Blue

["Mahoney, John" <jmahoney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Pill or poison; cranked or cranky; dead or alive --- fact or fiction is all
that matters, so let's achieve. 

On the matter of deaths, while the specific Nash name and trademark for
"AUTOMOBILES AND STRUCTURAL PARTS THEREOF" is legally "ABANDONED" today,
many other logo-and-typescript versions of "Nash" are currently registered
for use.

The "Rambler" name (first used in commerce on August 1, 1900) with the
script that you know so well (registered by Nash-Kelvinator [a Missouri
corporation then, FYI] of 14250 Plymouth Road, Detroit Michigan on May 22,
1950 and renewed by AMC on March 9, 1973) is currently dead.

With logo and type unchanged from its seventies' and eighties' appearance,
your "AMC" trademark has, since a March 9, 2001 filing, been the property of
one Ronnie J. Simon of Palmdale, California.  His first use for "AUTOMOBILES
AND STRUCTURAL PARTS THEREOF" is recorded as October 28, 2004.

Some "Kelvinator" trademarks --- from one for "ELECTRIC WATER HEATERS AND
PARTS THEREOF" first used in 1940 and re-filed on August 20, 1964 by
American Motors [a Maryland corporation then], to one for "CABINETS FOR
STORING FROZEN COMESTIBLES" first used in 1928, to a granddaddy for
"REFRIGERATING APPARATUS" (first used on December 9, 1918 and registered on
May 17, 1921 by the Kelvinator Corporation [Delaware] of 621 West Fort
Street, Detroit Michigan) ---are alive (White Consolidated Industries, Inc.
applied for a fourth renewal of the last one on March 27, 2001) and some are
dead.

"Weather Eye" (used for "MOTOR VEHICLE HEATERS AND AIR CONDITIONERS" in
1938, filed on June 28, 1950 and registered on August 4, 1953 [if you feel
cold about AMC history, you might also be able to feel the effect of
"Frigidaire"]) received its first renewal on August 4, 1973, but today, it,
too, is stone-cold dead.

Finally, "AMX" (for "AUTOMOBILES AND STRUCTURAL PARTS THEREOF"), first used
in February of 1968, filed on November 25, 1968, and registered on July 22,
1969 --- by the American Motors Corporation of 5626 25th Avenue in Kenosha
[!] thus, technically, making it one of the last new -Wisconsin- automobiles
[how many "X-pert" hotshots ever told you that factoid?]) is quite dead also
--- one of many once-meaningful AMC trademarks that neither Chrysler Motors
nor DaimlerChrysler AG thought worthy of protecting.  

On the matter of Jeff's questioned "death," he should be alive and well atop
(or sliding down?) Agoura Hills today.  If I posted CA and MI obits for his
-brother- (and there's a greater-than 50/50 chance I did) -ONCE-, that
should be more than enough for such facts to be captured and made accessible
to all AMC collectors in some useful format.  If the AMC hobby is too
territorial, too contentious or too stupid not to be "as good as the best"
can be, it should be as "dead" as its trademarks.

In 1978, Chuck Jordan telephoned Teague about a friend's steering wheel lock
problem.  "Bring it on over" Dick said; he would "have his boys fix it."
While the friend was admitted, he [GM Design Vice-President] "had to stay
outside [the gate]" --- in his prototype Trans-Am wagon      

http://www.indiemonkey.com/firebird/1u86541.jpg

http://www.fbodydomain.com/Firebird/2ndGenWag/78wagpromo.jpg

http://www.poci.org/2003convention/2003ConventionShow/images/TA-WAGON.jpg

and the friend was returned "in a livery auto."  ("A couple of hours later"
the wheel was replaced at no charge.)

Was AMC afraid that he'd steal its design secrets?

Was AMC sorry its Kammback never was built?

Or was AMC just sad its Javelin was very dead?

Will we find the answers to such questions?

Or will we eventually forget the questions?

The way AMC is going, we won't care.