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Thomas B. Jeffery built and sold Rambler bicycles in Chicago from 1878 to 1900. He was one of America's first men interested in automobiles in the late 19th century, and in 1897, he built himself a motor car. Jeffery was serious and visionary enough about cars to buy a plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he planned to manufacture automobiles on a large scale. His experimental prototypes of 1900 and 1901 used at least two radical innovations - steering wheels and front mounted engines. But by the time Jeffery was ready for production in 1902, his father had talked him out of these wild dreams and convinced him to stick with tillers and engines under the seat. American Motors corporation eventually sprang from these hectic
beginnings. Between the buggy like Ramblers of 1902 and AMC's establishment
in 1954 passed such fondly remembered makes as Jeffery (1914-1917), Nash
(1918-1957), Ajax (1925-1926), LaFayette (1934-1939), Hudson (1909-1957),
Essex (1919-1932), Terraplane (1933-1938), Metropolitan (1954-1962), Nash-Healey
(1951-1954), Hudson-Railton (1933-1938), and Hudson Italia (1954). But
AMC was still a long way away.
From 1902 until 1908, Jeffery moved steadily to bigger, more reliable models. His cars were built on assembly lines (the second manufacturer to adopt them -- Olds was first), and in 1903 he sold 1350 Ramblers. By 1905, Jeffery more than doubled this number. One reason may have been because he went back to the steering wheel before 1904. In 1907, he was building a large variety of different body styles and sizes. Among them was a five passenger, $2500 Rambler weighing 2600 pounds and powered by a 40 hp engine. Cars were beginning to look like cars by then. Jeffery died in 1910, and his son Charles took over. That same year, Joseph L. Hudson and seven business associates began producing a competing motor car called the Hudson. It was an immediate success, selling for $900-$1700 and eventually earning a solid reputation for quality and safety. But for the moment, Hudson and Jeffery were in two different camps. The Hudson Motor Car Company, founded in 1909 and building its first cars in 1910, hit 17th place among manufacturers by the end of its first production year. Sales were about 5000. Rambler sales for the same period were some 2500 cars -- a self-imposed limit "in the interest of quality." Rambler built by far the more impressive automobile. In 1911, Rambler offered an adjustable steering pillar, not unlike
the modern multiple position columns. Hudson brought out a "simplified
chassis" and a four cylinder en bloc engine with the magneto and water
pump on a single drive. Hudson also had one of the first multiple clutch
arrangements that year.
J.L. Hudson died in 1912, undoubtedly as contented with his cars' success as T.B. Jeffery. Two years later, Rambler's name was changed to Jeffery, in honor of the company's founder. After Hudson died, Roy D. Chapin headed the firm. Chapin had already helped found a motor company: Thomas-Detroit (later Chalmers-Detroit). He stayed with Hudson until his death in 1936, serving under Herbert Hoover in 1932 as Secretary of Commerce. During the war years of 1914 to 1918, Hudson became the world's largest manufacturer of six cylinder cars. Jeffery (soon to be Nash), became the world's largest producer of trucks. Jeffery had brought out a four-wheel-drive "Quad" truck in 1911, and this proved very popular with foreign governments for military use. During World War I, Jeffery Quads and Nash Quads played an important role for the Allies, and by 1918, 21,494 of these trucks were built under Army contract. Charles W. Nash, in 1916, resigned his post as president of General
Motors and took over the Jeffery Company. Next year, the first Nash made
its bow, powered by an over head valve Six. Concurrent with the Nash debut,
Hudson organized the Essex Motor Car Company, which from 1919 until 1932
built light, spirited models. Essex' appeal was to the performance minded
and price conscious -- in 1921 it offered a closed coach for only $300
more than its touring. In 1924, when six cylinder cars were highly prized,
it brought out a Six for less than $1000. Also in 1924, Hudson had reduced
its coach to only $5 more than its touring car.
Nash, meanwhile, bought the LaFayette Motors Corporation. The name lay
dormant several years while Nash produced the short-lived, Light-Six Ajax.
Nash sales passed the 100,000 mark in 1926. That year, all Nash preferred
stock was retired, and in 1927, the company announced that its employees
owned $20 million in Nash shares. Thus Nash entered the Depression in good
shape, and although sales fell sharply from 1929 to 1934, the company survived
a time when many others didn't.
The long-lived Hudson Super Six and straight eight engines were developed
early in the Depression. Nash also brought out an Eight. Hudson introduced
the Essex-Terraplane, later dropping the name Essex altogether. Hudson
and Terraplane also weathered the Depression, in spite of financial losses.
In 1934, Nash revived the name LaFayette.
The years 1935 and 1936 brought new spirit to the automotive industry.
Nash offered its "sealed-in" engine in 1935 -- an arrangement which had
the intake manifold case into the block. LaFayette accounted in some measure
for the company's renewed success. The same year, 1936, saw Hudson introduce
a double automatic braking system, with the mechanical linkage below the
hydraulic pedal, so if the hydraulic system gave out, the mechanical would
take over. This feature was standard on all Hudson's until 1954.
In 1936 also, Nash merged with Kelvinator, and as a result, George W.
Mason became chairman of the board at Nash. Mason had had experience with
Studebaker, Dodge, and Chrysler. The year 1936 saw 53,038 Nashes and LaFayettes
built, bringing in a net profit for the first time in four years.
Two years later, in 1938, Nash introduced the first "conditioned air"
heating and ventilating system. This later became the famous "Weather Eye"
temperature control, and one of the most practical automotive heating/venting
units in the industry. In 1940, Nash again scooped its competitors with
the "600" series, a light, economical, unit-bodied car which pioneered
mass-produced unit construction.
Automatic transmissions were being developed about this time, and Hudson brought out a combination automatic clutch and semi-automatic transmission in 1941. Shifting was by buttons on the dash. During the years of World War II, both Nash and Hudson were busy
in the nation's defense effort. It wasn't until 1948 and 1949 that Hudson
and Nash brought out new designs. Hudson's famous "step-down" unibody and
big-bore Six made their appearance in 1948; Nash brought out its "Airflyte"
models the next year.
Development came fast and furious in the intervening time. The name
Rambler meant a new small car in 1950. It marked the dawn of our present
compact era, and turned out to be one of the few successful compacts introduced
before 1960. The Nash-Healey, a forerunner of today's sports models, was
born in 1951. Hudson brought out the thrifty Pacemaker and peppy Hornet
that year. In late 1952, the Hudson Jet made the scene. And 1954 saw the
experimental Hudson Italia.
1954 also saw the merger of two great and foundering companies. American Motors was formed, at first with Mason as chairman and president -- later, upon his death on October 8, 1954, with George Romney assuming leadership. Sales were anything but startling at first, but the bright spot
was the compact Rambler. Romney pushed for refinement of the small car,
and it eventually pulled the corporation out of a major slump.
The names Hudson and Nash finally disappeared in 1957. All descendants were called Rambler form then on. The popular Rambler American, revived in 1958, was a direct carryover from earlier models. It led AMC to an amazing third place in industry sales in 1960. This brief history doesn't pretend to give a complete picture
of all AMC's predecessor's combined "firsts." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
