Nash Rambler

The Nash Rambler is a compact car manufactured and marketed by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation for model years 1950-1954. It has a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with sedan, station wagon, and fixed-profile convertible body styles.

In a marketing breakthrough, Nash successfully established the compact market segment by using the Rambler's size and an upscale complement of features and equipment as its unique selling proposition: small and economical, but also luxurious.

When Nash-Kelvinator merged with the Hudson Motor Car Company in 1954, the Rambler became a product of the resulting American Motors Corporation (AMC), which in a rare feat, subsequently reintroduced the Rambler for model years 1958-1960. The Rambler was manufactured in Kenosha, Wisconsin over its two separate production runs.

Nash-Kelvinator's President George W. Mason saw that the company needed to compete more effectively and insisted a new car had to be different from the existing models in the market offered by the "Big Three" U.S. automakers. Mason also realized the fundamental problem that had eluded other automakers trying to market smaller-sized cars to Americans: low price was not enough to sell in large volumes, but "also had to be big enough to appeal to families as their primary car." Therefore, the Rambler was designed to be smaller than contemporary cars, yet still able to accommodate five passengers comfortably. Nash engineers had initially penned the styling during World War II.

The new car was the company's entry into the lower-price segment dominated by Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth models. The Rambler was designed to be lighter and have smaller dimensions than the other popular cars. With a strategy focused on efficiency, Nash could save on materials in its production while owners would have better fuel economy than other cars of the era. The Nash Rambler rode on a 100 in (2,540 mm) wheelbase, and power came from Nash's proven 172.6 cu in (2.8 L) L-head (flathead) straight-6 cylinder engine that produced 82 hp (61 kW; 82 hp).

Following the design of the larger "senior" Nash models, the compact Rambler employed pontoon styling, with an overall rounded form that enveloped the body – and Nash's characteristic fender skirts also enclosing the front wheels. This front skirts did not impair the car's cornering ability significantly.

The compact Rambler line was designed with several body styles, but the inaugural year was limited to a single model: a fully equipped 2-door fixed-profile convertible. The decision to bring the new car out first in a higher market segment with more standard features was a calculated risk by Mason. Foremost in this strategy was the need to give the new Rambler a positive public image. Mason knew the car would fail if seen by the public as a "cheap little car". This was confirmed in small car comparisons in the media that described the "well-equipped and stylish, the little Rambler is economical and easy to drive" with no "stripped-down" versions, but available in only high-end convertible, station wagon, or hardtop (no "B-pillar") body styles. He knew what Crosley was finding out with its line of mini cars, and what the Henry J would teach Kaiser Motors; namely, that Americans would rather buy a nice used car than a new car that is perceived as inferior or substandard.

In contrast to traditional convertibles that used frame-free side windows, the Rambler was a fixed-profile convertibles, retaining the bodywork's doors and rear-side window frames, their metal structure serving as the side guides for the retractable waterproof canvas top. This design allowed Nash to use unibody construction, making the body sufficiently rigid for an open-top car without additional bracing. The strength of the windshield pillars and roof-rail structure was demonstrated by the entire vehicle flipped upside down, and the rails and supports were undamaged. The convertible top is cable-driven and electrically operated. The design is similar to other fixed-profile convertibles, including the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino", Nissan Figaro (1991), Citroën 2CV (1948–1990), Vespa 400 (1957), and the 1957 Fiat 500 (1957) as well as its 2007 Fiat 500 successor.