Chuck Most Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Not that anyone really wanted to beat you up over it. It was more of a social obligation. Could have been jealousy. Maybe people DID think they were cool cars when they were new, but were too ashamed to own up to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coreyh29645 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Could have been jealousy. Maybe people DID think they were cool cars when they were new, but were too ashamed to own up to it. sure lets go with that. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 By the time I was in high school ('84-88), it seems most of the oddball '70s cars had dissapeared...don't recall ever seeing a Pacer, Gremlin, Pinto, etc at my school....the 3rd gen F-bodies, Fox Mustangs, and '80s G-body Montes, Regals, Cutlasses, etc were very common though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I was at a demo derby last fall, and a Pacer won it. It was a tough little car out there. Took on some quite a bit bigger than itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) By the time I was in high school ('84-88), it seems most of the oddball '70s cars had dissapeared...don't recall ever seeing a Pacer, Gremlin, Pinto, etc at my school....the 3rd gen F-bodies, Fox Mustangs, and '80s G-body Montes, Regals, Cutlasses, etc were very common though... Those 'oddball' cars, like the Pacer and Gremlin, were really nothing more than fashion gags. Nothing changes faster than fashion. Once the world had moved on, the cars were thus severely out of fashion and I bet a lot of them were discarded just for that long before the end of their useful life was reached. I'd say today the Pacer and Gremlin aren't loved by some because their design aged so well, but rather because they are the automotive personification of this gleeful disco age hipster chiqueness and that contributes a lot to their cult status. Wear bell-bottoms, afro-look and sideburns when you drive one and you'll never be lonely once you park it. Edited January 21, 2012 by Junkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) I'd say today the Pacer and Gremlin aren't loved by some because their design aged so well, design aged so well, but rather because they are the automotive personification of this gleeful disco age hipster chicness and that contributes a lot to their cult status. Wear bell-bottoms, afro-look and sideburns when you drive one and you'll never be lonely once you park it. Yeah, they are definitely symbolic of an era...as far as '70s disco-era cars, the ones I particularly like are the huge 2drs...the Lincoln Mk IVs and Mk Vs, Thunderbirds, Caddy Eldos and Coupe de Villes, the Rivieras and Toronados, Electras, Grand Marquis, etc....something particularly amusing about 5000lb, 18-19 ft long 2drs w/ huge V8s w/ limited power.. Edited January 21, 2012 by Rob Hall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Yeah, they are definitely symbolic of an era...as far as '70s disco-era cars, the ones I particularly like are the huge 2drs...the Lincoln Mk IVs and Mk Vs, Thunderbirds, Caddy Eldos and Coupe de Villes, the Rivieras and Toronados, Electras, Grand Marquis, etc....something particularly amusing about 5000lb, 18-19 ft long 2drs w/ huge V8s w/ limited power.. Don't forget to stop over at Les Dunham for proper discomobile treatment. Now we're talking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Yeah, they are definitely symbolic of an era...as far as '70s disco-era cars, And the cars, some call odd, were different and not cookie cutter. One reason I love my Javelin and Matador so much....I had more mainstream cars before these....not as fun as these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I got to thinking a while back about a Jr. High teacher I had, when both my little sister and myself went to that school, he had a Gremlin (I think it was somewhere between '72-'74) for a work car. It was just a tired looking old Gremlin in a Lemon Yellow color, but it ran and he drove it no matter what the weather was. I ran into him once not long after graduating from high school and he was now driving an early 80's 4 cylinder Fox Mustang, I aksed him what happened to the Gremlin and he told me he had to scrap it. The car still ran and all, but his wife and daughters were so imbarassed by it and finally made him get rid of it, so he switched to what was his late mother's Mustang for a work car............sadly that Mustang seemed sooooooo souless when compared to what I remember of that Gremlin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Irwin Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I guess I'm in a minoraty here, I love 32 Fords, tri-five Chevys, 69 Camaros, Hudson Hornets AND Gremlins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 When I was in High school , I had a 59 Chevrolet Biscayne 2dr. When I finially went to college , I graduated to a 61 Corvair , WHAT A FUNN ride too !!!!!!!!!!! Ed Shaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Johnston Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Sorry, guys, but I have to ask... Why is everyone so enthusiastic about the Gremlin, and a re-released kit of it? Does this car have a special place in your hearts for some reason? I have to say, speaking as someone from the other side of the pond, it looks like a car with all the charisma of an Austin Allegro or Morris Marina: a lot of my parents friends may have had one when I was a kid, but I wouldn't care if I never saw one again, and I certainly wouldn't give house room to a model of one! Please enlighten a confused Brit... bestest, M. LOL thank you. I never liked them either. They never grew on me...I never had a retrospective moment like I might have for the Cobra II or Volare Road Runner where I said to myself, hmm...they were kind of cool weren't they. In my opinion of course, they are bum ugly. AMC cars failed to be interesting to me after the 69 Rambler, with the only exception being the Javelin/AMX. I hope they sell a hundred thousand Gremlin models...I really do. just not to me LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Jeff, I hope A M T does well to on this re- release as it might spark interest in doing maybe a 59 Mercury or a 64 Pontiac Gran Prix . Ed Shaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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