Hoosier AMC Club President
As you may or may not know, this years AMCRC
International Convention is being hosted by the Hoosier AMC Chapter of
AMCRC. On December 21, 2006 the
Indianapolis Star ran a feature on Joe Fougeroussee, the president of the Hoosier Club. Reproduced here, courtesy of the
Indianapolis Star
is the article that ran just before Christmas 2006. Take
a little time to learn about the president of this years
International Convention host.
December 21, 2006
He's a Ramblin' man -- and proud of it!
By Bill McCleery
Joe Fougerousse became interested in cars at an early age.
"I
was mechanically inclined when I was young," said the 47-year-old
McCordsville resident. "I used to take things apart all the time."
Fougerousse
is president of a statewide club of car hobbyists -- the Hoosier AMC
Club. The group's members are loyal to cars made by American Motors
Corp.
Fougerousse, a 1977 Mount Vernon High
School graduate, started out driving Chevrolets but said he gradually
converted to AMC products.
American Motors
Corp. formed in 1954 as a merger between Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson car
companies. During the 1960s, many of the company's cars were produced
under the Rambler nameplate. In the 1970s and '80s, the company dropped
the Rambler name as it produced such models as Gremlins, Hornets and
Eagles.
The company went out of business in 1987. One of its brands, Jeep, survives as part of the DaimlerChrysler Corp.
"I
like AMCs because they're different," Fougerousse said. "Not everybody
owns one. If I go to a car show, I'm usually the only one in an AMC."
Fougerousse
is a muscle-car guy. His most prized cars are a green 1968 Rebel
convertible, a yellow 1968 AMX and a red 1971 Javelin -- all with V8
power.
His wife, Debi, claims the Javelin as hers. "She comes out here and polishes on it all the time," Fougerousse said.
Debi Fougerousse serves on the board of directors of the AMC Club.
The
Fougerousses have two daughters -- Dana McConnell, 23, and Deann
Simmons, 21. Every year, they accompany Fougerousse to a Father's Day
car show in Noblesville.
A fellow club member said Fougerousse's role is important.
"He
dedicates a lot of time to it," said Pete Vaughn, 41, of rural Boone
County. "(We all want) to see the cars get preserved. Plus it's like
having another family. . . It's a good hobby and it's a good bunch of
people."
Anyone interested in more
information about the AMC club can link to the Hoosier AMC Club via the
national AMC Web sites -- the American Motors Owners Association at
www.amo national.com or the National AMC Rambler Car Club at
www.amcrc.com.
