Independent Automotive

During the winter of 1948, a long-distance call from Detroit interrupted the journey of George Mason to Bermud. Grand amateur of cigars and president of the NACH KELVINATOR CORPORATION, t By the time the occasion, Mason was ready to wait and began to prepare an offer for NACH. None of the two knew, but with time, they would throw the base of an enterprise that would never change the world of the car. From 1954 to 1987, American Motor Corporation produced more than 12 million of Berlin, coupe, brake, Berlin-Aillon, sports car, truck, SUV and many others. The company owned factories on all continents and sold its products all over the world, employing dozens of thousands of engineers, designers, operators, welders, workers, sellers, mechanics, secretaries and staff. Always Outsider, American Motors has prospered thanks to its difference. But as the American lost its last independent car manufacturer, the last one was sponsored by Visit des Trois, the Alfred P. Sloane Foundation, the site of the National Motor City Patrimony and by the following cars, as well as over 375 people and organizations who donated to thank you. In February 1948, George Mason invited George Romney to the office of Nash Kelvinator at Des Trois to offer Twelve years ago, Mason led the Kelvinator Replyance Corporation when Charlie Nash personally convinced Charlie Nash wanted George Mason because Walter Chrysler told Once Mason was a man he was going to have. Ten years later, Mason wished that the young and enthusiastic Romney would succeed in training He visited the places and showed What impressed No American company had anyt Nash would offer less money and prestige than Picard, but presented a major advantage. George Mason promised that he would teach As always, Romney will dedicate Then he accepted Mason's offer, sold The largest Nash assembly plant was originally a former bike factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin, called Tomabu00e9. Jeffrey bought it in 1900 to launch 16 years later, In the framework of He worked at the Kelvinator factory. He worked at the Nash factory. He followed the training of the repairman, then worked in all the services of the social sector. He then acquired a complete training. Two years later, he was promoted to vice president and he was entrusted with a new particular mission. George Mason, I said it was a very good man. He could not license anyone, so he entrusted responsibility to George Romney. And George did it, In 1950, nearly nine cars were sold to the United States from General Motors, Ford or Chrysler. The giants, the three greats of the industry. The rest belongs to the smallest independent builders, including Studbecker, Nash, Hudson, Packard and others. Mason had proposed the fusion of Independence for better competition of the three greats, but For each car built, two people wanted it. The demand was uncontrollable, but it started to slow down. To maintain the interest of buyers, Nash launched the new small car that had impressed Romney two years earlier. Look at that. It's t A new kind of car. Named after the first car by Thomas Gep The problem with small cars in the 50s and 60s was that small were synonymous with good market, and they then acquired the reputation of being cars for the poor because they were good markets. To counter to avoid the small quality, Romney invented the term compact car. Thanks to its finished care and its complete equipment, it becomes an intelligent car for young people in the middle of the road. And George Romy told me one day, George, can you offer me one of these Nash Ramler? George, I went to my concessionaire. I don't find Nash Ramler. Can you find me one? Thanks to a market study, Mason and Romney knew that the Americans left the cities for the suburbs and bought more and more cars. My father thought that Nash should make the second car of everyone. If he wants a Ford, a Chevy or another, so better. But the ideal car for the second car in each year should be a Ramler. The cabriolet was soon joined by a rigid roof and a brick, as well as by the compact competitor of the Kaysers, Hudson and Willys. But the competition does not allow the success of the Ramler to be equal. T Other independents did not have t My grandfather, Roy Chappen, created the Hudson Motor Car Company with some other people and took part in the automobile sector here in Detroit. Since its founding in 1909, Hudson has become one of the largest independent manufacturers. Guided by the U-Baret conservative president, Hudson launched a new 1948 revolutionary stage model. My father entered the house with one of It was as if a rocket had landed in my garage. With their profile and low gravity center, the stages models defeat the most maneuverable cars on the road and on the circuit. In 1951, Hudson became the first automobile manufacturer to sponsor an Ascar Ecurina. But the innovation of the V1 and Dicap, Hudson could not help but draw the complex body to adapt to the evolution of the tastes. The car stage was revolutionary in 1948, but it was impossible to modernize the body. Hudson had never had a Brake and could not develop V8. However, it was what the car buyers wanted at the time. In 1952, the sales fell by half. With dozens of brands at all prices, GM, Ford and Chrysler could afford almost every year expensive renovations. Un To reduce these costs, you had to sell them in vol You can not sell 100,000 cars. You have to sell 400,000 or 500,000 cars. George Mason was right. With the slowdown of the market, the sales fell and, in 1953, the merger became a question of survival. Kayser and Willis first formed a duo. Deciding that Studebaker did not agree, Mason contacted Hudson and Picard. Then the disaster happened when Ford launched a commercial war against General Motors. Chrysler did not have to be so involved, the stores exploded, the prices went down and the buyers were getting on the right track. Suddenly, if you did not find less expensive cars, even medi The new compact of Hudson, the GM, made a flop. Independence did not simply manage to equal the bigseries. Did Henry Ford know that he eliminated Nash, Hudson and all the other independents when he launched the sale war? Ignore it. But it is still what he does. Meanw Mason refused. Confronted with a disastrous loss of $ 10 million, Hudson was more receptive and desperate. They stopped launc Nash practically became the main associate, even if the operation was qualified for merger. I do not t On January 14, 1954, Mason Barrette and Romney announced the merger of the Nash KELVINATOR Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, the largest merger in the Mason We know how much an automobile is important for hunting and fis We therefore integrated the 1950 Air Flight Nash with important characteristics to supplement your journey. There, Nash was famous for being a sports car thanks to George Mason was a plenary enthusiast. He loved the car, and he was very passionate about it. He was a fisherman. In October of t At Romney made Mason seemed to be in good mood until one night, George Romney was in the studio of motor American stylism on October 18 when the phone rang. At 11. 45 the day after the meeting, he was in the studio of motor American stylism on October 18. During the meeting, Romney greeted the kindness and generosity of Mason. Unfortunately, this h The next day, a battle at the board of directors opposed Mason's project to maintain They simply estimated that Romney was a little too young and had not been in post for quite a long time. He had followed information for nearly six years and he had to, I the war of sales had brought independence from the company. But Romney had a vision. The rembler was the car of the future and motor American was going to build A friend told us, he told us, guys, come. Tomorrow, I will come to you in a row and you will post for a job. We are not yet very well English, but he said, come and work tomorrow. We all. In the morning of October 24, 1951, Daniel W. Jovitz and Inside the country, a wave of African Americans also migrated to the north, in search of employment and respect. To come to the north to escape segregation, to lower-quality education and the Jim Crow laws, and for If the prospects were better, discrimination persisted, because many were confident in the labor of the foundation. It was the only place where many minorities worked, because it was employment among the most challenging. We even said to ourselves that at one point in the quality of the interior air was really bad. In the less dangerous areas, the work in the factory could still be repetitive and exhausting. Were put on the chain to tighten the shock absorbers. And then, at the end of an hour, I said to myself, but what is t It's crazy. Don't stop. The queue doesn't stop. When will it stop? Later, I went home, I had trouble sleeping, my arm was hurting me. I was only 17 years old. I never had t But I was determined to work. In 1954, the majority of the working-class workers were represented by the local section 72 of Kenosha of the union of the workers united by the automobile, UAW. Many opposed to the cotization that they had to pay, but the union was an excellent worker's protector. For the factory to continue to run, Kenosha also employed hundreds office workers. I got my secondary degree and started at NASH. I worked for about two years, then I resigned from my first c I went back to the factory because it was better paid than the office. I worked next to my grandmother for one or two years. The factory salary was good, even if the security was directly linked to the car sales. To reduce the costs, the Utsun factories of Detroit were closed, just All the Utsun of 1955 were based on existing NASH. The Rambler and Metropolitan Utsuns were obvious clones, but the Ornette and Wasp Utsuns were forced to distribute their origins. They had to build a Kenosha with the carpentries available. They didn't have much choice. They needed a standard bodywork or a brake bodywork. The loyalists qualified the new car to be broken, but improvements were made, especially a point-climbing, developed jointly with Calvinator. T Suddenly, everyone wanted a V8, a six-cylinder, once considered to be large enough, was now considered insufficient. Clients no longer wanted power. And without a V8, American engines turned to Packard. In exchange, Studebaker Packard would buy other AMC components. But t He was obstructive or attempted to bring Romney to contact When he discovered that Studebaker Packard was coming back on t He was furious. Romney ordered AMC could hardly afford the price of 10 million dollars, but he was determined to cut the bridges with Nance. See the Stetsman, the new car of the ambassador Benin Fina, Nacher Flight of 1954. Meet up with your concessionaire, look inside, take a key and take a turn. It's a new life on the wheel. I love t A new life on the wheel. Only now. From 1954, American Motors began to sponsor a new exciting television show and a new series of TV shows. I was lucky to meet Walt Disney with my father. And I remember having He was one of the first announcers. And our Rambler is today the cheapest car in the market. Each model is sold at a lower price than that of the Chevrolet, strong and plimous equipped in the same way. But advertising could not People bought cars Not American Motors, they did not have the means, but many automobile manufacturers radically modified them every two years. The sales of Nache models and Hudson's great format had dropped. In reaction, he brought back to invest the AMC's low fund in a new Rambler at $ 56. He then launched a conference tour to promote it. We said to The three great manufacturers gave us an exceptional opportunity. They made the Chevrolet, the plimous and the strongest of the most in the field over the years. As a result, people wanted economic ve The Rambler is a car that fits better than any other car on the road. Unfortunately, the sales dropped and did not progress, and the new Royal Berry came to be found to be packed with concessionaires who were afraid to leave for other brands. W He began to reduce costs at Hudson's American Motors. And one of the t And if you have never seen it, it's horrible. But they managed to bring back their rentals under the bar of 150,000 cars a year, w Then, he planned to put a new car on the road, w Then, he planned to end the production of all Hudson and Nash. Except for the imported metropolitan, after 1957, AMC would no longer sell Ramblers. Furious of Romney's decision, Aoe Barrette has resigned. I know he deserves it, as he owes American Motors lost astronomical s He examined By a fresh September evening in Kenosha, Romney addressed a group of AMC employees. He was convinced that the Rambler was the solution to the problem of all these talks about cars, about the company and people We can't, and I want to emphasize it, because it's vital for each of us to live another year We can't. If we don't seize t Our success or failure in 1957 depends on us. A big party of companies was out of question for Christmas, but Romney insisted that a celebration, as modest as it is, be it. Before going on Christmas holidays, we had a meeting in the garage downstairs, and he was directing Christmas songs, w During t It was a very difficult period. Many people left the company due to lack of confidence. When you work 50 or 60 hours a week and you have to undergo a salary drop, it's difficult to stay optimistic. In private, Romney said, if I could exhaust a wish, it would be that the public was confident in American Motors. In February 1957, Daytona Beach Speed Week was won by the new Rebelle Rambler. Thanks to the new V8 AMC, the Rebelle edition became the second fastest car in America be However, the economic cars remained the absolute priority of Romney. And as the competition became bigger, heavier, expensive and greedy in fuel, the Rambler won again. The Rambler is so much more launched outside than the other cars. It surpasses the American cars by turning, parking and handling. Only the Rambler Monobloque offers space and comfort for a big car, as well as the economy and handling of a compact car. As AMC no longer offered us big cars, it could attack the big car and it made a real marketing success. He said, Dinosaurs are greedy in fuel. They presented the cons And that George Romney said somet During a promotional tour, the engineer LeVendaine obtained an excellent 33. 9 m3 per gallon, against competitors who reached just 20. Then, while the situation was improving, the United States j During economic crisis, everyone wanted a car at low price. And suddenly, buyers turned to the Rambler. Every month, the sales of American engines were And George Romney understood, let's go. The sales took off with the arrival of new models and a modernized style in 1958. To create more products, AMC made the impossible and put the old carousel of 1955 under the name of Rambler American. He said that 30,000 sales would be enough to reach the threshold of profitability, the tools were already available. They introduced it and apparently, it was a huge success. At the end of the year, American engines had finally reached a cap and made benefits. LeVendaine doubled in 1959. In a thank you guide, a group of concessionaries offered to Romney a plate at the end of George Romney, the hunter of the American dinosaur. He was also a hero at Kenosha. George Romney was a very intelligent man, he did a lot of good t We had an excellent opinion of Romney. I told people that Romney could convince a owner of Chevrolet The decade has passed since Willis focused on jeeps, leaving the US cars. Studebaker Packard had defeated James Nance and killed the Packard brand, but continued to know difficulties. Even Ramsay was not drawn to business. After the success of the Ramblers, the three great manufacturers predicted their own compact cars and the Americans bought more foreign cars than ever. But the most worrying, the future of American Motors was announced except simple. Don't miss the second episode, where AMC is launc And about the Javelin and the AMX, these are only two ve With 240 pages of facts, two figures and two color photos, this full book of AMC cars is the ideal complement of our doc You can order an example via the link in the description of t We want to thank once again all the sponsors who made this doc Visit the three allows the curious travelers to discover the heritage and emblematic culture of the region, especially its art, its gastronomy, its festivals, its music and its muse To know more about what the metropolitan region of Detroit reserves you, visit the three. com. The Alfred P. Sloane Foundation aims to increase the access of the public to this doc Understanding and engagement in science. The site of the National Motor City Preserve National Heritage Site, interprets and promotes the automotive heritage and workers of the region of Detroit. And of course, thank you to all the automotive clubs in the country who supported our work, as well as over 375 people and organizations who made a donation for our doc If you enjoyed t Leave us a message on our website. Finally, I want to thank all the people who gave their time, their talent, their expertise and even their car to be part of the last independent automobile manufacturer. And of course, thank you very much for watching our doc Thank you.