Hi. Matt here. I am now reading an AMC book "American Motors, The last Independant." On page 213 there is a photo of a concept vehicle that AMC did. This was done in the summer of 1977. The concept vehicle is a small 4wd van that says AM van on the side. Does anyone out there know anything more about this vehicle? -Matt.
Check the Artic Boy web side he has some information on it or at least pictures.
There should all so be something here on the forum, from way back in the beginning.
Thanks Gil. I just checked arcticboy.com. on page 1 of the prototype page, there is an AM Van prototype pictured there. It says from 1979. The book says from 1977, and has some different features than the 79 version. Very similar, yet diffferent options. I wonder how many of these AM vans were made? That would be cool to find one, fix it up and use Jeep and Eagle parts on it. -Matt.
This one (http://www.torq-o.com/files/944b216fd1bf38417be4ccf3082c267c-116.html)?
Thanks again Pack Rat! Thats the one! Unfortunately, I don't have high speed internet yet, so I couldn't watch the video. Thats the one from the AMC book! The summer of 1977 version of the AM van! Anybody know of the whereabouts of any of these AM vans? -Matt.
Oh my God that is beautiful, Looks like a morphed pacer but I love it.
That thing is very cool. So what, AMC was really the innovator of the minivan but didn't follow through? That just might have saved them from oblivion like it did for Chrysler. I'm actually bummed now...
Hemmings Classic Cars magazines a couple of months ago had a really nice article about AMC concept vehicles from that era. The AM Van was included and it did rate highly as a concept people liked to see produced. But, AMC was pretty much broke then, so no AM Van.
Interesting to note that it had BFGoodrich All Terrain T/As on it, and had a bit of a high stance. I wonder if it was four wheel drive?
Yes. The video said 4 wheel drive.
Quote from: matt1971 on October 02, 2009, 04:39:29 PM
Hi. Matt here. I am now reading an AMC book "American Motors, The last Independant." On page 213 there is a photo of a concept vehicle that AMC did. This was done in the summer of 1977. The concept vehicle is a
small 4wd van that says AM van on the side.
Does anyone out there know anything more about this vehicle? -Matt.
The video also said 4 wheel drive. I think it was the van he was referring to.
I think it may have been 4WD, I need to find that article.
Figures... ::) I watched the video with no audio since my daughter had fallen asleep in the computer room. :P
That would have been very cool if one would have been made. I didn't catch the 4 wheel drivemention the first time I watched the video.
:o
That thing is GORGUS!!
Wonder why AMC never went through with it?? same with that extra small smart like thing. Both probably woulda pulled AMC outa the hole.
It does say 4 wheel drive and the announcer also said that he could imagine a lot of families replacing their station wagons with this van. Boy if that guy only knew how right he was. Mini van has almost made the station wagon extinct.
Quote from: Mechanic on October 03, 2009, 08:28:45 PM
:o
That thing is GORGUS!!
Wonder why AMC never went through with it?? same with that extra small smart like thing. Both probably woulda pulled AMC outa the hole.
They probably didn't go through with it due to money shortage. AMC traditionally seems to be the company that had to make do with very little development money to put forth a number of great ideas. This is one of the ideas that likely got on the back burner and never was able to resurface due to other projects going forth.
It still exists!
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2009/10/29/amvan-still-lives-too/
awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How cool!!! I love the porthole windows on the sides!
Amazing! At least Lee did not trash it! Extra egg to you for the find.
Fascinating. I've seen some of the pics of the AM Van in the past, but seeing more pics and the video was cool. Excellent. I think the obvious is that this being a concept, that if AMC had taken it to production, it'd have had a number of modifications before being final. I'm sure that if indeed it was to be 4WD that the wheel wells would have needed more room. The engine area would also have likely needed to be extended some, which I think would have made it a bit more appealing, actually. It's not bad as it is, but a little more refinement to an actual, practical mini-van would have been awesome to see. You can bet your bottom dollar that Iacocca and co. were taking notes at the time. Lee, had afterall, been a part of the Ford "mini-van" project that got axed in the early 70s as well....and it was well known that he took the mini-van idea with him to Chryco when he took over. In fact, having seen the Ford mini-van concept pics, I think this AM Van more than likely definitely had an impact on what eventually became the Caravan/Voyager.
Oddly, one thing crossed my mind in looking at the AM Van pics this time. Being a "short" mini van more or less.....it actually had qualities that showed up in the Dodge/Plymouth/Mitsubishi Colt Vista in the 80s, and then even in the Eagle Summit (and cousins) in the early 90s. Obviously those were entirely Mitsu and only used the Eagle name, but still.....it's interesting to see the parallel approach to a small degree. So, yes, if AMC had indeed taken this to production, I think it would have made some huge waves.....especially if they had done so before '83.
BTW....a semi-related set of pics that you all may be interested in are a couple of "Jeep Van" pictures that were sent to me some years ago. I believe I was told these were out of some magazine, but Jeep *had* developed a prototype *van* way back in the late 50s or early 60s. It was based off the FC platform, as you can readily tell. It looks so much like the basic VW mini-bus in many ways, but was so much more. Front engine, rear wheel drive, 4wd, and notice the doors on *both* sides of the van! I think these were rated for seating 9 people. (how many years...decades actually....ahead of their time were these...wow!) I was never a big fan of the FC jeeps, but once I saw this it totally changed my opinion.....and it quickly became my "man, if I could have a dream vehicle, that'd be about as close as possible". I believe I've heard about 3 prototypes were built, and at least one still survives somewhere, but not sure on the whereabouts or any of that for sure.
(http://www.zenithpages.com/rooms/garage/jeep/images2/jeepbus2.jpg)
This second image is merely a drawing of different configurations of the Jeep "bus".....including crew cabs and so on. Some of the "vans" were supposedly made as ambulances for use in the military...I believe all sent or maybe even made overseas for like Germany or something. If any were made, they were few at most....and any surviving would be rare at best. Still....it's incredible to see these in light of "what could have been"....especially when AMC ended up with Jeep later on and came up with yet another van idea this thread has been about that would have been incredible to see. Sigh......
(http://www.zenithpages.com/rooms/garage/jeep/images2/configs2.jpg)
If anyone has any more pics of vids of the AM Van, that would be awesome to see.
Nothing more on the AM van yet but you might find this interesting-FC Connection (http://thefcconnection.com/)
I love that FC-based van. That is awesome. I wonder if one of those could be built? I'd love to have one.
Pack Rat - Thanks for the FC link. I haven't looked for FC pages on the net in a few years, so that was a pleasant experience to see this one! Got it bookmarked.....some excellent pics and info there!
Quote from: 83Eagle! on October 31, 2009, 12:56:49 AM
I love that FC-based van. That is awesome. I wonder if one of those could be built? I'd love to have one.
Well, with enough time, money, and effort you can do anything. :) Take a look at what this guy and his crew have done:
http://thefcconnection.com/jesse_ybarra_m-679.htm
So, yes, I'm sure a person could....but what the cost....in time and money and all that....would be is likely not a small figure at all.
Still...if you think about it, if Jeep *had* released this mini-bus in the early 60s...even if they only did cargo versions at first....you can bet they'd have been adding windowed versions before long as well. How long was it before there were factory 4wd vans? Wasn't it late 80s or 90 or so when the big three did their AWD vans? And they were still not as heavy duty as these would have been. When were doors commonplace on both sides of vans? Mid to late 90s, wasn't it? The Jeep mini-bus would have been 20-30 years+ ahead of its time. And we still don't have anything as cool as this was. Anyway, at least there are pictures to saliivate over.
Back to the AM van.....oddly, I ran across a video last night that had an image in it that really caught my eye. Take a look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7BwRL2yhGQ
About 47 seconds in you'll see a van image float across the screen. I think it appears again later, but you can stop at that point if you want. :) Not the AM van, but has some similarities. And in light of the fact that this song/video were out in what 82 or 83....*before* the Mopar mini's hit the streets....it's rather interesting to think about.
BTW....on that Hemmings link above, did anyone notice the following bit:
" Joe Bortz, he of concept car collecting fame, said he got the AM Van from Chrysler when the company was going through AMC's inventory shortly after the buyout in 1987."
Sure makes you wonder what other goodies Joe got at the time?
OK Pack Rat you owe me 2hr of my do nothing day.
Yes, very addictive site there. I linked to some of their dealership pix there as I found three that were previously not documented at the AMC Heritage Forum.
The AmVan has been in the Bortz Auto Collection for many years. I tried uploading a photo of the Am Van but was not able to figure out how to do it. Please email me at
[email protected] and I will send you a picture of the AmVan if you like.
It may be going to the Chrysler Museum for special display.
Debbie
Glad to have you here. You can e-mail it to me at
[email protected]
It's funny this popped up again. Unrelated to the AMC but to prototype minvans, I stumbled onto this yesterday. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1972-ford-carousel-minivan-concept-car.htm Seems Ford and Chrysler were working on "garagable" vans in the early 70's. Looks quite a bit like a Caravan that Iacoca brought to fruition.
(http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/03/ford-carousel.png)
BortzCars:
Most of us use free Photobucket accounts.
www.photobucket.com
We recommend clicky pics. This is a thumbnail picture that enlarges when clicked.
Photobucket has made a change in the way you copy the code.
Here is the way it looks to me:
For a single clicky pic, hover over the picture. This will open a drop down menu. Click on the fourth window, img.
It will then say "copied".
Go to the thread where you want to put the picture and paste it in.
For multiple clicky pics, hover over the pictures and click on the small box at the bottom of the picture.
Scroll down and click on "Choose action". Click "Generate code for selected".
This will open another page. Click on the third box, "IMG for bulletin boards & forums". It will say "copied". Paste it into the thread of your choice.
In both instances you can select "Preview" to make sure it is what you want before you post it.
Quote from: eaglefreek on May 08, 2011, 12:36:21 PM
It's funny this popped up again. Unrelated to the AMC but to prototype minvans, I stumbled onto this yesterday. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1972-ford-carousel-minivan-concept-car.htm Seems Ford and Chrysler were working on "garagable" vans in the early 70's. Looks quite a bit like a Caravan that Iacoca brought to fruition.
(http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/03/ford-carousel.png)
What is that a picture of? A Ford concept?
I guess there were 3 of the FC Jeep minivans produced....
http://www.globalpost.com/webblog/technology-news/the-fc-150-van-%E2%80%93-now-color
I would love to have one.
Quote from: 83Eagle! on May 10, 2011, 07:50:04 AM
Quote from: eaglefreek on May 08, 2011, 12:36:21 PM
It's funny this popped up again. Unrelated to the AMC but to prototype minvans, I stumbled onto this yesterday. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1972-ford-carousel-minivan-concept-car.htm Seems Ford and Chrysler were working on "garagable" vans in the early 70's. Looks quite a bit like a Caravan that Iacoca brought to fruition.
(http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/03/ford-carousel.png)
What is that a picture of? A Ford concept?
Yes, info is in that link I posted.
Quote from: El Matador on October 02, 2009, 08:30:17 PM
Figures... ::) I watched the video with no audio since my daughter had fallen asleep in the computer room. :P
You need to invest in headphones....
That is some freaky little van. That would be fun to drive. It's too bad AMC couldn't market that (or had an issue with cash), because that would be wicked.
There's a group (Father/son, company whatever) who are doing the AMX/3. http://www.amx390.com/amx3.html
They're doing the shells and such, too bad some customizer wouldn't pick this one up, and try to get a working chassis to fit it, and then get some kind of fiberglass body going... That would be an awesome sight for a Custom Car show.
Thanks Eaglefreek I did not see the link. I see it now. The blue on black background is hard for me to see for some reason. Thanks.
That '72 Ford concept minivan looks similar to the current Ford Flex, especially the concept drawings.
i know this is a old post but i thought id mention to anyone that i have some rare design photos of possible amc vans (design sketches) would it be worth posting?
I vote yes, of course, absolutely.
Yes, Please Post. -Matt.
here they are, i have several other prototype pics, considering making a cd with them on for a fair price
(http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz293/eagle87_photos/image13-3.jpg)
(http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz293/eagle87_photos/image9-3-1.jpg)
(http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz293/eagle87_photos/image6-5.jpg)
(http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz293/eagle87_photos/image5-5.jpg)
(http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz293/eagle87_photos/image4-6.jpg)
(http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz293/eagle87_photos/image3-9.jpg)
(http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz293/eagle87_photos/image2-9.jpg)
Yipes... I'm glad they never actually produced any of those. :o
There seems to be some Renault influence in those designs.
Thanks for posting, do you know when those were drawn?
this date on the first drawing says 1975 i believe in the right lower corner, well before renault
Some of the fronts remind me of the pacer. I like the van in the proper picture, but I don't like the concept drawings.
Our Hoosier AMC club is hosting the amo nationals in Auburn, IN next year and as of now we are slated to have the prototype of the AM van on display at the banquet!
One of those looks like the Mitsubishi Expo van
(http://pic.classifieds1000.com/1211946827-70431-68.194.213.31.jpg)
Thanks for posting those drawings. I think they look a lot like Pacer vans!
Quote from: carnuck on November 27, 2012, 03:37:22 PM
One of those looks like the Mitsubishi Expo van
(http://pic.classifieds1000.com/1211946827-70431-68.194.213.31.jpg)
Which, ironically, was also sold as the EAGLE Summit wagon.
New to this forum and I cannot figure out how to attach photo but feel free to contact me at
[email protected] and I will email the photo of the AmVan Styling Buck to you.
Debbie
Bortz Auto Collection
You can also see a page on our website www.BortzAutoCollection.com
Debra Powless, Curator