I saw this article in Hemmings and thought it might be worth posting.
The untold story: AMX/3, Giugiaro and BMW
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The front end looks like Speed Racer's Mach 5!
(I like it!)
Rocky
(I like it!)
Rocky
The story sounded like it had a lot of people involved making control over the project difficult. Several points such as one off custom transaxles had to have plague the project with hurdle after hurdle; especially for the time period.
It was a gorgeous car but as often said it was a 160mph car....except people who drove the prototypes claimed the car was speed limited for front end lift. Probably another un spoken problem. They could have addressed it but it would had been a vastly different looking car.
Can help but wonder what other unspoken problems they had.
It was a gorgeous car but as often said it was a 160mph car....except people who drove the prototypes claimed the car was speed limited for front end lift. Probably another un spoken problem. They could have addressed it but it would had been a vastly different looking car.
Can help but wonder what other unspoken problems they had.
Many really good ideas in the design. I followed it's progress as a teenager until the Pantera was revealed.
At that point the press seemed to loose interest in the car.
Maybe the Pantera just took the wind our of the sails of AMC?
At that point the press seemed to loose interest in the car.
Maybe the Pantera just took the wind our of the sails of AMC?
Years back wasn't someone on this site building one of this cars? Maybe a kit or something? I seem to remember it was really Cool!
Yes. About 2007 or 08? Never heard anything about it after that.
AMX 3
I'm curious what happened to it as well.
I'm curious what happened to it as well.
There is one of the real ones in Alberta that belongs to a forum member that is on here rarely. When I saw the car (last fall) it was quite striking but as far as I know his car never received any drive train from the factory. To be honest, I am not sure if it had an interior either. It was up on a rack when I saw it. The body lines were quite beautiful though.
I have my doubts if this would be the same car you're talking about though. Not a replica to build and as far as I know this one was not going to altered or changed from the way it was purchased, but I could be wrong.
I have my doubts if this would be the same car you're talking about though. Not a replica to build and as far as I know this one was not going to altered or changed from the way it was purchased, but I could be wrong.
I saw one at the show in Monterrey ( 2003?), it was red, I have some pictures somewhere, very similar to our cars, I too was told it lifted at high speed, a spoiler could have fixed that. Very pretty car.
I think this car had a number of great features. I would have loved to see it produced.
I'm thinking though that because of AMC's financial situation they couldn't bring it to market.
It isn't in the sense that you are thinking though I'll bet?
I know that the Boss429 Mustang was produced at a loss to Ford. The selling price was set at what they thought the car could be sold for and they needed to produce the car for NASCAR certification reasons as a "Production vehicle engine".
In the case of the Pantera, Ford wanted an "exotic sports car".
The Pantera fit the bill. At a list of $10,000 each, that doesn't mean the car was profitable to Ford on an individual unit basis.
It probably wasn't at all? When all the costs for the car were totaled, i.e., advertising, warranty service, actual production costs, Federal certification costs, the car probably had a significant loss per car.
The $12,000 price from AMC for the AMX was probably marginally profitable. Maybe just a break even point? That was a number speculated to by the press at the time and maybe was way off? Why do I remember the real cost was going to be $15,000 ish?
AMC wanted the publicity the car would create, wanted to show the world they really could build a 'World Class' exotic, but just couldn't eat the loss necessary to make it marketable?
Ford priced the Pantera at $10,000, probably to price out AMC. The Pantera was never expected to be profitable. If they had to sell the Pantera at $8,000, or maybe even $5,000, they were going to do that. There was no way AMC was going to beat Ford at that game.
The current Ford GT is somewhat in this category also. I'm not sure the $400,000 price tag on it makes it a loss leader though? But maybe it does?
That price is somewhat arbitrary and Ford just wants to show the World they can compete with any manufacturer at any level. They can currently play in that game.
It's a pretty big high stakes poker game.
If you need to ask how high is up then you simply are in over your head. No one needs to 'stake' Ford. Now or then.
For AMC even their profitable cars like the Javelin and the AMX spinoffs from it didn't save the company. They couldn't sell the quantity that was necessary for that.
Mark Donahue and Roger Penske, as successful as they were racing with the Javelin didn't help much either. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday, just didn't help? In fact that was the reason Ford pulled out of racing.
Their data showed that their market share of new car sales had not changed at all. As such, there just was not justification to keep racing.
That's all just history. Water under the bridge. No matter to me now though. I definitely am a beneficiary of that competition from way back then. My Pantera as well as other cars I have, a GT350 and a GT500, are all highly valued by me for so many reasons, including and especially because I know the 'back' story.
I'm thinking though that because of AMC's financial situation they couldn't bring it to market.
It isn't in the sense that you are thinking though I'll bet?
I know that the Boss429 Mustang was produced at a loss to Ford. The selling price was set at what they thought the car could be sold for and they needed to produce the car for NASCAR certification reasons as a "Production vehicle engine".
In the case of the Pantera, Ford wanted an "exotic sports car".
The Pantera fit the bill. At a list of $10,000 each, that doesn't mean the car was profitable to Ford on an individual unit basis.
It probably wasn't at all? When all the costs for the car were totaled, i.e., advertising, warranty service, actual production costs, Federal certification costs, the car probably had a significant loss per car.
The $12,000 price from AMC for the AMX was probably marginally profitable. Maybe just a break even point? That was a number speculated to by the press at the time and maybe was way off? Why do I remember the real cost was going to be $15,000 ish?
AMC wanted the publicity the car would create, wanted to show the world they really could build a 'World Class' exotic, but just couldn't eat the loss necessary to make it marketable?
Ford priced the Pantera at $10,000, probably to price out AMC. The Pantera was never expected to be profitable. If they had to sell the Pantera at $8,000, or maybe even $5,000, they were going to do that. There was no way AMC was going to beat Ford at that game.
The current Ford GT is somewhat in this category also. I'm not sure the $400,000 price tag on it makes it a loss leader though? But maybe it does?
That price is somewhat arbitrary and Ford just wants to show the World they can compete with any manufacturer at any level. They can currently play in that game.
It's a pretty big high stakes poker game.
If you need to ask how high is up then you simply are in over your head. No one needs to 'stake' Ford. Now or then.
For AMC even their profitable cars like the Javelin and the AMX spinoffs from it didn't save the company. They couldn't sell the quantity that was necessary for that.
Mark Donahue and Roger Penske, as successful as they were racing with the Javelin didn't help much either. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday, just didn't help? In fact that was the reason Ford pulled out of racing.
Their data showed that their market share of new car sales had not changed at all. As such, there just was not justification to keep racing.
That's all just history. Water under the bridge. No matter to me now though. I definitely am a beneficiary of that competition from way back then. My Pantera as well as other cars I have, a GT350 and a GT500, are all highly valued by me for so many reasons, including and especially because I know the 'back' story.
Here's one up for auction https://www.hemmings.com/class...html?refer=musweekly