1958 Rambler American: Second Chance at Life
Its First Appearance Was as 1950 Nash Rambler
Jun 30, 2009
World War II’s end created a tremendous demand for new cars and American automakers responded by reintroducing 1942 models with minor to moderate updates, a practical approach that quickly brought 1946 cars to market.
The Sellers’ Market Ends and the Nash Airflyte Arrives
Such conditions couldn’t continue indefinitely, so pleasantly unconventional Nash unveiled streamlined Airflyte styling to stand out on the road. With smooth sides and enclosed wheel-wells, the novel 1949 Nash Ambassador and 600 needed little more than changing the 600’s name to Statesman and some tweaking for 1950. Nash, though, had Airflyte plans beyond the full-size cars.
The 1950 Nash Rambler Miniaturizes the Airflyte
The 1950 Ambassador and Statesman sold well, but the Independents sensed increasing competition from the Big Three. Finding a niche market seemed wise and since the offbeat was a Nash virtue, its 1950 Rambler didn’t disappoint.
A scaled-down Airflyte, the new Rambler rode a 100-inch wheelbase, a foot shorter than the Statesman’s and 21 inches shorter than the Ambassador’s. That gave it a chunky, appealing quality particularly lovable in the convertible, an amusingly odd design whose canvas roof retracted on fixed rails above the side windows. The first Nash Rambler, the convertible was joined by a sedan and a wagon for an opening-year total of 26,000 Ramblers. Nash had a winner.
Broadening Choices with the 1954 Rambler
The Rambler’s success came from not just size; with a slightly detuned version of the Statesman’s six-cylinder flathead, performance was acceptable and economy was excellent, but from the start, Nash had defined the Rambler as a nicely equipped and well-built car that happened to be small – its first-year $1808 pricetag slotted it above some Statesman models – and after adding the wagon and sedan, following with a two-door hardtop for 1951.
When the 1953 Rambler arrived, it wore fresh styling that retained the original’s charm, but for 1954, there was bigger news. A four-door sedan and the first Rambler four-door wagon were added, both on a 108-inch wheelbase. The two sizes co-existed until 1956, when the shorter car was dropped.
Something Familiar about the 1958 Rambler American
Nash had merged with Hudson to form American Motors in 1954, which in 1955 sold the identical Nash Rambler and Hudson Rambler. Heavily redesigned for 1956, Ramblers traded their curved softness for the flatter look then in vogue, sprouted tail fins and used a Nash-like almost-oval grille that housed the headlights.
Full-size Nash and Hudson models and their names were abandoned after the 1957 model year, making all 1958 American Motors cars compact Ramblers just as foreign cars were taking ground in the United States. Nearly all were compacts, giving AM an advantage over domestic competitors as its cars were ready for the challenge. Better yet, it had an untapped resource in the tooling for the original Rambler.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, but the 100-inch Rambler was brought back to life. Changes were minimal, but effective; rear wheelwells were enlarged, various panels were flattened and the backlight was modernized. A finer grille was substituted and minor details were modified. The car was initially sold only as a two-door sedan and those who knew what it was could quickly spot the changes, but casual observers saw it as a new model with a new name, the 1958 Rambler American.
An Uncomplicated Car Succeeds
It was a shot at foreign cars, as was the undeniable truth that a Rambler American could be serviced conveniently thanks to AM’s dealer network. And service was simple; unlike foreign cars with such curiosities as air-cooled opposed fours, three-cylinder two-strokes or overhead cam designs, the Rambler American was elegant.
Its engine was again the flathead six – now producing 90 horsepower – and the basic transmission was a three-speed manual unit, but an overdrive-equipped car could top 35 mpg. An AM sales brochure designed to resemble a newspaper’s front page reported that the Rambler American “challenges ‘big car concept’ ” and that the new American offered “more room than any foreign small car … plus top economy of all American-built cars.”
American Motors’ gamble paid off and just over 30,000 examples of the American were sold in 1958. It returned for 1959 with a station wagon and sales passed 90,000. For the original body’s final year, the 1960 Rambler American received further minor changes plus the addition of a four-door sedan and sales exceeded 120,000.
The Rambler American returned for 1960 and followed the same concept of providing basic – and simple – transportation, but a major restyling gave it a very different look.
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