AMC is presently where you watch the Walking Dead, but for those who remember it's also a long-dead automaker. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe AMX may need to be brought back from the dead, but based on its price, will you recommend potential buyers should just keep on walking?
Well let's see here now, yesterday's 1984 BMW 733i proved to be that winning combination of a running - albeit noisily - car for chump change, and on top of that it allowed its owner the right to carry a key fob in their pocket wearing the BMW roundel, something many aspire to, but few can afford. This perfect storm of low-price, drivability and BMW-ness proved a siren call for many of you, including el grande queso Hardibro, and it walked off with an amazing 92% Nice Price win.
That was a great way to start the week, but now let's look at something completely different. Are you old enough to remember American Motors being a thing, or have you only read about them in the history books and cautionary tales? Kenosha-based AMC was the formed in the mid-fifties from the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson, and for a long while was run by Mitt Romney's dad.
Under the leadership of Romney the elder, AMC's modus operandi had been sensible cars for middle class families, or as we like to call them, Ramblers. After that plan cost the company dearly, and Romney had ducked out to become governor of Michigan (hey, you're screwed, bye!), the company charted a new course, and they hoped that on their treasure map, X really did mark the spot.
In the sixties, American manufacturers officially offered two factory two-seaters, the Chevrolet Corvette and AMC's AMX. The AMX was built on a platform shared with the Javelin, but shortened in the wheelbase and with an even more aggressively truncated fastback. AMC offered the car for three short model years - 1968 - 1970 - after which they switched to the name simply adorning other models as special editions.
Before that ignominy occurred however, this 1968 AMX left the factory proudly wearing its two seats and a cavalcade of carpet where its back bench might have been. This one rocks a V8 (as did they all) and a 4-speed, which is nice. Which V8? Well, the ad doesn't say, but I think that's a 290 badge on the flank. For 1968 American Motors offered the AMX with your choice of American Motors motors - as long as one of those choices was a V8, in 290, 343, or 390 cubic inch displacement.
The ad says the car 'needs work' and in fact it's sitting on one flat tire under its five slot alloy which would obviously require some attention before even backing it out of the garage. It's also said to have been sitting idle for 7 years, indicating that it once broke a mirror and has been avoiding instances of bad luck. That's pretty much all the ad says, and in fact it's kind of an unsatisfying presentation of this obviously cool car. And anyway, who advertises a car for sale on cars.com? I mean, no offense cars.com, but you're kind of the dowdy sibling to the freer and easier and kind of skankier Craigslist, and after all who doesn't like easy and skanky?
Regardless, there are some more factoids to glean from the ad. There is that interior shot that shows a set of purple (?) seat covers, oatmeal-colored carpet and a dash that looks like it has been made from reconstituted doll parts. Who knew that such a color actually existed in the real world and not just inside some nightmare inducing cartoon show? The pics also show a body that looks to be in pretty good shape, and an engine bay that, well, has an engine in it. It also indicates that this silver car at one time was gold, or maybe it was red? Oh hell, there's a lot going on in there.
So, you've got a bit of a mystery machine here, although one not littered with Scooby doos and Shaggy blunts. There's not much to go on in the ad to determine how much work it would take to get it up and at them (no, no, up and atom!) but considering its $5,500 asking is a mere drop in the bucket compared to what these cars generally go for when they've been spit-shined, it might be worth a roll of the dice.
What do you think, does fifty-five hundred make this '68 AMX a BFD? Or, does that price make this AMC a POS?
You decide!
CARS.com, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your Kinja handle.