Ramble On

Rambler American, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Famous for being a car that goes very fast in second gear*, the Nash Rambler was a popular car in the compact segment. Sold under both the Nash and Hudson names, the model was discontinued in 1955, the new car featured modified Nash "Airflyte" styling, to better integrate with senior Nash models. This, in combination with economical engines and a low price, helped the Rambler to be the first really popular American compact car, and it remained in production until 1955, not long after the formation of American Motors Corporation.

In 1957, AMC was in need of a compact car, something to slot in between the tiny two seat Metropolitan and the larger family sized Rambler Six. Fortunately, AMC had retained the previous model's tooling and it was a fairly simple job to update the styling. The "new" car made it's debut in 1958 as the Rambler American.

The American was well reviewed, praised for it's low price and economy, and proved to be a popular car throughout it's three year lifespan. In 1961, all new styling appeared, ending the Rambler's visual links to earlier "Airflyte" Nashes.

*a reference to the Playmate's 1958 song "Beep Beep".

Luxury in Miniature

Metropolitan, originally uploaded by William 74.

The Nash Metropolitan is a tiny, little two seater coupe or convertible, famed for it's cutesy looks, almost fully enclosed wheels, vivid two toned paint jobs, and it's cartoony proportions.

While most American manufacturers in the fifties were going with a "bigger is better" philosophy, bit player Nash was looking for ways to provide American drivers with more economical transportation. Based on an earlier design study, the Metropolitan was positioned to take advantage of the emerging market for "personal use" cars-second cars for shopping or commuting for shorter distances. Some of the Met's design cues are also directly targeted at another emerging market-of the emerging number of women choosing their own cars. The Nash was the first car marketed directly to women (the Dodge LaFemme came a year or so later)-the first spokesperson for the car was the reigning Miss America, and Nash took out ads in Women's Wear Daily, among other women's magazines.

Built by Austin in England, the little Metropolitan sought to provide a big car feel in a tiny package. To further this, it included such things as leather interiors, standard radio and cigarette lighters, those snazzy two tone paint jobs, whitewall tires, and jaunty little continental spares. It also included this almost comically oversized hood ornament-it almost seems too big for the car!

Finally hitting showrooms in 1954, the Metropolitan received mixed reviews. Testers found the car to be solidly built and nippy around town, but rather slow and noisy at faster speeds. Despite this, the little car sold respectably, garnering about 95,000 sales over a ten year lifespan. The final nail in the Met's coffin was the introduction of cheaper Ramblers within the AMC stable. The Met was always an expensive proposition, what with being built overseas and shipped to the States, and by 1960 you could get a much bigger, more powerful Rambler for only about $200 more.