New documentary series ‘America’s Last Independent Automaker’ focuses on American Motors Corporation’s history

After nearly eight years of work, a new documentary detailing the rise and fall of American Motors Corporation will air this May on Public Television stations across the country.

The team responsible for creating the documentary includes longtime Old Cars columnist historian/author Patrick Foster, filmmaker Joe Ligo, formerly with the PBS program, MotorWeek, and creative consultant Jimm Needle. Ligo is the head producer while Foster and Needle are co-producers.

The effort involved conducting more than 50 lengthy interviews with former AMC employees from Detroit and Kenosha, plus interviews with two former American Motors CEO’s, along with an interview with Mitt Romney, who discussed his father’s years at the helm, and film clips taken from more than 100 hours of historic videos archived at the Kenosha History Center, Interviewees also include MotorWeek’s John Davis and The Autopian’s David Tracy. Patrick Foster appears on camera as well, explaining what happened and sharing details of decades-old conversations with the many AMC executives he knew personally.

Titled ‘The Last Independent Automaker’, the film is heavily based on Foster’s multiple-decades of AMC research, along with hundreds of historical photos from his massive AMC archive, which includes more than 20,000 press photos. The documentary will consist of six half-hour episodes. It covers the entire history of American Motors from its formation in 1954 until it was bought by Chrysler in 1987. Foster’s latest book ‘The Complete Book of American Motors’ is a tie-in with the film series.

The series is presented by Maryland Public Television (which also produces MotorWeek), and is distributed nationally via American Public Television. The Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn provided production assistance.

The documentary is funded in part by a sponsorship from Visit Detroit, a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and a grant from MotorCities National Heritage Area. Additional support came from private donations and a crowdfunding campaign via GoFundMe.

The Last Independent Automaker will debut nationally on public TV stations and the PBS streaming app in May of 2025. To learn about the new documentary go to www.americanmotorsmovie.com. Those wishing to contribute to the effort can make donations at the site.

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