![]() Over the course of its 1970 to 1978 production run 671,475 Gremlins were sold in the United States and Canada – making it the most popular single generation car ever built by AMC and and important source of income for the company. ![]() The intended purpose of the Gremlin was to disrupt the import compact car market in the USA with a car that was cheap to build and very memorable. This cut costs significantly, but it also meant that parts availability would be excellent. The Hornet wheelbase was shortened and a new tail end was developed, from the front of the car to the B-pillars (the pillars at the rear of the driver’s door), the Gremlin was essentially the same as the Hornet. The divisive design was a result of the fact that AMC was a smaller US automaker with a limited budget – so rather than developing an all-new car from scratch, they took their preexisting AMC Hornet model and modified it. This is a car that people love, hate, or love to hate. This bodywork was fitted to a full space frame chassis, typically featuring reinforced side impact protection, with a single seat and a very spartan cockpit – generally just a steering wheel, three pedals, a shifter, and gauges. This new class proved popular and races would be contested on both dirt and asphalt oval tracks, in the ’70s the cars typically had bodywork from popular American cars like the Pinto, Vega, or Gremlin. The class was established in the years shortly after WWII by drivers who wanted to go faster than factory built stock cars would go, the modified cars were no longer “stock”, and so the new class was created using the no nonsense name “Modified Stock Car”. The Modified Stock Car class proved a popular entry point to regional and national motorsport competition for drivers, many of whom would end up in top flight NASCAR teams. The Kammback design of the Gremlin was an added bonus, as many felt it offered an aerodynamic advantage on long high-speed oval tracks. The Gremlin was small and cheap, with a long hood area covering an engine bay that could accommodate far larger engines than its sub-compact car competition. Now Teague urged building a shortened version of the Hornet.The AMC Gremlin and Modified Stock Car racing are a match made in 1970s oval track heaven. He learned the trick of creating new looks for old body shells during the final years of Packard. Styling chief Dick Teague was used to operating on tight budgets. The solution came not from the engineering department, but from styling. ![]() American Motors needed to defend its turf.ĪMC was more cash strapped than usual with the development costs for the compact Hornet and the impending purchase of Kaiser Jeep. ![]() ![]() In the late Sixties, AMC learned that both General Motors and Ford were planning to bring out subcompact import-fighters for 1971. AMC knew it couldn’t compete head to head in every segment with the Big Three, but money could be made in the compact field, where they typically showed little interest. Note: This article is reprinted from the February 2015 issue of Collectible AutomobileĪmerican Motors positioned itself as the nation’s small-car leader. Literally a shortened AMC Hornet, the Gremlin debuted for the 1970 model year. ![]()
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