The Big Rambler/AMC/Jeep Show, Kenosha, WI, 2007

On Saturday, July 28, 2007, four days after my leg cast came off, I was up shooting video at the Rambler/AMC/Jeep show in Kenosha, WI, the largest such show in the country.

Felt real good to be back on two legs again.

And before you start writing in with blood in your eyes, yes, I know the Alliance pictured isn't an '83; convertibles didn't come out till a few years later. This one was the only one at the show. Encores, Medallions, Sportwagons and Premiers weren't there at all. You owners of '83 to '88 Renault cars should be better represented at next year's show; they were as much a part of the AMC story as the Rambler and the Jeep.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

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• 401

[ivcruiser]

Well done and narrarated! Although Im not 100% sure of the Marlin supposedly being the response to the Mustang. Charger maybe, perhaps Galaxie. But it was WAY bigger than a Mustang and more in line with those cars in my estimation. I did attend the 2011 Kenosha Homecoming with my 76 Pacer X and have a 63 Rambler wagon and a 69 Rambler with a fuel injected HO 4.0 from a jeep! Love these cars!.....Again VERY well done sir!

[OsbornTramain]

Agreed on the list above with exception of Saab 92/Impreza. Agreed on Definition, but not the case with Hudson, way more than badge and grill. Different Engines, Sheetmetal with exception of roof and trunk. Completely different performance MPG, Acceleration, Everything. Different Dash and interiors. 55 Hudson & Nash are as different as 55 Chevy & 55 Pontiac or 58 Buick & Oldsmobile. Which had same green house and trunks. Way more than Badge, the engine alone produce a different car.

[artistmac]

@OsbornTramain Badge engineering is when you take one basic vehicle and change the grille, headlights and taillights (and not much else) from one make to another. It doesn't have to be just badges. Examples: Dodge Dakota/Mitsubishi Raider, Kaiser Manhattan/Fraser Manhattan, Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, Subaru Impreza Wagon/Saab 9-2, Fiat 124/Lada 1600, 1961 and later MG Midget/Austin Healey Sprite, Dodge Caravan/Volkswagen Routan, Isuzu Rodeo/Honda Passport, Isuzu Oasis/Honda Odyssey. Twins.

[artistmac]

@OsbornTramain BTW, the '55 Chevy and Pontiac were not twins. They had the same greenhouse, but that's where the similarity ends. All '55 full-size Chevys had a 115" wheelbase. The entry-level Pontiac Chieftain rode on a 122" wheelbase; the Star Chief, 124". The '55 Dodge had a 5" longer wheelbase than the Plymouth, and, again, different engines. Both '55-'57 Nashes and Hudsons used a 114.5" w.b. for the cheaper versions, 121.5" for the top-of-the-line. Same car.

[artistmac]

@OsbornTramain The only reason AMC bothered to whip up a Nash-based Hudson on the cheap in the first place was so that Hudson dealers would have a full-size car to sell. The Rambler, which was being sold at both Nash and Hudson dealers after the merger, wasn't going to cut it with traditional full-size Hudson customers.

[artistmac]

@OsbornTramain The full-length body line near the bottom of the car is the same on both. Rooflines, same. Front wheel cutouts? Trivial. And for 1957, both cars used the same cutouts. If you have a '55-'57 Hudson and are tired of the "Hash" references, deal with it. If AMC had continued with the step-down Hudsons and the Pininfarina-designed Nash, they'd have gone broke. One platform had to win out, and that platform was NASH. And neither car survived past 1957; AMC wanted to focus on Rambler.

[artistmac]

@OsbornTramain Part of the reason they were put on the larger wheelbase was that Chairman Roy Abernathy, who was 6'4", insisted he be able to sit in the back seat without bending over. Sorry, but this car was completely outclassed by the Mustang, on the low end, and the Thunderbird, Riviera and Toronado on the high end. I stand by my assertion; it was bizarre. And the public apparently thought so. Only 17,000 were sold in 3 years. Thunderbird, 70,000 and Mustang, 520,000 in '65 alone.

[pr3par32die]

wow. i learned alot. very informative video, and nice clips! i like seeing those old cars! wow! +1

[OsbornTramain]

@artistmac Badge engineering is when you simply change a badge. For example, a Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon or a Plymouth Volare or Dodge Aspen. Only the grill inserts and badges are different...hence badge engineering. Nashes and Hudsons shared platforms but are not Badge engineered. If you say, it's badge engineered with the exception of engines, dashboards, sheet metal, then it's not badge engineered.

[OsbornTramain]

@artistmac Wrong again, The Marlin was put on the larger wheel base to be a larger car and compete with the Riviera or Toronado or Dodge Charger. They were no way made to compete with the Mustang. They weren't even in the same price class or size class, Marlins were Intermediates like a Charger. The final year , it was considered a subseries of the Ambassador and included in the Ambassadors Sales Brochure.