Born from the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson in 1954, the American Motors Corporation (often shortened to American Motors or AMC) always came in a far-distant fourth to the Big Three – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler – in the sales race. Many of AMCs most famous designs, like the Gremlin and Pacer, were flawed but brave and AMC benefitted greatly from the work of its talented head designer Dick Teague. Several AMCs like the Javelin pony car and the two-seat AMX brought a performance image to the company, while the forward-thinking, four-wheel drive Eagle preceded crossover SUVs by many years. AMC always operated on a tight budget compared to its competitors in Detroit. At one point or another it controlled the Hudson, Nash, Rambler and Jeep brands, but AMC struggled through the 1980s and a strategic partnership with French carmaker Renault did not prove fruitful. In March 1987, Chrysler bought Renault’s stake in American Motors plus all remaining shares for $1.5B.