Who Gets Chrysler Next?

Ward's Auto News ^ | 5/29/07 | John McElroy

[Wally_Kalbacken]

My thoughts about AMC dredge up stories about the last Wisconsin plant closure in the 1980's. It has the distinction of being the last two story assembly line operating in the U.S. It has been a buggy factory at the turn of the century (the 20th century) and at that time the body of the buggy was assembled upstairs then lowered down a slide to meet the chassis of the buggy, assembled on the ground level. Adapted to automobiles - it was one of the least efficient plants, logistically, in the world when it was closed.

Then there was the James Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), which AMC must have spent it's last shekels on for product placement. It had AMC vehicles being used as police cars in Singapore, and Bond driving a Matador though a contrived stunt worthy of the Joey Chitwood Auto Thrill Show.

And who could forget the vehicles used in "Adam 12". Several of the later seasons utilized the fine AMC product carrying the law all over LA.

One more recollection - when their vehicles were on the really precipitous slide of the 1960's I retrieved a sweepstakes token from a magazine ad - featuring a secret coded message which could only be viewed through a special device located at your local American Motors dealership. So, my father drove me over to the downtown Wauwatosa franchise, a pathetic place. He never got out of the car - wasn't even interested in seeing the junk on display in the showroom. I decoded the token and learned that I won a special album commissioned by UNICEF and featuring Danny Kaye. Sheesh, what a consolation prize.