1958 RAMBLER Super, pushbutton automatic

Pushbutton Automatic transmission, Rambler Super, made in Kenosha. I was up in Kenosha, WI. driving around with my Brother & he spotted this sweet '58 Rambler Super. I bought it & drove it back to St. Louis. Was a little scary, because you never know if an old car is going to conk out on you. It made it all the way with no problem. It only had about 56,000 miles on it. Only glitch was when I got pulled over in Springfield, Illinois by a local Federale. He asked me where the license plate was. I had all my paperwork to show him. Come on now, really...do you think someone would drive around with a car that looks like that, intentionally without a plate on it, hoping they wouldn't get noticed? I kept it a few years, then sold it to a guy from Ohio. Whenever I filled it up with gas, people would come up to me confused and ask me what that was. Depending on the individual, I would answer: It's a 1958 Sputnik, or It's a Russian Ambassador's car. Sometimes they would ask me if it was a '57 Chevy. Or they would ask who made it. I told them Rambler, or American Motors, and they walked away even more confused. hahaha.

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Autos & Vehicles

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• sezsells

[catman5169]

My first car was a '58 Rambler wagon...hand-me-down. My Dad was only offered $250 trade-in, so I used the car for years...then he sold it to someone for $250...at least 5 years later. Miss that ole car.

[R9m54LZX]

I lived in Germany from 1965 -1968 (Rhein-Main Air Force Base). My Dad had a green Rambler station wagon. I remember the push button automatic because it was easier for my Mom to drive. The car was a lot of fun!

[heyther3456]

1958 was a good sales year for AMC. Their cars were 'a size and a half' shorter and lighter than the Big 3 cars. Used less fuel and fit easily in the smallish garages that were common then. AMC predecessor Nash was the US unibody pioneer and that helped give good interior room and lighter weight. The Big 3 got around to offering smaller cars starting around '60 but AMC met the challenge well, for a while anyway.

[inkey2]

@loufalce you are right....even when these cars were brand new people made fun of them. As I remember they were popular with older people and people who wanted a big, cheap station wagon for a large family....and yes....they definately were sturdy. I remember when I was in college (1974) a friend of mine had a 1958 rambler wagon. I always relished a chance to get a ride home from school. It gave a really nice high ride that was tight.

[loufalce]

Kinda looks like a mid 60s Mercedes from the rear. Even though many people made fun of them back in the day, they were solid, reliable cars that goot decent gas mileage and were comfortable to drive or ride in. My uncle had a `58 Ambassador 4 door hardtop sedan with the reclining front seat and air. Great date car-especially when you couldn`t afford a motel!

[DeserTBoB93535]

@itsmegp46 True. AMC was in deep trouble, and by the early '80s, their Eagle, the only 4WD wagon, was having horrid quality control and reliability problems. Their only real asset by that time was the Jeep line, and Iacocca wanted it badly. By this time, AMC was already producing most of the Chrysler M-body line in Kenosha. AMC-built M-bodies were mostly cop cars.

[itsmegp46]

@DeserTBoB93535 By the time Chrysler bought up AMC, no one else wanted it. The only reason Chrysler bought AMC was to take over the JEEP name and its vehicles. Except for JEEP, Chrysler discontinued every other AMC car.

[xtpuller]

When I was a kid my dad had a 58 rambler with pushbutton automatic but his had the 327 v-8. Memories last forever because I remember it well and that was back in the 60's. LOL

[kznte]

Nice car! Love Ramblers and wish they still made them today, but I never knew any of them had a push-button automatic at all

[fordude60]

I always liked these Ramblers. In 1976, I looked at one that had been traded in at the local Chevy dealership. They wanted $250.00 for it, but my father balked when I told him about it. He had just went and bought me a '65 Ford Falcon 2-dr. sedan with 58,000 miles on it, but it was too plain for me, compared with the Rambler. I didn't get the Rambler, but the Falcon was a pretty good car.