Pierre Delecto", the failed RINO presidential candidate and weak Senator from Utah nicknamed Mitt.

So, thanks for that, George!

AMC was kind of a phoenix, born from the smouldering ashes of Hudson and Nash, and ended up clutching at straws to keep going, such as buying a flailing Jeep when push was coming to shove. Naturally, there's more to it than that, but this review is a column, not a book.

It's a sad story, but you do learn about all the work, the design, the innovation, that the AMC folks put into it. As I said, it isn't a thrilling yarn – it's basically structured by years and car models, including annual sales and profits, and what changes were made to which models in a particular year – but if you're an AMC fan it might be the greatest thing you've had on your coffee table.

It'll cost you, though: The Complete Book of AMC Cars – which is a lovely and solid book – lists on its back sleeve a retail price in Canada of $65.

That's pre-tariffs, of course!

Support Canada Free Press