[AMC-List] Oil needed?

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

Finally, to those who squeaked or didn't: I'm not running for office, for popularity, or for the exit presently, but I am campaigning for the -future- of AMC.

We don't see Packards on the street, nor would we: the -newest- Packards are half-a-century old.  "We" see AMCs on the street, as should we*: the newest -AMCs- aren't half that now.  The oldest AMCs are, in truth, only two years older than the youngest [real] Packards.  So what?  Packard is successful as a collector car now, Packard was successful as a collector car at the current age-after-death of AMC, and Packard enjoys museum and research facilities AMC doesn't --- and still doesn't see that it needs.

It's not a matter of money; it's not a matter of class; it's not even a matter of desire: it's merely a matter of motivation and accomplishment.

It's not a matter of intelligence; it's not a matter of luck: it's only a matter of seeing realities, of setting goals and then achieving them.

*I don't see -any- AMCs on the street now, nor should I expect to: I saw so few AMCs in the eastern suburbs when they were new that when I was in Henrietta, Chili, Gates, Greece, Buffalo, etc. then, it was a real treat to see AMCs.  It was "counter-cultural" to buy any new AMC [four times!] between 1971 and 1983: it was a strong -statement- of cheese, uh, er, of choice, that makes AMC mice into AMC men --- unless they are caught in a trap of "Don't change MY concept of AMC!" style car buying, keeping, and eventually, "collecting" (which is "pack-ratting" under the posh name.)

>>
1970 Machine RWB now but was original Golden lime metalic. Automatic. 1969 engine. Comes with correct intake, exhaust manifolds, heads, rebuilt carburator and more. Tach works. New or rebult engine, transmission, brakes, rear end, tires, bumpers, radiator, exhaust, seats and more. Needs restoration but driven daily in summer. $25,000.00 
<<

Un-original paint and engine?  AT?  "Needs restoration"?  Only $25k CDN?
After another $25k goes into it, how can it still be a "jes'-folks" AMC?  

>>
1969 SC Hurst Rambler.Rust free California car just painted A scheme complete car needs total assembly and headliner motor is a built 401. $25,000
<<

Did AMC put 401s in SC/Ramblers?  Is "total assembly" easy and/or free? 

Is "affordability" a gremlin or an excuse for not -developing- old AMC?

History loves the '75 Rabbit and '82 Mustang GT.  Gremlin?  Spirit AMX?

Why so differently remembered?

Development and improvement?

Success and survival?

>>
For their limited amount of time in production,
I don't believe they faired well in surviving   -
Opinions ?
<<

Is AMC really interested in opinions? 

>>
> We don't have many Spirit owners on The List
> do we ?

The infamous John Elle has a nice one! 
<<

And a Spirit --- 19k-mile '79 original --- another infamous J stores on ice near where Elle drove is Limburger...

>>
Prices for cars will go up as they become more desireable/acceptable to own and restore. You'll start hearing fewer "what do you want to restore THAT for?" queries as the general public begins to appreciate the cars more. It's happening now because the collector car hobby has stratified the most popular cars out of reach of blue collar "collectors".
<<

210 four-door [post] sedans (not Bel Air Sport [pillar-less] Sedans) are becoming appreciated as BT hardtops and convertibles are -appreciating- past affordability (itself a slippery subject in America: sports, SUVs, and big-screen TVs are very affordable but saving for retirement and/or education is much beyond affordability): why is similar appreciation so bad for AMC?  Is "AMC4EVR" or "LST4EVR" the better license plate to see?

How many Model Ts, As, and later pre-war Fords do we see on the street?  Easy to wrench on, plenty plentiful, and, good grief, -cheap-: everyman cars, indeed.  When we do see such Fords at a show or cruise, what sort of money --- whether they're rodded or restored --- has the blue-collar owner spent to drive them to such car scenes: $500, $5,000, $25,000, or $50,000?

Smart blue-collar car media lock step on what is now "affordable" (like the GMs, Fords, and Mopars Frank mentioned); do they include comparable Rambler/AMC choices for the common man?  Do they shine their lights on as many Nashs as on Studebakers?  Aren't they both un-cool?  Why on old Willys?  Aren't W-Os as un-alive as Packards and even deader than AMCs?

Why?  It's the people of course: the buyers who make markets for things. Was Scott McNealy's quotation too sharp a cheese for AMC meece?  AMC Machines and SC/Ramblers will be seen if they're worth $25,000, $250,000, or $2,5000,000; what will the fate of the rest of the "real" AMC be?

If it's not the age, the taste, or the quality (AMC mice missed the '72 Buick vs. '71 Ambo wagon wheel of cheese also: the only reason the 125" wagon is now appreciated three times as much as the 122" wagon is that it's packaged in a wrapper that says, "Still the same old second-class AMC") of the cars that determines their value, the people who own them may be accountable.  AMC the company was responsible for decisions that resulted in its downfall; AMC the hobby is responsible for holding onto whatever remains of that legacy.

So, how you doin'?  You got an Eagle, a Classic, maybe some "hot" AMCs.

You're doin' fine.  Havin' fun while keepin' busy.  Then what happens?

You become old and you are dead.  Like AMC and Studebaker and Packard.  

Will your cars live on in a museum?  Will your papers be in a library?

Will AMC --- in 30+ years --- be as well remembered as Packard is now?

It's not a matter of money; it's not a matter of class; it's not even a matter of desire: it's simply a matter of motivation and accomplishment.

And it's not my opinion.  Read.

"I feel that the automobile industry, like practically every other large industry, will ultimately gravitate to a few large organizations [and] I look upon the present as a testing-time which will lead to the passing of the weak and the survival of the fittest."

Charles W. Nash said that late in 1925 --- 81 years ago.  He was right.  

http://info.detnews.com/dn/history/pioneer/images/cwnash.gif

>From 1916 to 1925, Nash had sold almost $420 million worth of vehicles, he had earned almost $57 million profit, and his stock was "worth" more than any other automaker on the NYSE.  Charlie Nash did not think small.  He did not say: "Now I'm satisfied to do nothing more."  No, not at all.  

Nash said: "There is only one sure recipe for success in any field of endeavor: determination, close application to details, plus hard work and then more hard work."

Nash said: "Years of experience have taught me that there are three highly important factors entering into the success of any large manufacturing organization, and these factors are machinery, methods, and men.  And the last is, perhaps, the most important of all."

Nash said: "It is obvious that no organization can become of higher caliber than the men who comprise it and direct its various activities."

Men or mice?

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