In 1959, the smallest of the Detroit Four automakers was also the hottest, zooming up the sales charts. See the entire Rambler line for ’59 here.
There’s a not-so-humble brag in this 1959 American Motors campaign. Rambler really was rocketing up the U.S. sales charts—from 13th to 6th place in ’58, zooming past Cadillac, Mercury, and Chrysler. The master plan of CEO George Romney was working: Increasing numbers of Americans, motivated in part by the so-called Eisenhower recession, were tuning their backs on the big Detroit “dinosaurs” (Romney’s term) and opting for more rational transportation. In 1961, in fact, AMC would briefly take over third place in U.S. sales, knocking Plymouth off its traditional perch.
George Romney with the 1959 Ramblers at American Motors HQ
True to Romney’s vision, in this spot there’s no reference to size, glamour, or any of the Motor City’s customary selling points of the late ’50s. Instead, the focus is on fuel economy and people-friendly features including fold-down seats, a Nash legacy from Romney’s mentor, George W. Mason. Personally, we’ve always found the exterior designs of the bigger Ramblers in these years, directed by styling chief Ed Anderson, a little peculiar. It’s safe to say Rambler buyers were folks who weren’t terribly hung up on styling, and today the quirkiness of these cars is part of their charm. Check out the video below and see if you agree.
Editor’s Note: The video below was taken down due to a copyright dispute. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Those tacked-on tailfins were just that…tacky. But as the story says, styling was likely far down the list of wants of the Rambler buyer. More proof of that, sales of the Rambler American, an obvious early 50s car, risen from the grave.
Yes, it was like “Oh, they want tailfins? We can do tailfins.”
When I was 15, one of my uncles gave me a rusted ’59 Rambler wagon to drive around in the fields behind my Mom’s house. It had the overhead valve 6, and 3 speed manual on the tree. Today I still have the owners manual for the car that shows the original buyer
In the 2001 movie “Joe Dirt”, his parents drove a blue ’59 Rambler Rebel Cross Country wagon when they abandoned Joe at the Grand Canyon…