I again had the honor of writing some catalog descriptions for Broad Arrow’s RADIUS at the Monterey Jet Center auction on August 17-18, 2023. This is certainly one of the auction highlights of the year since it is in conjunction with Monterey car week. As always, Broad Arrow gives me a variety of subjects to research and write about! Some of the catalog texts I wrote are below:
1948 Divco Twin Coach Half Ton
1962 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8 Roadster
Long before minivans and SUVs ruled the roads, station wagons were America’s people movers. AMC’s large Matador and Ambassador wagons were some of the best: smooth ride, luxurious interior, and good power, all with AMC’s focus on value and reliability. This 1978 AMC Matador Station Wagon has the multi-function tailgate and folding third seat, perfect for families. It also represents the last of the big AMC cars, killed by the second Arab Oil Crisis and the cost of meeting the government’s draconian regulations. After 1978 AMC made nothing but compact cars.
We are trying to photograph the most important cars in American Motors history for The Complete Book of AMC Cars. The 1970-77 Gremlin was certainly one of them, and the ’72 Gremlin X we just photographed is a great example. This Butterscotch Gold Gremlin X is originally from California, and has the special California emissions compliant 304 cu.in. V8, identified by the engine’s red paint. Gremlins were the perfect automobile the weather the economic storms of the 1970, as well as the two Arab Oil Embargoes. My late brother, Ray, drove his Gremlin trouble-free for over 175,000 miles — very common for these cars!
We just photographed this amazing 1977 Pacer Sedan for our upcoming book. It was purchased new at Ken Simonis AMC in Waukesha by the owner’s grandmother, and the family has preserved it ever since, now showing 46,956 miles since new. The Pacer is much maligned today, but it actually was a masterpiece of the AMC philosophy of innovation and finding niches the Big Three ignored. Compact yet amazingly roomy, the passenger side door is 4″ longer to facilitate entry to the rear seats. What a great idea. And had everything gone according to plan, the Pacer would have been narrower and powered by a two-rotor rotary piston engine. You can read the whole story of this amazing people mover when the book is published in September 2024!
The 1959 Rambler was the right car at the right time, launched as the United States was recovering from a serious recession. They were smaller on the outside than most contemporary cars, but the interior was as large as most full-sized vehicles. We recently photographed these 1959 Rambers, a Custom four-door sedan and a Custom Cross Country station wagon for our upcoming book, The Complete Book of AMC Cars. The ’59 Rambler was a huge success, American Motors built 242,581 of them that year.
Baby Boomers may remember Civil Defense drills from Grade School. This original 1963 Rambler Classic 770 served the Civil Defense agency for a number of years. It’s equipped with emergency flashing lights and a Civil Defense radio along with 287 V8, Flash-O-Matic transmission, and Air Conditioning.
This piece of 1960s history will be featured in our upcoming book, The Complete book of AMC Cars for Quarto/Motorbooks.
