Editing American Motors Corporation (section)

=== 1962–1967: Roy Abernethy ===

George Romney left American Motors in 1962 to run for governor in Michigan and was replaced as CEO by Roy Abernethy. Abernethy had been with AMC since the 1954 merger and as vice president of sales was responsible for successfully building AMC's sales and distribution network during the 1950s and early 1960s.

After two model years (1963 and 1964) of only producing compact cars, Abernethy shifted the focus of American Motors back to bigger and more profitable cars such as the Ambassador line and tried to move away from the perceived negative of the Rambler's [[economy car]] image. Ambassador sales jumped from 18,647 in 1964 to over 64,000 in 1965. In 1966, they went to more than 71,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.autos.ca/classic-cars/motoring-memories-amc-ambassador-1965-1966/ |first=Bill |last=Vance |title=Motoring Memories: AMC Ambassador, 1965–1966 |publisher=Autos Canada |date=March 17, 2006 |access-date=January 1, 2013 |archive-date=October 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010162008/http://www.autos.ca/classic-cars/motoring-memories-amc-ambassador-1965-1966/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the enormous costs of developing the new cars and engines meant American Motors now had problems in securing [[working capital]] to keep the company going. American Motors sales dropped 20% in the first half of 1966, and the firm reported a fiscal six-month loss of $4.2 million on sales of $479 million. Consequently, [[Robert B. Evans]] invested more than $2 million because American Motors's stock was selling for only 60% of the company's [[net worth]]; thus, he became its largest stockholder and was named its chairman on June 6, 1966, replacing Richard E. Cross, who continued as a director and chairman of the executive committee.<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,899250,00.html |title=American Motors' New Gospel |magazine=Time |date=June 17, 1966 |access-date=March 29, 2023}}</ref> In the quarter ending September 30, 1966, American Motors recorded a loss of $12,648,000 before tax credits and deferred tax assets. In the face of deteriorating financial and market positions, Abernethy "retired" as CEO in 1967, and Evans "resigned" as chairman.