Roy Abernethy
| Roy Abernethy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
November 29, 1906 Pennsylvania |
| Died | February 28, 1977 (aged 70) Jupiter, Florida |
| Nationality | United States |
| Awards | Automotive Hall of Fame |
Roy Abernethy (September 29, 1906, Pennsylvania – February 28, 1977, Jupiter, Florida) was an executive in the American automobile industry, serving as CEO of American Motors Corporation (AMC) from February 1962 to January 1967. Prior to his tenure at AMC, Abernethy had been with Packard Motors and Willys-Overland. Abernethy replaced George W. Romney, who resigned from AMC to become Governor of Michigan.
Roy Abernethy began his automotive industry career in 1926 as an apprentice mechanic at luxury automaker, Packard, earning 18 cents per hour. He then moved up establishing success in auto sales, reaching US$1,000,000 in Packard vehicles in a single year from his dealership in Hartford, Connecticut. Abernethy also held the post of vice president of sales at Willys.
American Motors was formed from the merger of Nash Motors and Hudson Motor Car Company, and the company hired Abernethy in 1954. During AMC's formative years, the company struggled with costs and sales. Abernethy became vice president of sales and concentrated on building AMC’s sales and distribution network. He recognized that promotion and advertising are useless without a strong dealer organization, so his first task was to convert every Hudson and Nash dealer into an AMC dealer. He then kept many of these dealers allied with AMC, thus helping to keep the corporation afloat, until AMC found its compact car niche under Romney's leadership. He was known to fly 50,000 miles (80,000 km) a year to make AMC synonymous with the compact car. Abernethy achieved sales successes for the company and by 1962, Rambler was number three in sales rank among all the brands of cars sold in the United States.
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