Before Robert De Niro Was A Star He Promoted Amc's Ambassador In A '70s Car Commercial

Robert De Niro doesn't look to beryllium overmuch of a car guy. Yes, he was erstwhile expected to prima arsenic Enzo Ferrari successful a big-budget biopic, but Adam Driver ended up connected nan surface instead. Then De Niro was slated to subordinate John Boyega successful a Netflix accumulation astir F1 racing. Which, again, ended successful a DNF for De Niro. But extracurricular of his move down nan instrumentality of a Peugeot 406 successful "Ronin" aliases helming a Checker Marathon successful "Taxi Driver," there's not a batch of auto-related footage successful his filmography. Although we could adhd his fascinating 1970s commercialized for nan AMC Ambassador.

In it, De Niro plays a caller assemblage postgraduate and CPA who returns location to a stereotypical New York Italian vicinity to show disconnected his caller ride: a 1970 American Motors Corporation Ambassador. Naturally, he first has to thrust past thoroughfare urchins playing successful an unfastened occurrence hydrant earlier arriving astatine nan family market shop — Florence & Al's Market — wherever his parents can't judge he bought specified a fancy car. It moreover has aerial conditioning! Which was a large woody astatine nan time, pinch nan voice-over reminding folks that nan Ambassador astatine nan clip was nan only car successful its people pinch modular AC.

Nor was this nan only illustration of AMC flexing its Hollywood muscles to move nan metal. Richard Dreyfuss hammed it up arsenic nan leader of what seems to beryllium a pack of car thieves casing a 1968 AMC Javelin successful different of nan automaker's classical TV spots — a apt entrant for our adjacent crippled of conjecture Jalopnik's favourite weird car commercials.

The "Ambassador" sanction had a agelong automotive history earlier De Niro appeared connected nan scene, starting retired arsenic a trim level connected Nash's 1927 range-topping sedans. The Nash Ambassador past debuted successful 1932 arsenic its ain exemplary and became a champion of first nan Nash roster, past those of nan company's successors, Nash-Kelvinator, Rambler, and, finally, AMC.

The AMC Ambassador era began successful 1967 pinch a awesome redesign aimed astatine taking connected nan accepted Big Three from Detroit. That meant expanding nan car's exterior — with a caller creation overseen by nan legendary Richard Teague — to full-size dimensions, while further boasting that nan Ambassadors would be, arsenic shown successful nan Auto Catalog Archive, nan "most luxurious cars ever offered by American Motors." It besides was Teague's awesome artwork that led to nan AMC Gremlin.

However, increasing nan Ambassador correct erstwhile nan manufacture was transitioning to smaller, much businesslike models was a lawsuit of unspeakable timing. Plus, nan "full-size" Ambassador was immoderate 3 inches narrower extracurricular than rivals for illustration nan Plymouth Fury, Chevrolet Impala, and Ford Galaxie, and that was reflected connected nan inside, peculiarly successful position of hep room. 

Passengers faced worse value arsenic well, pinch Consumer Reports (per Indie Auto) singling retired concerns complete nan Ambassador's less-than-stellar ride, handling, and braking — and its expected precocious complaint of depreciation. Beyond those factors, AMCs of nan clip were known for mediocre workmanship, and nan Ambassador was nary different. Even Robert De Niro couldn't thief pinch these problems, and aft years of sinking sales, nan Ambassador itself was sunk aft nan 1974 exemplary year.