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Series IV
Overview
Production	1959–61

January 1959 saw the start of Metropolitan Series IV (NK4) production (Commencing with VIN E59048 on 12 January 1959).

This major redesign saw the addition of an external decklid (previous models only allowed access to the trunk through the rear seat back) and vent windows. By this time, the engine had been upgraded by increasing the compression ratio from 7.2:1 to 8.3:1 (Commenced VIN E43116 — October 15, 1957) giving an output of 55 bhp (41 kW) (as used in the Austin A55 Cambridge). The additional features added 15 lb (6.8 kg) to the weight. Exterior color options were the same as for Series III. The interior now used a diamond pattern for the seats, with white vinyl trim. The MSRP for Series IV models was $1,672.60 (Hardtop) and $1,696.80 (Convertible).

Sales rose to 22,209 units in 1959, the Metropolitan's best-selling year, promoting it to second place behind Volkswagen in sales of cars imported to the U.S. American Motors' advertising made much of this ranking, while omitting mention that the Volkswagen outsold the Metropolitan by 5½ to 1.

Production ceased in April 1961 (final VIN — E95981, built April 19, 1961). Sales of the existing inventory continued until March 1962.

A station wagon version was contemplated by AMC, and two prototypes were built, but the project was abandoned. One of the two prototypes has been restored and is on display at a Metropolitan restoration facility in North Hollywood, California.

Approximately 95,000 Metropolitans were sold in the United States and Canada, making it one of the top-selling cars to be imported into those countries at the time, and its sales in 1959 helped to spur the introduction of the Big Three's (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) new compact models.^{[citation needed]}

Yearly shipments

Year	US	Canada	Total
1953	571	172	743
1954	11,198	1,964	13,162
1955	3,849	2,247	6,096
1956	7,645	1,423	9,068
1957	13,425	1,892	15,317
1958	11,951	1,177	13,128
1959	20,435	1,774	22,209
1960	13,103	771	13,874
1961	853	116	969
1962	412	8	420
Totals	83,442	11,544	94,986

Production dates

To establish the production date for a Metropolitan (U.S. and Canadian models only), check the VIN or Serial number on a data plate affixed to the firewall. The number is prefixed by the letter "E". Check this number against the list below, to establish an approximate production date. NB. Since the cars took at least six weeks to be shipped from the Longbridge factory to the U.S. distribution network, the actual titled date will not be the same as the production date.

Starting VIN by Year and Month

Month	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961
Jan.	-	E1771	E14997	E21127	E30260	E45541	E58631	E80930	E94599
Feb.	-	E2797	E15628	E21606	E31481	E47003	E59384	E82828	E94852
Mar.	-	E3884	E16406	E22175	E32766	E48370	E60743	E84429	E95306
Apr.	-	E5060	E17312	E22826	E34157	E49418	E62310	E86458	E95870
May	-	E6264	E18095	E23557	E35760	E50057	E64459	E88307	-
June	-	E7678	E18972	E24435	E37654	E51255	E65904	E90274	-
July	-	E9096	E19502	E25368	E39060	E52201	E68322	E91579	-
Aug.	-	E10430	E19945	E26022	E40282	E53258	E70426	E92291	-
Sept	-	E11331	E20189	E26652	E40766	E54060	E72235	E92983	-
Oct.	E1001	E12426	E20474	E27526	E42139	E55306	E74795	E93571	-
Nov.	E1066	E13597	E20717	E28431	E43399	E56556	E76745	E93947	-
Dec.	E1271	E14259	E20940	E29463	E44464	E57685	E78833	E94354	-

Production for foreign markets

In October 1956, Austin Motor Company obtained permission from American Motors to sell the Metropolitans in overseas countries where AMC did not have a presence. The early brochures for the Austin Metropolitans used a reversed photograph to show an apparently right hand drive (RHD) car parked in an English country town (Chipping Campden), because only left hand drive vehicles were available at the time the photos were taken.

From December 1956, production of Austin Metropolitans began, and from April 2, 1957, approximately 9,400 additional units were sold in overseas markets that included the United Kingdom. List prices for the UK Series III models were £713 17s 0d for the Hardtop and £725 2s 0d for the Convertible. An estimated 1,200 Metropolitans were sold there in four years, according to several published sources. However one British journalist has estimated the figure at around 5,000. Markedly American, the styling was considered outlandish compared with the more sober British-styled models in the British Motor Corporation lineup.

Only Series III and Series IV Metropolitans were produced for sale in the UK. Series III models carried the prefix HD6 (Convertible) or HE6 (Hardtop). Some very early Series III models carried the prefix HNK3H or HNK3HL (L=Left-Hand Drive). The prefix is thought to indicate "Home Nash Kelvinator Series 3 H=1400-1999cc (Metropolitan=1500cc)". UK Series III sales ran from April 1957 to February 1959. Series IV models, which carried the prefix A-HJ7 (Convertible) or A-HP7 (Hardtop), were sold from September 1960 to February 1961. The Metropolitan was not available for UK sales between February 1959 and September 1960, since all production during that time was for US & Canadian dealers. When sales in the UK resumed they were sold through Austin dealers at listed prices of £707 6s 8d for the Hardtop and £732 2s 6d for the Convertible. Austin was dropped from the name, which now became simply "Metropolitan", and the cars carried no Austin badges although they had Austin Company chassis plates. Despite this the car remained known, by trade and public alike, as the Austin Metropolitan, often shortened to Austin Metro in common parlance. The 'Metro' tag was adopted by BMC (later British Leyland) as a house name, re-emerging in 1980 on the Austin (mini) Metro.

In May 1960, Car Mart Ltd. (a large Austin dealership in London, UK) presented Princess Margaret with a specially prepared Metropolitan finished in black with gold trim and gold leather interior as a wedding present. It was stolen in London in February 1961.

As a result of low sales, production of the Austin Metropolitan ended in February 1961. An additional two "one-offs" were built in March and April, after serial Metropolitan production ended. The final car had a VIN of A-HP7 150301. Total Austin Metropolitan production has been estimated at between 9,384 and 9,391 cars.

Epilogue

Faced with increasing competition from AMC's own Rambler American models, as well as newly introduced compact cars from the Big Three, the Metropolitan lost market appeal. The last Metropolitan body was made by Fisher & Ludlow on 10 April 1961. US-bound Metropolitan production ended in April 1961, as a result of its "marginal sales plus the fact that a four or five passenger Rambler American could be purchased for only about $100 more".

The Metropolitan "was a car that appealed to an eclectic mix of Americans" because it was "economical, yet a joy to drive", and it has been described as "pure automotive whimsy". It also "swam against nearly every current of American car design".

Police market

Right-hand drive models were marketed by AMC to U.S. police departments for use in parking enforcement and other urban duties. Comparing the car to police motorcycles, an AMC brochure advertised superior all-weather protection, cost-effectiveness and storage space, and also the safety of single-unit construction.

The Franklin Mint produced a die-cast toy model of a 1956 Metropolitan in a police car version. Among its features are a police hat and handcuffs on the passengers seat, as well as a fire extinguisher on the floor.

Astra-Gnome

Industrial designer Richard Arbib designed the Astra-Gnome “Time and Space Car”, a design concept influenced by space travel forms. The vehicle was featured on the September 3, 1956 cover of Newsweek magazine and exhibited at the 1956 New York International Auto Show. Arbib modified a 1955 Nash Metropolitan and it was his vision of what an automobile would look like in the year 2000. Among the features were a "celestial time-zone clock permitting actual flight-type navigation." The car is restored and kept at a museum in California.

Metropolitan Club (AMC)

Almost from the beginning of sales of the Metropolitan, American Motors received many letters and photographs from Metropolitan owners with stories of their good experiences with their cars. Some of these comments were used in later brochures for the Metropolitan. In January 1957, James W. Watson (AMC's Sales Manager for the Metropolitan) decided to initiate a "Metropolitan Club" to channel this enthusiasm, and hopefully increase Metropolitan sales. He reasoned that personal recommendation was a powerful marketing tool.

All owners of Metropolitans could apply to join the Club, and members received a membership card, membership certificate, and a metal badge to attach to their vehicle. From May 1957, a magazine was circulated to members called "The Met Letter". In total, 16 magazines were produced from May 1957 (Volume 1, Number 1) to January 1962 (Volume 4, Number 3). The magazine consisted of articles and photographs submitted by members, as well as maintenance and editorial comment from American Motors. Members who recruited additional Metropolitan buyers were rewarded with a special gold anodized "Metropolitan Club" badge.

The Club was disbanded around May 1962, when supplies of Metropolitans was exhausted. Floyd Clymer, the motoring journalist and passionate supporter of the Metropolitan concept, attempted to keep the Metropolitan Club going for a short while after this time.

Collectibility

The "Metropolitan's staying power and its never-ending cuteness" have earned it "a place among the Greatest Cars of All Time" in the opinion of automotive writer Jack Nerad, a former editor of Motor Trend magazine: "No, the Metropolitan didn't come from a top-of-the-line manufacturer. No, it doesn't have a proud racing history. And, no, it wasn't built in huge numbers. But [it] possesses an ageless, cuddly quality that has made it a perennial favorite of car lovers and car agnostics alike." Nerad added: "If you wanted to ... wring the Met through its paces, you would be rewarded with a 0–60 miles per hour acceleration time of nearly 30 seconds. The Met was reasonably light at approximately 1800 pounds, but that weight was squared off against 42 horsepower."

In the opinion of syndicated auto journalist and author Bill Vance, the 1,200 cc (73 cu in) Metropolitan "was quite a stylish little car" that was "ahead of its time" and performed well against its competition.

Brian Sewell cites the 1,500 cc (92 cu in) version as the one "now perversely recognized as a collector's car", and says that the Metropolitan is "worth a moment's consideration, for in the history of the post-war American car industry it was the only genuine attempt to provide the market there with a mass-produced small, cheap car that could hold its own in urban traffic and slot into parking spaces far too small for even the smallest Ford or Chevrolet ... [but] the steering, dreadfully hampered by the enclosure of the front wheels, is so insensitive, and the turning circle so wide, that parking is a wretched business, the slack response of the huge steering-wheel a feature common in lumbering US cars of the period."

By British standards it looked "awful", according to Autocar, but Nash were "very pleased with it".

In 1961, the British auto magazine The Autocar tested a 1959 model whose odometer showed 27,124 mi (43,652 km), and recorded a “reasonable” cruising speed of 60 mph, “fairly high” oil consumption of 125 miles per pint, “adequately good” roadholding, “pronounced understeer” in cornering, “good directional stability,” “decidedly vague steering,” a turning circle that was “stately for such a small car,” brakes that were “effective,” and remarked on the “unnecessarily high position of the steering-wheel,” which interfered with the driver’s view of the road. The test car accelerated from 0–60 mph in 22.4 seconds, and its time for the standing-start quarter-mile was 21.9 seconds.

Metropolitans have the very soft ride preferred by Americans at the time, instead of the firmer suspension preferred in Europe. Markedly American, the styling was considered outlandish compared with the more sober British-styled models in the British Motor Corporation lineup. Brian Sewell commented in 2007 that the car was "damned" in England "as a preposterous aberration incorporating the worst of everything American."

One marque enthusiast says that Nash’s subcompact was "the Smart car of the '50s." Although his Metropolitan is unsuitable for long journeys owing to "a lot of wind noise and really poor suspension," it can cruise at 50 mph (80 km/h) and has a top speed of 75 mph (121 km/h). Parts are "relatively easy" to obtain and the car is "easy to work on."

Ken Gross, a director of the Petersen Automotive Museum, noted that "the softly sprung Met wallows like most larger American cars of its day," and he has warned against "rust, especially in the floor pan and lower fenders," and "electrical gremlins." British-made mechanical parts were available on the unspecified date of his article's publication, but he said that sheet-metal was "a challenge."

Sewell advises buying the open version in "as late a model as you can (it ceased production in 1961) – this has slightly more panache, and with the hood down it's much easier to load [at the supermarket]."

"While there are still good deals to be had on Metropolitans, their values have quietly but sharply escalated in the last five years while other 1960s American collector cars have leveled off or simply remained flat ... Parts and support are not a problem with these cars; returning all the waves and smiles you'll get driving a Met can be tiring though."

Some owners modify their Metropolitans. More extreme modifications have included conversion into a pickup truck, station wagon and stretch limousine, installation of a V8 engine, and conversion into a "Metro-Sled" with a rear-mounted snowmobile engine driving twin tracks. Some cars that were originally hardtops have been converted to convertibles.

There are active clubs for Metropolitan owners and enthusiasts. New, used and reproduction examples of various parts and accessories are available.

The name was reserved as a House Name by BMC (later British Leyland) and re-emerged years later, in abbreviated form, on the Austin Mini-Metro. Amongst UK enthusiasts the original Metropolitan had, generally speaking, been unofficially dubbed the Austin Metro.

In the first half of 2015 Metropolitans were on offer in the US for ca. $ 10,000 to 20,000.

Notable owners

• Jimmy Buffett
• Bridget Fonda
• Greg Gutfeld
• Steve Jobs
• Princess Margaret
• Paul Newman
• Elvis Presley
• Graham Stark
• "Weird Al" Yankovic
• Nancy Drew (fictional character), in the 2007 film Nancy Drew