Small on the outside, but extremely cramped on the inside.
Time has a way of distorting our collective memories, particularly regarding automobiles. One notable example is the Edsel, which is often regarded as poorly built and unreliable, earning it the label of a “lemon.” The reality is that the Edsel launched amid an economic downturn, leading to its high price just as the market for mid-priced vehicles collapsed.
1976 AMC Gremlin
History
In more recent discussions, the AMC Gremlin has unjustly gained a reputation for being low-quality and unreliable. However, while the Gremlin was essentially an AMC Hornet compact sedan with its rear cut off, it actually proved to be quite dependable.
Price
Launched in 1970 and marketed in Mexico through a distributor named VAM, the Gremlin was initially priced at just $1,879—equivalent to around $15,000 today. We will delve a bit deeper into pricing shortly.
While the Gremlin was indeed inexpensive, featuring hard-plastic interior components and minimal standard amenities, it reportedly had a solid reliability record. In 1970, editors from Popular Science drove a Gremlin for 10,000 miles “…without a single problem.” Furthermore, Consumer Reports named the Gremlin its top-rated economy car in 1973 for long-term reliability.
1976 AMC Gremlin Ad
Despite these positives, the Gremlin had one notable flaw that I can personally vouch for: the rear seat was virtually useless.
The advertisement appears to suggest that AMC’s budget option offered decent rear-seat and cargo space, but that is far from the truth.
As previously mentioned, the Gremlin was based on AMC’s Hornet compact car, providing adequate space in the front. However, due to its “Kammback” design, both headroom and legroom in the back were critically limited, as was the cargo area.
Crammed in Back
Fun fact: Back in 1982, a friend named Gordon squeezed me into the back seat of his Gremlin so a girl could sit in the front. It was a brief ride from Meadows Bowl to Pin Pan Alley (the arcade), but it was quite uncomfortable. I had to sit sideways, and due to the absence of side windows, I couldn’t see a thing. By the time we arrived, I was experiencing extreme claustrophobia and back pain. Thanks a lot, Gordon.
Looking at this advertisement, the child appears cheerful, and the dog seems comfy, but I can assure you neither was the case. In fact, fitting a third passenger, regardless of size, into the back of a Gremlin should be considered illegal.
Bare Bones
Another interesting fact: the limited cargo space available in the Gremlin could only be accessed through a small, pop-up glass opening, not a conventional hatchback. Furthermore, if you purchased the base model priced at $1,879, you received neither the glass opening nor a rear seat—yes, really, no back seat.
This meant that loading and unloading required passing items back and forth between the front and rear, a fun way to risk injury while dealing with a Gremlin.
Overall, AMC successfully sold roughly 671,000 Gremlins between 1970 and 1978, which was a notable achievement for the fourth-largest automaker in the U.S. A revised version named Spirit was launched in 1979, but it failed to match the Gremlin’s success.
Not a Bad Car, Really
As previously mentioned, the Gremlin wasn’t a terrible vehicle, though it struggled with some essential car functionalities. Yet, it had an interesting design and offered a V8 option (believe it or not) while gaining a reputation for reliability. While modern car buyers would probably reject the Gremlin’s shortcomings in a new model, the standards were different in the 1970s—a time when people were fine with 8-Track tapes for music and The Love Boat as prime family viewing.
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1976 AMC Gremlin Pictures
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Photo Feature: AMC 1972 Gremlin X
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