Car: Rambler American Station Wagon
Year: 1962
What makes it special: Rambler American is an automobile manufactured by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) between 1958 and 1969. The American was the second incarnation of AMC’s forerunner Nash Motors second-generation Rambler compact that was sold under the Nash and Hudson Motors marques from 1954 and 1955. The compact Rambler American was most often the lowest priced car built in the U.S., and was popular for its economy in ownership.
What made it famous: The 1962 model year Rambler American lineup was essentially the same as 1961. Model designations changed with the Custom trim becoming a 400. The second generation Rambler American was achieved through a heavy restyling of the previous year’s model. the American’s new styling was more square (sometimes described as “breadbox” instead of the round “roly-poly” shape or “bathtub”, and the visual connection with the original 1950 Nash model had finally disappeared. Beginning in 1961 the American line added a four-door station wagon. The straight six was modernized with an overhead-valve cylinder head for higher-grade models, but the base cars continued with the flathead engine. A new “E-stick” option combined a manual 3-speed transmission with an automatic clutch as a low-cost alternative to the fully automatic transmission. The E-stick was also available in conjunction with an overdrive unit. The system offered stick-shift economy, performance, and driver control without a clutch pedal by using engine oil pressure and intake manifold vacuum to engage and disengage the clutch when shifting gears.
Why I would want one: As boxy as it may look, it has an incredible amount of style. Also, makes for great street rod material.
Fun fact: During the entire length of its production, the car was sold under the Rambler brand name, and was the last Rambler named automobile marketed in the Canadian and United States markets.
