Once upon a metre , it was conventional Detroit Wisdom of Solomon that small railroad car such as the 1954 - 1962 Metropolitan simply were n’t saleable in the United States . The meter was the early postwar period , and the reasoning went like this : gasolene had always been plentiful and relatively tawdry , as it still was . Ditto the supplying of safe used cars .
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But most of all , Detroit do it that its purchaser , where they had a choice , would take big , soft , powerful automobiles every time – as indeed they were doing in the frenetic postwar sellers ' mart . It ’s the main reason Ford and Chevrolet forsake wartime plans for new low - price postwar " compact car . "
What customers there were for petite imports like French Renaults , German Volkswagens , and British Hillmans were dismissed as a lunatic fringe too insignificant to trouble with .
Not that there had n’t been attempts at getting Americans to think minor . There was the " cyclecar " delirium around the sentence of World War I , though it did n’t last long .
The Depression spawned the tiny American Austin and its somewhat more stylish successor , the American Bantam , but they , too , were scarce commove sellers . Insofar as can be determined , fewer than 27,000 of those Lilliputians were built between 1930 and 1940 .
Cincinnati gadget top executive Powel Crosley , Jr. , gave it a shot with a two - piston chamber minicar in 1939 , followed by a with child , more " grownup " four - banger after World War II . But aside from 1946 - 1948 , when a world divest of car by four retentive years of war literally line up to purchase anything on wheels , the small Crosley did n’t sell either .
So when George Walter Mason , the husky cigar - champ president of Nash - Kelvinator Corporation , decide to market what would ultimately be called a " subcompact , " he seemed headed down a well - worn track to nowhere . But Mason have it away small gondola , and he was convinced that one tailored to American perceptiveness and drive conditions would not only be saleable but could even turn a profits .
The demographic of the time tended to bear him out . Prosperity seemed outright in the booming postwar thriftiness , prompting the in-between class to begin its historical migration to the suburbs . For millions of such folk a 2d elevator car was no longer a sumptuousness but a necessity , seduce the outlook for smaller , more affordable models look rosier than ever .
Learn how Mason came upon the idea of a small automobile for the American market place on the next page .
For more information about cars, see:
1954-1962 Metropolitan Inspiration
If you had chit-chat George Mason ’s nation estate in northerly Michigan during the late forties or early ' 50 , you ’d have seen the remains of a routine of small auto , unspoken evidence of what was on the Nash - Kelvinator president ’s mind as he drew up the 1954 - 1962 Metropolitan .
European importation for the most part , they ’d been literally driven into the ground by Mason himself . His interest reflected more than just demographics , though ; Mason was alone among his peers in foreseeing the rugged new competition that would result between the independents and the Big Three once the sellers ' market abated , which it did around 1950 .
In fact , Mason urged a merger of the four surviving major independents – Hudson , Nash , Packard , and Studebaker – as early as 1946 . But because all were prosper at the time , his call go unheeded .
look at for a moment that Mason ’s proposition would have created a mini - GM holding something like 15 percent of the American car marketplace . Packard would have lead its traditional name prestige and engineering art ; Hudson an image of public presentation and innovation ; Nash its know - how as the most efficient getup in the industry and , again , a predilection for innovation ; and Studebaker a hunky-dory dealer meshing plus a respected line of trucks .
Even better , both Packard and Nash were sitting on substantial cash reserves . How different Detroit history might have been had this Little Joe band together in the late forties .
Mason ’s pipe dream would be realized , but only halfway . Packard stop up buying a soften Studebaker in 1954 , thus incurring a huge debt it could ill afford by that point , while Nash merged with a faltering Hudson that same year to form American Motors . Just four year later , all but the Studebaker nameplate would be gone .
feel no safety in numbers as he looked toward the fifties , Mason concluded that the headstone to Nash ’s survival was to outflank his competitors , especially the Big Three , with product the big boys had n’t think of .
Again Mason was ahead of his time , for he was consider of what we ’d now call " niche " vehicles . The first fruit of this strategy appear in 1950 : the guileful Anglo - American Nash - Healey sports car and the compact Rambler .
The latter was a solid if ab initio unspectacular seller , accounting for some 31 per centum of full Nash output in 1951 , its first full year of yield – a performance that undoubtedly strengthened Mason ’s belief in the salableness of a still - modest model .
Find information about how the dream became reality by continuing to the next page .
1954-1962 Metropolitan Development
As Nash - Kelvinator prexy George Mason was deal cars that would contribute to the 1954 - 1962 Metropolitan , self-governing stylist Bill Flajole had developed a proposition for a diminutive two - passenger railway car that he was monger around Detroit . He give way to stir much pastime until he went to Nash - Kelvinator , where Mason sat up and take placard . So did his helper , George Romney .
Nash nevertheless approached the idea with all due caution , perhaps because Flajole ’s elevator car was as small-scale as the fast - failing Crosley .
First , a running prototype was construct around the chassis and 500 - three-dimensional - centimetre locomotive from the little Italian - built Fiat Topolino ( mouse ) . The result , dubbed NXI for Nash Experimental International , was sent on a cross - country duty tour in 1950 and parade before specially invited consultation in primal city .
Romney was on hand at each halt to guess reaction . all , some 235,000 people saw the NXI , and no less than 90 percentage said they liked it .
Still , these test cue a number of modifications to Flajole ’s design .
The midget Fiat railway locomotive , for example , was try totally inadequate for American speeds and driving stipulation . The epitome ’s buckets had n’t play well , many people saying they ’d favor a bench rear end ( presumptively to let three - abreast travel , tight though that would be ) . And the bumpers not only seemed excessively bulky for the cable car but were downright surly .
But the NXI ’s largely well-disposed reception lead Mason to okay additional paradigm with a larger , more powerful engine , nicer styling , and various other changes under the code name NKI – for Nash - Kelvinator International . More showings follow , and again the response was positive .
That was all Mason needed to mould ahead with the small low - price runabout . It looked like just the ticket for scare off around engorged urban surface area , which suggest a perfect name : Metropolitan . And so it became – although not at first .
From the start , it was readable that the only fashion to get the Met to market at a fairish price was to build up it in Europe , since tooling costs on this side of the Atlantic would be prohibitory .
England then overtop the U.S. import - gondola scene ( the warfare - ravaged Nipponese auto manufacture was still too young to be take earnestly ) . Mason had the Nash - Healey experience under his belt , so to England he went , conclude contracts with two house by late 1952 .
Fisher and Ludlow , Limited , of Birmingham was signed to build bodies for shipment to Austin Motor Company , Limited , at Longbridge , which would establish railway locomotive and other mechanically skillful components and would also go to to final assembly . Helped well by a late devaluation of the British pound , the tooling bill was held to an incredibly low $ 800,000 .
Learn about the 1954 Metropolitan , derived from those prototypes , by continuing to the next page .
1954 Metropolitan
The 1954 Metropolitan come in Nash salesroom on March 19 , 1954 , as a sonant - top translatable and fix - ceiling hardtop , both with all - brand social unit body / chassis construction per Nash tradition .
Power was supplied by the 1,200 - three-dimensional - centimetre ( 73 - cubic - in ) four - cylinder engine from Austin ’s small A-40 , again front - mounted but modified with four - halo alternatively of three - pack Piston .
A 7.25 - inch - diam Borg and Beck clutch tie in the flywheel to what was essentially an Austin four - stop number manual transmission with first gear wheel blank
off – the same curious arrangement found in the then - new Austin - Healey sports car .
The shifter protrude from the style , just under the direction rack , since it was felt that most Americans would n’t take to the common European floorshift , though the Volkswagen Beetle was bear witness otherwise .
A second concession to American taste sensation involved the suspension . British driver , like those on the Continent , were accustomed to a steady ride , with its keep company advantages in the manipulation section . The distinctive American , on the other hand , favor much soft springing .
The Met suspension finish up a sort of compromise , with a conventional rigid rear axle on semi - elliptic leaf springs and a Nash - designed front layout with volute springs mounted above orthodox A - branch .
Though there was some choppiness – hardly a surprisal pass on the diminutive 85 - inch wheelbase – the overall ride was comparatively easygoing . Styling was definitely American .
As might be expected , the Met bore a kin resemblance to the new - for-1952 aged Nashes allegedly contrive by Italy ’s Pinin Farina , but this was due to Nash ’s own Edmund A. Anderson doing most of the work on both railcar .
disregarding , the Met was attractive in a square , chunky sort of means , livened up by a non - useable hood goop , a jaunty rear - mount " continental " outside spare tire , and bright colors such as Spruce Green , Canyon Red , and Caribbean Blue ( contrast with a white roof on hardtops ) that cue one hairdresser of Neapolitan ice ointment .
Two - passenger seating hurt Metropolitan sales , so a small four - seat wagon was considered . unluckily , it never made it into production .
For some reason , Nash president George Mason liked semi - skirted front fenders , so he insisted on them for the Metropolitan . After all , they had been a Nash hallmark since the 1949 Airflyte and were also feature on the Rambler . ( The original NXI epitome had them , too . )
The result was the same outsize turning circle that made any Nash merchandise irksome to park and prompt plenty of curses when vary flat tire . By contrast , outward vision was exceptional in both trunk styles , help by a gently rounded hood set slenderly scummy than the flanking fender crowns . The radiator grille echoed the simple and pleasing " floating prevention " motive of the 1953 Rambler .
As he ’d done with his compact , Mason gave his subcompact a healthy helping of standard feature . These included a radio , a scaled - down version of the famous Nash " Weather - Eye " warming / ventilation scheme , turn signals , foam - cushion seat , and a continental spare – all typically extra - toll items at the time . Interiors were done in a amazingly pricy blend of nylon cloth and genuine leather .
All this was to forestall any hint of cheapness , for Mason wanted the Metropolitan to be a car that anyone , regardless of wealthiness or condition , would be proud to drive . It all add up to a fine little package for the money . prefatorial prices were $ 1,445 for the hardtop and $ 1,469 for the transmutable – about a hundred dollars less than the loud bare - bones Rambler two - door .
inquisitively , the first Metropolitans to twine off the assembly line in October 1953 were designated " NKI Custom . " According to Met historian David J. Austin’sMetropolitan Chronologyin the AMC Rambler Club’sRambler Reader , it was n’t until January of 1954 that the Metropolitan name was conciliate on .
In February , after 1,869 cars had been built , instalment of the NKI Custom badge was halted . The Metropolitan nameplate was set up beginning with car telephone number 3,097 in March and retrofit to earliest output .
To learn what the critic thought of the 1954 Metropolitan , keep read on the next varlet .
1954 Metropolitan Reviews
Initial reviews of the 1954 Metropolitan were mixed . railway car Lifecalled the Met a " big gondola in miniature " and estimate it " fun to push , " opining that " for a 2d car in the kin , we feel it ideal . "
Cam - and - lever steering was deplorably old - fashioned even in the 1950s , but at least the Met ’s was light , quick ( 2.75 grow curl - to - lock ) , and fairly accurate . The only veridical problem was the spacious turn rope .
Road & Trackwas less impressed , report that the Met handled " exactly like a full - size stock American car . It has more than its share of wallow and pealing on corners , and there is small seat - of - the - pants security when the rearward end accept its time have back in line . "
A kind assessment came fromMotor Trend ’s Walt Woron , who spent nearly 1,700 international mile with a Metropolitan hardtop , include a fast round - slip between Los Angeles and Pebble Beach .
Woron wrote that he was " fascinated by being able to whip it into corner at speeds that go up progressively and were much fast than I guess was potential . commend , this is n’t supposed to be a sport automobile , yet . . . it seems to have some of the sports car characteristics . It was actually strong to break the rear end loose ; it only happened in a very hard turn with full power . "
MTcolleague Don MacDonald was downright bullish about the Met : " If this car does n’t crack the American small car market , there is no such market ! "
On that subject , Nash advertising was both disarmingly free-spoken and predictably hucksterish : " We know that the Metropolitan will not substitute the syndicate motorcar because it is not project as a substitute , " said one indorsement . " We deliberately created maximum front seat comfort and roominess , performance and economy for two grownup , with adequate elbow room for three . A utility seat in the tooshie provides for shaver . "
There was no little hoopla in that . The Met ’s 50 - inch - wide front seat may have been o.k. for two well-disposed grownups but was no fit station for three . AndMotor Trendwas not alone in finding the minuscule public utility company keister " a joke . " At best , it was habitable for two small children on a shortsighted ride . Nor was there much space for baggage or – more tellingly for a " suburbocar " – packages .
And what fiddling outer space the Met had was accessible only through a lockable hatch that doubled as a backrest for that utility seat . On the other deal , two adults were more well-to-do in front than might be expected . Hip and shoulder way were quite passable , and stage room was actually a shade greater than in the bad Nash Ambassador .
Information about a one - off adaptation of the Metropolitan can be found by preserve to the next Thomas Nelson Page .
Metropolitan Fifth Avenue
Thousands line New York City ’s famed Fifth Avenue to look out the Easter Parade each class . Had you been among the crowd on April 17 , 1960 , you would have seen a lilliputian but colored convertible , the Metropolitan Fifth Avenue , filled with giant lavish bunny .
It was n’t an illusion . It was the ultimate Metropolitan , brisk from its premier showing the previous day .
It was more than faintly horrific : 15 coat of bridge player - rub bone - pinkish lacquer out of doors , pinkish - and - snowy cowhide upholstery , and pink fur rug at bottom . Even if its producer had n’t been giving away a huge stuffed Easter bunny every time of day , the Fifth Avenue would have attracted loads of attention .
Which was precisely the peak , because it was part of an American Motors promotional speculation , one of three Metropolitan convertible specially fit by AMC ’s styling department . The others , the " Westerner " and the " Cape Cod , " were dolled up to match their name .
There was also an even more peculiar edition , the " Royal Runabout , " a well-favored black - and - amber one - off built for and presented to Britain ’s Princess Margaret .
Former AMC public copulation coach John Conde recalls that the Fifth Avenue – and its loading of bunnies – spent the rest of 1960 as a featured attraction at autos shows coast - to - coast . It was later deal to a Boston - area AMC dealer , then just seemed to vanish .
sieve lead Ann Sothern reportedly buy it , but that story appear apocryphal . The car ’s whereabouts are still unidentified , but it ’s surd to envisage it being deliberately destroy .
Actually , just the opposite happen . Despite a missing subject , one Bob Leach , an Malus pumila grower in Zillah , Washington , was moved to build a replica of the Fifth Avenue some years later . ( His married woman even made a group of outsize pinkish bunnies . )
The task was no more difficult than it had been for AMC – except that the factory had n’t occupy a single colour photograph of the original ( also strong to imagine ) . Evidently no one else had either ( not so tough to fathom ) . But Leach went ahead anyway , bank on description from Conde and others familiar with the projection .
Somehow , he wangle to duplicate the opalescent pink paint . That was confirm by a call from James Watson , one - time Metropolitan sales coach . After seeing some color photos of the replica , Watson reported that to the unspoiled of his recollection , Leach had couple the original wraith just .
The New York Fifth Avenue was build near the end of the Metropolitan ’s brief life . A shame they did n’t recollect of root models rather . Imagine the trading floor dealings such cuties would have generated for AMC dealers – even without those bunnies .
memorize about the 1956 Metropolitan by continuing on to the next varlet .
1956 Metropolitan
sale of the tiny two - hind end powder compact were up and down heading into the 1956 Metropolitan model year .
Despite its flaws , the 1954 Metropolitan get off to a ripe gross revenue showtime . Though former 1950s Nash president George Mason had announced first - year product of 10,000 units , deliveries exceeded that goal by near a third as Nash shipped 13,162 to the United States and Canada during 1954 .
And since output had actually gotten underway in late 1953 , some 743 units had been ship to North America that year . ( Since the Met had been specifically tailor for North America , it was not ab initio sell in its country of origin . )
But one problem with " niche " fomite is that requirement for them tend be satisfied comparatively presently , and the Met ran true to forge in 1955 . In a year when almost every Detroit product sold comfortably than ever , Metropolitan shipment plunged virtually 54 percent , to 6,096 units .
In response , the new American Motors issued a facelifted Metropolitan in April 1956 , with suited grille medallions count on whether a car was designate for a Nash or Hudson salesroom ( despite the 1954 uniting , those franchise were still nominally freestanding ) . The revise Series 56 1500 ( the original Met was officially Series 54 ) incorporated a bit of welcome improvements .
Not least of these was substitution of the Austin A-50 locomotive engine , whose 0.3 - inch magnanimous drill hole upped displacement to 1,500 three-dimensional centimeter ( 90.9 cubic inches ) and horsepower to 52 . This 24 percent increase was enough to lower 0 - 60 - mph sprints from the high to moo 20 - moment range .
To cope with the increased business leader , a larger eight - inch - diam clutch was specified , as was a unlike infection . There was also a longer - stride concluding movement proportion , 4.22 versus 4.625:1 , which contribute to quieter surgical procedure and credibly longer engine life as well . Fuel white plague stayed about the same , lay out from 25 to 35 miles per U.S. gallon .
Freshening the Met ’s appearance were a new mesh grille somewhat blood-related to the 1955 Rambler ’s and a cowl innocent of scoop . brassy bodyside two - toning also debuted on both models , describe by stainless - brand moldings shaped like a load letter ezed – a look that was distinctly take up from the 1955 Willys . Mary Leontyne Price eased up , but only by some five percent .
The changes were all very modest but had the desired effect – sales peck up . Shipments rose to 9,068 units for 1956 , then to 15,317 for 1957 , by which meter the Met ’s circular grille badge take over a stylise " M " instead of a Nash and Hudson logo . This was done because AMC was spill those marques .
Met historiographer David J. Austin count on that before the alteration some 15,644 Mets had received Nash nameplates , while 4,356 had been badge as Hudsons .
The relief of the run , through 1962 , is detailed on the next page .
1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962 Metropolitan
The 1957 Metropolitan went on sales agreement in Britain in April of that year , where journalists were typically less forgiving than their American cohorts .
The Autocar , for instance , gloss that " secondary route . . . brought about a degree of fore - and - aft pitching which is not notice on the more conservative type of little British railway car . . . . [ The Metropolitan ] is not a car with which one should take liberties in such subject as flying cornering . "
Also during 1957 , rumors surfaced that the Met might be bring out in Australia , but nothing came of the notion . No matter , the car continued to do relatively well in its signify securities industry recession , serve a bite perhaps by run changes to advance the car .
For case , in December 1957 the Met received a full - stream crude oil filter and a glove box door became standard ; in January 1958 a one - art object rearward window was fitted and exterior color were changed .
inquisitively , the severe corner of 1958 put a slight ding in sale , which slipped to 13,128 unit . One would have expect an saving car to fare intimately in an economic drop-off .
But then shipments spirt to 22,209 unit in 1959 , and short the Metropolitan was the 2nd best - betray import car in the U.S. , after Volkswagen . American Motors made much of that in advertising , but miscarry to advert VW ’s 5 1/2 - to-1 margin .
There was another round of improvements that twelvemonth . A functional trunklid was add , along with 5.60 - 13 tubeless tire ( replacing 5.20s ) , and give vent windows ( for draft - free ventilation ) . Standard H.P. go to 55 , thanks to contraction happen from 7.2 to 8.3:1 . The divergence made premium fuel advisable , however , so the 52 - horsepower unit was continued as a no - price alternative .
Then sale begin fall again , with 1960 lading sliding by nearly 38 percent to 13,874 unit . With a satisfying number of unsold cars on hired hand at midyear , AMC halted Metropolitan production even though 1960 would be the third - good year for Met cut-rate sale .
But collective aid was then focused on maintain Rambler ’s spectacular sales event cost increase , and it was patently decided that the Met ’s long - term prospects really were n’t all that bright since it was already seven years old . Then , too , the Met had drop off its chief protagonist with the unexpected decease of George Mason back in October 1954 .
Interestingly , cars continued to be shipped from line on hand for two more year – 969 in 1961 ; 420 in 1962 – before the Met quietly disappeared from AMC showrooms . In all , 94,986 of the dainty Anglo - Americans were sent to the U.S. and Canada : 83,442 to the former , 11,544 to the latter .
estimate argue that about 1,200 stayed in Britain , although Jonathan Glancey , writing in the British magazineClassic and Sportscarin May 1989 , places the anatomy at " about 5,000 . "
One of the humble little Metropolitans even give out to royal family , according to the Rambler Reader : " In recognition of the U.S.-British cooperation in design and manufacturing of the Metropolitan , the British workers liberally collapse Princess Margaret a specially paint Met which she enjoyed driving about in her liberal time . . . that particular car was also democratic with certain non - paying members of the motoring populace , as it was later stolen " in London in February 1961 .
To observe out why the Metropolitan may have run its course in only eight years , see the last division of our clause .
1954-1962 Metropolitan Retrospective
One might ask why the 1954 - 1962 Metropolitan was n’t more successful , given its supporting start . Hindsight suggests several reasons .
Limited seating area capacity was a big drawback . For all purport and design , the Met was a two - seater , but it was n’t a summercater auto , asMotor Trendwriter Walt Woron observed . A duo of prototype station paddy wagon were built during 1960 , fine-looking little auto that might comfortably bear four adult . But a wagon never attain production , and that was potential a mistake .
The three - speed transmission was an obvious functioning hindrance . It would have been just as well-situated , and plausibly as cheap , to utilize the full four - speed Austin gearbox . A compassion that that was n’t done .
Those shrouded front cowcatcher made the Met ’s turn Mexican valium only three feet shorter than that of a full - size Chevrolet . What good was a diminutive elevator car that was n’t all that maneuverable ?
AMC was at least slightly mindful of the problem because in November 1958 the steering was modified to improve the turn circle , but that of course of instruction did n’t help much . The Rambler saw its front wheels exposed for
1955 – the Met would have been profit from the same treatment as well .
Like most small cars of its day economise the VW Beetle , the Met needed rings and valve work much rather than the typical American railway car – not a plus for most Yanks , who tend to consider of auto as appliances that should need nothing more than gas and ( grudgingly ) the occasional quart of oil .
Like many of its British contemporary , the Metropolitan had some bad habits . It was dreadfully " moth-eaten - blooded , " for instance , spue and snorting for miles after the first start of the day . Moreover , shift - gene linkage problem were coarse on former automobile and likely some belated one , too .
As has been historic with " captive imports , " most dealers failed to push the Metropolitan very severely , preferring to steer client toward their more profitable Ramblers . Nor , for that matter , did AMC spend much money on Met advertizement .
Most of all , the market simply was n’t there . Yes , some little European makes made sizable sales inroads during the mid- and late 1950s , but the Brobdingnagian majority of Americans not only preferred but could well afford the Big Three ’s chrome - encrusted dreadnoughts with powerful V-8s and gobs of gadgets .
Rambler bucked the drift , but it was larger and arguably superior to the rival Henry J and Hudson Jet , the main reason it outlasted them . call back , too , that the Crosley , the only other subcompact car to give anything like meaning loudness , pass after 1952 . With all this , it ’s amazing the Met lasted as long as it did .
Still , the Metropolitan has its small place in automotive account . And balancing its subtraction were a few pluses :
Today , the Metropolitan bask a kind of cult status on both side of the Atlantic that has made it a pocket-sized gatherer ’s point . Much of its appeal lies in being a 1950s product from an extinct marque and in the typical , if scaled - down , period American styling – in short , the " big car in miniature " Nash president George Mason envisioned .
A mint first - generation ( 1954 - other 1956 ) convertible now run low for about three times its original port - of - entry price – not bad , all thing consider . Mason would love it .
