These were definitely under-appreciated cars! Good, solid, basic cars. It's a shame that they never really caught-on, and AMC went down the tubes shortly thereafter.
Gimme the 4x4 version of these babies _the Eagle- and THEN we really have something!
I remember when you'd see these running around on the street when they were new. They were nice-looking cars. After a year or two, you'd never see one again. Weird!
It's ironic, -after all the crap AMC made in the 70's, they finally started getting things right with the Concord and Eagle- but it was too late. Too many years of making irrelevant crap took it's toll, so even though they finally came up with a couple of winners, it was too late to save their finances and public image. After disasters like the Pacer and Gremlin, who wanted to be seen driving anything that said AMC on it, even if it finally was a decent car?
So, you think that the Pacer was a good car, and that it's only problem was poor MPGs? Wow.... Just wow. (O-K, maybe it does look good compared to any Renault.... Le Car anyone? LOL!!!)
Love it or hate it, the Pacer was an innovative car, probably AMC's best.
Maybe more comparative to a Citroën than a Renault. The Pacer was probably the most French-like car America ever made; Different on purpose, with forward-looking design and engineering, resulting in its rather fugly looks.
I like the Concorde. The Eagle even more so. But show me a clean Pacer and... well, I'd still probably buy something else entirely. Nevertheless, respect.
Thank you, other Anon. Maybe more people should check out Wikipedia or allcarwiki.com and see what they have to offer before posting subjective opinions.
The glass of the Pacer made the car very heavy, hence the poor MPG. And yes, it was a fugly car.
Name ONE good thing about the Pacer. (And "It was ahead of it's time" because it looked like something that George Jetson might drive, doesn't count!). It sure did seem French though- like Pepe Le Pew!
Nice car don't restore it .. I like the light blue color . As far as AMC in the 1970s I think the police departments like the Matador LAPD and. City of Yonkers New York . I never heard anything bad about ambassador even though Chevrolet Caprice Ford LTD's and Plymouth Fury III's were more popular
@ sneaky pete, as the owner of two amc's one of them being a pacer, I can tell you right now something that is good about the pacer. handling is on point, it floats down the road like a Cadillac and the wide stance makes it feel pretty stable in turns. I can agree that it is not the best car AMC made but it is the most unique. My 78 concord AMX is a fairly rare AMC and out of the two the pacer gets way more attention from people driving or passing by than the AMX does. everybody has a story about a pacer. good or bad it is still a icon. everybody knows what it is and it brings back memories from people who used to own one or see them or sell them. what I do respectfully disagree with you on is the gremlin. that is also an iconic AMC but it was built off of the tried and true hornet platform and was a great car for the period. cheap, light, somewhat economical and base models came with the 6 where as the pinto and vega came with 4's. yes, later on the gremlin could be ordered with a 4 cylinder but it was an option. the 232 I6 was still the base engine. the gremlin pretty much saved AMC from going under in the 70's and if I recall they made somewhere in the neighborhood of 700,000 of them during it's 8 year run so they must have been doing something right and the coolest thing about the gremlin, factory V8 option in an economy car. that is something you will probably never see again for good reason, it had the ability to be optioned as a rolling contradiction and that is one of the aspects that made it different and cool.
GW Tib, I do like the fact that the Pacer was definitely different; and yes, they do evoke memories- every time I see one, I always have a flashback to 1975- but pretty much every non-economy car of that era (and the Pacer definitely wasn't an economy car- No biggie to me, as i drive a V10 Excursion....)floated down the road.
I'll take a Matador, or Rambler or Concord or Eagle any day- although I do wish that they had a car that combined the uniqueness of the Pacer with the tankishness of those cars. Oh no, now I've got that Bo Donaldson & The Haywoods song stuck in my head! :D
Best of OPC. 
14 comments:
What a beautyful ride.Needs love and helping hands.
These were definitely under-appreciated cars! Good, solid, basic cars. It's a shame that they never really caught-on, and AMC went down the tubes shortly thereafter.
Gimme the 4x4 version of these babies _the Eagle- and THEN we really have something!
I remember when you'd see these running around on the street when they were new. They were nice-looking cars. After a year or two, you'd never see one again. Weird!
whoa whoa whoa.
is that rust or rust-colored paint?
It's ironic, -after all the crap AMC made in the 70's, they finally started getting things right with the Concord and Eagle- but it was too late. Too many years of making irrelevant crap took it's toll, so even though they finally came up with a couple of winners, it was too late to save their finances and public image. After disasters like the Pacer and Gremlin, who wanted to be seen driving anything that said AMC on it, even if it finally was a decent car?
Pacers were ahead of their time, even if they were thirsty. Gremlins had character to them. But they were pretty much a chopped off Hornet.
AMXs and Javelins were bad ass as well. I don't know where you get your information from.
Now the Renault Alliance on the other hand...
So, you think that the Pacer was a good car, and that it's only problem was poor MPGs? Wow.... Just wow. (O-K, maybe it does look good compared to any Renault.... Le Car anyone? LOL!!!)
Love it or hate it, the Pacer was an innovative car, probably AMC's best.
Maybe more comparative to a Citroën than a Renault. The Pacer was probably the most French-like car America ever made; Different on purpose, with forward-looking design and engineering, resulting in its rather fugly looks.
I like the Concorde. The Eagle even more so. But show me a clean Pacer and... well, I'd still probably buy something else entirely. Nevertheless, respect.
Thank you, other Anon. Maybe more people should check out Wikipedia or allcarwiki.com and see what they have to offer before posting subjective opinions.
The glass of the Pacer made the car very heavy, hence the poor MPG. And yes, it was a fugly car.
Name ONE good thing about the Pacer. (And "It was ahead of it's time" because it looked like something that George Jetson might drive, doesn't count!). It sure did seem French though- like Pepe Le Pew!
All, here's a nice video about AMC and the Pacer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcl98aBRkD8
Nice car don't restore it .. I like the light blue color . As far as AMC in the 1970s I think the police departments like the Matador LAPD and. City of Yonkers New York . I never heard anything bad about ambassador even though Chevrolet Caprice Ford LTD's and Plymouth Fury III's were more popular
@ sneaky pete, as the owner of two amc's one of them being a pacer, I can tell you right now something that is good about the pacer. handling is on point, it floats down the road like a Cadillac and the wide stance makes it feel pretty stable in turns.
I can agree that it is not the best car AMC made but it is the most unique. My 78 concord AMX is a fairly rare AMC and out of the two the pacer gets way more attention from people driving or passing by than the AMX does. everybody has a story about a pacer. good or bad it is still a icon. everybody knows what it is and it brings back memories from people who used to own one or see them or sell them. what I do respectfully disagree with you on is the gremlin. that is also an iconic AMC but it was built off of the tried and true hornet platform and was a great car for the period. cheap, light, somewhat economical and base models came with the 6 where as the pinto and vega came with 4's. yes, later on the gremlin could be ordered with a 4 cylinder but it was an option. the 232 I6 was still the base engine. the gremlin pretty much saved AMC from going under in the 70's and if I recall they made somewhere in the neighborhood of 700,000 of them during it's 8 year run so they must have been doing something right and the coolest thing about the gremlin, factory V8 option in an economy car. that is something you will probably never see again for good reason, it had the ability to be optioned as a rolling contradiction and that is one of the aspects that made it different and cool.
GW Tib, I do like the fact that the Pacer was definitely different; and yes, they do evoke memories- every time I see one, I always have a flashback to 1975- but pretty much every non-economy car of that era (and the Pacer definitely wasn't an economy car- No biggie to me, as i drive a V10 Excursion....)floated down the road.
I'll take a Matador, or Rambler or Concord or Eagle any day- although I do wish that they had a car that combined the uniqueness of the Pacer with the tankishness of those cars. Oh no, now I've got that Bo Donaldson & The Haywoods song stuck in my head! :D
The Pacer was by far one of AMC's best. Durability was its main selling point. Same with the Gremlin, simple, powerful, and reliable.
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