With the Rambler name all but banished from its vocabulary, American Motors launched an all-new Ambassador in 1967 to compete head-on with the Detroit three.

In previous stories here at Mac’s Motor City Garage, we’ve covered American Motor’s ambitious mid-’60s plan to become a full-line auto manufacturer, competing directly against the Motor City giants. The Detroit compacts and imports had eliminated AMC’s traditional market advantage in small cars, and with seemingly nowhere else to go, CEO Roy Abernethy forged a plan to reinvent the company.

The Rambler name was almost (but not quite) erased from the product line, while the mid-sized and full-sized cars for 1967 were given an extensive makeover at a cost of $60 million, a huge investment for the tiny automaker. AMC was now taking direct aim at Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth in its bid to survive.

For the ’67 redesign, the mid-sized Rebel (formerly Rambler Classic) and full-sized Ambassador continued to share a common unit-construction platform, as in previous years. In contrast to the Rebel, the Ambassador boasted a 118-inch wheelbase with the four inches of extra length added between the cowl and front wheels. Updates to the package included increased torsional rigidity, an open driveline, and four-link coil suspension at the rear. And up front was a new AMC engine family with up-to-date 290 and 343 cubic-inch V8s that managed to use the previous V8’s tooling, while the familiar 232 cubic-inch inline six was available as well.

The all-new exterior sheet metal, created under the direction of AMC design chief Richard A. Teague, bore no resemblance to the boxy and often eccentric-looking Ramblers of years past. Longer, lower, and three inches wider, the Ambassador now sported a clean and conventional look. To further distinguish it from the intermediate-class Rebel, the Ambassador received trendy vertical quad headlamps and more elaborate front and rear bumpers. As much as anything, the new styling seemed almost designed to blend in with the Detroit three’s offerings.

One area where the Ambassador continued to stand out was in the interiors, above. The deluxe models featured rich nylon brocade fabrics, creating an environment that some said was more like grandma’s living room than the vinyl-wrapped cabins of the Detroit three. But then, American Motors products tended to appeal to older car buyers,  and they probably felt right at home.

Three trim levels—base 880, deluxe 990, and super-deluxe DPL—covered the bases in standard equipment. The DPL was intended to align, more or less, with the value-luxury Ford LTD and Chevrolet Caprice. A full complement of body styles included a DPL Convertible (lead photo), 990 and DPL two-door hardtops, 880 and 990 Station Wagons, and AMC’s perennial bread and butter, four-door Sedans in 880 or 990 trim. There was also an 880 Sport Sedan two-door with a narrow, fixed B-pillar (blue Ambassador shown above) but it and the low-volume DPL Convertible (1,260 built) were dropped after one year.

Despite the comprehensive and costly makeover, the new Ambassador was less than the success that was hoped for. Volume for the full-size car slipped from 72,000 in ’66 to not quite 63,000 in ’67. One issue, according to preeminent AMC historian Patrick Foster (Collectible Automobile, June 2003), was poor build quality due to early production problems with the new platform.

Still, the Ambassador has never been blamed for the company’s record $75.8 million loss in 1967, as total calendar year sales for the company fell from 346,000 to 229,000. The stumble cost CEO Abernethy and chaiman Robert B. Evans their jobs, replaced by Ford veteran William V. Lundberg and Roy D. Chapin Jr, respectively. But the Ambassador in this basic form lived on, with conintual facelifts and improvements, until it was finally discontinued in 1974.