The Nash Rambler is a compact car manufactured and marketed by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation for model years 1950-1954. It has a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with sedan, station wagon, and fixed-profile convertible body styles.
Nash established the compact market segment by using the Rambler's size and a combination of feature and equipment. The vehicle was designed to be small and economical while offering higher levels of equipment than typical compact cars.
When Nash-Kelvinator merged with the Hudson Motor Car Company in 1954, the Rambler became a product of the resulting American Motors Corporation (AMC), which in a rare feat, subsequently reintroduced the Rambler for model years 1958-1960. The Rambler was manufactured in Kenosha, Wisconsin over its two separate production runs.
Development
Nash-Kelvinator's President George W. Mason saw that the company needed to compete more effectively and insisted a new car had to be different from the existing models in the market offered by the "Big Three" U.S. automakers. Mason also realized the fundamental problem that had eluded other automakers trying to market smaller-sized cars to Americans: low price was not enough to sell in large volumes, but "also had to be big enough to appeal to families as their primary car." Therefore, the Rambler was designed to be smaller than contemporary cars, yet still able to accommodate five passengers comfortably. Nash engineers had initially penned the styling during World War II.
The new car was the company's entry into the lower-price segment dominated by Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth models. The Rambler was designed to be lighter and have smaller dimensions than the other popular cars. With a strategy focused on efficiency, Nash could save on materials in its production while owners would have better fuel economy than other cars of the era. The Nash Rambler rode on a wheelbase, and power came from Nash's proven L-head (flathead) straight-6 cylinder engine that produced .
Following the design of the larger "senior" Nash models, the compact Rambler employed pontoon styling, with an overall rounded form that enveloped the body – and Nash's characteristic fender skirts also enclosing the front wheels. This front skirts did not impair the car's cornering ability significantly.
The compact Rambler line was designed with several body styles, but the inaugural year was limited to a single model: a fully equipped 2-door fixed-profile convertible. The decision to bring the new car out first in a higher market segment with more standard features was a calculated risk by Mason. Foremost in this strategy was the need to give the new Rambler a positive public image. Mason knew the car would fail if seen by the public as a "cheap little car". This was confirmed in small car comparisons in the media that described the "well-equipped and stylish, the little Rambler is economical and easy to drive" with no "stripped-down" versions, but available in only high-end convertible, station wagon, or hardtop (no "B-pillar") body styles. He knew what Crosley was finding out with its line of mini cars, and what the Henry J would teach Kaiser Motors; namely, that Americans would rather buy a nice used car than a new car that is perceived as inferior or substandard.
In contrast to traditional convertibles that used frame-free side windows, the Rambler was a fixed-profile convertibles, retaining the bodywork's doors and rear-side window frames, their metal structure serving as the side guides for the retractable waterproof canvas top. This design allowed Nash to use unibody construction, making the body sufficiently rigid for an open-top car without additional bracing. The strength of the windshield pillars and roof-rail structure was demonstrated by the entire vehicle flipped upside down, and the rails and supports were undamaged. The convertible top is cable-driven and electrically operated. The design is similar to other fixed-profile convertibles, including the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino", Nissan Figaro (1991), Citroën 2CV (1948–1990), Vespa 400 (1957), and the 1957 Fiat 500 (1957) as well as its 2007 Fiat 500 successor.
In developing this new car, Nash had planned planned to call it the Diplomat. This name would have rounded out the Nash family of vehicles; since starting with the 1950 model year, the 600 line was renamed the Statesman, and the Ambassador remained the flagship line. When the managers learned that Dodge had already reserved the Diplomat name for a planned two-door hardtop body style, Nash delved into its past, and resurrected the Rambler name from an 1897 prototype and its first production model, in 1902. Rambler was also one of the popular early American automobile brands. On 22 May 1950, the automaker filed trademarks for the Rambler and also the Statesman names.
The historical context of the Nash Rambler, along with the Nash-Healey and later the Metropolitan, was that U.S. citizens were exposed to and gained experience with the smaller, more efficient compact, and sporty European cars during the Second World War. Nash's CEO had also visited Italy, France, and England to observe the development of small vehicles in those markets. Some of the styling cues for the convertible Rambler came from Italian designs. The new car's input included the approach of more compact cars that came from Nash-Kelvinator having vast markets overseas. This influence is also seen directly in the Pininfarina-designed models. American Motors would later continue to import European design and styling flair to incorporate into its products, such as the Hornet Sportabouts by Gucci, the Javelins by Pierre Cardin, and the Matador coupes by Oleg Cassini.
Model years 1950
The Nash Rambler was introduced on 13 April 1950, in the middle of the model year. The new Rambler was available only as an upmarket two-door convertible – designated the "Landau". Without the weight of a metal roof and with a low wind resistance body design for the time, the inline 6-cylinder engine could deliver solid performance with fuel economy up to and even more with the optional automatic overdrive.
Significant factors incorporated into the compact Nash Rambler's marketing mix included making the most of the limited steel supplies during the Korean War and the automaker selecting a strategy for profit maximization from the new Rambler line. Nash offered the Rambler in a single fixed-profile convertible body style, positioning it higher in the marketplace and including more standard features that make the open-top models suitable more for leisure-type use than ordinary transportation. With a base price of $1,808 (equivalent to approximately $, adjusted for ), the Nash Rambler was priced slightly lower than the base convertible models from its intended competition. To further increase the value to buyers, the Nash Rambler was well equipped compared to the competition, including whitewall tires, full wheel covers, electric clock, and a pushbutton AM radio as standard equipment options — available only at extra cost on all other cars at that time.
The new Nash Rambler model, "was a smartly styled small car. People also liked its low price and the money-saving economy of its peppy 6-cylinder engine." The small Rambler achieved conquest sales, pulling buyers from the Big Three automakers with a unique selling proposition, unmatched by the larger companies. The abbreviated first year of production saw sales of 9,330 convertibles.
1951 In 1951, the Nash Rambler line was enlarged to include a two-door station wagon and a two-door pillarless hardtop – designated the Country Club. Both the hardtop and convertible models included additional safety features.
Two levels of trim were available: Custom and Super.
A car tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1951 had a top speed of and could accelerate from in 21.0 seconds. Fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost $1,808 in the U.S., but British sales had not at the time started.
A 1951 Nash Rambler convertible was used by Tunku Abdul Rahman in Melaka in 1957 when as Federation of Malaya's first prime minister he declared the country free from British rule.
1952 There were no major changes for the 1952 model year. Models included a new Deliveryman 2-door utility wagon for $1,892. The "Custom" models featured Nash's Weather Eye conditioning system and an AM radio as standard equipment. The new Greenbrier station wagons received upgraded trim with two-tone painted exteriors and they were priced at $2,119, the same as the Custom Landau Convertible model.
The 1950–1952 Nash Ramblers "gained instant popularity with buyers who liked its looks, as well as loyalty among customers who appreciated its quality engineering and performance." A total of 53,000 Nash Ramblers were made for the year.
1953
The Rambler received its first restyling in 1953 and resembled the "senior" Nash models that had received all-new "Airflyte" styling the year before. The new styling was again credited to Italian automobile designer Battista "Pinin" Farina.[Gunnell, p. 166.] The hood line was lowered and a new hood ornament, designed by George Petty was optional. The "racy" ornament "was a sexy woman leaning into the future, bust down, and pointing the way."
The standard engines were increased with manual transmission cars receiving a I6 producing , while a I6 powered cars with the optional "Hydra-Matic" automatic supplied by General Motors. The Custom models added Nash's "Weather Eye" heating and ventilation system, as well as a radio as standard equipment, with the convertible and hardtop versions all getting a continental tire at no extra cost.
The marketing campaign focused on the Nash Rambler as a second family car. Advertisements also featured the wife of Jimmy Stewart and her Country Club 2-door hardtop she described as "a woman's dream-of-a-car come true!" and promoting buyers to spend "one wonderful hour" test driving to discover how "among two-car families – four out of five prefer to drive their Rambler."
A survey of owners of 1953 Ramblers conducted by Popular Mechanics indicated the majority listed their car's economy as the feature they like best. After they had driven a total of , owners' complaints included a lack of rear-seat legroom, water leaks, and poor dimmer switch position, but none of the Rambler drivers rated acceleration as unsatisfactory. Fully 29 percent had no complaints and "only four percent of Rambler owners described the car as too small and 67 percent rated their Ramblers as excellent over-all."
Production for the model year was 31,788 and included 9 Deliveryman models in the station wagon body, 15,255 Country Club hardtops, 10,598 Convertible Landaus, 10,600 station wagons (of which 3,536 were in the Greenbrier trim and 7,035 were Customs, with 3M's DI-NOC simulated wood-grain trim), and 1,114 standard wagons.
1954
After offering only two-door-only models, Nash introduced a four-door sedan and a four-door station wagon in the Nash Rambler line starting with the 1954 model year. This was the automaker's response to demands of larger families for more roomy Ramblers. The four-door body styles rode on a longer, wheelbase. Following the industry practice at the time, the heater and radio were now made optional. Added to the options list was Nash's exclusive integrated automobile air conditioning system, a "very sophisticated setup" for the time incorporated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in one system that was "priced lower than any other competing system; at $345, it was a remarkable advance."