American Motors
Teague joined American Motors Corporation (AMC) as a member of Edmund E. Anderson's design team in 1959, and became principal designer when Anderson left in 1961. Teague's first assignment, according to designer James W. (Jim) Alexander, was to re-do the front sheetmetal on the 1961 Ambassador. The first cars influenced by Teague's styling were the 1963 Rambler Classic and Ambassador, AMC's first all-new models since 1956. Teague was Vice President from1964 until he retired from AMC in 1983. At his retirement, he joked that the only Detroit auto company he had not worked for was Ford.
Although he worked within tight budget restrictions at AMC, Teague sometimes referred to his times there as "Camelot". Designing several different cars from existing AMC stampings, he worked "relative miracles" compared to the spending norms in this industry. His AMC designs also reconfigured numerous existing parts in new ways. For example, he incorporated the doors from AMC's large-sized automobiles into his design for the new 1964 compact Rambler American.
The AMC Cavalier was a mid-1960s concept car developed to demonstrate this technique of interchangeable body panels and design symmetry. The right front and left rear fenders were identical, as well as the panels for doors, hood, and deck lid all interchanged. The automobile platforms designed by Teague featured numerous interchangeable door skins, glass, and more. For example, the front and rear bumpers on the 1970 AMC Hornet were made from the same stamping. This design talent yielded significant cost savings for the company.
Although the automobile market was changing to a greater focus on quality and fuel efficiency, Teague characterized the work by his design team at AMC as "We still want to make cars with charisma; cars that stand out from the pack ... The future means the large look inside, away from the claustrophobic."
Read more about this topic: Richard A. Teague
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