This ad had me totally stumped, for about 20 seconds. “The Luxury Six For The man Who Wants Something Better”? By 1964, the American was the furthest thing from that, as its image had wilted to a rock-bottom cheapskate-mobile. And it still came standard with the last flathead six on the market.
But then I realized this was not intended for American consumption; it’s from Australia. And yes, the American was a “luxury six” down there. Hopefully it at least had the optional ohv version of the six.
Spot on. There was only one kid driving such a Rambler in my high school, but in 70s Israel there were very few high school kids who had their OWN cars – and he was the ONLY kid driving an American (!) car.
I test drove a couple of these off the back row of used car lots when looking for my first car in 1971.
The ones I drove were usually the entry level, cheap interior models with the “Flash-a-matic” automatic transmission and this flathead 6 cylinder engine, slow geared, wheel winding manual steering, vacuum windshield wipers (a detriment in often rainy New Orleans) and not working add on, below dash dealer/factory(?) air conditioning.
What a penalty box on wheels these cars were! Truly a car for people who did not like or want (but needed) a car. Slow steering, numb handling and that ancient automatic transmission that started off in second gear made the wheezy flathead six feel even more anemic and ancient.
My chosen first car, a Corvair Monza, made these Ramblers feel 20 years older than they already were.
When we think how austere the early mainstream compacts were and wonder if it was tell tale sign of the coming wider austerity. We can then remember our ethnic cousins in other former colonies like Australia and South Africa that look at the same car, and from their economic standing, they see the good life. A reminder to be thankful.
Speaking of South Africa, there was some left over CKD Rambler American who was sold there as 1970 models from what I saw on that vintage ad.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ifhp97/5438236612
Rambler, for people who think before they buy. Reminds of the last Saab slogan, Move Your Mind.
Built and marketed in South Africa by Toyota SA Ltd. Wow!?!
Yeah, in its final years, the little story of Rambler in South Africa is a long journey from what I read on the Wikipedia entry and I quoted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambler_American#South_Africa
“Rambler Americans were assembled in South Africa by National Motor Assemblers (NMA), in Natalspruit (Gauteng) beginning in 1961. The Rambler American was available in sedan, station wagon, and hardtop until 1970, after which it was replaced by the locally assembled AMC Hornet. The American sedan was marketed as the “Rambler Rogue” and the station wagon was marketed as the “Rambler 440 Super Stationwagon”.
NMA had existed as a motor assembly plant since the 1920s, and assembled numerous automobile marques, including Hudson, throughout the years before it was sold to the Rootes Group in 1964. Thereafter, NMA assembled Hillman, Humber, and Sunbeam, alongside Peugeot and Rambler. Rambler assembly at NMA ceased in 1967 after Chrysler in the U.S. acquired Rootes Group. Between January 1968 and January 1969, Rambler production was moved to the Datsun assembly plant, Rosslyn Motor Assemblers. In 1969, Rambler production was moved to the former GM plant, Motor Assemblies Limited in Durban, which had come under the control of Toyota South Africa in 1964.
In total, 3,664 sedans, 736 wagons, and 288 hardtops were produced.
You think of the tiny numbers of kits, where still people are making a living while offering an incredible array of choices, and wish that it could have continued.
A luxury OHV six for the man who wants something better than a flathead six. Makes sense, but I can’t see that man handing the woman flowers and whispering “It’s not a flathead” in her ear.
When I was a young kid our family needed cheap reliable transportation and we had two Ramber Americans. They were certainly something better than what we had before (terminally rusty 1960 Pontiac) and actually better than what came after (Vega).
But he’s whispering in her ear with an Australian accent. She looks impressed.
“It’s noyt a flaythead” 🙂
And it’s not Mel Gibson
Another Australian ad, with a bit more text explaining the car’s “prestige” and describing its mighty engine:
The big six from America does get my heart going pitter patter a little.
“Docile” in the ad copy is the sole accuracy here ? Heh-heh . . .
Still no match for the mighty slant six Valiant.
And it didn’t even come with whitewalls, at that price. And yet it does in the colour ad. Hmm…..
TOCMP has some Aussie Rambler scans: http://oldcarbrochures.org/Australia/Australian-Motor-Industries/index.html
In that era, American cars, even a Bel Air were seen and sold as luxury cars. An example: The ’63 Bel Air came with the 283, Powerglide, power brakes and steering, heater, carpets and leather faced seats. An Impala in all but name, and they had the Impala’s 6 tail lights.
A very well equipped car in it’s day.
We had a ‘64 Rambler Classic with a V-8. My brother and I called it “The Rumbler”. Dad got rid of it my freshman year in college when the Arab Oil Embargo hit and gas was scarce. It got only 9 miles to the gallon.
They were a cheaper locally assembled American car in NZ but most folks went for a Chevy Ford or Mopar if they wanted a bigger car that the British or Aussies offered. Flat heads were so 1930 all over again by the 60s.
The wording is ambiguous. Does this man want something better than this car, but for some reason can’t get it? Not a tagline that would go down with “Think Small” or even “Inexpensive and Built to Stay That Way”.
Interesting niche car .
I remember Ramblers in the 1960’s, most were strippers with only a slushbox up grade, that slow steering was awful .
Fast forward a few decades, my training is far better and I’ve met some AMC enthusiasts and learned that the lowly Rambler is an okay performer when it’s all in proper tune .
-Nate
’64 was a re-style, so trying to compete with Big 3 compacts, which were clobbering Rambler’s American, by this time. Wasted $$ with Ambassador and Marlin, then we all know about the trendy 70’s Pacer/Matador “flash in the pans”.
I have to take exception to the ‘cheapskate-mobile’ moniker!
Our family had a 1964 Rambler American as a second car. As the mid-level 330 model, it wasn’t exactly luxurious but it was clearly a step up in interior finish, sound-proofing, and overall quality from the Falcon it replaced. The performance of the 6, with its 3 speed automatic, was impressive for a compact car. Overall it felt like a more substantial, solid vehicle than its dimensions suggested.
The following year my father replaced his car with a Galaxie 500XL hardtop and, while it was impressively large, powerful, and well-trimmed, even as a teenager I often preferred the better-handling Rambler on the twisting highways (paved and unpaved) of the day.
There was almost a total absence of freeway driving in Nova Scotia at the time, which may have made a difference. My sense at the time was that the rattling, floaty Galaxie was vaguely disappointing on the highway, while the more solid Rambler often seemed subtly impressive.
My uncle traded his 1954 Chevrolet 210 two-door sedan with Powerglide for a new 1964 American 330 four-door sedan. I too remember it as pretty attractive (much nicer than the 1961 Falcon remaining in our fleet), two-tone white on gold, nice interior, with Overdrive for good mileage. He quite liked the car but my aunt did not as she hated going back to a stick shift. So they bought a new loaded Ambassador in 1966 and my cousin got a new Javelin in 1968. All attractive, decent quality, good cars for the era – until Brougham took over and my uncle started buying LTDs in 1972.
I have a different viewpoint on the lowly Rambler American. Imagine my surprise when my paternal grandfather stopped to pick me up as I was walking home from school in his brand new 1964 American 440 hardtop. This replaced a stodgy old 1950 Chevrolet sedan.
The American hadn’t been sold in Australia prior to this, so the flathead wasn’t as issue. 🙂
Australian Motor Industries had only assembled the Classic V8 for the last few years prior, and at £1899 for the cheapest version in ’64, compared to £1220 for a basic Valiant (regarded as the ‘poshest’ of the Three), it was well out of the hunt for a family car.
The American was an attempt by AMI to be more relevant to the sixties Aussie market. Hamstrung by the high cost of getting bits in from America to assemble, the American could never be competitive with the Holden, Falcon and Valiant on cost, so they had to conjure up some kind of image to ‘justify’ the price discrepancy. Still, it would take a special kind of person to fork out some £100 over the top Valiant Regal (still a six at this point) for the dubious prestige of driving an American.
You didn’t see many. And at that price, why would you?
Ultimately it was Japan that would be AMI’s saviour, with the locally-assembled Toyota Crown enjoying a brief period of competitiveness in the late sixties/early seventies before it too priced itself out of contention.
My folks were not rich and they were also directing all their hard earned cash towards building a house in the latter 1950’s. I pretty much grew up in our blue 2 door ‘58 Rambler American. The things I remember… that little rear window fan that I as a small kid played with until it fell apart. The vacuum operated wipers that seemed connected to the stick shift everytime dad shifted. The huge dark round knobs for the am radio in the dash center were interesting. The most fun of all was lifting the front pass side floor mat to get a glimpse of the street rushing by below. The rusty later years…
I saw one of these at a car show up north of Toronto in the late ‘90’s. The hood was up and the flathead was running…almost silently. Very cool.