| American Motors
Corporation 14250 Plymouth Road Detroit, Michigan |
| Engine |
235-hp, 343
cu. in. V-8 |
| Transmission |
3-speed automatic |
| Steering |
Power-assisted |
| Suspension |
Heavy-duty |
| Brakes |
Disc F, Drum R |
Check
list |
| Engine |
| Throttle Response |
Good |
| Noise Insulation |
Excellent |
| Drive
train |
| Shift Linkage |
Good |
| Shift Smoothness |
Fair |
| Steering |
| Effort |
Good |
| Response |
Fair |
| Handling |
| Predictability |
Excellent |
| Evasive Maneuverability |
Fair |
| Brakes |
| Directional Stability |
Very
Good |
| Fade Resistance |
Very
Good |
| Interior |
| Ease of Entry/Exit |
Excellent |
| Driving Position |
Very
Good |
| Front Seating Comfort |
Very
Good |
| Rear Seating Comfort |
Very
Good |
| General |
| Vision |
Very
Good |
| Heater/ Defroster |
Excellent |
| Weather Sealing |
Good |
| Trunk Space |
Good |
|
AMC calls its top-of-the-line
Ambassador the least expensive luxury car on the market. They're
not far from wrong. When it shared its body with the company's
middle-range Classic, it was an everyman's car with plush carpets.
But AMC has, wisely, gone to a larger wheelbase, added a host
of niceties and ended up with a very at tractive car.
Our Ambassador had a 343 cu.
in. V-8 with almost everything on it, including air conditioning
which is standard. The disc brakes and heavy-duty suspension
go an astonishingly long way toward overcoming the appalling
imprecision in handling and braking of AMC's cars not so equipped.
The engine, new last year, has
adequate power, and is a durable unit.
But the most striking aspect
of the car is the attention to interiors and driver and passenger
comfort. In this sense AMC is almost schizophrenic with its
ultra-austere American and its sybaritic Ambassador. Seating
comfort was as highly rated as any U.S. car we've driven,
and quality of materials (including the Rebel-shared ceramicarmored
muffler and tailpipe and acousticaldeadening headliner) underscored
AMC's positioning of the car in the quasi-luxury market. It
is not an ostentatious car-no AMC product is-but at its low-medium
price you can't go wrong. |
