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Rambler American Station Wagon - compact, elegant, practical, visionary?

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Created on September 2, 2020

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

RM/Sotheby's

15

Archiv

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RM/Sotheby's

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Archiv

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - elegant station wagon with two side doors

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - beautiful wheel cover

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - compact dimensions, massive power

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - two hatches give access to the trunk

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - all open for easy access to the luggage compartment

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - the lower flap can also be used as a shelf

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - with bench seat for three people

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - good space despite tight dimensions (by American standards)

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - a round instrument had to suffice

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - Radio on the roof

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - tighter in the back than in the front

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - never built like this, but the V8 is certainly fun to drive

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - the standard version had 90 hp, the restomod version shown is likely to be significantly more powerful

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - the "American" lettering

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Rambler American Station Wagon Custom (1959) - Rambler sign on the flank

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Nash Rambler Custom Station Wagon (1954) - four-door station wagon

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Rambler American (1958) - with a clean, functional design according to PR

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Rambler American (1958) - early photo, taken in 1957

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Rambler American (1958) - comfortable five-seater

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Rambler American (1958) - affordable, fashionable and practical

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Rambler American (1958) - at the Geneva Motor Show 1958

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Rambler American (1958) - simplicity as a selling point for the interior

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Rambler American (1958) - simple and robust technology under the hood, can be maintained by anyone

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Rambler American (1958) - the in-line six-cylinder with Borg-Warner Flash-O-Matic automatic transmission

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Rambler American (1958) - with side-valve in-line six-cylinder engine with 90 hp

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Rambler American (1958) - view of the front suspensions - lots of driving comfort thanks to long coil springs

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Rambler American (1958) - self-supporting body with around 9000 welding points

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Rambler American (1958) - pretty illustration from the sales literature

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Rambler American (1958) - pretty illustration from the sales literature

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Rambler American (1958) - compact, two-door sedan

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Rambler American Station Wagon (1958) - the station wagon version

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Rambler American Station Wagon (1958) - early picture taken at the end of 1958

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Rambler American Station Wagon (1958) - with practical tailgate

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Rambler American Station Wagon (1958) - 1959 model, with the same 2.54-meter wheelbase and 90 hp

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Rambler American Station Wagon (1959) - easy to load through the two tailgates

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Rambler American Station Wagon (1960) - 1960 model year as station wagon

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Rambler American Station Wagon (1960) - 1960 model year of the station wagon

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Rambler American (1959) - Model range for model year 1959

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Rambler American (1960) - as a four-door sedan

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Rambler American (1960) - now also four-door

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Rambler American (1959) - as a sedan

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Rambler American (1959) - 1960 model year as a two-door sedan

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Rambler American Convertible (1962) - now also an open version

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Rambler American Convertible (1962) - as a five-seater convertible

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Rambler American Convertible (1962) - stretched in front of a plastic caravan, shown at the Caravan Salon in Essen in 1962

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Summary

The Rambler American was the right car at the right time in 1958. A compact car for little money was exactly what American car buyers wanted in difficult economic times. And the competition had seen the trend coming too late. It didn't even matter that the technology was neither innovative nor new. This report tells the story of the Rambler American and shows it in current and historical illustrations, as well as in the sales literature of the time.

This article contains the following chapters

The car the Americans wanted
Revival
Economical
An estate car for the saloon
Four-door version also available
Promises not quite kept
Three lives for one chassis
Few survivors

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Rambler American was the right car at the right time in 1958. A compact car for little money was exactly what American car buyers wanted in difficult economic times. And the American Motors Corporation did not have to look far to find the basis for the new model; after all, it had a good role model in its own ranks, namely the 1955 Nash Rambler. The name said it all, at least that's how the sales strategists at American Motors saw it. "Meet the ALL-AMERICAN Smaller Car" was written in the 1958 sales brochure, meaning "Take a look at the all-American smaller car". This slogan would also have been appropriate in modern-day Trump America. The sales brochure went on to say that it was inevitable that this differently built Ramlber American would be launched on the US market in 1958, as there was ultimately a great demand for it.

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