After nearly going out of business in 1967, American Motors replaced its company chairman with Roy D. Chapin, Jr., son of one of the founders of the Hudson Motor Car Company. Chapin quickly launched a turnaround effort focused on introducing all new cars. Among the most important of those vehicles was the Javelin, not just because it would provide additional sales volume, but because Chapin hoped it would begin a sea-change in AMC’s public image.
Introduced for 1968, Javelin was successful on both counts, selling well and bringing in new, younger buyers. It was freshened and updated the next two years, but for ’71 it was time for the company to devise a more contemporary design. AMC was short of cash due to the cost of launching the new Gremlin, Hornet, and soon-to-be-introduced Matador, but Chapin nevertheless tasked his Styling Department with creating a highly desirable new design, using any tricks they could to keep tooling costs down. Resourceful Dick Teague, AMC’s Vice President of Styling, assigned the task of
