At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U. American Motors' most similar competitors were those automakers that held similar annual sales levels, such as Studebaker , Packard , Kaiser Motors , and Willys-Overland. American Motors' production line included small cars βthe Rambler American , which began as the Nash Rambler in , Hornet , Gremlin , and Pacer ; intermediate and full-sized cars , including the Ambassador , Rambler Classic , Rebel , and Matador ; muscle cars , including the Marlin , AMX , and Javelin ; and early four-wheel drive variants of the Eagle and the Jeep Wagoneer , the first true crossovers in the U.
Regarded as "a small company deft enough to exploit special market segments left untended by the giants", [ 4 ] American Motors was widely known for the design work of chief stylist Dick Teague , who "had to make do with a much tighter budget than his counterparts at Detroit's Big Three", but "had a knack for making the most of his employer's investment". After periods of intermittent independent success, Renault acquired a significant interest in American Motors in , and the company was ultimately acquired by Chrysler in The new corporation would be called the American Motors Corporation.
An earlier corporation with the same name, co-founded by Louis Chevrolet , had existed in Plainfield, New Jersey, from through before merging into the BessemerβAmerican Motors Corporation. Barit as a consultant and he took a seat on the board of directors.
Nash's George W. Mason became president and CEO. Mason, the architect of the merger, believed that the survival of the U. Nance of Packard to outline his strategic vision. Interim plans were made for American Motors to buy Packard Ultramatic automatic transmissions and Packard V8 engines for certain American Motors products.
In July , Packard acquired Studebaker. When Mason died in , George W. Romney succeeded him. Ironically, Romney had once been offered Nance's job. Although the Packard offer would have paid more, Romney decided to work under Mason because he thought Nash had a brighter future. Studebaker-Packard president James Nance refused to consider merging with American Motors unless he could take the top position Mason and Nance were former competitors as heads of the Kelvinator and Hotpoint , respectively , and a week after Mason's death, Romney announced "there are no mergers under way either directly or indirectly.
