American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history. George W. Mason was the architect of the merger to reap benefits from the strengths of the two firms to battle the much larger "Big Three" automakers . Within a year George W. Romney took over, reorganized the company and focused the future of AMC on a new small car line. By the end of 1957 the original Nash and Hudson brands were completely phased out. The company struggled at... first, but sales of the Rambler took off. Its cars were frequent winners in Mobil Economy Runs and Ramblers became America's third most popular car during the early 1960s. In the mid-1960s, the leadership of Roy Abernethy focused AMC on larger and more profitable car lines to move away from the Rambler's perceived "negative" compact car image. However, AMC's deteriorating financial and market position put Roy D. Chapin, Jr. in charge to revitalize the company. Prices and costs were cut while new and more "sporty" automobiles were introduced.
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