1962 Rambler Classic - George Romney's Compact Car Revolution

Only one year after the formation of AMC, '55 Le Mons Disaster happened, then '57 NASCAR fireball crash into the grandstands set the stage for AMA ban on racing (from '57 to '62)

Romney was a board member of AMA; Automobile Manufacturer Association

Typical to omit Kelvinator Division: The other half of American Motors (before they sold it order to buy Jeep) & also how the the '57-'62 AMA ban on racing affected the company.

I had one same year&model except push button automatic trans. 20 years old and the clock still worked. Burned oil on #4 cylinder. I wish I still had it

The first AMC related video I've seen, with no glaring inaccuracies. Good job! My cousin had a '62 Classic 2dr, I have owned a ' 60 Rambler 6 Super, 8 passenger wagon, with the side opening rear door, all the rest of mine were from the post Romney era, and too numerous to mention (wait for my book, 😂).

Funny to see what counted as a compact car back in the 1960s. This car looks like what an accountant would drive. Hey, I'm an accountant!

I'm 72 years old, in 1969 as a Senior High School I had one but the camshaft broke and I never got to use those fold down front seat with only a few miles to a close Drive-in Theater. I could have made enough money renting it out, those were the days.

I had a white rambler exactly like this. Had it from July 1965 until Oct 1969. It was areal good car. Mine hade 3sp and OD standard

Love your videos. Wish you still made them

I can confirm, you were king of the drive ins and feared by ever dad with a daughter. My uncle owned one with the reclining seats in high school, and said he was chased off a couple of porches because of it.

This illustrates the purchasing public was interested in mid-sized vehicles which were economical. Detroit did not want to believe and continued to build the large autos. Because of this, they went to President Regan and requested an embargo of foreign built vehicles. Instead of using Reagan's embargo to build what the purchasing public wanted, Detroit raised prices and continued to build what Detroit wanted to build. When the Reagan embargo ended, the purchasing public did not buy Detroit vehicles, they bought Japanese vehicles. Didn't Detroit go the Jimmy Carter with cap in hand asking for bailouts?

My first car back in 1971 was a 1962 Rambler Classic same car same interior but outside was white. Paid 35.00 for car then promptly sold the rear tires for 45.00 and that included decent rubber back on the rear. Put a straight pipe on it. No clue why but did

My dad had a blue 4 door just like that one. I loved that car.

Back in 1988 in between my 2 stints in the Navy I had a 74 Hornet Sportabout with 3 on the tree! Dang that was a fun car! I never thought about it as being hard to drive, though. Maybe that's why I had such a hard time teaching my little brother how to drive a stick! We finally gave up and he never did learn lol

Is mitt Romney related to George Romney? He’s a RINO and should be primaried out of office.

I’d say Mitt is a chip off the block!

Liked my 1962 rambler classic a lot as it was a good car. Especially at drive-in theaters!

They should have kept Hudson and dumped all others!

you need to get you brakes bled

at first they used a shit flat-head.The C ompant had an excellent 7 main bearing OHV six already- IT WORKED!.One thing he did was encourage ,or make employees buy one

George Romney is nothing short of an absolute hypocrite in every sense of the word! He may claim to be a Republican but just like his counterpart in Maine, he's nothing short of the biggest back-stabbing, power mad RINO in Washington. He must have taken lessons from GW Bush!

The drama …

It's true. It is immoral to drive a gas guzzler.

That 62 was just like my grandmother’s,back then I didn’t care for it,but I’d love to have one now

I had a 1961 wagon. Sat in many a gas line in that thing. Only downside to it was vacuum windshield wipers. In the rain you could go up hill or see, not both.

I had a 62 Rambler

I owned a 1962 Rambler Classic. What a ride. What a car.

They were good cars. My family owned a 62 Rambler.

Excellent doco. You have a great voice that keeps the audience interested.

Thanks for this great video. I learned to drive in a 1961 Rambler Classic.

You mean, how economy cars have de-volved over the years. I own a 1960 Rambler American as a daily driver. Simple, reliable, plenty of power, and 30+mpg. Don't have to plug it in to diagnose a problem (which I don't have anyway). Simple=better

Wholesome

My first car was a 62 Rambler Classic, three speed with overdrive. Kids don't know how to drive a stick much less a column shifter. But I loved it. Now I drive an SUV. booooooo

Great video Joe

This was decent, my mom drove one of those, it was white.

I really like your videos. You have an I,telligent yet down to earth style. My grandparents bought nothing but Ramblers. I'd love to learn a three on the tree. I never learned a manual.

Three on the tree with overdrive, the best of all worlds.
No mention that the '62 Rambler was one of the first American cars with a dual-circuit brakes ('62 Cadillac was the other, then the '63 Studebaker). Government regulations finally required this life-saving technology in 1967.

Working in the auto parts business late 60 to early 70”s. Ramblers were often a nightmare locating the correct parts. Mostly due to mid year changes. It wasn’t uncommon for a Rambler (as were Studebaker) to have a GM (Delco) charging system with a Ford (Autolite) starting system or visa-versa. Rambler as well as some of the other odd ball vehicles such as Studebaker, International Harvestor 4X4 etc all seemed to stick with Autolite distributers. Many Rambler engines were often repurposed industrial surplus motors. Could have been a Continental engine originally built and designed for a large tractor, road grater etc. They were good solid long lasting motors. One Rambler engine in particular I recall was a late 50’s, 300+ cubic inch six cylinder with a Holley 2-barrel with a manual choke. Despite the high gear ratio differential designed for economy it was really quick.The same could also be said about Rambler manual transmissions or their Borg-Warner automatics that were nearly or exactly the same as Ford’s C-4.

Something new I learned 🤔 Mitt Romney's dad was CEO of AMC

I'm 63, and learned to drive in a 1953 Chevy truck with 3 on the tree. The last 3 on the tree I drove was a brand new 1972 Nova with a 305 v8 with a 3 on the tree. Man was that thing a blast compared to all the straight 6 engined trucks I had driven before.
Haven't seen or driven one since.

Thanks for this and many other of your excellent reviews of old cars that no one else seems to want to cover. Having grown up in a family whose cars included a 1950 Nash Ambassador and a 1960 Rambler American wagon; and having myself owned a 1972 AMC Matador and a 1974 AMC Hornet wagon, I hold a fondness for these simple, sometimes quirky cars. I’m looking forward to seeing your upcoming AMC documentary film!

It has that ICONIC early 60s style. Similar to Ford's Fairlane 500 of the same year. Very beautiful...

I got a '63 and I love it

I used to find the Rambler really ugly, but now I would like to get one at some point, I like the philosophy behind It, time proved Romney right.

I still remember him driving a Nash Rambler to church on Sundays when at least one of his sons was driving a Lincoln Town Car. But you know that they are not a chip off the old block.

This is definitely a hidden gem

Love this video. Glad to see you put some pedal camera angle video in also !!
Just found the channel — have really enjoyed your work !!!

My father-in-law had, at one time, three(!) 1961 Classics, essentially the same car as the ‘62. Two were sticks, and one was a push-button automatic.

In 1971 I bought a 1961 Classic for $50. An ugly lime green it was perfect, no dents, always started , never left me on foot,but it had the standard Rambler condition: lt burned oil and looked like a fogging machine going down the road. My father in law, a life long Studebaker dealer mechanic, said it was due to AMC having the hardest cylinder bore alloy in the business. Said if you reminded it with chrome rings, which would wear out bore of GM or Fords, it would never smoke again once they wore in. He was right!