There have been several large corporate mergers in the United States but the largest corporate merger in its history as of May 1954 was between the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. The success of this merger birthed the American Motors Corporation (AMC). Spurred by this success, AMC went head-on in competition with the American top three car companies – Ford, GM, and Chrysler.

But despite the merger, the AMC was still regarded as a smaller company in comparison to the Big Three and it later got bought over in 1987 after several years of car production and undulating success. Here, we check out the 10 best cars AMC ever made.

10 AMC GREMLIN

Gremlin isn’t a cute name for a car obviously but in defense of those responsible for naming cars at the AMC, this car does look like a Gremlin – an ugly folklore-based mischievous creature. Although, what the Gremlin lacks aesthetically, it made up for in performance. The AMC Gremlin is a subcompact, two-door body style with a shortened Hornet platform and was regarded as an economy car by U.S. criteria.

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The AMC Gremlin competed with other American cars like the Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega and foreign cars like Volkswagen Beetle. A total of 671,475 were produced through its production time.

9 AMC PACER

We have to admit that this car was oddly unique – a report said: “it was shaped like a fish-bowl”. With 37% of its entire body made of glass, it was a tad-bit unusual for a car in that era. A point of humor for today’s world automotive press but judging an old car with today’s advancement is not fair.

The Pacer on its debut was the toast of the press. It was said to be bold, futuristic, and unique, plus the love people had for the Pacer back then was obvious in sales, as it once sold out in 1980.

8 AMC JAVELIN AMX

The Javelin, making this list at the 9th position is a rear-wheel-drive two-door hardtop pony car that was built to compete with the likes of Camaro, Mustang and Pontiac Firebird – The Big Three.

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Although it couldn’t steal the market from Big Three, the Javelin fitted with a track-inspired V8 engine gave a good account of itself with various victories on the race track against the more established Big Three cars. Notable among these victories was when the Javelin AMX won eight of ten races at the Trans-Am racing in the 1971 season.

7 AMC MATADOR

Introduced to the American market in 1971, the Matador became well-known for its racing ability which led it to several victories at the NASCAR stock car racing. The American police also couldn’t resist the allure of the Matador’s speed as it’s known to have outraced most other police cars; hence it was adopted as the official police car.

Performance aside, the Matador, at one-time AMC’s largest automobile, also added some Hollywood fame to its repertoire of achievements as it was featured in the 1974 James Bond movie “The man with the Golden Gun”.

6 JEEP WAGONEER

The Jeep Wagoneer was introduced to the automobile world by Willys and Kaiser-Jeep in 1963. By 1971, the AMC got the rights to produce and sell them. The Wagoneer had great success in the 4x4 market as it came fitted with a more luxurious and sophisticated interior, unlike its peers which were built with more work-oriented interiors.

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Being an SUV and also for its class, longevity, and the luxury it offers, the Wagoneer became an amazing choice for a family car, leading it to many years of successful sales and earning it the 6th spot on this list.

5 AMC EAGLE

Taking the 5th spot on this list is the AMC Eagle or Machine as it’s popularly called. The Eagle is a compact four-wheel drive passenger car that was produced from 1979 to 1987. Offering affordability, excellent handling, and comfort, the Eagle was then the only four-wheel-drive car produced in the U.S. and also reputed as one of the first crossover vehicles.

Being a pioneer of the crossover SUV body type that later flooded the automobile scene in the 2000s, the AMC Eagle is believed to be years ahead of its time and earned itself a cool spot in the AMC history book.

4 JEEP CHEROKEE XJ

Rugged, highly suspended, very comfortable interior, and with state-of-the-art automobile technologies, it wasn’t long before the Cherokee XJ became a popular and highly sort after vehicle. Introduced in 1984, the Jeep Cherokee was so much of a commercial success it got other car companies scrambling to replicate its shape and performance.

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The XJ gave car manufacturers the inspiration that led to the birth of the SUV brand of cars and was also the first American off-road vehicle that’s built with a fully integrated body-and-frame. Manufactured in over 10 counties worldwide, the XJ sold about 3 million in 17 years of production.

3 JEEP CJ

Willys, the American automobile company responsible in part for World War II military Jeeps thought it nice to build a civilian model of the military Jeep and that was how the Jeep CJ came into existence. Being the world’s first civilian four-wheel drive car to be mass-produced, the CJ instantly became a hit as motorists were fascinated with its cute but rugged shape and its performance.

AMC bought over the rights for production of the CJ model of cars in 1971 and remained in production till 1986 making the CJ arguably the most successful utility vehicle ever made.

2 AMC HURST SC / RAMBLER

A specially made car in its entirety – the Hurst SC/Rambler is the product of AMC’s partnership with the Hurst Performance Inc. to upgrade the Rambler. Crafted exteriorly to please the eyes, the AMC made sure the SC/Rambler wasn’t just built to deliver aesthetically alone but to also deliver greatly in performance.

The Rambler Scrambler as the SC/Rambler is also known as is fitted with the AMX’s 315-hp 390-CID four-barrel which was the biggest available V8 engine then. With only 1,512 of this awesome car built, it is a prime target for today’s collectors.

1 AMC AMX

Cute, compact, and affordable, the AMC AMX gave some established rival models like the Chevrolet Corvette some tough times in the automobile space as these two, in particular, were the only American-built two-seaters. Although the AMC wasn’t known to build high-performance cars, the AMX was so cool and versatile it fits perfectly as both a muscle and a sports car.

The AMX has an impressive powertrain for its size and era with the 390/315 engine type doing 0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds, 0-100 mph in 16.3 seconds and a top speed of 122 mph.

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