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1964 Rambler American


Rambler American

1964 Rambler American
Vehicle Model

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Wikipedia: Rambler American

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History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Rambler American page on 5 January 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Third generation

For its third generation, the American emerged with what would be its only completely new design. The entire line was treated to neat and trim lines with pleasing simplicity (compared to the more boxy predecessors) with characteristic tunneled headlights with a simple horizontal grille between them. The Rambler American's wheelbase grew by six-inches or 152 mm (to 106 in or 2692 mm) and the interiors were made more spacious.The station wagons in the restyled 1964 series came with four doors and gained 17% more cargo space compared to the previous design. They all featured a new roll-down disappearing rear window for the bottom-hinged tailgate. Full coil front springs along with soft rear leaf units, gave the new American an unusually smooth ride, better than many larger domestic cars. The new models also incorporated various parts and components (such as doors) that were interchangeable with AMC's larger cars. In essence, the new body was a shorter, narrower version of the previous years new Rambler Classic.

The new styling was the work of designer Richard A. Teague, who would go on to design the 1968 Javelin and AMX. Many viewed the newly designed station wagon as the best looking of any American wagon, with its new, trim lines and ample passenger and cargo room. Led by the top-line 440-series convertible, they were arguably the 1964's most attractive Detroit compacts. Car Life magazine titled its road test of the 1964 Rambler American: "The Original Plain Jane Compact Car Just Got Back From the Beauty Parlor".

1964

In addition to the top-of-the-line 440 models, the cheaper 330 and 220 models were also available, and Rambler American sales soared to a record 160,000-plus. The old 195.6 cu in (3.2 L) I6 was a gas stingy champ in the Mobil Economy Runs and available in 90 hp (67 kW; 91 PS), 125 hp (93 kW; 127 PS), and 138 hp (103 kW; 140 PS) versions.

However, American Motors focused its marketing on the economy of the new models, an advertising of a kind that was previously only popular during the Great Depression. The company's series of "Love Letters to Rambler" advertisements included "ordinary user testimonial" about the economy and reliability of their Ramblers, rather than in pursuit of buyers in the whole compact car market segment, a strategy that was copied ten years later by Datsun.


Photographs

1964 Rambler American 220 220
Photo ©2015 Bill Crittenden
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 220 - 2.5MB
1964 Rambler American 220 220
Photo ©2015 Bill Crittenden
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 220 - 1.6MB
1964 Rambler American 220 220
Photo ©2015 Bill Crittenden
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 220 - 1.2MB
1964 Rambler American 220 220
Photo ©2015 Bill Crittenden
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 220 - 1.5MB
1964 Rambler American 220 220
Photo ©2015 Bill Crittenden
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 220 - 1.6MB
1964 Rambler American 220 220
Photo ©2015 Bill Crittenden
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 220 - 1.3MB
1964 Rambler American 220 220
Photo ©2015 Bill Crittenden
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 220 - 1.1MB
1964 Rambler American 220 220
Photo ©2015 Bill Crittenden
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 220 - 2.5MB
1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden
for $6,000 at the Mecum 2012 Fall Premier Auction
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible - 4.4MB
1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden
for $6,000 at the Mecum 2012 Fall Premier Auction
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible - 4.2MB
1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden
for $6,000 at the Mecum 2012 Fall Premier Auction
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible - 3.9MB
1964 Rambler American 440 1964 440
Photo by Christopher Ziemnowicz
AMCRC show in Somerset, New Jersey
2003
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440 - 80KB
1964 Rambler American 440-H 1964 440-H
Photo by Christopher Ziemnowicz
AMCRC show in Somerset, New Jersey
2003
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440-H - 69KB
1964 Rambler American 440-H 1964 440-H
Photo by Christopher Ziemnowicz
AMCRC show in Somerset, New Jersey
2003
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440-H - 57KB
1964 Rambler American Advertisement 1964
View 1964 Rambler American Advertisement - 4,392KB
1964 Rambler American Advertisement 1964
View 1964 Rambler American Advertisement - 4,287KB
1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible 1964 440
Photo ©2013 Bill Crittenden
2013 The Cars Time Forgot
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible - 3.9MB
1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible 1964 440
Photo ©2013 Bill Crittenden
2013 The Cars Time Forgot
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible - 3.7MB
1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible 1964 440
Photo ©2013 Bill Crittenden
2013 The Cars Time Forgot
View photo of 1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible - 3.7MB





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