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Origins and Logo Archive

What we compareAMCAbbott-Detroit
Country in archiveUnited StatesUnited States
FoundedMay 1, 19541909
FounderGeorge W. MasonAbbott Motor Company
HeadquartersSouthfield, Michigan, United StatesDetroit, Michigan, United States
Name originAmerican Motors Corporation took its name directly from its own description: a newly combined, all-American automaker formed on May 1, 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company merged. Unlike brands named for a founder's surname, "American Motors" was a descriptive, patriotic corporate name chosen for the merged company itself, and "AMC" is simply the initials the public and the company came to use for it. No more elaborate origin story for the specific wording appears to be documented.The name pairs Abbott, the name of the Abbott Motor Company, with Detroit, the city where the cars were built. The sources consulted do not say who Abbott was, so the exact origin of the surname is not confirmed here. Naming a car after both a maker and a home city was common among early automobile builders.
Selected modelsRambler, AMX, Javelin, Gremlin, Pacer, EagleFore Door Roadster, Battleship Roadster, Model F, Model L, Model K
Earliest archived brand logo19541909
Latest archived logo19691909
Archived logo assets31

Logo dates are archive labels; symbols dated before a brand's founding are excluded from its earliest-logo date. Asset counts include all archived variants, not just redesigns. A dash means a value is unavailable.

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