The Austin America was a 1,275 c.c. front wheel drive two-door saloon
with standard 4-speed Automotive-Products automatic transmission. It
effectively - or perhaps I should say ineffectually - replaced the MG
version of the ADO16 1100/1300 in the US market in 1968, prior to BL in
the last days of BMC/BMH. It could not pull the skin off a rice pudding
or easily survive the large distances expected on US Freeways, and
presumably appealed to inmates at retirement homes in Florida. It was
not a major success, and died out circa 1971/2 (not sure of date without
checking statistics). It was replaced in the BL line up by the Austin
Marina (Morris Marina outside North America) which was launched in the
UK in 1971 and the USA in February 1973.
The unrelated (other than by name!) Austin 3-Litre was unveiled to an
underwhelmed UK press in 1967. It was a large (by UK standards) four
door five seater saloon, with a basic central body monocoque related to
the front-wheel-drive ADO17 "Landcrab" Austin/Morris 1800 (sold in
Canada but not the USA as far as I believe) but an in-line rear wheel
drive layout. The Austin 3-Litre - code name ADO61 - used the new
3-litre 7-bearing straight six which was also used in the MGC rather
than the old Austin-Healey six. Suspension was an advanced combination
of Hydrolastic and self-levelling. The car had been shown ahead of
production, which didn't get under way until 1968. The car was a dead
loss, particularly as the BL merger panned out, and despite experiments
with a Wolseley badged prototype with the ex-Buick 3.5 litre V8, it was
dropped in 1971, just two years after the MGC had been withdrawn. Few
survive - they made good engine donor cars for MGC's - and I doubt they
were ever exported - certainly not to the USA.
Hope that helps.
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