Nash Ambassador
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Ambassador was the model name applied to the senior line of Nash automobiles from 1932 until 1957. From 1958 until the end of the 1974 model year, the Ambassador was the product of American Motors Corporation, which continued to use the Ambassador model name on its top-of-the-line models. From 1927 through the mid-1932 model year, the Ambassador name was applied to a high trim club sedan body style, one Nash's most prestigious senior models.
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[edit] "Ambassador" Sedan 1927-early 1932
Nash Motors' first use of the name Ambassador was during the 1927 model year when a specially trimmed four-door, five-passenger club sedan version of Nash's Advanced Six automobile (designated model 267) was developed. As the most expensive car in the line, the Ambassador received premium upgrades in upholstery and other trim items for a base price of $2,090 (FOB). The Ambassador model lost its position as Nash's most expensive car in 1929 with the introduction of seven-passenger sedan and limousine models which were carried through the 1934 model year.
The Ambassador remained in the Advanced Six range until 1930 when the model was moved to the Nash Twin Ignition Eight model. In 1931 the cumbersome Twin Ignition Eight name was replaced by the simpler "Eight-90" model designation.
[edit] Nash Ambassador, mid-1932-1948
In mid-1932, Nash established the "Ambassador Eight" as a stand-alone model range, offered in a number of body styles, including coupes and victorias. Riding 133-inch and 142-inch wheelbases, and sumptuously appointed, these cars earned the title of the "Kenosha Duesenbergs" for their quality, durability, styling and speed. This was part of Nash's second 1932 series, which included completely new bodies and engineering updates to all models produced by the company. Along with General Motors, Nash was the only automobile manufacturer to make a profit in 1932. For 1934, Nash introduced completely new styling, called "Speedstream", featuring generous use of ornamental moldings in body panels and fenders, in a very streamlined and Art Deco way. The Ambassador Eight series for this year was limited to various four-door sedan body styles. 1935 saw yet another complete re-styling, and a further trimming of body styles, but added a two-door sedan to the Ambassador Eight series. However, the 1935 Ambassador Eight was now built on a smaller 125-inch wheelbase, and used the smaller, former Advanced Eight engine. No longer would Nash build the big, classic cars of 1930-1934.
While the Ambassador had been offered only with Nash's in-line eight from mid-1932 to 1935, the 1936 Ambassador Six added Nash's largest in-line six as well, in a 121-inch wheelbase model, formerly known as the Advanced Six. In 1937 Nash acquired the Kelvinator Corporation as part of a deal that allowed Charlie Nash's handpicked successor, George W. Mason, to become President of the new Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. 1937 saw the return of coupes and convertibles to the Ambassador lines. From 1935 onward, the senior Nash models used identical bodies, relying on a longer wheelbase, hood and front fenders (plus subtle trim augmentations) to provide visual cues to differentiate the more expensive Eights from the less expensive Six models. Beginning in 1937, even the low-priced LaFayette series came under this plan. This basic formula was used through the final AMC Ambassador in 1974, with the exception of 1962-1964, when the Rambler Ambassador and the Rambler Classic shared the same wheelbase and front sheet metal.
For the 1941 model year (only) all Nash vehicles became Ambassadors, and rode both long and short wheelbases. The Nash Ambassador 600, built on a 112-inch wheelbase, became the first popular automobile to be built using the single-welded "unibody" type of monocoque construction, which Nash called "Unitized", rather than a body-on-frame. From 1941 thru 1948, Nash Ambassador models placed this unibody structure on top of a conventional frame, thus creating an incredibly solid and sturdy automobile. The 1941 Ambassador 600 was also the only Ambassador ever powered by an L-head engine. Nash would remain with the model arrangement for the shortened 1942 model year, although the 600 would no longer be known as an Ambassador.
As ordered by the Federal government, Nash suspended passenger car production during World War II (1942-1945). When production was resumed after the war, the Eights were no longer part of the program. The 1946 Ambassador Six was now the top of the Nash line.
[edit] 1949-1951
Nash continued to use the Ambassador on its plushest models from 1949 to 1957. N-K President George Mason was an outspoken supporter of aerodynamics in car design, and the post war Ambassador is best remembered for its enclosed front wheels. When Nash rolled out its Airflyte body style, Ambassador sales enjoyed a significant gain by selling just four door and two door sedans in the 1949-1951 market place. The Airflytes also featured fully reclining seats that could turn the car into a vehicle capable of sleeping three adults, however this would also earn the dubious distinction of being the make-out automobile of choice for teenagers coming of age in the 1950s. The 1950 Ambassador became the first non-General Motors car to be equipped with a GM Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.
Mason believed that once the sellers market following World War II ended, that Nash's best hope for survival lay in a product range not addressed by other car manufactures in the United States at that time – the compact. With sales of the large Nash's surging ahead of prewar production numbers, Mason began a small car program that would eventually emerge as the compact Nash Rambler reviving the traditional Rambler marque.
[edit] 1952-1957
The Nash Ambassador received its last complete restyle in 1952, which carried over into 1954 almost unchanged. The Golden Anniversary Pininfarina Nash, styled by Pinin Farina, received several prestigious design awards. Due to materials restrictions caused by the Korean War, Nash sales, like those of many other carmakers, dropped off sharply in 1952. The "all-out" 1954 sales war between Ford and Chevrolet took a severe sales toll on all the independent carmakers, and Nash was no exception. Airflyte styling entered its final season with the heavily facelifted 1955 versions, created under the direction of Edmund E. Anderson. Scenaramic wrap-around windshields accompanied an entirely new front-end treatment, which showed more front wheel than Nash had revealed since the 1949 models debuted. Ambassadors were now available with a V-8 engine for the first time, supplied by Packard, and mated to Packard's Ultramatic automatic transmission.
Nash models fielded for 1956-1957 were heavily re-styled in the rear, and offered in a variety of two-and three-tone color schemes. The 1957 models were the first cars to come equipped with "quad" headlights as standard equipment. While Nash Ambassador styling may have suffered somewhat, the cars did offer Nash's highly acclaimed Weather Eye heating and ventilation system, which could also be equipped with Nash's advanced automotive air-conditioning unit. While other manufacturers in America at the time offered A/C on some models, their air conditioning units were driven by a large, heavy trunk mounted expander and heat exchanger which carried the air into the car via clear plastic tubes and out through ceiling mounted vents. Nash's unit was inexpensive, compact, fit under the hood and could either circulate fresh or recycled air. This system also sold for about half the price of most other automotive air conditioning systems of the time.
Nash-Kelvinator merged with ailing Hudson Motor Car Company in April 1954 to form American Motors Corporation (AMC), and both Nash and Hudson dealers sold Ramblers that were identical save for the "Nash" or "Hudson" badging. Although the "senior" Nash and Hudson models continued to be marketed, it was sales of the Rambler that were powering the company's bottom line. As the compact Rambler's fortunes increased, sales of the senior Nash cars, including the Ambassador, plummeted.
The final Nash Ambassador rolled off the Kenosha, Wisconsin production line in the summer of 1957. Nevertheless, the Ambassador - as a top of the line model name - would continue to exist under Rambler and AMC brands all the way through 1974.
Also see:
[edit] References
- Kimes, Beverly R., Editor. Clark, Henry A. (1996). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1945. Kraus Publications. ISBN 0-87341-428-4.
- Gunnell, John, Editor (1987). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Kraus Publications. ISBN 0-87341-096-3.
[edit] External links
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| Nash Motors | ||
| 1916 - 1957 Historic: | ||
| Nash: | | 600 | Airflyte | Advanced Six | Ambassador | Nash-Healey | La Fayette | Metropolitan | Rambler | Rebel | Statesman | |
| Affiliated: | | Ajax | American Motors | Hudson | Nash-Kelvinator | Rambler (AMC) | |
