Due to the reputation of cars like the 1970s AMC Ambassador for being ugly and frumpy, and the 1950s Nash Ambassador for being weird and frumpy, most car enthusiasts might not know that Ambassador is actually a storied name originally applied to cars of a certain level of prestige. In fact, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden and Norway purchased one in 1927, and from a style perspective, they seem to stack up with contemporary models from the three Ps (Packard, Pierce-Arrow, and Peerless) and the Cord-Auburn end of the CAD triumvirate. But we’re not here to talk about past glories, because those cars are well out of the four-figure price range. Instead, take a look at this 1955 Nash Ambassador, for sale for $3500 in Redwood City, CA.
This is a whole lot of car for the money, and frankly, aside from Fiat and Alfa Spiders, you won’t get much else in this price range that’s been styled by Pininfarina that isn’t completely obscure (like, say, Austin/Morris Farinas, Peugeot 404s, or the like). Unfortunately, what was innovative styling for the time lost out to the 1954 sales wars between Chevrolet and Ford, who were willing and able to send cars to dealers at a loss to boost their sales figures. Moreover, they lost out to internal competition, as the sales after the merger with Hudson to form AMC were heavily biased towards the inexpensive Rambler models. Also innovative in these cars was the front mounted, one-unit heating/ventilation/air-conditioning units, priced at $200 or so less than the comparable option from any competitor. Of course, that’s unsurprising on some level since Nash-Kelvinator was the full name of the company.
The interior is also quite remarkable, with the only noticeable flaw being the cloudy sternum-breaker on the steering wheel. The car is said to have been owned by a Nash collector who passed away several years ago, and has not been driven or run for several years. So you’ll have to plan on some resuscitation work, but in case the price is not low enough… if you order right now, we’ll throw in an extra rebuilt engine! That’s right folks, a Nash Ambassador with two engines, that’s right, two… engines…. and if you act now, you can get this free set of Ginsu knives that will cut through PVC pipe!
Tags: ambassador, american, Feature, nash, sedan
Rusty But Trusty 
May 31, 2014 at 1:23 pm |
That might be a pretty good deal. I saw one of these moseying down 1-92 by the Disneyworld entrance a few years ago, and I do mean mosey; that fella wasn’t in a hurry at all.