You may have seen, heard of or even owned a Nash Rambler from the 1950s. But, believe it or not, there also was a Hudson Rambler, nearly identical to the Nash version, except for the Hudson name and the big, red letter "H" on the hubcaps. Hudson Ramblers are extremely rare. Twice as many Ramblers were sold with the Nash name. The dual-name puzzle originated the year after Hudson and Nash merged in 1954 to form American Motors Corporation. Nash was the dominant partner, but Hudson dealers needed a compact car to sell in 1955, since Hudson's own compact Jet of 1953-'54 had been discontinued. Thus, we have the scarce 1955 and 1956 Hudson Ramblers, as well as the also-rare Hudson Metropolitans (those cute little British-American subcompact cars Nash and AMC offered from 1954 to 1962).

1957 saw the last of the Hudson and Nash names on American Motors cars, so for 1958, the Rambler was simply Rambler, without a prefix.

The mid-'50s Ramblers like this one had enormous, gaping grilles that distracted from an otherwise stylish look. 1955 and 1956 saw glamorous three-tone paint combinations on many deluxe editions of various American cars, including this dressy Hudson Rambler.

Once considered a "sleeper," Rambler has been gaining in popularity with collectors, who've finally begun to respect the many good engineering qualities, reliability and overall economy of AMC cars. And speaking of "sleepers," Nash cars offered a back seat and front seat that could be folded flat together to form a bed for travelers who wanted to save hotel and motel rent.

Nash first offered that seat-bed feature in 1935, but Durant featured it in 1931, and the rare Pan car offered it way back in 1919.