After World War II, Nash, like many American automakers, faced a double-edged sword.

The market for new automobiles was roaring and unlike any ever before, but at the same time, competition was absolutely brutal.

Virtually every automaker was returning to post-war production with its warmed-over 1942 design.

Nash required something new and different, that may not, necessarily, sell in large quantities, but would serve as a “draw” for showrooms.

That car was the Ambassador Suburban, a four-door fastback sedan with handsome “woodie” bodywork, in the fashion of the Chrysler Town and Country.

By far the costliest Nash product, it was always extraordinarily rare.

Estimates are that, in three years of production, fewer than 1,000 were produced, with the most scarce being the 1948 model, of which just 130 were made.

Of the entire Suburban run, about a dozen survivors remain in existence worldwide.

The 1948 model in Thomas F.

Derro’s collection was acquired from the late Lloyd Mayes, ...