American Motors was a small car company that competed head-on with the Big Three (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) for the domestic car market during a bygone era.
American Motors was born in 1954 when the Hudson Motor Company merged with Nash-Kelvinator to fend off the big domestic car companies with the combined forces of a car company (Hudson) and a company better known for its kitchen appliances (Nash-Kelvinator).
Jim Sutherland
The Rambler name became a part of the newly merged company’s marketing plan and was used by several AMC models over the years. Eventually Rambler became a catch-all phrase for every AMC vehicle that was not a Jeep after American Motors acquired the famous 4×4 builder for 70 million dollars in 1970.
However, AMC launched two pony car models in 1968, namely the Javelin and AMX. This dynamic pony car duo was rarely called Ramblers by non-American Motors fans because the two road rockets were stylish, fast and furious foot soldiers during the conflict known as the Muscle Car Wars of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, the Javelin and AMX blew up the stodgy Rambler image in a few short years.
American Motors operated on a shoestring budget, so they had to be a creative car company. Consequently, the first-generation AMX is essentially a Javelin with a few feet of sheet metal removed (including the back seat) to make the car into a two-seater sports car. The AMX is an excellent example of American Motors’ ability to create two different cars out of one platform.
Normand Fountaine is the proud owner of a 1970 AMX that is a beast in a cool two-seater package because of its factory 390 cubic-inch engine coupled to a sturdy factory 4-on-the-floor manual transmission. His ’70 AMX will run with the big dogs all day–every day.
Normand told MyStarCollectorCar he has “been driving AMC products since 1976…back in the day when nobody liked a Rambler”, in his words.
However, Normand became a big fan of American Motors cars and began to build his collection, including his ’70 AMX. He bought the car almost 30 years ago and has maintained the car in perfect condition ever since Normand became its owner.
Normand told MyStarCollectorCar his ’70 AMX was the lowest production year for the first-generation versions and was the last year of the two-seater models before American Motors was forced to discontinue the AMX as a standalone model.
The AMX name was merged with the Javelin models in 1971 and became a high-performance Javelin four-seater model during the transition.
The history of the 1970 AMX is not lost on Normand’s grandson Lucas because the young car guy loves any opportunity to drive his granddad’s car. Lucas likes the car’s unique style that really stands out in a crowd of new vehicles. He added: “The car sounds good and goes good–plus you really have to drive it”.
Normand is justifiably proud of his rare 1970 AMX, but he should also be very proud of the fact he has influenced his grandson to become a dyed-in-the-wool car guy.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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