They say BMW is “The Ultimate Driving Machine,” but before the now-legendary German brand took that given name for itself there was another, 
far more humble car, that called itself simply “The Machine.” It was built, not by Bavarian Motor Works but by American Motors, and despite its ordinary underpinnings, if The Machine had ever squared off against a contemporary BMW, it would have blown it back into the Black Forest. Which is not to say The Machine was the final “ultimate driving machine,” but in its own idiosyncratic way the American Motors Rebel Machine, a model you probably don’t recall, but a model whose single year was a great one, somehow, someway deserves to be considered among the Greatest Cars of All Time. Read more . . .
Nowadays, American Motors is but a vague memory, and not necessarily a pleasant one.
Those few American Motors-built vehicles that are still on the road today include shabby, old Jeeps and tatty Renault-based Alliances, rusting their way toward oblivion, certainly not the stuff of automotive fable. But there was a bright, shining half-decade or so when lowly American Motors gained a reputation for manufacturing attractive, sporty cars. And the version that was the centerpiece of American Motors’ version of Brigadoon was the American Motors Javelin. Read more . . .
America loves an underdog. This country revels in those who succeed even though they lack 
the resources, raw ability, or advantages that others have. And that is why for many years, America loved American Motors. In the 1950s, this company, forged from Nash and Hudson, was undoubtedly an underdog compared to the Big Three. Yet somehow through sheer spunk, it managed to thrive and stay afloat for more than 3 decades. Even at the end, right before it was acquired by Chrysler Corporation, its Jeep division was among the most sought-after brands in the world, yet another acknowledgment to its intrepid pursuit of the near-impossible. Read more . . .
What do consumers want in a vehicle? A lot of people think they know, but Autobytel, one of the most popular new-car buying and research destinations on the Web, decided to ask the question of its millions of monthly car-shopping visitors. Specifically, consumers were requested to review some of the most highly anticipated year-end vehicle debuts and to provide their feedback on what directions they think automakers should take (and which strategies they might want to reconsider) in 2004. Here’s what today’s in-market auto shoppers have to say about current model trends and what they’d do differently moving forward: Read more . . .
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