title: Donald Neilson

text: Lesley Whittle's body was found on 7 March 1975, hanging from a wire at the bottom of the drainage shaft where he had tethered her in Bathpool Park, at Kidsgrove, Staffordshire. The subsequent post-mortem examination showed that Whittle had died from vagal inhibition, not from strangulation. The shock of the fall had caused her heart to stop.


title: Donald Neilson

text: Some analysts thought it was possible Neilson pushed Whittle off the ledge where he had kept her. An alternative scenario is that Neilson was not present when Whittle died, and that he had panicked and fled on the night of the failed ransom collection without returning to the shaft, believing the police were closing in on him. Whittle may have lived in the dark for a considerable period of time before she fell to her death. The pathologist noted that Whittle weighed only when found, her stomach and intestines were completely empty, she had lost a considerable amount of weight, and was emaciated. He concluded that she had not eaten for a minimum of three days, the length of time it takes for food to pass through the body, but said the actual duration may have been much longer.


title: Donald Neilson

text: In his closing speech for the defence, Gilbert Gray QC described the conditions that Neilson provided for Whittle, noting ways that he tried to provide for her comfort. For instance, he asked the jury whether they believed any hangman's noose would be padded and lagged with 77½ inches of Elastoplast to avoid chafing, or that any scaffold would be cushioned for comfort by a rubber mattress and sleeping bags. He noted that Whittle would not have died if the wire had not snagged on a stanchion, because her feet were only six inches from the bottom of the shaft, the QC clarified:


title: Donald Neilson

text: “This is not something the defence has made up. Her height from the neck was four feet, and there was a five feet length of ligature, giving an overall length of nine feet. The drop from the landing to the floor of the tunnel was six feet eleven inches, so that if it had not been for the unforeseen snagging which shortened the tether, there would have been two feet to spare, and she would have landed on her feet at the bottom of the shaft.”


title: Donald Neilson

text: The QC asked the jury why Neilson bothered to keep her alive once he had recorded the ransom messages, arguing he could have simply clubbed her to death, and hidden the body in woodland. Gray finished his speech by opining, “I submit that when Lesley Whittle went over the platform, it was an unlooked for misadventure, unplanned and undesired. Neilson started something that went hideously wrong.”


title: Donald Neilson

text: In December 1975, two police officers, Tony White and Stuart Mackenzie, were in a panda car in a side road, keeping a watch on the main A60 trunk road that led out of Mansfield in North Nottinghamshire, when they spotted a small, wiry man carrying a holdall walking alongside the road. As he passed the police car, he averted his face, drawing Mackenzie’s attention. As a matter of routine, they called him over to question him. The man answered that he was on his way home from work, but then produced a sawn-off shotgun from the holdall. He ordered White into the back of the car, and the policeman complied and opened the car door. However, the gunman rapidly grew impatient and snapped, “No time for that, climb the seat!” The officer did so, and the gunman settled into the passenger seat, jamming the gun into Mackenzie’s armpit.


title: Donald Neilson

text: The assailant ordered them to drive to Rainworth, six miles away, and commanded them not to look at him. This presented Mackenzie with a problem. Gently, he explained to the gunman that they were going the wrong way, and he would have to turn the car around. The gunman agreed, but warned both officers that if there were any tricks, they would both be dead. As they were driving along Southwell Road, the gunman asked if they had any rope.


title: Donald Neilson

text: As White pretended to look, Mackenzie reached a junction in the road, and seized upon an opportunity to disorient the carjacker. Turning the steering wheel violently one way then the other, he asked, “Which way, left or right?” causing the gunman to look towards the road ahead. White saw the gun drop a few inches, and realised this was his chance; he pushed the gun forwards, and Mackenzie stamped on the brake. They screeched to a halt outside the 'Junction Chip Shop' in Rainworth. The gun went off, grazing White's hand. Mackenzie fell out of the driver’s seat, banging his head on the road. He staggered to his feet, and ran towards the fish and chip shop screaming for help.


title: Donald Neilson

text: Two men, Roy Morris and Keith Wood, ran from the queue outside the chip shop, and helped overpower Neilson. Wood subdued the gunman with a blow to the neck before Morris grabbed his wrists, and held them for White to snap on the handcuffs. The locals attacked him so severely that in the end, the police had to protect him. They hauled Neilson to iron railings at the side of a bus stop, and handcuffed him there before calling for back-up.


title: Donald Neilson

text: In the subsequent investigation, Neilson's fingerprints were found to match one of those in the drain shaft. In the interview at Kidsgrove police station, when he confessed to the kidnap of Whittle, Neilson gave an 18-page statement to DCS Harold Wright, head of Staffordshire CID, and Commander Morrison of Scotland Yard, with the statement handwritten by DCI Walter Boreham.


title: Donald Neilson

text: During Neilson's trial at Oxford Crown Court, his defence lawyer, Gilbert Gray QC, contended that Whittle had accidentally fallen from the ledge, and died as a result. He noted that Neilson had fed her chicken soup, spaghetti and meatballs, and bought her fish and chips, chicken legs, and Polo mints. The prosecution contested these claims. Evidence showed that Neilson had provided his victim with a sleeping bag designed to prevent hypothermia, mattresses, survival blankets, survival bags, a bottle of brandy, six paperback books, a copy of the "Times" and two magazines for reading, a small puzzle, and two brightly-coloured napkins. These items were found in the shaft, and in the subterranean canal running below it, by the police.


title: Donald Neilson

text: In July 1976, Neilson was convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Lesley Whittle, for which he was given a life sentence. Three weeks later, he was convicted of the murders of two postmasters and the husband of a postmistress. In total, Neilson received five life sentences. The judge, Mr Justice Mars-Jones, also gave Neilson a further 61 years: 21 years for kidnapping Lesley Whittle, and 10 years for blackmailing her mother. Three further sentences of 10 years each were imposed for the two burglary charges, when he stole guns and ammunition, and for possessing the sawn-off shotgun with intent to endanger life.


title: Donald Neilson

text: All the sentences were to run concurrently. The judge told Neilson that the enormity of his crimes put him in a class apart from almost all other convicted murderers in recent years. Neilson's defence team, solicitor, Barrington Black, junior counsel, Norman Jones, and leading counsel, Gilbert Gray, all claimed that his conviction was a reflection of public opinion, a backlash of the publicity given to the hunt for the kidnapper and killer, and that he should have been convicted only of the lesser charge of manslaughter.


title: Donald Neilson

text: Neilson was acquitted of the attempted murders of sub-postmistress Margaret Grayland and PC Tony White, but found guilty of the lesser alternative charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mrs. Grayland, and of possessing a shotgun with the intent of endangering life at Mansfield. A charge of attempting to murder security guard Gerald Smith, whom Neilson shot six times while checking the Whittle ransom trail, was not pursued due to legal complications. Smith died more than a year and a day after being shot. The trial judge recommended that Neilson receive a whole life tariff. After the verdicts, Gray visited his client in a cell below the courthouse, and found Neilson in the corner of his cell, curled up in a foetal position, purportedly dejected, and allegedly filled with remorse for Whittle and her family.


title: Donald Neilson

text: According to Harry Hawkes, when Donald Neilson was first caught in Mansfield, his wife, Irene, became worried when he failed to return home. Irene burned around fifty postal orders in their coal fire. Police noticed the charred remains within the chimney when the house was later searched. Irene Neilson was later convicted of cashing over eighty stolen postal orders that had come from one of her husband's post office raids.


title: Donald Neilson

text: She claimed to have been forced into cashing these items in various post offices over a large area. Her solicitor, Barrington Black, placed the blame squarely on Donald Neilson’s complete domination of his wife, describing him as a “Svengali, who had exercised a hypnotic influence.” Black added, “He was a quasi-military figure who barked orders at his wife and daughter, and woe betide anyone who disobeyed him.”


title: Donald Neilson

text: The solicitor said he felt this portrayal was confirmed by Donald Neilson when he had visited him in his top security cell. It seemed a formality that Irene, then aged 42 with no previous convictions, would be placed on probation, but a court report said that probation would not be suitable. Black pressed hard for Irene Neilson to be fined, asking the magistrates if she really deserved to be harshly treated for a situation that was forced upon her, and insisted her last three years with Neilson before his arrest had been “hell.” The magistrates responded that while they had every sympathy with a lady before the courts for the first time, they regarded her activities as a deliberate course of conduct. She received twelve months in prison per official court records. An appeal was immediately lodged.


title: Donald Neilson

text: Gilbert Gray QC was briefed to represent her, and he produced Donald Neilson as a surprise witness. The QC told the judge, sitting with two magistrates, that he was anxious that the court should be aware of the pressure and constraints placed upon Mrs. Neilson as a result of her husband. Gray described how Neilson “was the man who struck fear and dread into pretty much the whole community, and this woman lived with him.” However, the judges found Donald Neilson's testimony to have a “vagueness,” and they upheld his wife's conviction and sentence.


title: Donald Neilson

text: While Irene was in prison, a major newspaper paid a large amount for the Neilsons' story. Six years later, in an interview with "The Sunday People", Irene Neilson claimed that she doubted she would have been jailed had she not been Neilson's wife. She said everyone had wanted blood after her husband's trial. In the event, she served eight months before being released with full remission for good behaviour.


title: Donald Neilson

text: Following subsequent legal judgements in various other cases, and the implications of European Union Human Rights laws, Neilson was confirmed on numerous occasions to be on the Home Office's list of prisoners with whole life tariffs. A succession of Home Secretaries ruled that life should mean life for Neilson. In 2008, Neilson applied to the High Court to have his minimum term reverted to 30 years. On 12 June 2008, Mr. Justice Teare upheld the whole life tariff, and imparted:


title: Donald Neilson

text: In the early hours of 17 December 2011, Neilson was taken from Norwich Prison to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with breathing difficulties. He was pronounced dead the next day.


title: Donald Neilson

text: Neilson’s life and crimes were portrayed in the 1977 film "The Black Panther", starring Donald Sumpter as Neilson. It was released on DVD in 2012.


title: Donald Neilson

text: A fictionalised account of the Whittle kidnapping and Neilson's trial forms the basis of Adam Mars-Jones's short-story “Bathpool Park,” which attempted to show how the court and judge had "missed the point." Mars-Jones's father, Sir William Mars-Jones, presided over the trial, and Adam Mars-Jones served as his father's marshal.


title: Donald Neilson

text: A television documentary titled "The Abduction of Lesley Whittle" explores her abduction and murder by Neilson, and was aired on UK television by Channel 5 on 11 October 2021.


title: Vakkantham Vamsi

text: Vakkantham Vamsi is an Indian screenwriter and director in Telugu cinema. His notable screenwriting credits include "Kick" (2009), "Yevadu" (2014), "Race Gurram" (2014), and "Temper" (2015).


title: Vakkantham Vamsi

text: He was born in Arikela village near Punganur in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh and graduated from Sri Venkateswara University. He continued his father's Vakkantham Suryanarayana Rao legacy in writings. He gained recognition for his language diction and acting skills during his schooling. Vamsi started his career as a News presenter, television anchor and starred as Suka Muni in Bapu – Ramana's tele serial "Bhagavatham" telecasted on ETV. He made his Telugu film debut with "Kalyana Prapthirasthu" opposite Suma, directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. After the release of his film "Kick" he became one of the popular writers of Telugu Cinema.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (NYRE) is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop event, along with live and pre-recorded musical performances by popular musicians from Times Square and Hollywood. Since 2016–17, the special has regularly included performances and coverage of midnight festivities from New Orleans in the Central Time Zone as well.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Its creator and namesake was the entertainer Dick Clark, who conceived "New Year's Rockin' Eve" as a younger-skewing competitor to Guy Lombardo's popular and long-running New Year's Eve big band broadcasts on CBS. The special first aired on December 31, 1972; its first two editions were broadcast by NBC, and hosted by Three Dog Night and George Carlin, respectively, with Clark anchoring coverage from Times Square. In 1974–75, the program moved to its current home of ABC, and Clark assumed the role of host. Since 2000–01, the special has broadcast segments in prime time alongside the main late-night broadcast; initially occupying the 10:00 p.m. ET/PT hour, from 2011–12 onward the special has occupied the entirety of ABC's primetime schedule on New Year's Eve.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Following the death of Guy Lombardo and the decline of CBS's specials, "New Year's Rockin' Eve" grew in popularity and became ingrained in pop culture—prompting Clark himself to make appearances on other programs in parodies of his role. "New Year's Rockin' Eve" has consistently remained the highest-rated New Year's Eve special broadcast by the United States' major television networks; its 2012 edition peaked at 22.6 million home viewers—not including viewers watching from public locations, which were not measured by Nielsen at the time.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Dick Clark hosted "New Year's Rockin' Eve" annually from 1973 through 1999 and from 2001 through 2004. For 2000, in lieu of "New Year's Rockin' Eve", Clark joined overall host Peter Jennings as a guest co-host in Times Square for ABC News' day-long "ABC 2000 Today" broadcast. In December 2004, Clark suffered a stroke, which resulted in Regis Philbin serving as guest host. Due to lingering speech impediments from the stroke, Clark ceded hosting duties to Ryan Seacrest the following year, but continued to make limited appearances as a co-host until his death in 2012. Hosting solo since the 2012–13 edition, Seacrest has typically been joined by Jenny McCarthy as a correspondent from Times Square (McCarthy ceded correspondent duties following the 2019 edition), with Ciara serving as the presenter of the Hollywood concert segments. Through its deal with Dick Clark Productions, "New Year's Rockin' Eve" will remain on ABC through at least 2024.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: "New Year's Rockin' Eve" is primarily broadcast from Times Square in New York City, providing coverage of the New Year's Eve festivities held there, and culminating with the long-running ball drop approaching midnight. The lead-up to the program features performances by popular musicians; some of these performances (particularly headlining acts) originate live from a stage in Times Square, but the majority of the performances are presented via pre-recorded segments (branded since the 2014–15 edition as the ""Billboard" Hollywood Party", co-branded with co-owned music magazine "Billboard)" from Los Angeles.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Since 2005, Ryan Seacrest has hosted the live show outside in Times Square, joined by a celebrity correspondent providing additional reports from attendees. From his return and until his death, Dick Clark hosted a limited number of segments from Times Square Studios throughout the broadcast, including the countdown. Clark carried on with his tradition of kissing his wife, Kari Wigton, at midnight.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Since the 2000–01 edition, the special has begun with a segment in prime time, which was initially branded as "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve", and is presently billed for ratings purposes as "Part II". Initially airing at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, the prime time block was extended to 8:00 p.m. ("Part I") beginning with the 2011–12 edition. From 2011–12 to 2013–14, "Part I" primarily featured retrospectives drawing from the Dick Clark Productions library, including the top "New Year's Rockin' Eve" performances of all-time (in honor of the special's 40th anniversary), and the top women in music. Since the 2021–22 edition, the prime time block has concluded with coverage of midnight celebrations in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico at 11:00 p.m. ET (midnight AT).


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Following a break for late local programming (such as late-night newscasts), the third part of "New Year's Rockin' Eve"—which includes the countdown to midnight in Times Square—begins at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT; some stations may tape delay this segment in order to correspond to the local time zone. Since the 2016–17 edition, the live coverage from Times Square has been followed by live coverage of festivities from New Orleans, including Jackson Square's fleur-de-lis drop at midnight in the Central Time Zone. After the conclusion of live coverage, the show continues into its fourth and final part, which features the remainder of the pre-recorded concert segments. Part IV, which typically fills the remaining 65 minutes of the special (up to approximately 2:10 a.m. ET/PT), has run as late as 3:00 a.m. ET/PT in the past.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Prior to the premiere of "New Year's Rockin' Eve", the most well-known New Year's Eve program was the annual big band remote of bandleader Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, broadcast from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Guy Lombardo hosted 48 straight New Year's Eve broadcasts on CBS until his death in 1977, beginning on radio in 1928 (and for a period, splitting with NBC Radio following midnight ET), and on CBS Television from 1956 to 1976 (which also featured coverage of the ball drop in Times Square). Lombardo was also well known for his band's performance of the song "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight, which helped make the standard synonymous with the New Year's holiday in North America.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: At the time, Dick Clark was well known as the host of "American Bandstand", a music program produced from the studios of Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV) and broadcast by ABC (which itself aired a New Year's Eve special on December 31, 1959).


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: In the 1970s, Clark felt that Guy Lombardo's New Year's specials were outdated and did not appeal well to younger viewers; he believed that only older viewers would be interested in big band music accompanied by "people dancing cheek-to-jowl in their tuxedos and funny hats". In response, he decided to produce a more youthful New Year's Eve special of his own to compete. Clark's new program would be known as "New Year's Rockin' Eve", a name chosen to signify the major contrast between his special and the more formal atmosphere of Guy Lombardo's special. The first edition, Three Dog Night's New Year's Rockin' Eve, was aired by NBC on December 31, 1972, and was hosted by the members of the rock band Three Dog Night. The special featured pre-recorded musical performances from the ballroom of the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California by Helen Reddy, Billy Preston, and Three Dog Night. Clark served as a reporter from Times Square for live coverage of the ball drop and arrival of 1973.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The second special, New Year's Rockin' Eve 1974, also on NBC, was hosted by comedian George Carlin and featured pre-recorded musical performances by The Pointer Sisters, Billy Preston, Linda Ronstadt and Tower of Power once again from the Queen Mary ballroom. Beginning with the 1975 edition, the program moved to ABC and Clark assumed hosting duties; billed as Chicago's New Year's Rockin' Eve 1975 and seen as part of "ABC's Wide World of Entertainment" late-night block, the first ABC edition was headlined by the rock band Chicago, with guests The Beach Boys, The Doobie Brothers, Herbie Hancock and Olivia Newton-John, in segments pre-recorded at MGM Studios in Hollywood.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Following Guy Lombardo's death in 1977, CBS and the Royal Canadians attempted to continue their New Year's Eve broadcasts from the Waldorf-Astoria for 1977–78. However, the effects of Lombardo's absence led to a decline in viewership, allowing "New Year's Rockin' Eve" to overtake the Royal Canadians in viewership in only its sixth year on-air. The threat of the new special also prompted CBS to drop the Royal Canadians entirely in 1979 in favor of a new special, "Happy New Year, America", which premiered for New Year's Eve 1979–80. With its recent success, Clark began hoping that "New Year's Rockin' Eve" would become a television tradition of its own, lamenting that "Lombardo would always win [in New York] because of the Waldorf and 35 years of tradition, but we finally got it wrested." Clark's hopes soon became reality, as "New Year's Rockin' Eve" had displaced Guy Lombardo as the most popular and most-watched New Year's Eve special on American television in the years following.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 1980 edition was co-hosted by Erin Moran and John Schneider of "Happy Days" and "The Dukes of Hazzard" respectively, and continued with Clark's goal to showcase acts that represented the previous year by featuring Barry Manilow, Blondie, Chic, The Oak Ridge Boys, and the Village People as performers. The 1988 edition was co-hosted by "China Beach" cast members Marg Helgenberger and Brian Wimmer from the Cocoanut Grove club at the Ambassador Hotel. In 1990, New Year's Eve fell on a Monday, that night ABC broadcast the "Monday Night Football" game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints. Fearing that his special wouldn't start on time, Clark asked ABC to move the start time one hour early to 8 PM EST so the special would run at its normal time. Mark Curry and Holly Robinson of the ABC sitcom "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" co-hosted for 1993–94, with segments at Walt Disney World featuring performances by acts such as Brooks and Dunn and Kiss, along with the marriage of two California firefighters, Laura Turpin and Bob Hutnyan.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 1994–95 edition was co-hosted with Margaret Cho and Steve Harvey, and included musical performances from Melissa Etheridge, Hootie & the Blowfish and Salt-N-Pepa.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 1996–97 edition was co-hosted by Stacey Dash and Donald Faison of the ABC comedy series "Clueless", and included performances by Jann Arden, Kiss, "Weird Al" Yankovic, The Presidents of the United States of America, and The Tony Rich Project. This edition also marked the 25th anniversary of "New Year's Rockin' Eve"; Clark marked this accomplishment by discussing the greatest challenges he had faced hosting the special; including being unable to hear his director over the loud crowds of Times Square, harsh weather conditions, and a year where the emcee had to contend with a group of 30 nude attendees in the background. Clark aimed to continue hosting the special through the year 2000. Ultimately, Clark hosted the program nearly uninterrupted through 2004. The late-night portion of the 1997–98 edition was followed by a second, hour-long special at 1:05 a.m., "After New Year's Eve", which was hosted by David Sanborn and featured Boz Scaggs, Isaac Hayes, Dr. John, Joan Osborne, Lou Reed, and Naughty by Nature.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The popularity of "New Year's Rockin' Eve" also resulted in Clark making appearances on other television series to reference his role. During a Y2K-themed short in "The Simpsons"' 1999 Halloween special "Treehouse of Horror X", Clark made a cameo appearance hosting a New Year's Eve event in Springfield. The Y2K bug caused the emcee to melt, exposing him as a robot. In an interview following the episode's airing with its writer, Ron Hauge, Clark said that the episode gave the "biggest response" he had ever gotten from anything he had ever done. Clark made a further appearance during the pilot episode of fellow Matt Groening series "Futurama", "Space Pilot 3000", where Clark's head (as preserved in a jar) hosts "New Year's Rockin' Eve 3000". In the 1994 film "Forrest Gump", footage of Clark from the first edition of "New Year's Rockin' Eve" is seen on a television at a bar during a scene of the film taking place on New Year's Eve in 1972. "New Year's Rockin' Eve" was also the subject of an episode of the sitcom "Friends", "The One with the Routine", in which Janine Lecroix invites Joey, Ross, and Monica to attend a studio taping for "New Year's Rockin' Eve" as audience members.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: On December 31, 1999, in lieu of "New Year's Rockin' Eve", ABC News presented "ABC 2000 Today", a day-long telecast hosted by Peter Jennings which, as part of a consortium of broadcasters, presented coverage of international and U.S. festivities celebrating the arrival of the year 2000. Clark joined Jennings and ABC News reporter Jack Ford as correspondents for coverage from Times Square. They were among the key members of the team of more than 1,000 members of the ABC News division in New York, London, and elsewhere around the world that were part of the broadcast, which also included correspondents/anchors Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, and Sam Donaldson and London Bureau chief Rex Granum. They were all under the direction of ABC's Roger Goodman. The "ABC 2000 Today" telecast overall also received a Peabody Award. Reflecting on the event, Clark was enthusiastic about his participation, feeling that New Year's Eve 2000 was one of the biggest nights he had ever spent in Times Square.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: "New Year's Rockin' Eve" returned to ABC the following New Year's Eve for the arrival of 2001. The 2000–01 edition also introduced a new primetime hour at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, which featured additional segments and music performances to lead into the main program. Clark felt positive about the program's expansion into primetime – believing that viewers, no matter where they were, wanted to know what was going on in Times Square on New Year's Eve. Clark was joined by "Fox & Friends" anchor Steve Doocy, and Madison Michelle as reporters in Times Square. Comedian Wayne Brady hosted concert segments in Hollywood, which included performances by 98 Degrees, Baha Men, Boyz II Men, Lonestar, and Third Eye Blind among others.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 2002 edition of "New Year's Rockin' Eve", its 29th edition, featured pre-recorded concert performances from tours by Aerosmith, Destiny's Child, and Elton John during the primetime hour, followed by studio segments (again hosted by Wayne Brady) featuring performances by Blink-182, Bush, Busta Rhymes, Jessica Simpson, LFO, The O'Jays, and Pink. The primetime hour of "New Year's Rockin' Eve 2002" was also preceded by "ABC 2002", a follow-up to the "ABC 2000 Today" special, hosted by Peter Jennings from the Rose Center for Earth and Space. The two-hour special featured a "meaningful and reflective" view on New Year's celebrations from around the world, and also included performances by Arlo Guthrie, Sting, and U2. Clark personally felt that 2002, since it was the first in the wake of the September 11 attacks, was the most "nerve-racking" New Year's Eve he had ever experienced.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: On December 8, 2004, it was reported that Clark had been hospitalized after suffering from a minor stroke. Despite Clark indicating his participation in "New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005" in a prepared statement, reports soon surfaced that the stroke may have been serious enough to prevent him from hosting at all. It was officially announced on December 14 that Dick Clark would not be hosting, and that Regis Philbin would fill in for Clark. In a statement, Clark said that he was thankful that Philbin was able to quickly step in on short notice to host the show, and hoped that he would do a good job. Philbin was optimistic about his role, considering it the "best temp job ever".


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Various personalities paid tribute to Clark throughout the night on New Year's Eve; the "New Year's Rockin' Eve" broadcast featured special celebrity messages for Clark, and revelers in Times Square were seen with signs saluting Clark. During CNN's coverage, revelers in Times Square told CNN's Jason Carroll that Philbin was "all right" filling in for Clark (but still had Anderson Cooper and Carroll too). Mayor Michael Bloomberg also spoke with Philbin on Clark's absence during the show, noting that "it isn't that we don't like Regis, but we want [Clark] back next year."


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Philbin's hosting received mixed reviews: Richard Huff of the "New York Daily News" noted that Philbin's hosting was "stiff" at first, and suggested that he would have performed better if he had a co-host to interact with like his daytime talk show "Live with Regis and Kelly". In conclusion, he considered Philbin's performance to be "suitable – although not spectacular". Virginia Heffernan of "The New York Times" believed that Philbin was feeling "surprisingly nervous" in his role at host, and felt that "rowdy crowds" (which Philbin chose to avoid by staying in the studio) and the success of Rod Stewart's career (which Philbin pounced on to promote his new album, "When You're Smiling") were bothering him.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: In August 2005, ABC announced that Dick Clark would return to "New Year's Rockin' Eve" for its 2006 edition, marking his first television appearance since the stroke. For that broadcast, it was also announced Clark would be joined by a new co-host, media personality and "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest. Seacrest had previously hosted Fox's competing "New Year's Eve Live"—which, ironically, would be hosted by Philbin that year. Speaking to "USA Today", Seacrest reminisced on having watched "New Year's Rockin' Eve" in his childhood, stating that "I knew when I was on other shows, I knew we weren't going to beat Dick Clark. He is New Year's Eve." As a part of a long-term deal with Dick Clark Productions, Seacrest also became an executive producer for the special. In an interview with "People Magazine" in December 2005, Seacrest revealed that while Clark had not completely recovered from the stroke, and that his speech was not exactly like how it was beforehand, Clark had made great progress since the original diagnosis.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Alongside pre-recorded performances from Hollywood hosted by actress and pop singer Hilary Duff, the 2006 edition also featured a live performance by Mariah Carey directly inside Times Square – the first such performance in the show's history. Live performances from Times Square became a regular feature during future editions of "New Year's Rockin' Eve".


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: During the program, Clark made limited on-air appearances, but still conducted his traditional countdown, and also recollected on his recent experiences:


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Public curiosity over Clark's condition and his return to television helped "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2006" draw in over 20 million viewers throughout the night, and score a 7.1 audience share among the key demographic of 18- to 49-year-olds. Reaction to Clark's appearance was mixed. While some TV critics (including Tom Shales of "The Washington Post", in an interview with the CBS Radio Network) felt he was not in good enough shape to do the broadcast, stroke survivors and many of Clark's fans praised the emcee for being a role model for people dealing with post-stroke recovery. "The New York Times" Brian Stelter compared Seacrest's new role as co-host of "Rockin' Eve" to being like a "traffic cop", "tossing to bands and correspondents and to Mr. Clark for the countdown".


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Following the 2006 edition, Dick Clark Productions announced that Seacrest had agreed to remain a host for future editions of "New Year's Rockin' Eve". As he was still afflicted with speech impediments that resulted from dysarthria, a lingering effect of his stroke, Clark's role in the special was reduced; he continued to make limited on-air appearances from Times Square Studios as co-host near midnight, and still conducted his traditional countdown, but Seacrest hosted the majority of the program outside in Times Square itself.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 2008 edition featured live performances from Times Square by Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers. Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas hosted concert segments from Hollywood, which also featured performances by Akon, Natasha Bedingfield, Sean Kingston, OneRepublic, Plain White T's, Taylor Swift and will.i.am. Seacrest's increased role as host was recognized beginning on the 2009 edition, as the special was officially renamed Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest. It featured live performances by the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, and Lionel Richie, with Kellie Pickler serving as a correspondent. Hollywood segments featured performances by Fall Out Boy, Jesse McCartney, Natasha Bedingfield, Ne-Yo, The Pussycat Dolls, Solange, Robin Thicke and will.i.am.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: For its 2010 edition, headlining performances in Times Square included Daughtry, and Jennifer Lopez (who infamously wore a dark-colored catsuit for her performance to mixed reviews), while Melissa Rycroft served as a correspondent. Fergie hosted concert segments on-location from Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring performances by her group The Black Eyed Peas, Colbie Caillat, Robin Thicke, Keri Hilson, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, David Guetta, and Orianthi. "American Idol" season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert stated that he was also reportedly scheduled to perform, but dropped from both "Rockin' Eve" and a scheduled appearance on fellow ABC program "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in response to his controversial performance at the American Music Awards (which are also produced by Dick Clark Productions). Neither ABC nor Dick Clark Productions ever confirmed whether or not Lambert had been booked at all, however.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 2011 edition featured live performances by Kesha, Taio Cruz and the supergroup NKOTBSB (the combined Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block), and actress Jenny McCarthy served as a reporter from Times Square. Fergie reprised her role as host for the pre-recorded Hollywood segments, which included performances by Avril Lavigne (which featured the world premiere of "What the Hell", the first single from her then-upcoming album "Goodbye Lullaby"), Natasha Bedingfield (who performed her latest single "Strip Me"), Jennifer Hudson, Ne-Yo, Train, Mike Posner, Willow Smith, Jason Derülo, Far East Movement, La Roux, Kesha, and Drake. Viewership for the 2011 edition peaked at around 19 million viewers.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 2011–12 edition was once again hosted by Seacrest, with Clark co-hosting what would become his final appearance on the program. Fergie co-hosted for the sixth consecutive year for the pre-taped Hollywood segments, while Jenny McCarthy returned for her second year corresponding from Times Square. Musical guests in Times Square included Lady Gaga (who also joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg in activating the ball drop), Justin Bieber, Pitbull and Hot Chelle Rae. Performers in the Hollywood segments included Taio Cruz, Nicki Minaj, Blink-182, Florence and the Machine, LMFAO, Gym Class Heroes, OneRepublic (at Disneyland), The Band Perry, will.i.am, Christina Perri, and Robin Thicke. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first edition of "New Year's Rockin' Eve" aired in 1972, the primetime portion of the show was preceded by a two-hour retrospective special focusing on memorable music performances from the show's history.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: "New Year's Rockin' Eve 2012" brought ABC's highest ratings on New Year's Eve since "ABC 2000 Today"; an average 8.4 million viewers watched the retrospective segment, the primetime hour brought in 12.9 million viewers, and the first hour of the main broadcast peaked at 22.6 million viewers. These numbers excluded viewership from locations such as bars and New Year's Eve parties, as Nielsen ratings do not account for out-of-home viewership (however, the company announced on October 24, 2016, that it would begin to offer out-of-home ratings data to broadcasters in April 2017).


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: On April 18, 2012, Dick Clark died after suffering a heart attack following surgery to fix an enlarged prostate. Neither ABC or Dick Clark Productions immediately commented on the future of the program.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: In August 2012, ABC confirmed via a press release that "New Year's Rockin' Eve" would return for its 2012–13 edition. The primetime hour of this edition was preceded by a two-hour tribute special, "New Year's Rockin' Eve Celebrates Dick Clark". Clark's legacy was also recognized by the Times Square Alliance, organizers of the ball drop: a triangular Waterford Crystal panel engraved with Dick Clark's name was presented to his widow Kari Wigton and installed on the ball.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: On October 23, 2013, Dick Clark Productions confirmed the 2013–14 edition of "New Year's Rockin' Eve", and announced that Ryan Seacrest had signed a multi-year deal of unspecified length to continue serving as host and executive producer of the special. Seacrest stated that he would "forever be both sentimental and grateful" about his involvement in the special, and that he was "excited to work together to create new traditions and fun moments on the show that only live television can deliver." Fellow producer Allen Shapiro credited Seacrest's involvement in "New Year's Rockin' Eve" for its "extended and expanded" success. That year, the special was aired in simulcast in Canada for first time by Citytv, replacing its coverage of concert festivities at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square (the network's local station continued to sponsor the event, however). While viewership was down by 5%, "New Year's Rockin' Eve" was still the highest-rated among the New Year's specials.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: On February 7, 2014, ABC announced that it had renewed both "New Year's Rockin' Eve" and the American Music Awards through 2023 and 2024, respectively. The 2016 edition featured One Direction's final U.S. television appearance before their planned hiatus. That year, "New Year's Rockin' Eve" was once again the highest rated of the New Year's Eve specials across the major networks; for the late-night portion, while overall household viewership was down by 7%, ratings in the 18–49 demographic were up by 3%.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 2017 edition expanded to feature coverage of New Year's Eve festivities in New Orleans hosted by Lucy Hale, with performances by Jason Derulo and Panic! at the Disco from the Sugar Bowl's Allstate Fan Fest concert, and Jackson Square's fleur-de-lis drop at midnight in the Central Time Zone. The segments are subsidized by New Orleans and the state of Louisiana as a means of promoting tourism. While household ratings for the late-night portion of the broadcast were down by 9% in comparison to 2016, "New Year's Rockin' Eve" was once again the highest-rated New Year's special across the major networks, with a 9.0 rating in metered markets, and a 6.8 rating among adults 18–49.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Mariah Carey was one of the Times Square headliners for the 2017 edition. Her performance was notably marred by technical issues; when opening with "Emotions", Carey remarked throughout the song that she was unable to hear her backing track. On her second song, "We Belong Together", she briefly sang the song with a backing track before abruptly stopping. A representative of the singer claimed that Carey had alerted production staff that her in-ear monitors were not working, but that they refused to address the situation, and alleged that they were "[setting] her up to fail". Dick Clark Productions denied any wrongdoing, stating that they "had no involvement" in the incident, and that the allegations by Carey's management that they had intentionally sabotaged her performance were "defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd".


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: New Jersey's Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) had announced plans for a live performance from Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall by an unannounced artist, but these plans fell through, citing "scheduling conflicts and other considerations". "The Philadelphia Inquirer" reported that the CRDA's contract to host the DCP-produced Miss America pageant in Atlantic City contained provisions allowing "promotional accommodations" for the city in other DCP-produced programming, such as "New Year's Rockin' Eve" and the "Billboard Music Awards". Robert Mulcahy, chairman of the board for the CRDA, explained that Live Nation (which was to fund the broadcast using cash left over from cancelled beach concerts) were unable to find an act that met the approval of DCP, and added that local casinos declined to fund the performance, as they preferred to host their own parties rather than book major acts.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Despite the previous year's incident, Carey was subsequently invited to perform in Times Square again for "New Year's Rockin' Eve 2018", in what media outlets described as an attempt at "redemption". The 2018 edition saw major ratings gains, especially in primetime; the 8:00–10:00 p.m. primetime segment reached 10.5 million viewers with a 3.1/13 rating among 18-49s, and the 10:00 p.m. hour reached 15.7 million viewers and a 5.0/20 rating among 18-49s—the highest ratings to date for the 10:00 p.m. segment. "New Year's Rockin' Eve"s only major competitor on English-language network television was Fox's inaugural "New Year's Eve with Steve Harvey", as NBC was committed to air "Sunday Night Football" if the NFL shifted a Week 17 game with playoff implications into primetime (however, the NFL decided against doing so, and NBC thus aired rerun programming in primetime instead).


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: On November 13, 2018, it was announced that YouTube Music would be a presenting sponsor of the 2019 edition. The service is also presenting sponsor of the DCP-produced American Music Awards. With the return of "NBC's New Year's Eve" after a hiatus, the 2019 edition experienced a decline in ratings to an 8.3 household share for its late-night portion, but was once again the top-rated among the New Year's specials.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: On October 7, 2019, Jenny McCarthy stated on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" that she would not appear as the Times Square correspondent for the 2020 edition of "New Year's Rockin' Eve", citing a desire to spend the holiday with her family, and her commitments to season 3 of Fox's "The Masked Singer". Lucy Hale would serve as Times Square correspondent in place of McCarthy, and Billy Porter of the FX series "Pose" hosted the New Orleans segments in place of Hale, and also performed his song "Love Yourself". Ciara again hosted the Hollywood concert segments. Longtime ABC News journalist Barbara Walters (via file footage) and other ABC personalities also played into a social media meme involving her longtime intro to the ABC newsmagazine "20/20", by noting in a segment that "This is 2020". The broadcast also introduced a sponsored segment featuring a "first millionaire of 2020" promotion by the Powerball lottery.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: Hale and Porter were named Times Square correspondents for the 2021 edition. Cyndi Lauper performed a duet with Porter—who had been a cast member for her Broadway musical "Kinky Boots". Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both the Times Square and New Orleans celebrations televised by the special were held with no public attendance (with the former featuring a limited audience of essential workers and their families). The special featured an on-air interview between Seacrest and President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden. Big Freedia hosted the New Orleans segments of the special.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: In December 2020, it was reported that Mayor of New Orleans LaToya Cantrell had sent a letter to DCP requesting that Lauren Daigle (a Christian singer from Louisiana who had seen recent success as a pop crossover) not appear as a New Orleans-based performer for the special, citing her recent guest appearance during a worship event organized by Sean Feucht that was not approved by the city, and violated COVID-19-related public health orders. After criticism of the letter by state lieutenant governor Billy Nungesser (who maintained that Daigle had mistaken it for a legitimate event), a DCP staff member told "The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate" that Daigle had not actually been booked at all.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: On December 16, 2021, it was announced that Seacrest had signed a multi-year extension with DCP's parent company MRC (which discontinued Dick Clark Productions as a studio imprint in September 2021, and moved all of its productions under the MRC Live & Alternative banner; this change was reversed after the merger of MRC and Eldridge Industries' media properties was unwound in 2022) to continue his role as host and EP of "New Year's Rockin' Eve".


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: The 2022 edition–which marked the special's 50th anniversary–included segments from Distrito T-Mobile in San Juan, Puerto Rico hosted by Roselyn Sánchez and headlined by rapper Daddy Yankee, and the special's first broadcast of midnight celebrations in the Atlantic Time Zone to conclude the primetime block at 11:00 p.m. ET. Billy Porter returned as host of the New Orleans segments, while Liza Koshy reported from Times Square. D-Nice also made guest appearances for the Los Angeles segments alongside Ciara. While LL Cool J was originally announced as one of the headlining acts in Times Square, he was dropped on December 29 due to a COVID-19 infection. Chlöe was also dropped from the special for unspecified reasons. On December 31, ABC announced that Karol G had dropped out, but that Ashanti and Ja Rule had also joined the lineup.


title: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

text: ABC confirmed that Koshy, Porter, Ciara, and D-Nice would all return in their respective roles for the 2023 edition. To promote its upcoming "100 Years of Wonder" events for The Walt Disney Company's centennial year, the west coast segments will be filmed from Disneyland in Anaheim, in addition to Hollywood. The special will also return to Puerto Rico, with Farruko as featured performer.


title: Volvo V90

text: The Volvo V90 is a mid-size luxury wagon manufactured and marketed by Swedish automaker Volvo Cars since 2016. Two months after the introduction of the sedan model, the V90 was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016. Its sedan variant is called the Volvo S90.


title: Volvo V90

text: The V90 is offered with various trim levels. In the United States the V90 was only available by special order, with dealers focusing on the V90 Cross Country.


title: Volvo V90

text: In 2021, it was announced that the V90 would no longer be sold in the United States, starting with the 2022 model year.


title: Volvo V90

text: Previewed before the 2016 Paris motor show, the V90 Cross Country is a raised height, AWD version of the V90 designed for use on rough terrain, unsealed roads and for light off-road usage.


title: Volvo V90

text: A special version of the V90 Cross Country was announced 30 October 2017 to celebrate the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race.


title: Volvo V90

text: The car has unique orange touches on the front and rear bumper, carbon fibre interior trim and orange stitching and seams and seat belts. It also has a detachable flashlight mounted in the trunk.


title: Volvo V90

text: In the US market 84 were sold in total (41 as 2018 models, and 43 as 2019 models). In addition, of those sold in the US, 7 had the integrated rear child booster seats for the 2018 model year, and only 1 for the 2019 model year.


title: Volvo V90

text: In February 2020, the official photos of a refreshed V90 were leaked along with the refreshed S90. The Taillights had a sequential LED & Inscription variants get chrome garnish on front bumper.


title: Volvo V90

text: The V90 is only available with 2.0-litre, 4 cylinder petrol and diesel engines from the VEA family (Drive-E). The more powerful petrol engines are compound charged, as is the plug-in hybrid variant called the "T8". The D5 diesel engine features Volvo's new "PowerPulse" technology that is designed to eliminate turbo lag as well as an i-Art injection system.


title: Resusci Anne

text: Resusci Anne, also known as Rescue Anne, Resusci Annie, CPR Annie, Resuscitation Annie, Little Annie, or CPR Doll is a model of medical simulator used for teaching both emergency workers and members of the general public. Resusci Anne was developed by the Norwegian toy maker Åsmund S. Lærdal and the Austrian-Czech physician Peter Safar and American physician James Elam, and is produced by the company Laerdal Medical.


title: Resusci Anne

text: The distinctive face of Resusci Anne was based on "L'Inconnue de la Seine" (English: The unknown woman of Seine), the death mask of an unidentified young woman reputedly drowned in the River Seine around the late 1880s. Åsmund Lærdal chose to use a woman's face on the mannequin as he thought male trainees might be reluctant to kiss a man's face. The face was sculpted by the Norwegian-Danish sculptor (in Norwegian)


title: Resusci Anne

text: The first version of Resusci-Annie was presented by Lærdal at the First International Symposium on Resuscitation at Stavanger, Norway, in 1960. Peter Safar and James Elam were attending the conference. Together they would join Lærdal in refining the design. Later versions would include a simulated carotid pulse, eye-pupils that could dilate and constrict, and a system for recording the trainee's resuscitation performance on a paper tape.


title: Resusci Anne

text: The chorus refrain, "Annie, are you OK?" in Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" was inspired by Resusci Anne.


title: Resusci Anne

text: Trainees learn to say "Annie, are you OK?" while practicing resuscitation on the dummy. The refrain is also referenced in Polo G's interpolation of the song "Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)".


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: Mikitani was born in 1965 and raised in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. His father Ryōichi Mikitani served as Chairman of Japan Society Of Monetary Economics and was a professor at Kobe University. His mother Setsuko was a graduate of Kobe University and worked for a trading company; she had attended elementary school in New York. Through his paternal grandmother, he claims descent from Honda Tadakatsu, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. His grandmother was born to a noble family which had fallen on hard times, and raised Mikitani's father as a single mother while running a tobacco store. His grandfather was a businessman active in New York, and was a co-founder of Minolta. Ryōichi was Japan's first Fulbright Scholar to the US and taught for two years at Yale University; during that time, from 1972 to 1974, the family lived in New Haven, Connecticut. His sister Ikuko is a physician (MD in Osaka University), and his brother Kenichi is a professor of biology at the University of Tokyo.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: Mikitani worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan (now part of Mizuho Corporate Bank) from 1988 to 1996, with a break from 1991 to 1993 to attend Harvard Business School. He left to start his own consulting group, called Crimson Group. Mikitani has stated that the destruction caused by the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake made him realize he wanted to help revitalize Japan’s economy, leading to his resignation from banking and decision to start his own business.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: In 1996, Mikitani began venturing into the high technology business and started looking at various business models, and decided to launch an online shopping mall. On February 7, 1997, Mikitani founded the e-commerce company MDM, Inc. with three co-founders and US$250,000 of their own money, launching the online marketplace Rakuten Ichiba in Japan on May 1, 1997. The company was renamed Rakuten, Inc. in 1999, and Mikitani took it public on the JASDAQ in 2000. In founding the company, Mikitani envisioned an online marketplace focusing on the exchange between buyers and sellers, as a hybrid between eBay and Amazon.com. It started as a small online marketplace with 13 shops and 6 employees, and has since grown into "an e-commerce giant".


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: In 2010, Mikitani changed Rakuten's focus, as the company began expanding outside Japan, with acquisitions of overseas e-commerce sites including Buy.com of the US (now Rakuten.com), PriceMinister of France, and continuing with companies including Canadian e-book service Kobo (now Rakuten Kobo), US cashback site Ebates (now Rakuten Rewards), and Cyprus-based messaging app Viber (now Rakuten Viber), and minority stakes in online scrapbooking site Pinterest and ride-hailing app Lyft (where Mikitani serves as a board member). Rakuten has business units including travel, e-books, credit cards, online shopping, banking and the Rakuten Golden Eagles baseball team. By 2017, Rakuten had over 14,000 employees, over 42,000 shops on its e-commerce sites, and sales of nearly US$6 billion, with over 100 million members in Japan.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: Beginning in March 2010, Mikitani implemented a plan that he calls "Englishnization", making English the primary language of Rakuten within two years. While the plan was dismissed as "stupid" by Honda president Takanobu Ito in 2010, Mikitani believes that "English is not an advantage anymore – it is a requirement." He considers the Japanese company's fluency in English, with meetings and reporting done in English, to be a strong advantage for the company globally. In 2011, Mikitani's Englishnization initiative was featured in a "Harvard Business Review" case study.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: Mikitani has been president of Rakuten since its founding, and in 2001 he also became chairman. Among his other titles are Chairman of Rakuten Travel, Chairman of Rakuten Vissel Kobe football club, Director of PriceMinister, Director (Chairman) of Rakuten Kobo, and Chairman, Representative Director and team owner of Rakuten Baseball. He was named chairman of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: In 1995, after an earthquake in Kobe caused significant damage so that the city could no longer maintain the Vissel Kobe football club, Mikitani was asked to take over operations of the team. He purchased the team later that year through his company Crimson Group. In 2014 the team was acquired by Rakuten.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: In 2004, the Japanese Pacific League, amidst financial difficulties, dropped two teams, leading to a player strike. Mikitani was approached by league officials about putting together an expansion team in Sendai, which would be named the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Mikitani rebuilt, restored and renovated the stadium in Sendai, prior to the team's inaugural season in 2005. The Golden Eagles won the 2013 Japan Series, two years after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Sendai and the Tōhoku region.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: In 2017, Mikitani partnered with his friend FC Barcelona player Gerard Piqué to co-found Kosmos Holding. A holding company and investment group to invest in companies based in the sports, media, and entertainment industries. In 2018, Kosmos Holding acquired the Davis Cup Tennis property, and Spanish Futbol Club FC Andorra.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: Mikitani had joined Keidanren, the Japanese business federation in 2004. In June 2011, in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, he quit the federation, announcing his decision via Twitter before sending in his formal letter of resignation, saying it was no longer the same organization he had joined, and he disagreed with its support for continued reliance on the nuclear industry for electricity, and its reluctance to carry out reforms that could help Japan compete internationally. He subsequently pondered setting up a rival body.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: On June 1, 2012, the Japanese Association of New Economy (JANE) was launched in Tokyo. It was a renaming of the "Japan e-business association", which had been established in February 2010 to open it to non-online businesses. Mikitani currently serves as the Representative Director of JANE.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: On February 27, 2022, Mikitani announced ¥1 billion donation to the Ukrainian government to support it during the Russian invasion.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: In 2012, Mikitani was awarded the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, one of the school's highest honors. He was also named to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's Industrial Competitiveness Council.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: In 2014, Mikitani was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour by the French government.


title: Hiroshi Mikitani

text: In 2017, Mikitani was awarded the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. and the 2017 Spain-Japan Business Contribution Award by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce.


title: Dirty Computer

text: Dirty Computer is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Janelle Monáe, released on April 27, 2018, by Wondaland Arts Society, Bad Boy Records and Atlantic Records. It is the follow-up to her studio albums "The ArchAndroid" (2010) and "The Electric Lady" (2013) and her first album not to be a part of Cindi Mayweather's Metropolis narrative. A departure from the more psychedelic sound of her early work, "Dirty Computer" is a pop, funk, hip hop, R&B, and neo soul record, featuring elements of electropop, space rock, pop rock, Minneapolis soul, trap, futurepop, new wave, synthpop, and Latin music. Four singles, "Make Me Feel", "Django Jane", "Pynk", and "I Like That", were chosen to promote the album. Its release was accompanied by a 46-minute narrative film project of the same name.


title: Dirty Computer

text: The album received universal critical acclaim upon release; it was included in the top three of seven publications' Best Album of 2018 lists, and received two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. It debuted at number six on the "Billboard" 200 and was further promoted by Monae's Dirty Computer Tour.


title: Dirty Computer

text: In October 2016, Monáe made her feature-length film acting debut in "Moonlight", alongside Naomie Harris, André Holland, and Mahershala Ali. Monáe also starred in the film "Hidden Figures", alongside actresses Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer; the film was released in December 2016. While filming her two movie roles, Monáe remained active in music with features on Grimes' "Venus Fly" from her "Art Angels" album and also the soundtrack for the Netflix series "The Get Down" with a song titled, "Hum Along and Dance (Gotta Get Down)". She was also on the tracks "Isn't This the World" and "Jalapeño" for the "Hidden Figures" soundtrack. In an interview with "People", Monáe revealed that she was already working on her third studio album when she received the scripts for her two first acting roles; therefore, she put the album on hold. She also revealed in the interview that she would be releasing new music sometime in 2017, although by the end of the year no album or single was announced.


title: Dirty Computer

text: It was confirmed by Monáe after "Make Me Feel" was released that Prince, with whom she collaborated on her preceding album, had worked on the single, as well as the entire album, before his death in 2016. This was confirmed after listeners noticed similarities between the single's sound and the late musician's work. Monae stated in an interview with BBC Radio 1: "Prince was actually working on the album with me before he passed on to another frequency, and helped me come up with some sounds. And I really miss him, you know, it’s hard for me to talk about him. But I do miss him, and his spirit will never leave me." The synth groove in "Make Me Feel", reported to be written by Prince, was played at one of his parties years prior to its inclusion in the single, as confirmed by Prince's DJ, Lenka Paris.


title: Dirty Computer

text: Monáe had been exploring the themes presented in "Dirty Computer" for a decade before its production, but noted that "earlier it felt safer to package herself in metaphors...The sanitized android version felt more accepted — and more acceptable — than her true self. The public, she explained, doesn't really 'know Janelle Monáe, and I felt like I didn't really have to be her because they were fine with Cindi.'" Monáe considers "Dirty Computer" to be "a homage to women and the spectrum of sexual identities." The album's 14 tracks can be grouped into three loose categories: "Reckoning", "Celebration" and "Reclamation". The first deals with Monáe's recognition of how she is viewed by society, the middle explores her acceptance of "the cards she has been dealt", and the closing tracks deal with her reclamation and redefinition of American identity. Overall, the album is Monáe's attempt to "step into a more authentic self".


title: Dirty Computer

text: On February 16, 2018, Monáe revealed her third studio album and the accompanying narrative film, entitled "Dirty Computer", through a teaser video released on YouTube. The teaser video aired nationwide in select theaters prior to screenings of "Black Panther". Monáe held a series of "top-secret" listening sessions in Los Angeles and New York City prior to the album announcement.


title: Dirty Computer

text: It was supported with the simultaneous release of a 46-minute short film of the same name, dubbed an "emotion picture" by Monáe. It follows Monáe's character, Jane 57821, as she attempts to break free from the constraints of "a totalitarian society [that] forcibly makes Jane comply with its homophobic beliefs... In the film, Monáe's character is trying to assert her individuality, which makes her the enemy of a soulless regime – a common tension in dystopian sci-fi." Actress Tessa Thompson and actor Jayson Aaron co-star as Zen and Ché respectively, lovers with whom Jane escapes "the clutches of this repressive society." The film features little dialogue outside of the overlay of the album's songs that function as the narrative's main driving force. Tim Grierson of "Rolling Stone" described that, in the film, "Monáe plays with the conventions and totems of dystopian sci-fi to speak her truth and promote a cultural shift toward a more inclusive and loving society – no matter what repressive government (whether real or fictional) is trying to crush that spirit. Monáe is speaking to the present, but for her, the future is now."


title: Dirty Computer

text: On February 1, 2019, Monáe released a new director's cut of the "Dirty Computer" emotion picture with 13 extra minutes of bonus interviews from the cast and crew.


title: Dirty Computer

text: On February 23, 2018, Monáe released "Make Me Feel" and "Django Jane", the first two singles from "Dirty Computer". On April 11, the album's third single "Pynk", featuring Canadian musician Grimes, was released. "I Like That" was released on April 23 as a promotional single, but soon after in August, was made to be the final official single from the album. Three remix singles were released for the song on August 17, August 24, and November 9, 2018.


title: Dirty Computer

text: Standalone music videos were also released for "Crazy, Classic, Life" and "Screwed" on December 12, 2018, and January 7, 2019, respectively.


title: Dirty Computer

text: "Dirty Computer" received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 87 based on 33 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". At AnyDecentMusic?, which gives a formulated rating on a ten-point scale, the album has an aggregate score of 8.4 based on 32 reviews.


title: Dirty Computer

text: Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Andy Kellman said that "While this is easily the most loaded Monáe album in terms of guests, with Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, and Grimes among the contributors, there's no doubt that it's a Wondaland product. It demonstrates that artful resistance and pop music are not mutually exclusive." Neil McCormick for "The Daily Telegraph" called "Dirty Computer" "unblushingly and unsparingly direct...[It] establishes itself as a contender for album of the year, in more ways than one... [Monáe]'s layered sound is as contemporary as that of such digital trailblazers as Kendrick Lamar or Kanye West, yet it has an old-fashioned organic quality that comes from a bedrock of live musicianship. "Dirty Computer" sounds like 2018 distilled into a sci-fi funk pop extravaganza by a female Black Panther." "The Independent" reviewer Roisin O'Connor stated that "Dirty Computer" is "a record that will go down as a milestone not just as a work of art in its own right, but as the perfect celebration of queerness, female power, and self-worth." Danette Chavez of "The A.V. Club" described that, on "Dirty Computer", "the erstwhile 'Electric Lady' loses the metal and circuitry, but none of her power or artistry, cementing her status alongside Prince in the hall of hyper-talented, gender-fluid icons who love and promote blackness."


title: Dirty Computer

text: Josh Hurst for "Flood Magazine" wrote that "Every generation needs its own soundtrack for kicking against the pricks, and Monáe delivers one—easily the most pop-conversant, hook-laden, and propulsive music of her career." Robert Christgau, who in the past had found Monáe's voice too thin and her songwriting overly intellectual, was converted by "Dirty Computer"s Prince-inspired, sex-positive songs: "Too often prosex albums are shallow. While remaining intellectual, this one is more personal than the android dared."


title: Dirty Computer

text: In a less enthusiastic review, Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" suggested that "You occasionally wonder if an understandable desire to cross over commercially might not be at the root of the album's less inspired moments: there's something commonplace and risk-averse about the pop-R&B backing of 'Crazy, Classic, Life' and 'I Got the Juice'... It's hard not to wonder if her failure to connect with a mass audience might be because her desire to work with concepts and characters, rather than unburden herself, suggests a certain aloofness... She is as elusive as ever, and her mystery remains intact. Without a true loosening of her poise, her position on the margins of pop could remain intact as well." Zachary Hoskins from "Slant Magazine" declared that "while the songs here are consistently hooky, they lack the earlier albums' sonic adventurousness... While Monáe's heart is in the right place, her lyrics occasionally suffer from the clumsiness endemic to politicized pop... If "Dirty Computer" feels somewhat blunter and less ambitious than Monáe's earlier work, though, it's also her most immediately satisfying."


title: Dirty Computer

text: The album was nominated for Album of the Year and the music video for "Pynk" was nominated for Best Music Video at the 61st Grammy Awards. The associated narrative film was a finalist for the 2019 Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form.


title: Dirty Computer

text: "Dirty Computer" debuted at number six on the US "Billboard" 200, opening with 54,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with 41,000 coming from pure sales.


title: Rambler American

text: The Rambler American is a compact car that was manufactured by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) between 1958 and 1969. The American was the second incarnation of AMC forerunner Nash Motors' compact Rambler that was introduced in 1950 and marketed after the merger with Hudson Motors under both marques during the 1954 and 1955 model years.


title: Rambler American

text: The Rambler American can be classified into three distinct model year generations: 1958–1960, 1961–1963, and 1964 until 1969. During the entire length of its production, the car was sold under the Rambler brand and in 1969 became the last Rambler-named automobile marketed in the Canadian and United States markets.


title: Rambler American

text: The compact Rambler American was most often the lowest priced car built in the U.S. It was popular for its economy in ownership, as was proven by numerous Mobilgas Economy Run championships. After an optional second-generation AMC V8 engine was added in late 1966, the cars also became known as a powerful compact "muscle" models that included the version built in conjunction with Hurst Performance, the 1969 SC/Rambler.


title: Rambler American

text: A special youth-oriented concept car, the 1964 Rambler Tarpon, was built on an Rambler American platform that foretold the fastback design of the 1965 Rambler Marlin, as well as future trends in sporty-type pony cars, including the 1968 AMC Javelin.


title: Rambler American

text: The genesis of the Rambler American began with the Nash Rambler, introduced in 1950. AMC President George Mason believed in small cars and introduced the Austin-built, Nash-designed Metropolitan in 1954. The Rambler line grew to a larger size ( wheelbase) in 1956. With costs to produce the Metropolitan rising, AMC decided to reintroduce a modified version of the 1955 Nash Rambler (the previous wheelbase model). The domestically produced small car let AMC control costs more closely. The new president of AMC, George W. Romney, also wanted to build momentum in challenging the domestic Big Three automakers by adding a third car line. The introduction of the low-priced small Rambler was ideal as the nation entered into a recession in 1958.)


title: Rambler American

text: The first proposals were to modify AMC's captive import by extending the Metropolitan with a station wagon-type roof design to make room for four passengers. The wheelbase of the Metropolitan, though, severely limited the necessary interior room, and costs of the overseas-built model were harder to control. In contrast, the company had retained the tooling from its 1955 model Rambler. The old model's wheelbase fit between its bigger family-sized wheelbase Ramblers and the small import. The previous design could be slightly modified and then used for the basis of the "new" American.


title: Rambler American

text: American Motors' financial condition meant it could not afford to develop an entirely new model. The reintroduction of the old model leveraged Rambler's renown for fuel economy and wins in the Mobil Economy Runs, with the consumer's need for a smaller and more efficient alternative to the standard-sized cars that were marketed by the domestic Big Three at that time.


title: Rambler American

text: Using the platform of the Nash Rambler, American Motors' designers gave the car a new grille and more open rear fender wells, giving the car a lighter appearance than that of the earlier car, which had hidden its rear wheels behind deeply skirted fenders. The original taillights were turned upside down, saving money on retooling. This design was originally mandated by Nash's Airflyte styling motif, which sought to reach for the blinding optimism of post-World War II transportation. The car's seemingly narrow track was not much different from the industry standard, but rather an illusion fostered by the bulbous bodywork.


title: Rambler American

text: Romney worried about cannibalizing sales of his larger, more profitable senior Ramblers, so for 1958, the American was available only as a two-door sedan (senior Ramblers came only in a variety of four-door body styles). The only engine was a flathead six producing . The American went on sale late January 1958, with a minimum of marketing and promotion. It was available in two trims, a base Deluxe model at allowing AMC to claim it to be the lowest-priced car made in America as well as a Super trim version for $1,874, offering more "luxuries". The car was advertised as being the only small car with an automatic transmission. All Americans were completely dipped in rust proofing.


title: Rambler American

text: The automotive press was positive to the reintroduced model. Tom McCahill wrote in "Mechanix Illustrated", "There isn't a better buy in the world today." He continued, "The Rambler American ... is an ideal-size small family car... It will give up to 30 miles on a gallon of gas (and more, with overdrive) and will outperform any imported sedan selling for under $2,000 except in the cornering department... It is by far the most rattle-and-squeak-free 1958 Detroit product I've driven-and I've driven them all!"


title: Rambler American

text: Reports by owners praised the car's economy of operation, but ranked at the top its ease of handling. A "workhorse" priced at under $2,000, "it doesn't look as though every penny was pinched out of it", but retains a "chic look". The American found 30,640 buyers during the abbreviated 1958 model year, and helped Rambler become the only domestic make to post an increase in sales that year.


title: Rambler American

text: A two-door station wagon was added to the line in 1959. With the larger Rambler Six wagons offered only as four-door models, AMC's management thought little sales cannibalization from the American would occur. The Deluxe wagon was priced at $2,060, while the $2,145 Super version included a standard cargo-area mat and roof rack. A Deliveryman commercial wagon, with no rear seat and an extended cargo floor, was available, but found few takers. Self-adjusting brakes were added in 1959.


title: Rambler American

text: Rambler sales increased in 1959, and AMC struggled to keep up with demand, as production tripled to 91,491 Americans, with 32,639 (almost 36%) made up by the new wagon. The two-door sedans each sold nearly as well, also, at 29,954 for the lower-priced Deluxe and 28,449 for the top-line Super.


title: Rambler American

text: For the 1960 model year, the Rambler American line added a four-door sedan body style and a third trim level, a top-of-the-line Custom. The new four-door rode on the same wheelbase as the other models and was meant to battle the newly introduced compacts from the Big Three, the Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair, and Plymouth Valiant.


title: Rambler American

text: The new Custom model came standard with a new overhead valve engine with a slightly higher compression ratio of 8.7:1 producing an additional , for a total output of , while the base models retained the flathead as the standard engine. The flathead six had no visible intake manifold since it was integrated within the cylinder head, while the exhaust manifold is a "log-type" that looks like a long tube. All models received an enlarged gas tank, now capacity, while power steering was a new option.


title: Rambler American

text: Even in the face of the new competition from much larger automakers, the compact Rambler American enjoyed appeal not only because of its low initial price, economy, and high gas mileage, but also because its resale values ranked among the highest. The suggested delivered price for the Deluxe two-door sedan was $1,795, and it was advertised as the lowest-priced car in America.


title: Rambler American

text: Demand for the small-sized American continued to grow, as sales increased to 120,603 units (of which 44,817 were two-door sedans, 46,973 four-door sedans, and 28,813 station wagons). This helped AMC achieve 7.5% of the U.S. market with a total Rambler sales of 485,745 and third place among domestic brands.


title: Rambler American

text: The second-generation Rambler American was achieved through a heavy restyling of the previous year's model under AMC's styling Vice President Edmund E. Anderson. While mechanically identical to the 1960 model, Anderson's restyle resulted in a car that was three inches (76 mm) narrower and shorter in its exterior dimensions with an overall length of , but increased in its cargo capacity. Continuing to ride on the wheelbase, the American's new styling was more square (sometimes described as "breadbox") instead of the round "roly-poly" shape (or "bathtub"), and the visual connection with the original 1950 Nash model had finally disappeared along with the last of the engineering compromises required to accommodate George Mason's favored skirted front wheels as the new skin, designed from the outset with open wheel arches in mind, reduced overall width a full three inches. "Popular Mechanics" wrote "seldom has a car been completely restyled as the 1961 Rambler American and yet retain the same engine, driveline, suspension on the same unit body". All outside sheet metal was changed, but the side window frames remained the same as previous models. Only the rear glass was changed to conform to the new roofline. The firewall and dashboard were new stampings that also changed the clutch and brake pedal mountings from under the floor to the firewall.


title: Rambler American

text: For 1961 the American line added a four-door station wagon and a two-door convertible for the first time since 1954. It featured a power-operated folding top with roll-down door glass, rather than the fixed side-window frames of the original design. Passenger room increased from five to six.


title: Rambler American

text: The straight-six engine was modernized with an overhead-valve cylinder head for higher-grade models, but the base cars continued with the flathead engine.


title: Rambler American

text: American Motors built a new assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, for the production of Rambler Americans, as well as the larger Rambler Classics.


title: Rambler American

text: Setting new sales records, American Motors continued its "policy of making changes only when they truly benefited the customer." The 1962 model year Rambler American lineup was essentially the same as 1961. Model designations changed with the Custom trim becoming a 400.


title: Rambler American

text: A new "E-stick" option combined a manual three-speed transmission with an automatic clutch as a low-cost alternative to the fully automatic transmission. The E-stick was also available in conjunction with an overdrive unit. The system was priced at $59.50, but offered stick-shift economy, performance, and driver control without a clutch pedal by using engine oil pressure and intake manifold vacuum to engage and disengage the clutch when shifting gears.


title: Rambler American

text: Although the Big Three domestic automakers had introduced competitive compact models by 1962, the Rambler American remained the oldest, smallest, and "stubbornly unique", refusing "to conform to Detroit's standard pattern for scaled-down automobiles" and "free of gimmicky come-ons." A road test by "Popular Science" described the 1962 Rambler American as "sturdy, solid, dependable little automobile, comfortable to drive ... a good buy for what it's built for – transportation, not a status symbol."


title: Rambler American

text: The automaker's president, George W. Romney, appeared prominently in advertisements, asking potential customers to "think hard" about new cars and describing "more than 100 improvements in the 1962 Ramblers" and why they are not available in competitive cars, as well as AMC "workers as progress-sharing partners" so that buyers can "expect superior craftsmanship." "Car Life" magazine noted the level of workmanship on the Rambler Americans was "not only acceptable but actually admirable."


title: Rambler American

text: For 1963, model designations were changed once again with the 400 now called 440. A new hardtop (no B-pillar) coupe body design debuted, whose steel roof was designed to mimic the appearance of a closed convertible top. This was a one-model-year-only design with a thin profile, clean lines, stamped faux-convertible ribs, and a textured finish. A special top-of-the-line model called the 440-H was equipped with sports-type features, including individually adjustable reclining front bucket seats and a center console, as well as a more powerful version of Rambler's stalwart inline-six engine.


title: Rambler American

text: An optional console-shifted "Twin-Stick" manual overdrive transmission was introduced. This transmission has a bigger gap between second and third gears compared to the regular three-speed transmissions with overdrive (that operated like a five-speed although the driver needed to know the governor cut-in speed, free-wheeling, as well as when to lock the overdrive in or out). This allowed the transmission to be shifted like a five-speed in the following sequence: 1, 2, 2+OD, 3, and 3+OD. The Twin-Stick has a kick-down button on top of the main shift knob to facilitate the five-speed shifting process.


title: Rambler American

text: The entire product line from AMC earned the "Motor Trend" Car of the Year award for 1963. The recognition was used by AMC to also promote the carryover Rambler American models.


title: Rambler American

text: First, as the Nash Rambler and then as two generations of the Rambler American, this automobile platform performed the rare feat of having two distinct and successful model runs, an almost unheard-of phenomenon in automobile history. The convertible and hardtop were the sportiest of the final wheelbase Rambler Americans, and arguably the most desirable now.


title: Rambler American

text: For its third generation, the American emerged with what was its only completely new design. The entire line was treated to neat and trim lines with pleasing simplicity (compared to the more boxy predecessors) with characteristic tunneled headlights with a simple horizontal grille between them. The Rambler American's wheelbase grew by six inches or 152 mm (to 106 in or 2692 mm) and the interiors were made more spacious. The station wagons in the restyled 1964 series came with four doors and gained 17% more cargo space compared to the previous design. They all featured a new roll-down disappearing rear window for the bottom-hinged tailgate. Full coil front springs, along with soft rear leaf units, gave the new American an unusually smooth ride, better than many larger domestic cars. The new models also incorporated various parts and components (such as doors) that were interchangeable with AMC's larger cars. In essence, the new body was a shorter, narrower version of the previous year's new Rambler Classic.


title: Rambler American

text: The new styling was the work of designer Dick Teague, who later designed the 1968 Javelin and AMX. Teague selected the front-end design developed by Bob Nixon, who was later in charge of AMC's small-car studio. Many viewed the newly designed station wagon as the best looking of any American wagon, with its new trim lines, with ample passenger and cargo room. Led by the top-line 440-series convertible, they were arguably the 1964's most attractive Detroit compacts. "Car Life" magazine titled its road test of the 1964 Rambler American: "The Original Plain Jane Compact Car Just Got Back From the Beauty Parlor".


title: Rambler American

text: In addition to the top-of-the-line 440 models, the lower trim 330 and 220 models were also available, and Rambler American sales soared to a record 160,000-plus. The old I6 was a gas stingy champ in the Mobil Economy Runs and available in , , and versions.


title: Rambler American

text: American Motors focused its marketing on the economy of the new models, advertising that was previously only popular during the Great Depression. The company's series of "Love Letters to Rambler" advertisements included "ordinary user testimonials" about the economy and reliability of their Ramblers, rather than in pursuit of buyers in the whole compact car market segment. This strategy was copied 10 years later by Datsun.


title: Rambler American

text: The 1965 Americans were little changed, but were advertised as "The Sensible Spectaculars". This was part of Roy Abernethy's strategy for AMC to shed its "economy car" reputation and take on the domestic Big Three automakers in new market segments. Few changes were made to AMC's smallest models, as Abernethy pinned his hopes for recovery not so much on the low-priced Rambler American as on the medium and higher-priced Classic and Ambassador lines.


title: Rambler American

text: The 1965 models were the last year for the venerable flathead six available in or versions. It was the last flathead engine to be used in a domestic U.S. car.


title: Rambler American

text: The year also had the introduction of an entirely new overhead-valve straight-six engine. This engine was available on any American model equipped with an automatic transmission. American Motors used this modern straight-six design through 1979, with a smaller version used 1966–1970. The same engine was later available in a larger version (used from 1971 through 1989 in the American) and the fuel injected versions that debuted in 1987, known as the Jeep 4.0, which Chrysler would continue their production after its purchase of AMC in 1987, all the way through 2006.


title: Rambler American

text: The 440 trim was available as a convertible, and it was the most affordable U.S.-made open body style with prices starting at . It was available with twin individually adjustable and reclining front seats or buckets with a center console. It was one of the best convertibles on the market, but lacked some sporty features that buyers wanted, such as a V8 engine.


title: Rambler American

text: The 1964 Chicago Auto Show featured a special version of a top-of-the-line American named the Rambler Carrousel on raised rotating platform. The 1965 show car exterior was finished in "Turquoise Fireflake" and a white leather interior with turquoise carpeting, instrument panel, and slim bucket seats. Other features included die-cast aluminum road wheels and AMC's console-mounted Twin-Stick manual transmission.


title: Rambler American

text: American Motors made specially trimmed, production-based show cars and the Carrousel was one of three concepts displayed for 1965 at the Chicago Show, with the Rambler Tarpon fastback and the Rambler Cheyenne station wagon.


title: Rambler American

text: As the automobile marketplace in the U.S. was moving away from economy towards performance and luxury vehicles, American Motors began removing the historic Rambler name from its larger models. The American and Classic models retained their economy-car marketing image, and their traditional nameplate. To cement this image, a Rambler American was again the overall winner in the Mobil Economy Run. The mid-trim level 330 model was dropped, leaving the top 440 and base 220 models in the lineup for 1966. The top-of-the-line model, available only as a two-door hardtop, had its name changed from 440-H to Rogue.


title: Rambler American

text: The American models were facelifted for the 1966 model year, with more squared-off front and rear styling. The front of the car was extended three inches (76 mm), which allowed the optional air conditioning to be installed with the new 199 and 232 in-line six-cylinder engines, which were longer than the previous 195.6 versions.


title: Rambler American

text: A completely new "Typhoon" V8 engine was developed by AMC; it was introduced in the special mid-1966 Rogue model. Available in two-barrel carburetor version or producing with a four-barrel carburetor and high compression, the new engines used "thin-wall" casting technology and weighed only . The newly powered Rogue came with a three-speed automatic transmission or a floor-mounted four-speed manual, and made the car "suitable for the Stoplight Grand Prix." American Motors' new engine design would expand in power and applications across the company's passenger cars, and eventually in Jeeps. The engine continued to be assembled through 1991 for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, long after AMC was sold to Chrysler in 1987.


title: Rambler American

text: The 1967 model year Rambler American used the same body styling as the previous year's models, with only minor changes that included new taillamps and full-length body moldings on 440 and Rogue models that were now positioned lower on the sides. The last convertible available in the American series was in 1967, and it was moved up from 440 models to join the hardtop in the Rogue trim version. The American was available in nine models, and was the only U.S. compact to be available in "all" body styles (two-door, four-door, sedan, wagon, pillar-less hardtop, and convertible).


title: Rambler American

text: For the 1967 model year, AMC's new high-compression (10.2:1) V8 engine with a four-barrel carburetor producing and of torque @ 3000 rpm was optional in Rogue and 440 models. Factory installations of this engine were in 58 Rogues and 55 in the 440 models, with seven of them being in the convertible version. Out of the total production of 69,912 Rambler Americans for the 1967 model year, 921 were Rogue convertibles.


title: Rambler American

text: Rogues also received grille trim that wrapped around the fender sides. All Rambler Americans received a new grille insert with prominent chromed horizontal bars. The 1967 Rogue models were available in new two-tone paint schemes for the roof, trunk lid, and hood that included border trim along the upper body line. The two-door hardtops were also available with a black or white vinyl roof cover. The previous rectangular taillight lenses were replaced with concave versions sculptured into the rear panel.


title: Rambler American

text: The 1967 model year also had the addition of the new safety standards for passenger cars mandated by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The regulations called for two-point seat belts on all automobiles produced after 1 March 1967. All 1967 Rambler Americans included lap belts for all seating positions, a collapsible, energy-absorbing steering column and steering wheel, more padding on interior surfaces, four-way hazard flashers, and locking seat-back latches for two-door models. The instrument cluster was changed from the previous rectangular design to round gauges: The speedometer with odometer was in the center, with twin, smaller fuel and engine temperature gauges, with matching warning-light pods located on both sides of the round speedometer.


title: Rambler American

text: All 1967 Americans were covered by AMC's comprehensive warranty designed to increase customer confidence in their vehicles with the tagline "quality built in, so the value stays in". It was the strongest backing among all the automakers up to that time: 2 years or on the entire automobile and 5 years or on the engine and power train. American Motors continued its industry-exclusive ceramic-coated exhaust system as standard on Rambler Americans.


title: Rambler American

text: Newly appointed as AMC's new chairman and chief executive officer, Roy D. Chapin, Jr. began to promote and reposition the Rambler American, the automaker's least popular line. He bet on the Rambler American to improve the automaker's financial performance after George W. Romney. Chapin also saw a price gap between U.S. cars and inexpensive imports (primarily the Volkswagen) and lowered the price to make the Rambler American's "total value superior to the imports, as well as superior in both price and range of choice to U.S. compacts". The suggested retail price of the base two-door Rambler American sedan dropped to (its closest U.S. competitor was the $2,117 Plymouth Valiant), making the larger and more powerful American only $200 more than the Volkswagen Beetle.


title: Rambler American

text: American Motors announced that it was foregoing the annual styling changeovers that were expected among the domestic firms, thus saving retooling costs and passing on the savings to consumers by keeping the car's price low. The automaker promised in a special $300,000 advertising campaign future changes to the car would be to enhance safety and reliability. The American's 1966 design was then continued mostly unchanged through the 1969 model year.


title: Rambler American

text: For 1968, the line was further simplified from nine to five models, with the two-door coupe and four-door sedan comprising the base line (with the 220 designation no longer used), four-door sedan and station wagon being offered in up-level 440 guise, and a lone hardtop coupe making up the top-line Rogue trim line. The American, along with "A-body" Chryslers, were the only domestic cars that were available as a hardtop coupe model, the Ford Falcon and Chevy Nova being only available as pillared sedans (and a wagon in the Ford Falcon line).


title: Rambler American

text: All Americans received a new chrome horizontal grille bar that extended outboard to the headlights, while the grille sections got an attractive "blackout" treatment. The wraparound rear window on the sedans was modified to a flat unit, with a more squared-off "C" pillar, which changed the appearance from the earlier sedans with their overhanging rooflines. The overall effect was a more formal-looking car. The 440 and Rogue versions picked up a stainless-steel trim piece running stem to stern on either body side, straight back between the wheel wells and the beltline. At each end of the strip were the newly safety-mandated body side reflectors, amber for the front fenders, and red for the rear. The NHTSA standards for all passenger cars sold in America for 1968 also called for shoulder harness for the front seats and elimination of reflective interior trim. Other requirements for all cars manufactured after 1 January 1968, included exhaust control systems to help reduce unburned hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions.


title: Rambler American

text: The biggest change was the decision to keep the manufacturer's suggested retail price of the base two-door model to within $200 of the Volkswagen Beetle. The domestic Big Three automakers did not respond to this strategy, thus giving AMC a big price differential over the competing domestic models. Sales of the Rambler American increased and the showroom traffic boosted morale among AMC's independent dealerships. This was backed up by a marketing campaign stating, "Either we're charging too little for our cars or everyone else is charging too much." The promotion and lower prices were designed to rekindle the Rambler American as a practical and economical car in customers' minds. Advertisements by AMC's new agency, Wells, Rich, and Greene, headed by Mary Wells Lawrence violated the accepted rule of not attacking the competition.


title: Rambler American

text: Since its introduction, "the Rambler American has done well at American Motors." For its final model year, 1969, the "American" name was dropped as the car was now referred to as the "American Motors Rambler". Continuing the tradition of minimal changes, the models received a new "suspended" accelerator pedal and cable throttle linkage. Additional safety equipment for the 1969 models included front shoulder belts and headrests for both front outboard seating positions and the front parking lights stayed on with the headlights. On the exterior, the center horizontal chrome grille bar was deleted.


title: Rambler American

text: As a true compact-sized car on a wheelbase, the Rambler station wagon had no domestic competitors, and it offered interior space advantage compared to imported models with its of cargo space. Available only in 440 trim, the wagons came with a roll-down rear window with drop-down tailgate for cargo area access, as well as a roof rack.


title: Rambler American

text: In part to commemorate the impending discontinuation of the Rambler name, American Motors added the Rogue-based SC/Rambler to the line (detailed separately).


title: Rambler American

text: Total production for the 1969 model year was 96,029. The last U.S.-made Rambler was assembled in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on 30 June, making the production total of 4,204,925 units.