1962 would be the last year for the compact Edmund E. Anderson design that American Motors introduced in 1956. It was a car that dominated and defined the compact segment of the US market, but by 1962 it was facing serious competition from Ford and General Motors; the Chevy II and a new, smaller Ford Fairlane both debuted in 1962. What do you do when the Big Dogs are nipping at your heels? If you’re American Motors in 1962, you continue to do what you do best.
In this page from the 1962 sales brochure, AMC President George Romney didn’t try to brainwash his potential customers with a lot of “longer, lower, wider” nonsense, like the Big Three. He promoted real safety and quality advancements including the new dual-circuit brakes. Back in 1962, if you insisted upon a car with that particular safety feature, you could choose between a Rambler or a Cadillac. Most American brands didn’t switch to dual-circuit brakes until they were forced to by a new federal regulation that went into effect for the 1967 model year.
Flip our featured car over and you’ll see that it truly is a promotional model. The advantages of owing a Rambler are printed all over it, and it sings the same tune and hits the same high notes as George himself: deep coil springs, a large capacity gas tank, unit-body construction, deep-dip rustproofing and the ceramic armored muffler all earn a mention. However, it looks like they just didn’t have room to mention the brakes.
These toy cars for the kids were often used as bait to lure customers into showrooms. As the old slogan went, “The little ones sell the big ones.” Once this car got into little Junior’s hands, he could turn into a salesman himself. “Hey, Dad! You won’t have to stop for gas as often if you get a Rambler.”
I suppose you could say that this particular Rambler is front-wheel drive, since the friction motor is in the front. So that torque tube drive shaft is just for show!
If you wanted a V-8 in your 1962 Rambler it was only available in the top-of-the-line Ambassador. But the straight six offered in the Classic was plenty of motor for most Rambler drivers.
The car in this photo (also taken from the 1962 brochure) is the highest trim level for the 1962 Classic: the 400 series. The 400 came standard with the aluminum six-cylinder engine that was introduced the year before, but more conservative buys could still delete-option the old cast-iron six.
Note the resemblance between the tail lights on this car and the ones on the 1966 to 1973 BMW 2002. The later BMW units look more or less like upside-down 1962 Rambler Classic tail lights.
My promotional model is also a 400 series, with a similar two-tone paint job. Doing away with 1961’s tacked-on fins did the 1962 Rambler a big favor. I love the clean-and-simple styling.
The two-tone theme is carried on to the interior.
In this shot, if you look closely at the left-hand side of the dashboard, you’ll see the itty-bitty push buttons for the teeny-tiny Flash-O-Matic transmission.
In this comparison shot with the 1962 Rambler that I photographed this summer, we see that the model isn’t quite as realistic from this angle. Like most models or miniatures that attempt to duplicate a grill that contains a lot of open space, it doesn’t look quite right. Too much chrome!
For this profile shot, I have the Rambler posed in front of a GE clock/radio from the early 60s. Here we see that all is not well with this particular ’62 Rambler. It looks like it was in a front-end collision!
The situation is even worse from the driver’s side. In this case, the backdrop is a Stromberg-Carlson rotary dial telephone. Once upon a time, cars and not phones were replaced every two or three years.
Jo-Han, the manufacturer of the model, was still using an inferior grade of plastic for the bodies in the early 60’s. Over time, the bodies often warped, as this one has. Jo-Han later switched to using Polystyrene plastic, which didn’t warp, but not until 1964 or thereabouts and too late for this car. So much for a dedication to excellence! The combination of a warped body and an unwarped grill is pretty common on old Jo-Han promos and model kits. Model collectors call it the “Jo-Han Smile.” That’s a funny thing to smile about, since it makes the car look like it’s actually promoting the body/fender shop at your local Rambler dealer!
One model building enthusiast really took that particular idea and ran with it. For some photos of a 1962 Rambler model customized into a wreck, you can click here:
http://diecastramblings.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2703
And while I’m providing links, the brochure images that I used were all taken from oldcarbrochures.com, courtesy of Mr. Howard Nourse:
http://oldcarbrochures.org/NA/AMC/1962_AMC/1962_Rambler_Brochure
In conclusion, I’d just like to say that although this car isn’t perfect, I’m still very glad I bought it. That silly smile adds character if you ask me. Perhaps this car is smiling because it’s happy to still be in one piece after over fifty years.
Cool promo. Of course it sent me rummaging through my old promo collection, I have had this 1960 Rambler Cross Country station wagon since it was new. It, too, shows the “Jo-Han” droop, but mine is all in the sides and rear, the front “smile” is perfectly straight. All of my promos seem to have developed the droop in one form or another prior to 1963. It was a fun hobby, I still have all of mine, acquired from 1956 through 1969, some twenty or so. Thanks to CC, I revisit them occasionally now, fun to reminisce.
Ooh, a mint green wagon! I like it.
And here’s the front view. BTW, the colors are white roof over a kind of light sea foam green body. The windows have all turned partially opaque, unfortunately. And I just noticed, you can make out the tiny Flash-o-Matic transmission buttons on this model, too.
Hey, that’s a cool wagon. I kind of like the way the back end droops; like the front end of my ’62, it adds character. It looks like they’re carrying a heavy load. It’s probably just firewood or something like that, but then again, maybe it’s Jimmy Hoffa back there.
For the record, the ’62 sedan is relatively common for a Jo-Han model – it was reissued as a model kit several times in the ’70s and ’80s, usually in yellow (styrene) and with a taxi sign.
I had a friend whose family bought a new ’62 Rambler wagon, and he got a nice yellow and white promo model to go along with it. Why didn’t I get a promo when my dad bought a new car 🙁
Your household should have gotten one when your dad bought the new Ford Fairlane. Each time my dad bought a new Ford model, we got a free subscription to Ford Times and the Annual Buyer’s Guide that came with a coupon for one free promotional model. You had to send it in and the promo came wrapped in tissue paper and nicely boxed. I still have all of these models in their original boxes.
My dad briefly worked for a Nash dealership in the early 50’s but I don’t have any of those promos left. I had a cardboard Nash dealership like the one in the link below that was so cool but I played with it until it was ragged and tossed out:
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1953-nash-automobile-kids-showroom-76094374
You didn’t have to buy a new car to get the Annual Buyer’s Guide. Just ask and they would send one to you, and it came with a voucher for most of the Ford line that year.
That sounds right – as I’m looking through the models some are from years we didn’t get a new car. I’m guessing we asked for or were signed up for the Guide when we were visiting the showroom and that mostly happened when we were buying a new car.
My parents bought a ’62 Rambler wagon from Grant Motors on 7th street in Eugene. I don’t remember getting a promotional model, but I do remember the salesman buying me a coke from the vending machine. My dad used the rambler for his painting business.
Insightful article Mike, thank you. AMC seems to have always invested in quality marketing. I agree, George Romney’s preface in the 1962 brochure is convincing and genuine. I find it refreshing.
Your and Don’s models, seem quite high quality for the era. Even if not perfect reproductions.
Hey, thanks!
…George Romney didn’t try to brainwash his potential customers…
I saw what you did there:-)
As a little boy, probably 10, my Dad bought me a 62 Rambler to drive through the farm. He paid $75 for it. I could not wear it out with it’s inline 6. And it would not spin a wheel in mud. I remember the only option on the car was push button automatic transmission.
Man, that sounds like fun. I’m feeling a little bit jealous. When I was 10, I had a Sears “good” bicycle…
The first dealer promo that my dad got for me was a pink and white 1958 Edsel from AMT. I spent hours removing the base plate and friction drive and putting it back together. Eventually the nose got a great flame job. Don’t know what happened to it, probably involved in a highly realistic highway death scene with explosives and gasoline.
Oh, I also destroyed many a model car in my day. Most of them were AMT 3-in-1 kits that I would slap together and then promptly wreck in some creative way. I had quite a few Jo-Han models, too. The AMT kits tended to be Fords and Chevys, but the Jo-Han models occupied the fringe with more unusual stuff, including a 1962 Imperial that I wish I still had. Like all of the model cars I built when I was a kid, it never lived long enough to develop Jo-Han droop.
Different plastics. The kits used styrene which didn’t warp but was more brittle. The dealer promos, which generally came with friction motors in the early years, used cellulose acetate plastic which was tougher and more opaque, but had a propensity to warp. AMT switched over to styrene promos in 1961 but Jo-Han didn’t make the change until 1964.
I have a ’62 Imperial somewhere in my garage. It’s pretty rough, as I recall, but I’ll take a look.
Was it this one? I played with mine so it’s a little beat up. I’m sure Don’s still has the hood ornament…
Just fished my ’58 Edsel out of the storage box, and indeed it does! Mine is white top over yellow body with a white side scallop, and gold upholstery inserts. There is a big bulge in the plastic along the bottom of the rear window, like something had erupted from underneath, otherwise pretty straight, surprisingly. Always loved the clear plastic headlights of these earlier promos, though.
I have one of those Edsels too, only in turquoise/white. I was given mine in the late 60s and it has the same bulge under the back window. Mine had been used as a garden-variety kids toy, so it is not in the best of shape.
Almost. The pink on my car was lighter and the rear quarter panel was white along with the roof.
Nice photos, I have tinplate and plastic and I prefer plastic. Thanks Mike.
It was a lot of fun taking those pictures. Glad ya liked them.
Cool car Mike! I’m surprised Jo-Han used the warping plastic; I had thought all promos after ’61 were non-warping.
I have a light yellow ’64 American hardtop my mom got me in the ’90s. It’s in pretty good shape and I’d write it up for CC but I’m not sure where it is! I think it might still be up at the family cabin up north…
Hey, thanks. Too bad you don’t have that ’64 promo handy. I’d like to see a picture of it.
Mine looks a lot like this ’65 currently on ebay, but is a much lighter yellow–almost beige.
That ’65 is cool. Nicely-detailed and in good shape. I looked it up on Ebay… $110 is the “Buy it Now” price. Hmmmmm…