Photos from the Cohort by Hyperpack.
Today, let’s look at some luxury fittings American Motors style. No, I’m not saying this Ambassador 990 Wagon is the equivalent of an upscale brand from the period á la Buick. At least in terms of its cachet with the public’s perception. But still, this was American Motors’ top trim of their Ambassador line, the carmaker’s priciest models.
And you know what that meant; the convenience and options of others at a more accessible cost. Add to it that for ’63 the Rambler Classic and Ambassador arrived with new modern bodies, offering up-to-date styling and new technology; including the first use of curved side glass.
A previous installment at CC on a ’63 Classic 770 Wagon made the case that these Ramblers were perhaps American Motors’ last great cars. I can certainly see that being the case. Or was the company’s peak in 1961? When it climbed to a never enjoyed 3rd place in the US market again.
For those not fond of clicking old links, a brief recap is in order. The ’63s encapsulate a significant transition at American Motors; in some ways, remnants of the previous George Romney era, with changes under the new Abernethy regime pointing to the company’s future.
1962 Rambler brochure.
Basically, with American Motors’ failure to gain market traction with their larger Ambassador line in the late ’50s, Romney’s management decided to drop the effort. The new plan came to be in 1962, with the Classic and Ambassador lines sharing wheelbase and bodies. The main difference between the two being engine sizes, trim and options. Classics were to be for the frugal-minded, carrying solely 6-cyl. engines. Meanwhile, Ambassadors would be fitted with V-8s; plus as many accouterments as AM could stuff in them.
Starting in 1960, the Big 3 had stepped into American Motors compact action, wounding their dominance. With the new ’63s, the Kenosha folks were aiming to retake the mantle.
As such, big changes arrived in ’63, with the wholly revamped Classic/Ambassador lines. The new Ramblers had dumped their dated ’50s styling and carried innovative unibody construction that used large one-piece steel panels simplifying assembly, reducing costs, and aiding body integrity. As press materials of the period stated: “Stronger, safer, longer-lasting.”
The new styling, along with the modern ideas on its execution, earned the new Ramblers Motor Trend’s COTY for ’63.
As in ’62, the Classic and Ambassador were pretty much the same vehicles body-wise. Never again would the Classic and Ambassador share as much with each other as in ’62-’64. Cracks on the Romney logic were starting to appear, however, when a V-8 was offered on the Classic by mid-’63. A move done under Abernethy’s new tenure. More were to come as the company went chasing after the Big 3.
For the most part, the ’63 Ramblers were up-to-date and modern, dropping the frumpiness of their previous ’50s stylings. Not that their shape was exciting, but they were certainly attractive and functional.
The new designs were the product of Ed Anderson, who never caught a break in the recognition department. Denied an official VP of Design title at American Motors, he left in a huff to be replaced by Dick Teague.
Teague would clean for ’64 the ’63’s curiously distinctive concave grille. Not that Teague would be exempt from quirky flourishes later on, as is well known.
So what we’ve today is another find from Hyperpack posted at the Cohort. It’s a 1963 Rambler Ambassador Cross Country 990 Wagon, the Ambassador’s top trim; this time in 2-seat 6-passenger version. One of 6112 built for that year.
As such, this 990 comes with American Motor’s 327 CID V8, providing either 250 or 270 HP depending on state of tune (2-bbl. vs. 4-bbl.).
By the way, what’s the deal with that white wagon sticker on the lower part of the side window? Has this Ambassador gone hunting down other wagons? Outrunning them? Or what?
Generally well-preserved plastic in the interior, with separate seats up front. The dancing Hawaiian ballerina was not a factory option if you must wonder.
(Though I can see Rambler owners favoring Hawaiian shirts.)
None of that exotic sporty Twin-Stick on this 990. Instead, it’s the automatic with a column-mounted shifter. Plus a lot of controls and ergonomics from the era. Being a 990, all as chromey-looking as an American Motors product could be.
The seats, however, seem to be refurbished. The earlier Classic 770 find shows that in regards to color and material combinations, Rambler options were wide and tasteful.
Neat-looking hubcaps.
Original dealer info still barely noticeable; Williams Motors, in Covington Kentucky.
Some car makers have clear peaks, others, not quite so. Was the ’63-’64 era peak American Motors? With new Classic/Ambassador and American lines arriving and giving all the carmaker could for one last push? Or the earlier market share peak of 1961? Or the quirky attention-grabbing and memorable later cars like the Gremlin? The latter era, with admittedly aged mechanicals, but the models most people talk about?
Whichever the case, these ’63s were quite the effort by American Motors.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1963 Rambler Classic 770 Cross Country – The Last Great AMC Car?
I think it was 1961 when Rambler made it to their #3 peak in auto production.
They were still #4 in 1960 and 1962, mostly due to Chrysler’s terrible line-up for those three years (although Pontiac’s reign as #3 ahead of Plymouth for the rest of the sixties was just starting in 1962).
Conversely, Studebaker’s woes as ‘dead car company walking’ during that time probably had some impact on Rambler, too, as those owners began defecting to another car brand.
^ That despite Studebaker fielding their most competitive lineup in years in ’63, with sharp new styling (especially the Wagonaire wagon) with larger windows, a modern new dash; the hot new R-series engines, the elegant Hawk, and the shapely Avanti. Forced induction, disc brakes, and sunroofs years before the competition offered them. I winder if their demise as a car manufacturer rubbed off on Rambler/AMC sales now that they were the sole major American independent car manufacturer left.
I still like what AMC had to offer in 1963 – their products seem fully up to date (in most aspects) with the Big 3’s wagon offerings that year, a solid competitor.
Dad took a pause from GM and traded in the ’59 Chevy wagon for a powder blue ’63 660 Cross Country, once the V-8 was available. Safety features and styling sold dad and individual reclining front seats sold mom. This was the first car I drove.
Beautiful car, the Ambo in 990 trim most likely came with full wheelcovers.
By 1963 I was pretty aware of cars. On the one hand, my awareness was that of a six year old child. On the other hand, kids often see things with an insight that others lack. And in 1963, Rambler was a dead man walking. And Studebaker was just dead.
On another note, that brochure: shouldn’t Dr. X-Ray be looking at the structure under the skin? Or at least the interior? Seems overqualified to just show exterior dimensions. That could have been delegated to Mr. Tape Measure.
Those are just two pages of the 1962 edition of the X-Ray booklet.
I have several of those booklets. They were multi-page affairs. Dr. X-Ray made several comparisons between the Rambler and its competition, all of which were favorable to the home team. This was even though some of the Rambler’s features, such as vacuum-powered windshield wipers, were of dubious merit by 1963.
In an odd version of the CC Effect, I saw a Rambler wagon yesterday for the first time in eons. It was an American, not an Ambassador, but still it’s a might coincidence.
My memory is pretty hazy, but my dad’s mother had a Rambler station wagon similar to the advertisement. I distinctly remember the rear wheel wells in that tear drop shape. It was two toned in white and aqua-marine green and the interior was a similar green. This was about 1970 when dad started ferrying my brother and me down to Miami to see his folks (Dad was now a Delta pilot and I think he was now copilot on the stretch DC-8s, we flew standby which back then was easy-peasy). Granny took me on a drive while shopping and I remember she would park the car, take the key out of the ignition, and drop them on floor and leaving them there when we got out. Nothing ever happened to the car, it was a different time. The dash had a lot of chrome, and I don’t recall if it had A/C. I don’t remember ever riding in another Rambler ever again although around the same time Grampa (dad’s father) had the AMC Hornet which I learned what to do with an overheating car in traffic (turn on the heat full blast).
I dont know if wagons were assembled here, sedans were and while not common they werent an unusual sight, used ex US imports came in as usual but the wagons are rare, I kinda like em.
Makes sense that a ham operator owns this one. Ramblers fitted the ham type.
My paternal Grandparents had a 63 Rambler Classic 6 sedan. I recall it being green with a white top and the bodyside moldings. It definitely lacked power steering and likely was a standard transmission as well. As a result I have always loved the 63 and 64 Rambler styling both inside and out. I quite prefer the 63 concave grill. I like to imagine these being engineered and built to a Mercedes level of sophistication and quality. Of course that is in no way what AMC was about. I’d love to have one.
These were really quite exceptional cars at the time. Along with the ’62 Plymouth and Dodge, the three were harbingers of the future, but some 12 or so years too soon. By the late ’70s, everyone would be falling over themselves making (or trying to make) cars like them: unibody, mid-size but with very decent interior accommodations, and more efficient.
But in 1962-1963, the market was looking elsewhere, at cars that exuded a youthful exuberance, everything from a Corvair Monza to an Impala SS, and by 1964, it was the Mustang as well as the raft of hot new midsize cars from GM and such.
FWIW, these Ambassadors (and Classic V8s) had one weakness (shared with Studebaker): the V8 was already out of date, too heavy most of all, which in the lightweight unibodies really dinged the handling, which wasn’t AMC’s long suit at the time anyway.
These cars really deserved better, but after being the hot, cool car in the ’50s, Rambler became an almost toxic brand overnight. In the ’50s thet had appealed to better-educated, higher income folks, especially women. But this segment of the market suddenly found its shiny new objects of desire elsewhere; either something bigger or flashier from the Big3 or an import.
For some reason my Dad bought his ’63 Rambler wagon only 2 years after having bought his ’61 wagon. He’s not around anymore to ask, but I kind of recall him mentioning the ’61 getting caught in a sandstorm on the way back from California (we’d moved there from the east coast in ’59 only to move back in ’62, to the Pittsburgh area…in my parent’s younger days they moved around a lot due to my Dad’s job).
His, however weren’t Ambassadors, but the plain jane 6 cylinder automatic Rambler Classic model. The ’61 replaced his ’56 Plymouth Plaza (another stripper) mostly because he’d met and married my Mom, who though she learned to drive on her Dad’s ’51 Chrysler Windsor semi-automatic she preferred full automatic. The wagon was probably due to all the kid stuff that my sister and I were part of the package.
The ’63 only was with us 2 years, we had moved yet again, and were preparing for even another move having vacated our house, staying in a nearby motel, my Dad attempted to turn into the parking lot across 2 lanes of route 40 in Catonsville Md but was struck by another motorist in one lane who didn’t have the same idea about letting my Dad turn left in front of him. Somehow Dad found his way up to New York and then Vermont where he bought a new ’65 Olds F85 wagon…his first V8…in green color (all his wagons through the 60’s were green).