9. AMC AMX
The American Motors Company began in 1954. It was a merger between two big, independent names in the car industry, the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company. The two companies had to form an alliance since Detroit`s Big Three – Chrysler, GM, and Ford – were threatening to conquer the entire car market.
AMC was an economy car manufacturer from the beginning all the way to the end. However, to survive the market, it considered producing new models and exploring new concepts in the automotive industry. One of those interesting and innovative models was AMC AMX. In 1968, AMC decided to enter the muscle market by introducing two new performance models. One was the Javelin and the other was the AMX.
Despite being similar in technology and design, the AMX was a two-seater model. In fact, it was the only two-seater on the U.S. market other than the Corvette. It had a shorter wheelbase, a 390 V8 engine with 360 HP and lots of go-fast options. With a reasonable price, the AMC AMX was an interesting, capable muscle car.
The Javelin proved to be a sales success, but the AMX was tough to sell. People wanted more room in their muscle cars, so a two-seater AMX was becoming obsolete. It lasted on the market for two years. Despite the fact it was successful in drag racing championships, most people have forgotten the AMX, so it is an obscure muscle car today.