In 1970, tiny American Motors used ingenuity, not big dollars, to create the Gremlin, its entry in the critical new subcompact class.
Bruised by growing import sales in the late ’60s, Ford and General Motors launched expensive development programs to create their entries in the subcompact category, the Ford Pinto and Chevy Vega. Lacking any such resources, the AMC engineers went another way entirely. They took their existing Hornet compact platform, hacked exactly one foot out of the middle of the chassis, added a sporty Kammback rear body section, and the Gremlin was born. (In company lore, design VP Richard Teague sketched out the design on the back of an air sickness bag.) Introduced in April of 1970, the Gremlin beat the Vega and Pinto to the showrooms by several months.
Powered by AMC’s trusty inline six-cylinder engines, the Gremlin delivered solid performance and fuel economy, and at less than $2,000, the price was right, too. AMC initially offered a bare-bones model with a fixed rear glass and no rear seat for a few bucks less, but all but a handful of buyers opted for the standard Gremlin with folding rear seat and hinged glass. By GM and Ford standards, Gremlin sales weren’t huge, but for tiny AMC the car was a major hit, and it remained in production without major changes through 1978.
“What looks like a sports car, loads like a wagon, turns on a dime and drives like fun?” The answer, according to the ad people at least, was the Gremlin. This 1970 commercial employs a light-hearted, let’s-get-acquainted approach to introduce the quirky new subcompact to American car buyers. Video below.
Please take a moment to click and subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we host a few hundred historic videos and other cool stuff. There’s no cost or obligation, and it helps to keep us open for business—thank you!
My sis turned 16 in 1973 – she promptly purchased a well-used ’70 Gremlin with the inline 6 and 3 speed in the floor. To say that the car had issues would be an understatement.
It was equipped with factory air which seemed to work pretty well. However, pity the poor front seat passenger in this car. Driving any distance in warm weather resulted in extreme heat coming through the passenger floorboard. Never in my life have I seen another car with a problem like this.
Mechanically, the car drove and ran well. The factory three-speed shifter was a piece of junk of the highest order. I received a call from my sister one afternoon – she and a friend were stranded at a local restaurant because the transmission would not come out of reverse. I drove to the restaurant thinking I could at least get it into a forward gear, but that was not to be.
We were less than a 1/2 mile from our most trusted local mechanic – the only problem was that his shop was on the other side of a major 4 lane highway. However, there was an access road from the restaurant parking lot to a nearby side road. This side road connected to the 4 lane at a traffic light controlled intersection.
I got into the Gremlin and told Sis to follow in my car. Carefully, I drove the Gremlin in reverse around the back of the restaurant up to the side road and sat there, waiting on the traffic light at the intersection to change. When it changed to green, I pulled out onto the road and headed for the intersection as fast as the car would go in reverse. I pretty much wound it out in reverse and pushed the clutch in, allowing the car to pick up speed as I headed down a slight grade toward the highway.
I was moving along quite well as I crossed the intersection. I have often wondered about the image this must have created to the motorists sitting in their cars on the highway – a short funny-looking car crossing the highway at speed – going backwards. Long story short, once I got on the other side of the highway, I cut through a series of neighborhood streets and got to the mechanic’s shop without any issues.
I wasn’t sorry when she traded the Gremlin – neither was she.
Gremlin use Borg Warner 3 & 4 speeds and automatic’s, just like most of the U.S. industry.
Wonder if you considered getting a tow truck instead of endangering yourself and others.
Don
on October 30, 2018 at 12:26 pm said:
“Gremlin use Borg Warner 3 & 4 speeds and automatic’s, just like most of the U.S. industry.
Wonder if you considered getting a tow truck instead of endangering yourself and others”
Her Gremlin had quite a few miles on it when she bought it – could be that the previous owner/owners abused it. All I know is that the shifter felt balky from the time she got it. It had a tendency to feel like it was going to hang up when going from reverse to low. I guess it may well have been a Borg-Warner unit, but I really couldn’t say. The replacement unit that was installed worked much better, very smooth.
In 1973, I was 20 years old and I didn’t always use the best judgment or make the best decisions. To be honest, I am probably still that way to a certain extent, though I’d like to think I’ve improved a little. My take-home pay with he job I had at that time was probably about $250 a month, so I took a foolish chance in order to save the cost of a tow truck. A day in the life of an immature 20 year old in 1973.
I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing today, wouldn’t even consider it. I just thought it was sort of funny to look back on it, foolish and inconsiderate though it was. I wish I could say that this was one of the dumber things I’ve ever done, but it probably doesn’t rank in the top 30.
Dale; At least you didn’t steal a tow truck. Great story by the way… a mate had a Gremlin with the Levis interior- even had little orange tabs on the tops of each seat. Cheers
We had two Gremlins in our family over time. Both were great little cars. I wanted to find a clean one for my daughter but they are hard to come by today.
Used to be one around here with the 304 V8. It surprised a lot of pony car owners!
I have a 72 Gremlin with a 304, traction bars and AC from the factory. It’s a CA car and I’m restoring it. I rebuilt the engine with hi comp pistons, 4 barrel and MSD. The MSD and 4 barrel are the only things that are obviously not stock. Should be on the road this next summer