Curbside Classics takes you back to 1971 for a virtual comparison test of six small cars, based on (and partly borrowed) from a C&D test. Please don’t spoil the outcome, if you know it (the suspense has been building for over 30 years).
Was a car ever born with the odds so stacked against it? Its name is defined as “a small gnome held to be responsible for malfunction of equipment.” Its design was penned on an air-sickness bag during a (bumpy?) flight. It carries almost sixty percent of its weight over the front wheels despite being RWD. Its steering has six turns lock to lock. And it looks exactly like what it is: a perfectly normal-looking sedan that had its rear end amputated by a cleaver. The Gremlin would have had to create a pretty major malfunction in my PC (and C&D’s typewriters) for it not to end dead last.
The little gnome was born out of desperate expediency. AMC knew that GM and Ford had all-new small cars (Vega and Pinto) due in 1971. There was no way they could afford one themselves. But their new Hornet compact sedan was due to arrive in 
1970. Necessity being the mother of malfunction, AMC chief designer Dick Teague penned a solution in the oxygen-thin air of an airliner. Shorten the Hornet’s wheelbase from 108″ to 96″ and cut everything off behind the rear wheels in a dramatic Kammback. The result looks so nose heavy that you are advised not to casually plop yourself on the front half of the hood, lest the whole car tip up.
At least AMC’s sense of humor was intact: the Gremlin was introduced on April Fool’s Day 1970, six months ahead of the upcoming Pinto and Vega. AMC explained the name with a vain attempt to re-write Webster’s: “a pal to its friends and an ogre to its enemies.”
An ogre to anyone other than the front seat passengers too. In a bow to reality (and cost cutting), the back seat is optional; seriously. The base Gremlin comes with a front bench seat only, and not a comfortable one at that. And that optional back seat is strictly for children. It does fold down to increase the otherwise tiny cargo space, which is accessible from the outside only if you order the optional fold-up hatch window. The desire to have a base list price ($1879) competitive with the VW involved some serious compromises: the Gremlin effectively was a two-seater station wagon (with the optional hatch). Or an update on the “business coupe,” without the business.
Well, the Gremlin certainly offset its cramped back end with the front end. Under that long nose sits AMC’s 232 cubic inch (3.8-
liter) inline six. It’s a solid and reliable performer, and brings torque and power levels unheard of to the small car arena. As per C&D: “compared to the others, the Gremlin feels like a fuel-burning Hemi on the dragstrip, almost a full second and 4 mph faster then . . . the second quickest car.” Well, everything is highly relative, if a 0-60 time of 10.5 seconds and the quarter mile in 17.8 sec. @ 78 mph feels like a Hemi. But then we’re comparing it to some cars with less than one-third the engine size. C&D’s observed consumption of 19.3 mpg results in the pregnant question “what kind of economy car is this?”
At least with all that torque, shifting is as optional as the back seat. Good thing, what with the Gremlin’s three-speed stick being unsynchronized in low gear, and balky in the other two. The bigger problem is putting all that power to the road, with that lightly loaded rear end. Not recommended for snow-country folks. But it comes highly recommended for lovers of burning rubber, especially with the V8 that became optional in 1972.
One of my favorite car movie scenes from that era is from Robert Altman’s 1971 release Brewster McCloud. Sally Kellerman drives a candy-apple red Gremlin shod with Cragar S/S’s that just can’t seem to stop its rear wheels from going up in smoke, while successfully eluding, and eventually causing the demise of a beautiful new 1970.5 LT-1 powered Camaro Z-28. Gremlin strike!
With its “incredibly heavy clutch” and super-slow unassisted steering (6.25 turns lock-to-lock), the Gremlin is utterly devoid of the typical small car nimble feeling. “Its handling is ponderous, and in braking, the weight transfers to the front wheels to such a degree that the rears lock up and the car yaws sideways.”
The Gremlin does have one virtue: it will cruise effortlessly at 70 mph on the freeway with good directional stability. Just don’t try to change direction or stop suddenly. But as we well know, Americans like to cruise their freeways at seventy. And, as we’ll find out, a number of the competing small cars of 1971 don’t.
That probably explains why the Gremlin sold reasonably well enough, in AMC’s scale of things anyway. 671,000 of the little gnomes/pals went out the door at Kenosha until 1978, and in 1979 it reappeared with some new sheet metal and a new name: the AMC Spirit. But it was still an ogre to anyone trying to sit in the back, or enjoy driving from the front.
57 Comments on “Curbside Classic: 1971 Small Cars Comparison: Number 6—AMC Gremlin...”
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What do you expect from the designers that created the Pacer as well. This car could best be described as an American Yugo.
And people wonder why I hated the 70s…
I didn’t realize until now that it had no rear liftgate. Unbelievable.
Good thing the buyer of this vehicle opted for the ‘Vomit’ colour, otherwise it would really have sucked.
Well, at least I now know never to see Brewster McCloud. Too sad.
Oddly enough, there was (and maybe still is) a dedicated group of people stuffing V8s into these things. A co-worker ended up in prison courtesy of one of those V8 transplants. But that’s a story for another day.
At least this example wasn’t AMC’s ubiquitous pea green color.
6.25 turns lock to lock? Insanity. Was there a power steering option on this little bugger?
My employer had some of these in the fleet in the late 70’s. I had the misfortune of driving them on dusty rural gravel roads. Can you spell “leaky door seals”? After a day on the road a shower was mandatory.
You have to remember that AMC had to bend over backwards to use the available resources in making new cars. I think that they did as best as they could.
On the Gremlin, what compromises the design is that blocky Hornet front end, which works on a larger car, but not a small design like the Gremlin. They could have used the front clip from the Javelin, a solution that could actually be doable.
I remember seeing an incredibly good looking concept on an AMC lifestyle station wagon, a Hornet Sportabout with the Javelin front clip. They could have used that solution for the Gremlin.
A co-worked ended up in prison courtesy of one of those V8 transplants. But that’s a story for another day
Robert: give this man a byline. This I just gotta hear…
Gremlin effectively was a two-seater station wagon (with the optional hatch)
So, there were models without any kind of opening at the back?
I learned to drive on a 1973 Gremlin. It had the 258 I-6 and automatic with a floor shifter. The car was the most unreliable one my family had ever owned…it was literally shot at 96,000 miles. And the journey to that destination was anything but smooth!
Yea, I think I remember this C/D test.
IIRC, the BMW 128i ends up winning.
More than six turns lock to lock? Wow. I’ve driven medium-duty trucks with less.
How could AMC get it so wrong with the Gremlin, while Volvo got is so right with the ES 1800?
Twotone
@Twotone: Because the 1800ES conversion was made by an Italian? Coggiola did the consulting, if I remember correctly. What is a wonder in that design, was the limitation in the use of as much of the original sheetmetal as possible, and connect the new back to the body hard points. Considering that, it is a wonderul design.
salhany, power steering, opening hatch, back seat, all available at extra cost. I’m sure the steering ratio was faster with the PS too.
Ingvar, the Javelin front clip would probably be an easy fit to the Gremlin, since the Javelin sat on the Hornet platform. It wouldn’t have made it look any less front-end heavy though.
ajla, good; but remember this was 1971; it would have been the 2002!
Best TTAC car review evah!
I learned to drive on a 1970 Maverick and can’t wait to see your review of that.
I believe that there were initially two versions of the Gremlin.
The el-strippo base version came without a back seat or opening rear window. This was the version featured in the advertising that emphasized the car’s low sticker price. The deluxe version did have a back seat and opening rear window as standard equipment.
AMC eliminated the base version of the Gremlin for 1972. It also offered the 304 V-8 as optional equipment that year. The final year for the V-8 version was 1976, when less than 1,000 were produced, according to the figures that I’ve seen.
The horrifying thing to contemplate is that, in the long run, the AMC Gremlin was probably the best of the original American subcompacts – Gremlin, Pinto and Vega.
A co-worked ended up in prison courtesy of one of those V8 transplants. But that’s a story for another day
Robert: give this man a byline. This I just gotta hear…
I second that
The Hornet was on an all new chassis, not on the Javelin platform. The Javelin was a much larger car and using it as a base for a two seater “small ” car would have given AMC the AMX. Which it did. The only thing they shared in design was the wheel base. AMC cut the wb. on the Javelin to create the AMX.
Using those Javelin front fenders on the Gremlin would have made the design even more unbalanced as they are far longer and built for a much bigger car.
The Hornet platform was designed to be used as the launch point of several new cars from AMC: Sportabout,Gremlin, the 2 dr hatchback Hornet and spawned several show cars on it’s own. The Spirit/Eagle SX4 were “Kammback” [original Gremlin without the hockey stick window styling ] and a liftback/fastback, 2 more versions that had appeared as show cars along the way.
The first show cars that featured the station wagon and Gremlin styling were based on the Javelin and were displayed in the late 60s.
The problem with using the 1974 example as representative is that the cars had to be refreshed to accomodate the Federal bumper standards.
The original [70 1/2-72], even the 73 with the initial Fed bumpers is much more balanced and cohesive than the 74 and up models. A lot of cars offered in the 70s that adapted to the bumper standards looked awkward, especially when they hadn’t been designed for them from the beginning.
The AMX GT show car mated the AMX/Javelin front clip with a passenger compartment and “chopped” rear that predicted the styling used on the production Gremlin.
The Hornet Sportabout was predicted by a Javelin-based show car from that same time period (1968-69). It featured four doors and a very slick roofline.
AMC styling in the 1960s and early 1970s was actually quite good. The original Javelin and AMX were very attractive cars, and the Hornet was very clean and more modern looking than the other domestic compacts – particularly the very sleek and well-proportioned hatchback and Sportabout wagon. The Ambassadors from those years were also quite attractive, while offering full-size room and comfort in a more reasonably sized package than a contemporary Impala, Galaxie or Fury.
Even the much-maligned Gremlin was a clever and effective answer to the expected Vega and Pinto. For much less money than Ford and GM invested in their respective subcompacts, AMC had a competitor that didn’t do nearly the damage to its reputation that the Vega and Pinto did to their parent companies. Even the funky styling was an advantage at this time. Plus, the original version (1970-73) was better balanced, as it didn’t have the bulky battering rams hung on each end. Take a look at a 1974 Pinto or Vega to grasp the stylistic challenges presented by the 5-mph bumper standards. The Pinto, in particular, makes the Gremlin look attactive.
The problem was that AMC’s precarious financial state (it almost went bankrupt in early 1967) meant that it had to cut corners with its cars. The drivetrains were actually quite good, but the rest of the car suffered. The dashboards on early 1970s Hornets and Gremlins, for example, look as though they were fabricated and assembled by high-school body shop classes.
For much less money than Ford and GM invested in their respective subcompacts, AMC had a competitor that didn’t do nearly the damage to its reputation that the Vega and Pinto did to their parent companies.
I’d be very interested to read some commentary from some of the engineers who worked on these cars. There has to be some older GM/Ford retirees reading this who could offer some insight into what went wrong.
I bought a new 1974 Gremlin. While it was a bad car, I thought that it was better than either the Vega or the Pinto. It was roomier and was much faster. I had the 258 six in it with a three on the floor manual tranny. I think AMC’s automatics were bought from Chrysler, so those were pretty good. It had a huge gas tank. I think it was 21 gallons! With such a huge tank, I had a shock filling it up when gas went up to over a $1 a gallon! I ended up trading it in on a Chevette. Boy I sure know how to pick em!
The long hood is needed for that I6 engine. AMC designers may have sloped it a bit in the end to reduce the perception of the bulk.
But that would have cost money… which they didn’t have.
I wouldn’t bash them, after all, the designer of this car is the same that did the XJ Cherokee.
Another nice “small” car story is the one of the creation of the Duster. You can go to allpar and see it.
In the late 70s when I was 17, I owned a 67 Galaxie 500 convertible with a 390 and a Cruis O Matic. One day I found myself stopped at a downtown traffic light. I was in the right lane, and needed into the left. I looked to my left and figured that the blue Gremlin sitting next to me shouldn’t be a problem.
Green light, a stiff push on the gas and I figured to jump out then get over to the left. I had missed the little “304″ badge on the fender.
At the next light, I am still in the right lane and planned to let loose with my big block V8 against this pretender in the Gremlin. By the time the light turned green and I mashed the go-pedal to the floor, I could see that the guy in the Gremlin (only slightly older than me) had the same idea. When it was time to hit the brakes at the next red light, I remained in the right lane.
By now, I had some respect for that Gremlin, but figured that my lightning reflexes could overcome my 2:70 axle and catch him before the next light. I was wrong.
That Gremlin and I went at it for about 6 or 7 blocks before I (even at 17) decided that I was likely to get arrested before I beat that Gremlin. And that, gentlemen, is why I, to this day, harbor a secret desire to own a 304 Gremlin with which to stun and amaze some guy who is all too proud of his moderately fast car.
Boy do I have some memories of that car. Mid-70’s, Presque Isle Region SCCA autocross. There was a guy running a 304 V-8 in his Gremlin (factory option, not a home built job) with a four speed. He usually smoked all comers in the A Sedan class.
The Chevette Scooter also came without a back seat.
Geeber: thanks for clarifying and adding more detail.
Nothing “went wrong” with the Gremlin design. It was exactly what it was: a chopped down Hornet with all the compromises that meant: no 4 cyl [until the Audi 4 later in the decade which design rights AMC bought to build on their own], compromised rear seat, weight imbalance, etc.]. What went wrong was assembly and quality control.One rag mentioned that the Gremlin was so popular when it came out that they “slapped together” as many as they could as quickly as they could and “shoved them out the door”.
And there are articles from the period from all three major rags: MT, C/D, R/T and another called Road Test. that describe how the car was conceived. Motor Trend’s report included an interview with Dick Teague.
My parents had a 71 Gremlin and a 72 Ambassador. On paper they give a good account of themselves. In reality: don’t believe that Kenosha made better cars than the “Big Three”. AMC was right down there quality-wise where Chrysler is considered today. Don’t let the partisans rewrite history and say otherwise.
Even the rags were noticing by 1971.In a comparison test conducted at the time Motor Trend answered one of AMC’s ad lines “If You Had To Compete With GM Ford An Chrysler, What Would YOU Do?” with:”Kick some butts on the assembly line and get the workers to finish their work.” They went on to describe the ill fit plastic and panels and trim, the leaks and rattles, etc.
Consumer Reports said the same thing and their charts backed it up. They chose the Gremlin over other small cars one year, but only if it was equipped with power steering and disc brakes.
Don’t get me wrong. I loved those cars and probably influenced my parent’s decision to buy them.I learned to drive on them [and a 66 Mercury Montclair]. They are fondly remembered.
In truth, though, they were not on the same level as GM and Ford or even Chrysler.
I agree with earlier posts, this mid-70’s version is very awkward looking compared to the earlier Gremilins with the thinner bumpers. I actually think the early versions are kind of cool, in a weird, surreal kind of way…
Anyway, Richard Teague was responsible for some beautiful production and showcar designs in his day. And I still consider the original 2-seat 1968-1970 AMX to be one of the most beautiful and desirable American cars of all time. Considering the lack of resources at AMC, Teague really had to do more with less. Granted, his portfolio is mixed (Pacer) but when he succeeded, he was brilliant.
One of my all time favorite cars. But I’m perplexed at the pejorative Pacer prattle.
Don’t laugh, but my grandparents actually owned one… EXACTLY like the one in the pictures… even the same horrible color.
My uncle had a 1971 Sportabout, “Baby Poop” yellow with the fake wood grain sides.
A very cool car, but he worked on it a bit too much. While replacing the convoluted valve cover gasket on that 232, he swore so much (he usually did not) I was stunned, but not as much as the F-Bomb he dropped when it started leaking again after a few months.
And you have to love the Pacer, which got rid of the front overhang by installing the 232 so far back that the last two cylinders were under the windshield. This brought the bell housing back past the gas pedal. The transmission hump was so wide that it necessitated widening the car just to give the front occupants some elbow room; trouble is, the track seemed to be about the same as the Gremlin.
My cousin owned a Pacer (for a short time – she bought it because it was “cute”). She let me drive it – “Fishbowl on Roller Skates” was the best description of the driving dynamics.
I believe the electronics were Chrysler-sourced as well….I remember in college driving around in my Hornet hatchback thinking I was just the shit. With my spare balast resistor and voltage regulator in the ‘way back’.
Play that funky music, white boy. Crank up BOTH speakers hooked up to the Blaupunkt radio….
Ah memories…my family’s finances were up and down in the 70’s along with the economy, and I remember as a kid, my mother losing her almost new silver and black ‘73 Grand Prix, and having to settle for a used turd-brown Gremlin due to tight money…
She hated that car so much that she constantly threatened to drive it into a tree (without the kids in the car, of course) until my dad found a good deal on a decent condition used Lincoln… much more to her liking, and he said worth every penny, just to keep her quiet.
Please don’t spoil the outcome, if you know it (the suspense has been building for over 30 years.)
Actually, I do remember that article.
I won’t reveal the winner, but good luck finding a Curbside Classic for the second-place car — it was rare even then!
I borrowed a manual-steering Gremlin in the mid-seventies and had to make a U-turn with it. I’d never cranked a steering wheel so much in my life.
The AMC inline 6 cyl is one of the most reliable engines ever built. It stayed in production in the XJ Cherokee for a long time (with a redesigned head) and the engine is almost impossible to kill. Hornets & Gremlins may have rusted apart, but the drivetrains were bulletproof.
Dick Teague’s styling on the Pacer was dictated by the fact that the car was intended to use a Wankel engine that GM was going to produce. After investing over $100 million, GM killed the project, and AMC had to shoehorn the 6 into an engine compartment designed for the compact rotary engine. That explains the short nose. The wide body was an attempt to give a smaller car more interior space. I’d say the least successful aspect of the Pacer’s design is the large amount of glass, which makes the car a greenhouse in sunlight.
AMC was a cool company. They predated both the SUV craze with the Cherokee and the widespread use of 4WD/AWD in passenger vehicles with the 4X4 Eagles.
new caledonia, yup!
I borrowed a manual-steering Gremlin in the mid-seventies and had to make a U-turn with it. I’d never cranked a steering wheel so much in my life.
You should try it in the snow.
They will spin the other way with no effort.
I had one when I was in university, paid 200 bucks and the thing was very reliable. The only one I ever saw that didn’t have a lifter tick from the cylinder at the firewall. Sold the motor for $250 bucks and junked the body for twenty five.
I had a 304, 4 speed Gremlin. Being an ardent fan of “bigger is better”, I replaced the 304 with a 390 out of a 1969 AMX. This transplant would have worked much better in a different car. Even relocating the battery to the trunk and a set of Mickey Thompsons did absolutely nothing for traction. A little bleach though made for some spectacular burnouts. ;)
Hey, nothing wrong with AMC pea green. When I had to get my Bianchi resprayed and couldn’t get the correct Celeste green, it worked OK. Not enough blue in it though.
I won’t reveal the winner, but good luck finding a Curbside Classic for the second-place car — it was rare even then!…
This was before my time but I think I recall reading some seriously old magazines over 20 years ago…a manufacturer that once used 2 strokes?
Oh yeah, one other point…speaking of barebones
you see that lip/change/small shit holder running across the bottom of the dash on the interior shot? Optional.
You see the thinness of the seatback? Excrutiating. And non-adjustable.
chuckR,
I’m not sure that Bianchi has used a consistent color on their “Celeste” green bikes. The high end Reparto Corse, race shop, bikes have pearl finishes. In any case, Celeste is a very cool color and I’m surprised that it’s not used on any cars. I think it’d look good on roadsters.
I’m surprised that the paint supply couldn’t match the Bianchi color. With modern color matching gizmos, they should be able to mix something to match a color chip.
Lest we forget…. the Levis trim option
http://wps.com/AMC/Gremlin/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Gremlin
“Gremlins also received the option of a Levi’s interior trim package, which included spun nylon upholstery made to look like denim (fire safety regulations prohibited the use of real cotton denim). Details included removable map pockets, burnished copper denim rivets, and red Levi’s logo tabs.”
I remember the purple Gremlin as the color used to “brand” the car. They had a buzz about them, and also appealed to women. I remember reading someone from AMC commenting on how well the Gremlin sold that “the little purple devil saved the company”.
I also recall that one of these Hornet-type cars was proposed to use the same fenders on the front and back, to save costs. Seems to me that didn’t get to production.
I’ll second Ronnie Shreiber’s post that the Pacer was themed around a rotary engine from GM, who stiffed them after AMC was locked into producing the Pacer, forcing AMC to cram a larger conventional engine into it. The very low hood was to complement the small rotary, and the rounded body was to evoke the “rotary” idea. It was supposed to be somewhat revolutionary. So much for that. Later Pacers added a hood bulge to accommodate a larger engine. The Pacer’s two doors were different sizes.
AMC’s Eagle was the original sport/utility wagon, and it cheeses me off whenever I recall Subaru making that claim for the Outback. The Eagle was a raised Hornet sedan or wagon, and used three limited-slip differentials. Which made it extremely capable. There seem to still be a few of the wagons around.
@golden2husky –
I won’t step on Paul’s toes, but the second-place car in the C/D comparo wasn’t a two-stroke.
Those old Saabs were weird though, weren’t they? In an endearing sort of way…
Introduced the same year as the base, no backseat or opening hatch Gremlin, the AMC Hornet had an MSRP of $1994.
IOW, for a measly extra $115 over the price of that über-stripped Gremlin, you could get a real car (with a real trunk and rear seat).
Those vinyl and striped cloth seats REALLY need to make a comeback! If you stare at them long enough, especially on a rough road, the “Enter the Monolith” scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey will be recreated in your mind.
I also can’t be the only one that sees the same dash layout in a 71 Gremlin copied over to a late-80’s, early 90’s Dodge Daytona and Chysler Le Baron. If the driver was under 5′5″, how many phonebooks did it take to see over the dash???
AMC Gremlin: “The best design that heavy duty LSD users could dream up!”
…and we must be able to read the Gremlin to prison story and soon!!!
I’ll never forget driving South Bend, IN to Chicago in my friend LT’s early production Gremlin. In 1985. The floor was completely rusted through, and we were driving in upper Midwest salted snow slush at night.
It was terrifying.
The side profile must cause shivers of embarrassment to run up the spines of Nissan Murano drivers everywhere.
The Beetle had a Levi-edition around the same time.. Wonder how many cars did back then?
The Gremlin, the Pintos, and so forth were the reasons the kids I grew up with in the 80s swore off Detroit products. None wanted to be seen in them. By the time I was driving those early 70s cars were about 10-12 years old and we were “lusting” after Celicas, Volvo, Accords, GTIs, Nissans/Datsuns and so on. Our parents were driving the Citations, Tempos, K-cars, Buick Slylark FWD cars, and the Chevettes. Those weren’t very appealing either.
Detroit’s older small cars couldn’t really compete on style and features with the imports. Oh – and horsepower per liter. The mid-80s Rabbit had 90 horses in it’s 1.8L 4 banger. My ‘81 Mustang had 90 horses from it’s 3.3L six cylinder and no where nearly as fun to rev. The Rabbit ‘vert was faster AND got better fuel mileage than my six cylinder Mustang. I went on to chance buy a mid-80s Rabbit ‘vert later. Alot more fun to drive than the Mustang.
Did spend a summer driving an AMC Concorde wagon – the federal fleet surplus version. Had a/c, power steering and a slushbox. No backseat. No radio. No ashtray. Did it’s job very well and was reliable but the mileage was poor, style was nil, and fun to drive was no where in sight. I was glad to go back to my Mustang.
C&D’s observed consumption of 19.3 mpg results in the pregnant question “what kind of economy car is this?”
Almost the same as a Pinto or a Vega and not much worse than a 25mpg Beetle?
IE, pretty good for 1971.
The AMC inline 6 cyl is one of the most reliable engines ever built. It stayed in production in the XJ Cherokee for a long time (with a redesigned head) and the engine is almost impossible to kill. Hornets & Gremlins may have rusted apart, but the drivetrains were bulletproof.
I’ve had two vehicles with that engine, a 2000 XJ and a 2006 TJ Unlimited. With the Aisin Trans, it’s a bulletproof Drivetrain.
You still see tons of Gremlins (and other AMCs) running in Mexico City. Here, they were badged as ‘Americans’.