Editing American Motors Corporation (section)

=== Marketplace and management changes ===
Significant changes occurred in 1985 as the market moved away from American Motors' small models. With fuel relatively cheap again, buyers turned to larger, more powerful automobiles, and American Motors was unprepared for this development. Even the venerable Jeep CJ-5 was dropped after a ''[[60 Minutes]]'' TV news magazine staged exposé of rollover tendencies under extreme conditions. American Motors also confronted an angry workforce. Labor was taking revenge, and reports circulated about the sabotage of vehicles on the assembly lines because of the failure to receive promised wage increases{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}. There were rumors that the aging Kenosha plant was to be shut down. At the same time, Chrysler was having trouble meeting the demand for its M-body rear-drive models ([[Dodge Diplomat]], [[Plymouth Gran Fury]], and [[Chrysler Fifth Avenue]]). Because they were assembled using the old "gate and buck system" and the tooling could be easily moved, Chrysler could supply the components and control the quality while AMC assembled the car. Therefore, [[Lee Iacocca]] and [[Joseph E. Cappy]] agreed to use some of AMC's idle plant capacity in Kenosha.<ref name=sharf>{{cite magazine |url= http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_lee_iacocca_knew/index.html |first=Stephan |last=Sharf |title=Lee Iacocca as I knew him; he was certainly the right man at the right time. |magazine=Ward's AutoWorld |date=May 1, 1996 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110728081658/http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_lee_iacocca_knew/index.html |archive-date=July 28, 2011 |access-date=August 23, 2024}}</ref>

In January 1985, Renault's chairman in France, [[Bernard Hanon]], was dismissed by the government in a shake-up triggered by huge losses as a result of his goal to revolutionize Renault's product strategy in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.autonews.com/article/19980928/ANA/809280720/hanon-was-renault-s-american |title=Hanon was Renault's 'American' |date=September 28, 1998 |work=Automotive News |access-date=August 23, 2024}}</ref> He was instrumental in 1981 for the company to invest in AMC and also made Renault a full-line automaker, but this ballooned the firm's debt.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-23-fi-12257-story.html |title=Sputtering Renault Faces a Major Overhaul to Get It Running Again |first=Stanley |last=Meisler |date=June 23, 1985 |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times  |access-date=August 23, 2024}}</ref> Renault relinquished its number one sales position in Europe, which it held from 1980 until 1983. The company had been losing money since 1981 and had fallen to sixth place behind Ford, Fiat, Volkswagen, Peugeot, and General Motors.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/03/business/france-s-ailing-auto-industry.html |title=France's Ailing Auto Industry |first=Paul |last=Lewis |date=February 3, 1985 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=August 23, 2024}}</ref> Strikes plagued Renault at the end of 1984, and the French government introduced price controls that severely cut the profit margins on cars sold in France, Renault's most important market. Hanon was replaced by [[Georges Besse]], ex-president of [[Arkema|Produits Chimiques Ugine Kuhlmann]] in France.

In April 1985, AMC Chairman W. Paul Tippett resigned to become president of a textile company. Jose J. Dedeurwaerder, president since 1982 and chief executive officer since September 1984, announced at the Paris Auto Show in October 1985, that AMC would begin imports of the innovative seven-seat, front-wheel-drive Espace minivan in the spring of 1986.<ref name="PM-French-Iron">{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YOQDAAAAMBAJ&dq=More+French+iron+for+American+Motors&pg=PA28 |first=Daniel Charles |last=Ross |title=Detroit Listening Post - More French iron for American Motors |page=29 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=March 1985 |volume=162 |issue=3 |via=Google Books |access-date=August 23, 2024}}</ref> This was part of expanding the range of Renault models that include plans for marketing the [[Renault Alpine GTA/A610#Federalized version|Renault Alpine GTA/A510]] sports car through select AMC dealers.<ref name="PM-French-Iron"/> In December 1985, Dedeurwaerder became chairman of AMC's executive committee while continuing as the company's president and CEO. Joe Cappy was moved up from executive vice president to chief operating officer, and Tippet's position was filled by an ex-Renault vice president, Pierre Semerena.<ref>{{cite news |title=A.M. names new chairman |date=December 14, 1985 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/14/business/am-names-new-chairman.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=August 13, 2023}}</ref>

Semerena made his managerial reputation as a no-nonsense cost cutter. The new management responded with tactical moves by selling the lawn care [[Wheel Horse]] Products Division and signing an agreement to build Jeeps in the People's Republic of China. [[The Pentagon]] had problems with [[AM General]], a significant [[defense contractor]], being managed by a partially French-government-owned firm. The U.S. government would not allow a foreign government to own a substantial portion of an important defense supplier.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Byron |last1=Olsen |first2=Barney |last2=Olsen |first3=Joseph |last3=Cabadas |title=The American Auto Factory |page=127 |year=2002 |publisher=MotorBooks International |isbn=978-0-7603-1059-5}}</ref> As a result, the profitable AM General Division was sold to [[Ling-Temco-Vought|LTV Corporation]].<ref>{{cite news |title=AM General sale to LTV agreed on |date=July 26, 1983 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/26/business/am-general-sale-to-ltv-agreed-on.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=August 23, 2024}}</ref>

Another milestone within AMC's management was the departure of Dick Teague.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://richardlangworth.com/dick-teague |title=Facing Disaster with a Smile: The Dick Teague I Knew |date= March 5, 2024 |first=Richard M. |last=Langworth |website=richardlangworth.com |access-date=August 23, 2024}}</ref> He was American Motors' design vice president for 23 years - an industry record.<ref name="Heseltine"/> he was one of the most consistently resourceful automotive designers and responsible for many Jeep and AMC designs, including the Javelin, AMX, Hornet, Gremlin, Pacer, Matador coupe, and the Cherokee XJ.<ref name="Heseltine">{{cite web|url= https://www.motor1.com/news/235984/richard-teague-american-automobile-design/ |title=Richard Teague: American Automobile Design's Unsung Hero |first=Richard |last=Heseltine |date=March 13, 2018 |website=motor1.com |access-date=August 23, 2024}}</ref>