This is a 1978 wagon. Believe it or not, the website it is being advertised on is seeking $10K for it.
Posted on 10/07/2024 7:18:16 PM PDT by Red Badger
A 25 minute trip down memory lane for those of us who lived thru the 70's ugly crappy car era......................
VIDEO AT LINK...................
Yup the back end of the Gremlin would break out because out of poor balance and suspension - did fine on a straight run. I bought that in high school with my own money - was all I could afford.
In 1977 I bought a Buick Regal with a CB radio, 8-track player built in, and a vinyl top. 350 GM engine in that car, fine design, automatic.
Traded that in 1979 for a Datsun 280 ZX for the wife and I to commute to work. Now that was a fun car. Well balanced, 2.8 liter 6 cylinder 5-speed. Kept it when I moved overseas in 1981. Mother in law drove it, but she only used gears 1-3-5, she said that 5 gears were too many. She would just tach it up really high to shift. My portly father in law drove it too, said it wasn’t too bad once you got it on.
We had a Pinto as well.
What a mistake buying that thing was.
Just this past Aug, or Sept we ended up driving behind a beautifully restored Pinto from Troy, NY to Brattleboro, VT.
When we pulled up behind it at the light, I just stared at it a minute, not believing my eyes. Even after all these years, I still recognized it and said to mr. mm, That’s a Pinto!
He said, No, couldn’t be. At the next light I creeped up close enough to read the name and see the logo and it was.
I worked with a guy that had one, and rode in it a couple of times. It did indeed corner well and I never thought it was ugly though you did get the feeling that you were riding in a fish bowl.
Had a navy blue Vega hatchback with white upholstery. LOVED that car!
If you could pick up chicks in that.... you won the game.
Had a 71 Datsun 510 when going to grad school. Great little car. Got a 1976 Camaro lt later..supposed to be the worst Camaro. It was great... Tuned down to 160 horse for smog b.s...good torque...305 v8...very smooth...turned heads with red/orange paint and black vinyl top. Love that car.
Much later got 1979 caddie brougham....425 ci tuned down to 190 HP...ran great, smooth , quiet, with good pickup. Would have loved to turn the 425 lose. But they kept smog requirements for 1979.... no one could fix it....cr4p!
Always thought the gremlin and pacer showed that AMC was trying to develop cars that filled a niche. The matador, javelin and AMX were cool enough. Pacer much more cool than fiat500 or Smart cars. I could see a pacer with hybrid or super efficient ICE power...like the goldfish bowl look.....gremlin could easily be stretched a bit and be a sedan with tons of rear storage space...like a two door enclosed pick up...Ford transit connect is a tall stretched gremlin...basically...IMHO
😂. On all 4 cyl, maybe.
My last car as a civilian was a ‘73 Gremlin in 1993. Wish I could get it back.
My first car was a 1973 Ford LTD. Bought it used in 1978. Great car.
1/2 a car.
II rented a yellow Pinto once in SoCal. People drove around me.
It had big letters on it. I Called it the Deathmobile.
The Pacer was designed to have a ROTARY ENGINE that would have come from GM but they killed that project which left AMC having to take another engine and wedge it into the small compartment it was never meant to be in...............
The Family Truckster
I guess the rubber band engine worked.
Also known as "No Sale Green". My parents had a '73 Dodge Dart in that color. It was a truly horrible excuse for a car, the cheapest possible version with an anemic in-line 6, glacially slow, and it didn't even have an AM radio.
The only decent car they ever had was a '69 Dodge Coronet with a 318, front disk brakes, and a 3-speed manual. The Charger was basically the same thing with some upgrades.
The Dodge Magnum was pretty cool.
It just didn’t stand a chance against the Chevelle super sport or the Buick GS
Didn’t know that. Thanks.
If they could have had some decent power plant like a 2 liter 200 hp turbo 4 banger that could have been a cool little car...maybe a bit more aerodynamic...
The story of the Coronet is a funny one. My dad was laid up with some serious medical issues (he survived), and my mom decided she needed a new car. They always had Chrysler products, so I told her to get a Charger. She didn’t know what that was, so she went to the dealership and asked. The salesman, confronted by a middle-aged woman asking about a Charger, asked her what was up. She confessed that this was her son’s idea, so he asked her how old I was. I was 19. Well, that ended any hope of getting a Charger, but he steered her to the Coronet, so it worked out OK after all!
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