Please enjoy this entertaining two-minute pitch of the American Motors lineup for 1966, featuring a pair of wise-cracking truck drivers, Jake and Charley.
Meet Jake and Charley, two truck drivers—from a time when truck drivers actually wore neckties at work. (Yes, they really did, young people.) Jake, who drives the six-car carrier rig, is giving his pal Charley the full low-down on the 1966 American Motors product line.
First, there’s the star of the show, the 1966 Vignale AMX show car. With some changes, this concept eventually became the 1968 AMX production car. Jake then shows us the Rambler American, the lowest-price domestic car sold in America that year ($2017 for a base 220 two-door sedan). Finally, there’s the top of the line at AMC for 1966. the swank Ambassador DPL two-door hardtop. Charley likes the DPL hardtop a lot, as we see.
We never get tired of these old commercial spots—not just for the awsome old cars on display, but for the windows they open into times gone by. Please enjoy the video.
Great piece. In case Jake looks familiar, I believe that was Sid Melton, and played, among other things, the incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe on Green Acres with his sister Ralph. Not sure who Charley was, but looks familiar too. The truck Jake is driving is a ’59 or ’60 IH “B” series, possibly a B160, and Charley is driving a new(?) early ’60’s IH 1600 cabover. Interesting, the Rambler American was the cheapest domestic car at the time. I think the Gremlin made that same claim. And yes, there was a time truck drivers were kings of the highway and had the respect of most other drivers, and were required to dress appropriately. Not me, though. I was a T-shirt and blue jeans kind of trucker. Thanks, MCG
Howard, thank you for putting a name on the very familiar face! Much appreciated. I could have spent weeks searching.