that 1957 would be the end of both nameplates, and the company would concentrate on the new Rambler line, which was registered as a separate marque for 1957. The market positioning meant that "the AMC Ambassador was a car with no real competitors throughout most of the sixties" because it was viewed as a luxury-type car and could be put against the higher-end large-sized models from the domestic Big Three automakers, but the Ambassador was more of a midsized car. First generation 1958 American Motors planned to produce a stretched a wheelbase version of the Rambler platform for Nash dealers to be the new Nash Ambassador and another for Hudson dealers. Shortly before committing to production of the new long-wheelbase versions of the Hudson and the Nash, CEO Romney decided to abandon the Nash and Hudson marques. Despite the fact that the Nash and Hudson names were canceled, work on the car itself continued, and American Motors introduced debuted in the fall of 1957, the 1958 "Ambassador V-8 by Rambler" on a wheelbase. Its features included the new AMC V8 engine (equipped with a 4-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts and rated at and of torque) mated to a BorgWarner supplied 3-speed automatic transmission with push-button gear selection. In 1956, AMC first produced its own V8, a modern overhead valve V8 displacing , with a forged steel crankshaft, which when equipped with a 4-barrel carburetor, was rated at . In 1957, AMC bored and stroked the 250 CID V8 to displacement, which when offered in the Rambler Rebel used solid lifters and Bendix electronic fuel injection, was rated at . In 1958, the Ambassador was equipped with a hydraulic lifter version of AMC's 327 CID V8 rated at . Although AMC's 327 CID V8 shares its displacement with the Chevrolet small-block, AMC's 327 came out six years before Chevrolet first offered its 327 in 1962. The Ambassador was available in a body style exclusive to its line, a pillarless hardtop Cross Country station wagon. The 1958 Ambassador was offered in a single high-level trim level and came equipped with such luxury items as an electric clock, twin front and rear ashtrays, Nash's traditional "deep coil" spring suspension front and rear, split-back reclining front seats that fold down into a bed, as well as upscale fabrics for the interior. Management had found that the public associated the Rambler name with small economy