line was designed with several body styles, but the inaugural year was limited to a single model: a fully equipped 2-door fixed-profile convertible. The decision to bring the new car out first in a higher market segment with more standard features was a calculated risk by Mason. Foremost in this strategy was the need to give the new Rambler a positive public image. Mason knew the car would fail if seen by the public as a "cheap little car". This was confirmed in small car comparisons in the media that described the "well-equipped and stylish, the little Rambler is economical and easy to drive" with no "stripped-down" versions, but available in only high-end convertible, station wagon, or hardtop (no "B-pillar") body styles. He knew what Crosley was just finding out with its line of mini cars, and what the Henry J would teach Kaiser Motors; namely, that Americans would rather buy a nice used car than a new car that is perceived as inferior or substandard. Like other fixed-profile convertibles, but unlike traditional convertibles that used frame-free side windows, the Rambler retained the bodywork's doors and rear-side window frames. This metal structure served as the side guides or rails for the retractable waterproof canvas top. This design allowed Nash to utilize its unibody construction on its new compact. It made the body very rigid for an open-top car, without additional bracing. The strength of the windshield pillars and roof-rail structure was demonstrated by the entire car flipped upside down and the rails and supports were undamaged. The convertible top is cable-driven and electrically operated. The design is similar to other fixed-profile convertibles including the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino", Nissan Figaro (1991), Citroën 2CV (1948–1990), Vespa 400 (1957), and the 1957 Fiat 500 (1957) as well as its 2007 Fiat 500 successor. In developing this new car, Nash had originally planned to call it the Diplomat. This name would have rounded out the Nash family of cars; as for 1950, the 600 line was renamed the Statesman, and the Ambassador remained the flagship line. When the managers learned that Dodge had already reserved the Diplomat name for a planned two-door hardtop body style, Nash delved into its own past, and resurrected the Rambler name from an 1897 prototype and its first production model, in 1902. Rambler was also one of the popular early American automobile brands. On 22 May 1950, the