770 models for 1966. Available for the first time was a floor-mounted four-speed manual transmission and a dash-mounted tachometer. Classics received particular attention to the styling of the roofs for 1966. The two-door hardtop models received a rectangular rear window and a more formal and angular "crisp-line" roofline that could be covered with vinyl trim. Sedans had an optional trim-outlined "halo" roof accent color. The station wagon's roof area over the cargo compartment was at the same level as the rest of the roof, no longer dipped down as in prior years. The wagons carried Cross Country insignia and featured of cargo space, as well as a standard roof rack. Two wagon seating capacities were available: a standard six-passenger version with two rows of seats with a drop-down bottom-hinged tailgate incorporating a fully retracting rear window for accessing cargo, or in an optional eight-passenger version with three rows of seats (the third rear-facing) and a left-side hinged rear fifth door. The name Classic was no longer considered a positive factor in the marketplace and AMC began reshuffling model names in 1966. Rambler Rebel A top-of-the-line version of the two-door hardtop Classic was offered under the historic Rambler Rebel name. It replaced the 770-H and featured special badges and standard slim-type bucket seats with optional checked upholstery with two matching pillows. Public reaction to the tartan touch appearing in some of AMC's "Project IV" automobile show tour cars, was judged favorable enough to make the unique trim available on the Rebel hardtop. Serving as one example to verify how AMC products were sometimes derided by the automotive press, Popular Science magazine wrote that the new "Rambler Rebel reveals a sudden interest in performance," but its handling package cannot overcome the car's obsolete suspension design. However, AMC was reluctant to forfeit their Nash engineered suspension design which employed a strut-type front and a Panhard rod controlled torque tube rear-drive system, both having long coil springs to place the upper spring seats higher into the body of the car. This feature was to afford a softer ride quality and better handling by reducing the geometrical leverage of the car's center of gravity for less body roll "sway" in cornering. What was labeled as "obsolete" is juxtaposed by noting how General Motors employed a similar suspension system on their third generation Camaro and Firebird nearly twenty years later which had MacPherson strut front and