This Rambler salesman training film compares the ’60 Rambler with the new competition from the big three. I’ve noticed repeatedly that the salesmen were not taught the best arguments in favor of their own product. The film mentions Corvair’s rear engine, and says it’s a bad idea because AMC’s engineers agree it’s a bad idea. That’s not an argument. The film doesn’t even mention air cooling, which is an even worse GM Innovative Disruption.
The Nader crap was NOT the real problem, and the Nader crap wasn’t even relevant to ordinary drivers. Rear engines and air cooling are simply not worth the trouble for practical automobiles.
The ONLY advantage of air cooling is lighter weight. The difference in weight is crucial for a motorcycle, where the whole vehicle weighs a few hundred pounds. Motorcycles are still air-cooled. The difference is insignificant in proportion to a practical car, which starts around 2000 pounds. The disadvantages of air cooling are huge, and again get worse for a car engine that must sustain long drives at high speeds under considerable load. Air cooling is brittle. When heat starts to increase, the dimensions of the valves and pistons change quickly, leading to sudden breakdown.
A rear engine has three advantages. It omits a driveshaft, it makes steering easier, and it doesn’t send its heat backwards into the passenger compartment**. All of those are important for a very small and simple car. On a larger car for family use, the trunk problem outbalances those advantages. Front trunks are inevitably smaller than rear trunks because the front wheels need space for steering. The Corvair’s trunk limited space even more by standing up the spare right in the middle of the trunk. In a station wagon or van the rear engine spoils the cargo space, and the small front trunk doesn’t compensate.
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For fairness: Their arguments were probably persuasive to the “Step-up Prospect”, the customer who was thinking mainly of status and looks. They don’t work for me, and I’m a typical “Conservative Prospect” who is thinking mainly of economy and simplicity. Seems like AMC should have been paying more attention to the latter type. According to books, Romney loved the Conservative Prospect, but Roy Abernethy was in charge of the dealer network at that time, and Abernethy was a big-car man. When he later became CEO he led the company off the cliff by trying to copy GM.
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** Traction is an alleged advantage, but my experience says it’s marginal at best. I’ve driven lots of VWs and Renaults, lots of conventional cars and trucks, and a few FWD vehicles. The Beetle does better than overpowered cars like Camaros, but other conventional cars are equally good. Traction comes from balanced design and good tires, not from simple engine position.
Polistra's Mill 