 Logo from 1970 until 1987 | |
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | |
| Founded | May 1, 1954[1] |
| Founder | George W. Mason |
| Defunct | June 20, 1988 |
| Fate | AMC was renamed Jeep Eagle Corporation then merged into Chrysler in 1990.[2] |
| Successor | |
| Headquarters | American Center 27777 Franklin Rd Southfield, Michigan, 48034 U.S. |
Key people | |
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American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.[3]
American Motors' most similar competitors were those automakers that held similar annual sales levels, such as Studebaker, Packard, Kaiser Motors, and Willys-Overland. Their largest competitors were the Big Three—Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler.
American Motors' production line included small cars—the Rambler American, which began as the Nash Rambler in 1950, Hornet, Gremlin, and Pacer; intermediate and full-sized cars, including the Ambassador, Rambler Classic, Rebel, and Matador; muscle cars, including the Marlin, AMX, and Javelin; and early four-wheel drive variants of the Eagle and the Jeep Wagoneer, the first true crossovers in the U.S. market.
Regarded as "a small company deft enough to exploit special market segments left untended by the giants",[4] American Motors was widely known for the design work of chief stylist Dick Teague, who "had to make do with a much tighter budget than his counterparts at Detroit's Big Three", but "had a knack for making the most of his employer's investment".[5]
After periods of intermittent independent success, Renault acquired a significant interest in American Motors in 1979, and the company was ultimately acquired by Chrysler in 1987.
- ^ Georgano, Nick (1996). The American automobile: a centenary. Smithmark. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-7651-9631-6.
The day Hudson and Nash boards of directors agreed to the merger
- ^ "Corporate Entity Details: American Motors Corporation". Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
American Motors Corporation (incorporated in Maryland as Nash-Kelvinator Corporation January 4, 1937, renamed American Motors April 30, 1954, and Jeep Eagle Corporation August 25, 1988) was formally merged as of March 29, 1990, with its final annual report filed in 1989
- ^ Flory, J. Kelly (2008). American Cars, 1946–1959: Every Model, Year by Year. McFarland. p. 545. ISBN 978-0-7864-5230-9.
- ^ "Turnaround at American Motors". Fortune. Vol. 100. 1979. pp. 66–80.
- ^ Matras, John (April 4, 2005). "Marlins and Hornets and Gremlins, Oh My: The Quirky Classics of A.M.C.". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2017.