This book was published in 1993 but still offers the best balance of product information and corporate history about American Motors, written in an accessible prose that sometimes hints at Patrick R. Foster’s stint as a salesman at an AMC dealer.
Better than most historians, Foster explains CEO George Romney’s genius as well as the key reasons why American Motors lost its independence. However, he largely sidesteps answering the single most important question of the 1970s: What was going on in AMC’s management culture that led to a series of production-planning mistakes which ultimately proved fatal (e.g., Matador coupe and Pacer)?
This gap in Foster’s analysis results in a perplexing dichotomy: He is harsher in his direct criticisms of CEO Roy Abernethy than Roy Chapin Jr. even though the latter made similar mistakes, only on a larger scale. (For further discussion of Abernethy and Chapin go here and here).
Foster’s more recent AMC book (2013) is a good read and visually impressive, but I tend to find myself reaching for The Last Independent when doing research on the company. This book often offers more factual details because it has an old-school format, with a greater emphasis on text.
American Motors: The Last Independent
- Patrick R. Foster; 1993
- Krause Publications, Iola, WI
“Mason, for all his foresight, had planned on emphasizing the big Nash and Hudson cars, of course sharing a more cost-effective single chassis/body. But even with that, he would be competing directly against the Big Three automakers. Mason planned to keep the Rambler as a lower-priced compact car, a companion model that could be sold by both dealer organizations. Mason, although a believer in small cars, did not feel the company could survive selling only compact cars. This is where Romney and Mason were fundamentally different.” (pp. 20-21)
“Looking back on the models offered, it’s obvious that the big emphasis for 1974 was on the new Matador coupe. Estimates vary, but it’s a safe bet that about $40 million were spent on tooling for the coupe. The cost to the corporation was even higher, for the money spent on the new Matador meant that the Gremlin/Hornet series would have to wait for two more years before any funds could be released for restyling them.” (p. 188)
“Contemporary writers and historians have always been quick to drag out the tired line that AMC’s demise was proof positive that it is impossible for an independent automaker to survive in the American market. That is utter nonsense. What has been proved by all this is that an independent automaker could survive and prosper in the American market if it was willing to do things differently from its big competitors.” (p. 293)
OTHER REVIEWS:
RE:SOURCES
- Foster, Patrick R.; 2013. American Motors Corporation: The Rise and Fall of America’s Last Independent Automaker. MBI Publishing Co., Minneapolis, MN.
The belief that a small and independent automaker like AMC cannot survive in a modern market is so wide spread that it becomes a curse unrelenting.
In a manner of speaking anything is possible given the foresight and ability is there.
So then why cant anyone resurrect AMC as a purely American entity
without an overseas sugardaddy?
There is no shortage of heritage in AMC – appealing if at times quirky compact cars – 4 wheel drive technology, and a certain level of engineuity uniquely its own.
Even the names are memorable – Javelin, Ambassador, Concorde and Eagle.
Would Americans embrace a home grown distinctive and individual auto ? With an eye on value per dollar ? Is that preferable to a compact SUV that are increasingly indistinct from any other ?
>> The belief that a small and independent automaker like AMC cannot survive
GM and Chrysler could not survive and Ford just barely made it. Major American manufacturers are still not competitive. Recent gas prices have crushed the SUV market that USA companies rely on. I recently read that Hyundai/Kia is projected to outsell Ford this year.
Tesla and Rivian are homegrown and distinctive and have been embraced, but they are electric and appeal to a different audience. I think Tesla’s US sales last year may be greater than AMC at any time, and Tesla has become unpopular among their core buyers.