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- Wayback Wheels -
Vintage Car Talk
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- Wayback Wheels
- By A Neilly
- Often these days, unless you
are a real car fanatic, it is difficult for the average consumer
to tell the difference between a Toyota and a Tempo. The automobiles
of previous decades usually had a very distinctive design.
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- The subject of this column,
the Gremlin, was one of the most recognizable in its day. The
year was 1970. The big three auto makers, GM, FORD and Chrysler
were rolling out their new models, full of confidence and ready
to continue their dominance of new car sales in North America.
Imports were just starting to make inroads.
Not as confident as the "Big Three" was American Motors.
The sales of their once popular Rambler line (in its prime, one
of the best selling mid sized cars in Canada) had gone from 35,000
in 1965 into rapid decline.
Studebaker had ceased production in 1966 and many experts predicted
AMC would be the next to go. What they really needed was a small
car to compete with the VW Beetle and also beat GM and Ford into
the sub-compact auto market.
They were well aware that consumers were starting to look for
smaller cars that would be more fuel-efficient. The days of the
$5 fill-up were rapidly coming to an end. Something had to be
done.
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- Richard Teague, a designer at AMC, was on a Northwest
Orient Airlines flight when he pulled out an airsickness bag,
flipped it over, and drew up a design for the new Gremlin on
the back. He basically did a drawing of an AMC Hornet and sawed
off the back giving it a wedge shaped profile.
Just to be sure they had a hit on their hands, the "suits"
at American Motors invited 1,000 owners of small cars to an unveiling
of a life sized model of the yet unnamed vehicle. The attendees
were not told the make or the manufacturer of the car; they were
just asked for their comments. The enthusiastic reaction of the
group was all AMC needed to hear. It would be a hit.And so, on
April Fools day in 1970, the cute little Gremlin was introduced
to the public.
In Ontario, the basic Gremlin sold for $2,398 and it really was
basic. There were only two seats; there was no radio, no carpeting,
and the rear side windows didn't open. It did come painted (a
choice of 13 colours) but stripes, full wheel covers and a rear
seat would cost you more. The subcompact Gremlin averaged a respectable
28 to 30 miles per gallon with its 6 cylinder engine and was
tested in Mechanix Illustrated magazine reaching 0 – 60
MPH in 11.9 seconds. The V8 version took only 8,5 seconds to
reach 60 MPH.
The Brampton Ontario plant built over 12,000 before the end of
1970 and produced 26,348 in 1971. The 1973 Gremlin featured a
very special optional Levi interior trim package. The upholstery
had the appearance of denim, but due to fire regulations was
made of nylon. It included burnished copper denim rivets and
red Levi logo tabs. How cool was that?
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- In 1974, AMC deliberately extended
the model year into November to delay the need to install the
government mandated catalytic converters and this helped increase
sales by
nearly 40%.
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- The 1977 Gremlin offered, as
an option, a VW/Audi designed 2 litre, 4 cylinder engine. This
engine was the same one used in the Porsche 924 but was carbureted
and didn't use the Bosch fuel injection system that the Porsches
used.
By the end of 1978 (the Gremlin's last year) the competition
from the "Big Three" and the imports finished off the
Gremlin. They hadn't changed its body style in nine years of
production and the newer sub-compact cars came with front wheel
drive and better
performance.
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- In total, 671,475 units were
sold during the Gremlin's lifetime. This cute little car, designed
on the back of an airsickness bag and introduced to the public
on April Fools Day eventually became the best selling car AMC
ever produced.
Aaron Neilly is a certified mechanic with a passion for
anything unique with four wheels and an engine. He spends a lot
of time in them, under them and discussing them.
Wayback Wheels Archives
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