Nash Motors History (1917)

Nash Motors was founded in 1916 by a former executive of General Motors, Charles W. Nash, who bought the Thomas B. Jeffrey Company. Jeffreys best-known automobile was the Rambler. For decades, Nash successfully sold midsize cars to middle-class buyers.

Much of the company's early success was due to the loyalty of Charles Nash to his chief engineer, Nils Erik Wahlberg. Wahlberg was an early supporter of wind tunnel tests for vehicles. Wahlberg is also considered one of the designers of the car ventilation system, in which outside air is sucked in and heated at the front and exits through the rear openings again. This process also helped reduce humidity and offset the small pressure differential between the interior of a moving motor vehicle and the environment.

Nash's slogan in the 1920s and 1930s was "Give the customer more than he has paid for" (give the customer more than what he paid for), and his cars complied with that motto. The innovations included a top -mounted in-line eight-cylinder engine, dual ignition and nine crankshaft bearings. The Ambassador Eight of 1932 had a fully synchronized transmission and freewheel, automatic central lubrication and the suspension was adjustable from the inside.

The Ajax 

For the model year 1925 Nash introduced the entry-level brand Ajax. The outstanding quality car for its price was built in the newly acquired Mitchell Motor Car Company factory in Racine, Wisconsin. Mitchell was the manufacturer of the automobiles of the same name from 1903 to 1923. The sale of the Ajax automobiles, however, remained - albeit quite respectable - behind the expectations. So, it was thought that this car would sell better if it bore the name Nash. In June 1926, the Ajax became the Nash Light Six and sales increased as expected. Although unusual, Nash offered all purchasers of the Ajax a package to convert the car to the Nash Light Six. This free conversion kit included new axle caps, a radiator emblem, and all the other parts necessary to turn an Ajax into a Nash Light Six. So, one wanted to protect the buyers against the inevitable loss of value with attitude of the mark Ajax. This showed the high value that Nash Motors attached to customer satisfaction. Most Ajax owners made use of this generous offer, and so unconverted Ajax models are very rare today.

The acquisition of LaFayette 

The LaFayette Motors Corporation hired a big, powerful and expensive luxury car ago. The company began production in 1920 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and later moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The major shareholder of LaFayette Motors was the Nash Motors Company. Other large blocks of shares were held by Charles Nash and his friends and business associates. The high-quality, expensive LaFayette cars did not sell well.

In 1924, Nash Motors took over the company and used the factory in Milwaukee for the production of Ajax automobiles. The name LaFayette was reintroduced in 1934 as a starter brand of Nash. With the edition of the 1937 models LaFayette disappeared as an independent brand again. From 1937 to 1940, the Nash LaFayette was the cheapest Nash model. It was replaced in 1941 by the new Nash 600 with monocoque body.

The introduction of the Nash Airflyte 

The streamlined Nash Airflyte of 1949 was the company's first car to be introduced after the Second World War with a radically new design. Its aerodynamic body was developed in the wind tunnel. Nils Wahlberg's theories for lowering the drag coefficient of a car required a round body shape and integrated front fenders. Wide and low as it was, this model offered more interior space than its predecessor from 1948. Due to the integrated front fenders, the Nash automobiles had a larger turning radius than most other cars.

Nash Kelvinator President George Mason thought Nash would have bigger market opportunities with smaller automobiles. So, he led the company to develop the first compact car of the post-war era, the Rambler of 1950, which was offered as a well-equipped luxury convertible. Mason also arranged the launch of Austin- built Metropolitan from the UK, which was available from 1954.

The big Nash Airflytes were completely redesigned in 1952 and marketed as Golden Airflytes, bearing in mind the company's 50th birthday as a car manufacturer. (This was the years of Thomas B. Jeffrey Company). "Great Cars Since 1902" was an advertising slogan of the company. The new Golden Airflytes had a more modern, angular appearance than the models from 1949 to 1951, often compared to upturned bathtubs.

Mason also worked with British automobile enthusiast Donald Healey to release the Nash-Healey, the first American sports car since the Great Depression. Originally, both companies were to manufacture the car. In the second year of production, however, the body was made by Italian designer Pininfarina revised, then Healey also supplied with bodies. Nash sent the mechanics for the cars to the UK, where Donald Healey's company built them into chassis of their own manufacturing. The fully equipped chassis were then sent to Italy, where the bodies were put on. The finished cars were then returned to the US for sale. The resulting immense manufacturing costs and the concentration of Nash on the model Rambler led to the cessation of production in 1954 after only 506 copies. George Mason commissioned Pininfarina, the successor to the Nash-Healey, to design the Nash Palm Beach, but the project never went beyond the prototype stage. The 1953 start list of Le Mans features some Nash-Healey’s and a Nash Palm Beach - by Allard reported - out. The Nash-Healey’s took first and second place in their group (Sports 3000 - the same as the Austin-Healey’s) and all cars finished the 24-hour race. However, the interest this year was the Jaguars (in the group Sports 5000) and the Cunningham’s (in the group Sports 8000). The only Nash-Healey with a larger 5 litre. - Engine that could compete with the Jaguars and Ferraris could not finish the race due to oil pressure issues.

Founding of American Motors Corporation 

In January 1954, Nash announced the friendly takeover of Hudson Motor Car Co., which created the American Motors Corporation (AMC). To improve the financial situation of the combined factories, the entire production of Nash and Hudson 1955 models was moved to the Nash plant Kenosha. Nash mainly advertised his smaller Rambler models, while Hudson promoted the big cars rather.

In 1955, all of the big Nash and Hudson models were based on a common body structure, but had different mechanics and their own, non-replaceable body parts in the way the Big Three (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) practiced for many years to achieve the most economical manufacturing possible to reach.

The Metropolitan, known as Nash and Hudson, became its own brand in 1957, as did Rambler. Rambler even outperformed the Nash and Hudson brands within the AMC group.

Soon after the merger in 1954, the CEO George Mason died. Mason's successor, George Romney, firmly anchored the group's future with an expanded Rambler model range, slowly dying the Nash and Hudson brands by the end of 1957. On June 25, 1957, the production of the Nash and Hudson models ended. From 1958 to 1965 Rambler was the only brand of AMC; only the Metropolitan remained until 1962 in the displays of car dealers. Under the direction of Roy Abernethy also the name Rambler was slowly given up, which began in 1965 and ended with the termination of the brand in 1969.

In 1970, American Motors Corporation purchased Kaiser Jeep, a brand derived from Willys-Overland Motors and its manufacturing facilities in Toledo, Ohio. In the early 1980s, AMC entered into a partnership with Renault, which sought to re-enter the US market in the 1980s. Finally, AMC was acquired by the Chrysler Corporation in 1987 and became its Jeep Eagle division.