Editing AMC Ambassador (section)

=== 1961 ===
[[File:1961 Rambler Ambassador Custom blue-fl.jpg|thumb|1961 Rambler Ambassador Custom]]
[[File:1961 AMC Rambler Ambassador 4-door pink rear.JPG|thumb|right|1961 Rambler Ambassador]]

The 1961 Ambassador continued the previous year's {{convert|117|in|mm|0|adj=on}} primary [[Unit body|unitized platform]], but received an unusual new front-end styling that was overseen by AMC's in-house design department headed by [[Edmund E. Anderson]]. The pillar-less four-door hardtop sedan and station wagon models were no longer available for 1961.

The Ambassador's new design consisted of a trapezoid grille and headlights that floated in a body-colored panel. At the same time, the front fenders arched downward and forward of the leading edge of the hood. Unlike anything else on the market, AMC's marketing department promoted the look as "European". While the new look was meant to distinguish the Ambassador from the lower-priced Ramblers, it was neither a consumer success nor well-received in the automotive press. Moreover, overall automobile industry sales fell as the entire U.S. economy was experiencing the [[recession of 1960–1961]].

Standard was the {{convert|250|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} {{convert|327|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} V8 with a [[Manual transmission#Synchronized transmission|synchromesh manual transmission]]. Optional was the {{convert|270|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} "power pack" version with a dual exhaust system featuring new ceramic-coated [[muffler]]s guaranteed for the life of the car.<ref>{{cite magazine | title=Ambassador V-8 has changed appearance|magazine=Popular Mechanics |volume=114 |issue=5 |page=90 |date=November 1960 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9tsDAAAAMBAJ&q=Ambassador+shows+a+considerably+face+smaller+grille+curved-down+1961&pg=PA88-IA1 |access-date=23 August 2014}}</ref>

The 1961 [[Pure Oil]] Company Economy Trials, designed to parallel everyday driving experiences closely, saw the Ambassador capture 9 of the first ten places in the V8 engine category and win the top of its class.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foster |first=Patrick R. |title=American Motors Corporation: The Rise and Fall of America's Last Independent Automaker |publisher=Motorbooks |page=59 |year=2013 |isbn=9780760344255 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_Vb0AwAAQBAJ&dq=1961+Rambler+Ambassador&pg=PA59 |access-date=13 September 2020}}</ref>

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