Makes me teary-eyed to see some fine Wisconsinites putting decals on these fine automobiles. Real people! Sucks you can't find them anywhere anymore, not even in the junkyards!
I remember everyone saying the Gremlin looked like it had it's tail cut off and that was somehow bad. Strange how today we have the "Crossovers" and they all look like their trunks are missing or, they look like they have their tails cut off. Looks more like AMC was about 50 years ahead of its time. I thought the Gremlin was pretty cool.
They basically built the first crossover with the eagle. It’s sad that they went under because they had such innovative and creative ideas in their dying years but it still wasn’t enough to keep them afloat.
I'm 1970,, we went to Minneapolis where the gremlin was introduced to Minneapolis American Motors dealers. Each dealer got one and at the end of the intro, we drove them around in a Gremlin caravan aa around downtown Minneapolis. Man, you ought to have seen how people looked and even stared at this new and so unique new car. The base model sold for $1999 plus freight, prep and taxes. A whole bunch of car 🚗 for those few dollars.
@@kentuckyfriedpepespeaks1550 AMC (American Motors) never went under. They were bought by Chrysler in 1987. How do you think Jeep ended up as a Chrysler division?
Mom had a Gremlin...love that car and miss it to this day. She let me drive it once. The front end needed an alignment. AMC...an awesome company that built simple, tough, reliable, and economical cars.
Aside from the Gremlin it was amazing what American Motors did from a small auto manufacture. They wrestled with the big boys and still made great cars that competed and in some cases were better. RIP AMC !
That engine went on to power the Jeep Cherokee XJ series for many more years. One day I was cruising in Colorado's San Joaquin Valley, doing 90-95. My car did not have a tachometer. Well, how about that. I was in fourth gear, not fifth!
That's why Chrysler used AMC's own projections and plans all the way through the '06 Model Year. The only thing that killed the 4.0 was MPGs. Same as it did every other I6 designed in the '50' & '60's.
@@billgateskilledmyuncle23 You mean Chevy 2.5 Iron Duke as it was named!!??,I own 3, 2.5 engines all of my 2 Celebritys and my Lumina would run OVER 100 MPH!,And got 30/35 mpg and you think that's WEAK!?...And how many did you OWN?.
I went to a dealer in January 1971 to buy a Gremlin but bought the SC360! What a car! The 360 didn't know what a redline was. With Hooker headers, 650 3 barrel Holley and a 315 rear, 65MPH in first gear at 6500rpm. Smooth as silk but screaming! At speed could get 22mpg! Loved that car for 170,000 miles! Miss it and the Gremlin I didn't get!!
My first car was 1974 Gremlin, blue with gold stripe and Levi's interior. Loved that little car. Added 8-track tape deck and I was all set. Great memories. Thanks for compiling the history of the Gremlin. Well done.
AMC cars were quirky but lovable. My dad had a couple back in the 60s, A 63 Rambler Classic with an early aluminum engine that melted if overheated. A 65 Ambassador wagon that was a decent vehicle. When they came out in 68, the Javelin and AMX fueled my childhood auto fantasies. I thought they were gorgeous. The AMX with the 390 was badass. Love them or hate them, AMC cars were always unique and interesting. It;s truly a shame that they didn't survive as a company. Thanks for helping me remember good times from the past.
My first car was a 1974 Canadian-built Gremlin X with the 304 V-8. Bought it in 1978 for about $600. The gas tank leaked (replaced by the dealer despite the car being sold “as is”), and the original owner had put in a push-button starter and a jury-rigged dual exhaust. A local muffler shop designed and built a brand new dual exhaust system for it for a little over $100, and that little car kicked butt. As much as I loved it, I decided I needed something more reliable and fuel-efficient for college, so I sold it in 1982 and bought a used 1980 Spirit AMX with with the inline 6. Also a great car. AMC is highly underrated, but they were reliable and tough.
Back in the day, I worked at a Chevron gas station in California. Guy used to roll in with an nearly new Gremlin X. It had alloy wheels and big tires added and our inclination was to think, "Yeah, another sock-in-the-pants poser." Maybe he was but out attitudes got corrects by a large amount. Of course, in those days it was full-service all the way so we got under the hood. It wasn't a 304! Guy told us that before he even took delivery, he had the engine replaced with a 360 4bbl crate motor. At the time, I didn't know much about AMC V8s, and wouldn't have admitted to it if I did (was a Mopar guy ( : < ) but it had a 4-barrel on it. If my 50 year old recollection is correct, it also had a "360" decal on it. I also remember very distinctly that after telling us all about it, he left doing a pretty good burnout... two black strips too! That car and the 360SC Hornet were two AMC I secretly (very secretly ( : < ) lusted after. The Hornet is a GREAT looking car... to my then mind and my today mind.
Mine too. '74 Gremmy X in Maxi Blue with 2-tone bucket seats. I was embarrassed by that car and got rid of it after a few years when the transmission went out, but now I miss it.
My wife's first brand-new car was a red 1974 Gremlin with the 304 V-8 and Torque-Command. No X package, no bucket seats...just radio, Weather Eye and whitewall tires. She complained about spending $99 a month for 36 months, but she loved her "Gremmy." We owned it until our first child was born in 1985, and could have kept it even longer but the dreaded tinworm had done its worst...and she had to keep 100 pounds of cat litter in the back to weigh it down in the winter. But she had fun winning the stoplight grand prix!
The gremlin cars were actually really good cars. The gremlin x with its 304 v8 3 speed transmission, fancy wheels and stripe kits were good cars. My father bought my two older brothers each a gremlin in the spring of 1973 for 2800 dollars each. They drove and enjoyed those cars for years. They were great cars no matter what people may say about them.
@David H. My Gremlin was the terror of many an English sports car (MGs, TRs, and at least three Jags that come to mind) in more than a few road races while still giving me right at 30mpg from a three speed floor mounted shifter/tranny and a 258cid with a 1 barrel carb, as a daily driver from high school through my early 20s....Nothing since has been as economical and as much fun to drive, not even a couple of European "sorts cars" I owned while stationed in what was then West Germany in the '80s. Hell. it even served as my "date" car....AND it's the only one The Lovely Bride ever mentions fondly....And that alone makes it special above all others!
@@fdmackey3666 Concur. I bought mine new in 1972 with the optional 258 engine. Standard was a 232. The 258 had a longer stroke and twelve counterweights, unlike the 232 crankshaft which, if memory serves, had eight counterweights. Overall, one of the toughest and best cars I've ever owned. And, the driver's seat was more comfortable than in my current Mercedes E550 sedan.
@@marvinmcconoughey3547Mine was also purchased new in 1972 and also had the 258 engine. And I agree with you about the driver's seat 100% as I have yet to own any other car or pickup with a more comfortable design.
@@fdmackey3666 It is great to hear from another happy former Gremlin owner. the 258 engine may have been the best of the era, even more than the Dodge Dart slant six we later owned.
My dad was salesman of the year in 1952 for Nash Corp. which became amc in 54. We alwalys had amc products. We ha 2 57 rebels, a 61 ambassador wagon with 327 4 barrel carb an dual exhaust; a javelin, 2 hornets and 2 concords. Never had a gremlin. Wouldn’t, mind one now. Great video. Thanks for keeping amc alive.
I BOUGHT A 1973 AMC GREMLIN LEVIS EDITION WITH AIR FOR $2200.00 NEW IN 1973. I SOLD IT IN 1986 WITH 172,000 MILES ON IT ... I LOVE THAT LITTLE CAR AND MISS HERE .. HAPPY MOTORING!!!! VICTOR
Had a 1970 Gremlin. Cars were surprisingly quick even with a six and three speed on the floor. I put a 462" Oldsmobile and T-400 in mine, 1957-59 9" Ford diff bolted right in. Beat just about everything including some pretty fast bikes at the time, mid 1980's. 1970 rare year then and now, never saw another. A great easy and inexpensive to work on car, as was the AMC Hornet.
Had a Cousin who worked at the AMC Dealership in Greensboro, NC until it closed. My Uncle Drag Raced one in the early '70's. Another Cousin had a '73X. Football Coach had a '72 X. Papaw used a Matador for a couple of years to haul our 19' Coachman to the beach. Pop had a Rambler American for his first car. You could say AMC's have always had a special place in my heart.🥰
My mother worked for American Motor in Sarasota, Florida, so all thru high school and college, I had an AMC car. Started off with the AMC Rambler American, than the AMC Classic 660, and my Gremlin X (yellow with a blue Gremlin X strip and the Levi interior), and ending with an AMC Ambassador with the 343 ci engine. Both of my parents had AMC Javelins. Don't care what people said about them, they were very dependable and easy to work on.
My father purchased a '76 AMC Gremlin and to this day he still says it was the best car he has ever owned. When the odometer hit 239,000 miles he loved telling people that was the distance from the Earth to the moon. He drove it in two hurricanes, a few blizzards, hit a dumpster head on (it fell off of a truck), towed more than a few disabled cars and then passed it on to me my senior year of high school. A neighbor purchased it in 1987 and kept it running until 1990. 14 years and 290,000 miles is a pretty good run.
I owned a 1971 AMC Gremlin with a straight 6 232 cu engine auto right out of the showroom. had it for over 100,000 miles, never did anything to it other than oil and tires !! averaged 26- 28 MPG !Loved snow . Wish I had another today.
I used to work for a photo-lab as a delivery/pick-up driver. When you take your film to the drugstore, I was the guy who picks it up, takes it to the lab, then delivers the photos back to the drugstore. Anyway, they had an entire fleet of Gremlins. I have to admit, they were good on gas, and relatively maintenance free. As a long time VW Bug driver, I was impressed.
I had a 1975 Gremlin. Owned and drove it before I had a drivers license. I received it for a birthday gift in 1986 for my 12th birthday. I wanted a dirt bike to ride around on the 10 acres of land we owned at the time but mom and dad said no to that. Well one thing led to another and I was given the car to run around through the fields. Dad and mom paid $200 for it. I had a blast driving it on the property until I got my drivers license in 1990. I currently own a 1977 Hornet love AMC cars. thanks for the video
I had this car, a red one. I was 16 and put house speakers in the back, 8 track on deck and drove around blasting Boston and drinkin beer with my girls. Good times. It had black smoke coming from the tailpipe, made a loud "tink tink tink" sound - faster when I stepped on the gas - and I had to put a quart of oil in it every so often (very often). I named the car Scarlette. I bought it in the mid 70s for $500, and sold it a couple of years later for $500. That car is one of the best memories of my teens.
My Dad loved gremlins and it was one of the first cars I learned to drive in the early 70s. He had an X model in 1975 with a 304 3 speed manual with a posi rear end. I learned a lot about street racing in that car.
Excellent, durable and beautiful automobiles. I really couldn't understand why they went out of the market. My mother in law had one and was an astonishing good car. I witnessed when they shutdown the plant in Mexico. Was kind of sad. Those were far better days even in the middle of "stone age" where no mobile phones and no social networking were around the corner.
Bought a metal flake purple, with gold stripes Gremlin, three speed manual on the floor in 1971(?). Everyone hated it but me. Fun car, wish I still had it.
My first new car was a '71 with a 232 and stick shift. I loved that car, and the family that bought it from me kept it for many years for their kids to drive.
Unfortunately in the modern world where car companies consolidate or do joint ventures AMC wouldve eventually gotten swallowed up or gone out of business
Gary Christensen my other had a Monza, Hitch was just a Vega with a makeover. It had three engines installed in it the first 11 months she had it. My dad traded it in on a 78T'Bird. I drove pinto's, Vegas, toyotas and every other small car of the era except the Mazda Rotary's, and I'll take a Gremlin any time. I wish I still had mine!
You are right. An acquaintance bought a new Vega when I bought the Gremlin. The Vega, and most owners would agree I think, was a mechanical disaster, unpowered and unreliable.
My aunt traded in her massive Chevy Caprice land yacht for a forest green Gremlin, which is actually a lot larger than it looks. I also knew someone who had the Levi’s jeans Gremlin. The coolest part was the exterior orange stitching graphics with the painted Levi’s tag. Gremlin styling really embodies the whole 1970s aesthetic.
Years ago, I was given a ‘74 Gremlin. It needed a little help to get back on the road, but was very dependable. The drivetrain was bulletproof, 6-cyl engine, 3 on the floor. It could melt the tires! I put a roof rack on it and hauled building materials. I even transported a Ford 391 heavy duty truck engine for a friend once. I’m sure it looked strange on I-44 with that big engine chained to the roof on a wooden pallet! Great little car.
The Gremlin held on for some years with a substantial redesign as the Spirit fastback and Kammback models, and as subcompact Eagle companion models to the Concord-based Eagles. These were popular models and gave rise to the all-wheel-drive crossovers infesting the roads today. Not a bad legacy.
in 1977 I purchased a used 1973 gremlin with the large straight six.. air conditioning... it was yellow with black racing stripes which ran down the side and curved up around the back window.. it has a air deflector on the rear roof.. it had the glass hatch in back in the fold down rear seat.. I loved my gremlin
The biggest problem with the Gremlin was the weight ratio. Because of the V6/V8, RWD, and short wheelbase, the car was extremely unstable in slippery road conditions. If you've ever have seen an unweighted pick-up truck hit a patch of ice, you'll know how it handled. Because all the weight was over the front wheels, the rear could easily spinout making it impossible to recover. They also had an issue with a sticky throttle, allowing the engines to run away. That said, they had a lot of power.
With that jazz tune playing i was waiting on lieutenant inspector Callahan to come through that assembly line with his .44 Magnum drawn chasing after a crook who ran into the factory!!
My first car, I had a 70 Hornet, and my buddy in high school had a 71 Gremlin. We used to park next to each other in school every day. Those cars were big and heavy by todays standards.
I had a purple with gold stripe 1972 Gremlin X with 4 on the floor. I loved that car. I was just out of college and took a trip from the Midwest to Seattle. Short of funds, I'd put the back seat down and sleep curled up at truck stops.
Great story. From Colombia, a salute to those true automotive warriors, fine cars, no matter if was not big company as the Three Big Ones. Miss the brand really a lot, friends.... God bless Kenosha!!! For ever and keep all them on the road, please, it is your Lecacy. Do not let it go or die. Cheers!!!
Tofer, really really excellent video! I bopped around in a Gremlin after graduation of high school in 1974 and it was a blast! Easy to take good care of, peppy, nice options and bulletproof mechanicals. I wish I had a low mileage maxed out Gremlin today in my retirement.
72 Orange Gremlin X. My room mates in college called it the pumpkin. Was in school in northern WI and got up one morning it was -45 deg--and not wind chill. The pumpkin started right up but the seat vinyl shattered into a million pieces when I got in..
I was dating a girl who's mother's boyfriend owned one, he gave me a few rides to the store in it, with the Levi interior and the V8 engine and I loved that little car!! It was fast with a 4 speed transmission and cool to ride in!! I wasn't driving just yet at the time....but I remember I have always loved the look of these little cars!!!
In 1977 I purchased a used 1973 gremlin.. yellow with black racing stripes that came down the sides and curved up alongside the rear window... It had the large straight six cylinder.. air condition.. in factory tinted glass that was tinted pretty dark.. I had the opening glass back hatch and fold down rear seat.. I loved my gremlin ❤️.. the V6 actually was pretty quick... I knew a guy that bought a 1977 gremlin x V8 back then.. he souped up the engine.. it had side pipes.. jacked up in the back with wide tires and traction bars.. his souped-up gremlin x was fast!
My Aunt Kris used to work at AMC in Kenosha WI when I was a kid. The late 70’s- early 80’s. Then it shut down because Chrysler bought them out. She and her husband had to relocate to Ohio. But my family had some AMC cars. I don’t know about a Gremlin. But had Concords, and another one. Can’t remember. I Wouldn’t mind buying a Nice fixed up Gremlin.
@@348loadedlever3 I found out. My parents had the Eagle after the Concord. Wish we still had it. I would have had to put a lot of work into it. It broke down a few times i remember.
theres a few rare ones with seven liter motors in them cousin had one was embarassed to be in it till we were at light and car pulled next to us ...he said watch...punched it .must have left easy sixty feet of rubber
I'm one of many who are helping to keep AMC's legacy alive. In my case it's a Jeep XJ Cherokee. I will grant she's post Chrysler buyout but she still has the heart of AMC and soul of Jeep.
It's such a shame no-one's putting that straight six in new cars anymore. My Cherokee's has over 200,000 on it. Same engine as AMC, perfected over many decades. Unbreakable.
I still have two AMC Jeeps. An 88' Wrangler 4.2 and a 92' Sahara 4.0 that they used to make the Jurassic Jeep. Both in showroom condition. I'll always have them.
My dad worked for American Motors from 1976-1986 as a designer and engineer, ending his time at LTV helping to design the original Hummer. He never had one of these as one of his company cars. He mostly had Jeep division vehicles; a couple of Cherokee's, a couple of CJ-7s (one of which he bought outright as a third car), a Jeep J-10 Honcho full sized truck, and oddly enough an AMC Spirit (the only AMC car he had). My friend's mother, however, rolled a used Gremilin for a while and a mean old lady on our street had a Spirit of her own. Another friend's dad had an old Spirit as well when I first met him and came over to his house for the first time.
When I was about 9 years old my parents bought a 1971 Baby Blue Gremlin base model. It was basically 4 wheels and and engine. The transmission was 3 on the tree (manual column shift for those that don't know what a tree is). As a bonus it had an AM only radio. Nice little car brand new for about $1900 plus tax. Great little car and we had it until I was in my early teens when I was paying attention to cars.
In the late 70s/early 80s....I was living up at South Lake Tahoe. I was at one of those self-service car washes, and happened to glance over to some guy who had just finished vacuuming out the rear of his Gremlin. He slammed the rear hatch shut & the back window shattered. Within a half-second of that.....in my line of sight & maybe only 50 feet away, across the street.....some other dude drove head-on into a tree on the side of the road. That's my memory of the Gremlin.
Had an '81 Spirit, which was basically what was left over from the Gremlin line with new rear side windows. Inline six was awesome till the rear main bearing went away. It was a small car but one night, I got 13 people in it and drove down an old country dirt road to a small lake, about three miles. Tough little car.
I had a friend in the early 80's with one, he transplanted a 401 from a grand wagoneer into it. He had graphics added to the sides, "the greep". It could give you some serious whiplash. Love to own an all original one some day.
I drove a 1976 Gremlin Levi's in my senior year (78-79) of high school. It was an I-4 with a four-speed manual. It had a nasty habit of shutting off in the middle of a drive. Thanks goodness it was manual steering. Once I went to college I got rid of it.
My first car was a blue AMC Hornet SST that my dad gave me after it was totalled in a wreck. I got it running and drove it most of my junior year in high school until I rolled it off a bridge the summer before my senior year.
In early 1972 , I bought a 1971 Gremlin with 15,000 mi. on the odometer , emerald green with the 258 cu. in. straight six for $1,500.00 . Drove it for almost 3 years and sold it for $50 more than I paid for it. Had only changed the oil every 6 months and put gas in it -- no other repairs. Now, people laugh at the old Gremlins and call them ugly, but it was a pretty cool little run-about back then. "Loved my Gremlin".
Great nostalgic piece. I always say nostalgia is heroin for old folks. I had a 71 w 232 that was a hand me down from aunt to sister to me in the eighties. It was turd brown on brown and had a plywood rear window with a star shape cut out w plastic for sight. It had one working front brake and ran beautifully. I used it as a ski car in the mountains of B.C. for a few years, was dangerous as hell. Sold it for 40 bucks, a case of beer and some hash. The head banger who bought it totalled it the next winter. Go figure. Man we were haywire! Thanks for the video eh.
These cars were quite popular in the day. They were unique, low cost, economical cars that were easy to work on and reliable as well. My Mother had a Gremlin and my Brother had a Hornet.
My dad bought a 1974 4-door Matador brand new and it only needed routine maintenance for the 6 years he had it. I saw it around town years later looking pretty good. Not a popular car in my area but a good deal. The parts catalog was a "who's who" of parts made from the Big Three.
I found a one owner ‘77 baby blue Gremlin in the early nineties, 258 engine with 3 speed and overdrive, flawless Levi’s interior. White striped X with mags and a journal in the glove box with every tank of gas and oil change records! MPGs, belts, filters listed. The coil would overheat and shut her down which is the reason I only paid $300. Leno made a video in which he said the same thing was responsible when his bud Jeff’s Gremlin died at a red light in LA. New distributor and she drove for many more miles and beautiful memories. Loved that car! Still do. Found my dream car, ‘74 Javelin with a built 401 pushing near 500 ponies, black leather interior, candy apple red paint. Stupidest thing I’ve ever done was sell the Grem for $50
A friend of mine right out of high school had a 1973 Gremlin. I thought it was so cool I bought a 1974 model with the V8 right off the showroom floor. That car was a blast! I had many adventures in it including taking it up a couple of easier jeep trails. I would have driven it several years longer but another friend destroyed it by putting it in a ditch during a snow storm. Good times!
My parents bought a brand new AMC Hornet, I think it was 1972, my mother let me drive it home, I had a driving learners permit. It was Orange with a V-8 304, automatic Trans, I gave the gas pedal a nudge and back end stepped out, after that I loved that car, about 5 years later at my Moms work someone stole it and wrecked it. It was a nice car.
I had a 1974 gold/green colored Gremlin, 232 6 cylinder with the automatic transmission. Bought used for $250.00. Two years later, sold it back to the guy I bought it from for $300.00. He pulled the engine and put it in his Jeep CJ. Rebuilt it for burning oil 2 years ago and still running like new. Bullet proof engine. Loved that car, first one.
I had the 66 American Rambler convertible . It had a 232 . Very light car that surprised a few of my friends with Camaro's with its ability to shred tires .
My first car... Yellow and black Gremlin X with the 5l. The motor was replaced by me on a tree in the front yard with an amc 360 out of a station wagon... It was a Camaro killer... The back window was always breaking at the hinge...
In 1971, my parent bought two Gremlins for $1999 each included a "free" 12" b&w TV. I still have the original Gremlin gas caps and hub caps and some badging. I removed all before scrapping them.
I worked as a mechanic at an AMC Jeep Renault dealer during the 1980s. I have to say, AMC sure struggled to build a quality car. While I always admired the 4WD Eagle, it sure didn't scream reliability. The Jeep was the only thing keeping them above water in the 1980s. But, we had some good times at the dealership. The 5 of us in the garage made some good money until the franchise sold out and moved to the auto mall as a Chrysler dealership. I ended up going back to the Ford dealership I started with years earlier. Good times.
The only car my Grandfather bought new. We inherited it c1979. Dark metallic green. The basket weave vinyl seats printed on my kid legs. It was a '72 or so. It was an I6 of some sort. My mom sold the car to some people who claimed to be Gremlin aficionados, in Los Osos/Morro Bay area.
My Dad had one and I drove it to Jr. College (25 miles each way) for a summer. I really liked the car-it was well built and had a nice interior. Thanks for this look back!
This was a well made video and fun to watch, also great narration. The video had a great 70's feel to go with the age of the car. Thanks for posting....
For such a low selling price and a very primitive design, these were a very sturdy and powerful little car. I owned four of them, including two hot rodded-up V8 models...
A friend of mine purposely found a Gremlin X to modify. The mildly built 401 he dropped in it made that car absolutely scary. All AMC V8's were identical dimensionally so going from a 304 to a 401 was easy.
I was a teenager and I had a 1974 Gremlin Levi interior edition. It had a 3 speed standard transmission in it. It had 13 inch tires on the front and 60's on the back I think they were called. Large wide tires that raised the entire back of the car. Which also made the headlights off level. I eventually traded it I for a Monte Carlo.
ThanX for sharing this Tofer. I have a 1976 blue 6 cylinder with White stripes in really rusty shape and a 1977 in near perfect shape with the Audi 2 Litre. Red with black stripes. I am going to see if I can get that Audi motor to run this summer now that we are all in Quarantine.
Great presentation! I’m from Kenosha and both my mother and father worked for American Motors on the assembly line. The house that I grew up in was 2 blocks from one of the assembly lines. It seemed that I was destined the follow in my parent’s foot steps but the Vietnam war change all of that.
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Makes me teary-eyed to see some fine Wisconsinites putting decals on these fine automobiles. Real people!
Sucks you can't find them anywhere anymore, not even in the junkyards!
You could feel their personality
I remember everyone saying the Gremlin looked like it had it's tail cut off and that was somehow bad. Strange how today we have the "Crossovers" and they all look like their trunks are missing or, they look like they have their tails cut off. Looks more like AMC was about 50 years ahead of its time. I thought the Gremlin was pretty cool.
They basically built the first crossover with the eagle. It’s sad that they went under because they had such innovative and creative ideas in their dying years but it still wasn’t enough to keep them afloat.
I'm 1970,, we went to Minneapolis where the gremlin was introduced to Minneapolis American Motors dealers. Each dealer got one and at the end of the intro, we drove them around in a Gremlin caravan aa around downtown Minneapolis. Man, you ought to have seen how people looked and even stared at this new and so unique new car. The base model sold for $1999 plus freight, prep and taxes. A whole bunch of car 🚗 for those few dollars.
@@kentuckyfriedpepespeaks1550 AMC (American Motors) never went under. They were bought by Chrysler in 1987. How do you think Jeep ended up as a Chrysler division?
That was very interesting. I had no idea the Gremlin was so popular. Thanks for posting.
Mom had a Gremlin...love that car and miss it to this day. She let me drive it once. The front end needed an alignment. AMC...an awesome company that built simple, tough, reliable, and economical cars.
I still see Gremlins occasionally, I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw a Pinto or a Vega!
Hi top tennis shoe with back side window in up side down
Vegas where junk when new. Pintos outnumber AMC production total? Used to live in Milwaukee. Hurt to see AMC belly up.
@Tequilla Sunset lol
I saw a Pinto wagon down in Sarasota last week. It was in great shape.
Theres a blue chevy VEGA for sale on US Rt 22 West @ Mcveytown, PA! 07/21/2019
Aside from the Gremlin it was amazing what American Motors did from a small auto manufacture. They wrestled with the big boys and still made great cars that competed and in some cases were better. RIP AMC !
AMC was the first car maker to offer A/C as standard equipment.
AMC amazing motor car!
AMC made a great straight 6 cylinder engine. Smooth as silk
That engine went on to power the Jeep Cherokee XJ series for many more years. One day I was cruising in Colorado's San Joaquin Valley, doing 90-95. My car did not have a tachometer. Well, how about that. I was in fourth gear, not fifth!
Colorado? Computer thinks it knows what you want to say. Great engine. I know of several that is running with three hundred thousand miles.
2.5 was good too, though weak.
That's why Chrysler used AMC's own projections and plans all the way through the '06 Model Year. The only thing that killed the 4.0 was MPGs. Same as it did every other I6 designed in the '50' & '60's.
@@billgateskilledmyuncle23 You mean Chevy 2.5 Iron Duke as it was named!!??,I own 3, 2.5 engines all of my 2 Celebritys and my Lumina would run OVER 100 MPH!,And got 30/35 mpg and you think that's WEAK!?...And how many did you OWN?.
I went to a dealer in January 1971 to buy a Gremlin but bought the SC360! What a car! The 360 didn't know what a redline was. With Hooker headers, 650 3 barrel Holley and a 315 rear, 65MPH in first gear at 6500rpm. Smooth as silk but screaming! At speed could get 22mpg! Loved that car for 170,000 miles! Miss it and the Gremlin I didn't get!!
We loved our quirky '72 purple Gremlin. May it rust in peace.
I am from Mexico City and there were thousands of this gremlins running all over the city in the 70’s and 80’s. Great car
I was just there in MX city - great city!!
@@henryross4343 Where are those gremlins tho...
My first car was 1974 Gremlin, blue with gold stripe and Levi's interior. Loved that little car. Added 8-track tape deck and I was all set. Great memories. Thanks for compiling the history of the Gremlin. Well done.
AMC cars were quirky but lovable. My dad had a couple back in the 60s, A 63 Rambler Classic with an early aluminum engine that melted if overheated. A 65 Ambassador wagon that was a decent vehicle. When they came out in 68, the Javelin and AMX fueled my childhood auto fantasies. I thought they were gorgeous. The AMX with the 390 was badass. Love them or hate them, AMC cars were always unique and interesting. It;s truly a shame that they didn't survive as a company. Thanks for helping me remember good times from the past.
We had a 1974 gremlin x and was a great car. Good gas mileage decent accession decent ride. They should have kept it
My first car was a 1974 Canadian-built Gremlin X with the 304 V-8. Bought it in 1978 for about $600. The gas tank leaked (replaced by the dealer despite the car being sold “as is”), and the original owner had put in a push-button starter and a jury-rigged dual exhaust. A local muffler shop designed and built a brand new dual exhaust system for it for a little over $100, and that little car kicked butt. As much as I loved it, I decided I needed something more reliable and fuel-efficient for college, so I sold it in 1982 and bought a used 1980 Spirit AMX with with the inline 6. Also a great car. AMC is highly underrated, but they were reliable and tough.
The buyer protection plan was good from what I can tell so...
Back in the day, I worked at a Chevron gas station in California. Guy used to roll in with an nearly new Gremlin X. It had alloy wheels and big tires added and our inclination was to think, "Yeah, another sock-in-the-pants poser." Maybe he was but out attitudes got corrects by a large amount. Of course, in those days it was full-service all the way so we got under the hood. It wasn't a 304! Guy told us that before he even took delivery, he had the engine replaced with a 360 4bbl crate motor. At the time, I didn't know much about AMC V8s, and wouldn't have admitted to it if I did (was a Mopar guy ( : < ) but it had a 4-barrel on it. If my 50 year old recollection is correct, it also had a "360" decal on it. I also remember very distinctly that after telling us all about it, he left doing a pretty good burnout... two black strips too! That car and the 360SC Hornet were two AMC I secretly (very secretly ( : < ) lusted after. The Hornet is a GREAT looking car... to my then mind and my today mind.
Mine too. '74 Gremmy X in Maxi Blue with 2-tone bucket seats. I was embarrassed by that car and got rid of it after a few years when the transmission went out, but now I miss it.
Odd, my Gremlin that a friend wrecked had a push button starter.
My wife's first brand-new car was a red 1974 Gremlin with the 304 V-8 and Torque-Command. No X package, no bucket seats...just radio, Weather Eye and whitewall tires. She complained about spending $99 a month for 36 months, but she loved her "Gremmy." We owned it until our first child was born in 1985, and could have kept it even longer but the dreaded tinworm had done its worst...and she had to keep 100 pounds of cat litter in the back to weigh it down in the winter. But she had fun winning the stoplight grand prix!
The gremlin cars were actually really good cars. The gremlin x with its 304 v8 3 speed transmission, fancy wheels and stripe kits were good cars. My father bought my two older brothers each a gremlin in the spring of 1973 for 2800 dollars each. They drove and enjoyed those cars for years. They were great cars no matter what people may say about them.
My first car....The best, and most economical car I've ever owned....And the only one I wish I had back....
Me too.
@David H. My Gremlin was the terror of many an English sports car (MGs, TRs, and at least three Jags that come to mind) in more than a few road races while still giving me right at 30mpg from a three speed floor mounted shifter/tranny and a 258cid with a 1 barrel carb, as a daily driver from high school through my early 20s....Nothing since has been as economical and as much fun to drive, not even a couple of European "sorts cars" I owned while stationed in what was then West Germany in the '80s. Hell. it even served as my "date" car....AND it's the only one The Lovely Bride ever mentions fondly....And that alone makes it special above all others!
@@fdmackey3666 Concur. I bought mine new in 1972 with the optional 258 engine. Standard was a 232. The 258 had a longer stroke and twelve counterweights, unlike the 232 crankshaft which, if memory serves, had eight counterweights. Overall, one of the toughest and best cars I've ever owned. And, the driver's seat was more comfortable than in my current Mercedes E550 sedan.
@@marvinmcconoughey3547Mine was also purchased new in 1972 and also had the 258 engine. And I agree with you about the driver's seat 100% as I have yet to own any other car or pickup with a more comfortable design.
@@fdmackey3666 It is great to hear from another happy former Gremlin owner. the 258 engine may have been the best of the era, even more than the Dodge Dart slant six we later owned.
My dad was salesman of the year in 1952 for Nash Corp. which became amc in 54. We alwalys had amc products. We ha 2 57 rebels, a 61 ambassador wagon with 327 4 barrel carb an dual exhaust; a javelin, 2 hornets and 2 concords. Never had a gremlin. Wouldn’t, mind one now. Great video. Thanks for keeping amc alive.
I BOUGHT A 1973 AMC GREMLIN LEVIS EDITION WITH AIR FOR $2200.00 NEW IN 1973. I SOLD IT IN 1986 WITH 172,000 MILES ON IT ... I LOVE THAT LITTLE CAR AND MISS HERE .. HAPPY MOTORING!!!! VICTOR
I wanted a Gremlin X back then I was 15 ! ✌
VICTOR CLARE All caps lowers the quality of your post.
Great trip down memory lane. My dad drove a yellow and black gremlin when I was young
Had a 1970 Gremlin. Cars were surprisingly quick even with a six and three speed on the floor. I put a 462" Oldsmobile and T-400 in mine, 1957-59 9" Ford diff bolted right in. Beat just about everything including some pretty fast bikes at the time, mid 1980's. 1970 rare year then and now, never saw another. A great easy and inexpensive to work on car, as was the AMC Hornet.
My dad LOVED his amc's. He used to sell them. If you said anything bad about them it was a sure way to get smartly scolded!
Had a Cousin who worked at the AMC Dealership in Greensboro, NC until it closed. My Uncle Drag Raced one in the early '70's. Another Cousin had a '73X. Football Coach had a '72 X. Papaw used a Matador for a couple of years to haul our 19' Coachman to the beach. Pop had a Rambler American for his first car. You could say AMC's have always had a special place in my heart.🥰
My mother worked for American Motor in Sarasota, Florida, so all thru high school and college, I had an AMC car. Started off with the AMC Rambler American, than the AMC Classic 660, and my Gremlin X (yellow with a blue Gremlin X strip and the Levi interior), and ending with an AMC Ambassador with the 343 ci engine. Both of my parents had AMC Javelins. Don't care what people said about them, they were very dependable and easy to work on.
My father purchased a '76 AMC Gremlin and to this day he still says it was the best car he has ever owned. When the odometer hit 239,000 miles he loved telling people that was the distance from the Earth to the moon. He drove it in two hurricanes, a few blizzards, hit a dumpster head on (it fell off of a truck), towed more than a few disabled cars and then passed it on to me my senior year of high school. A neighbor purchased it in 1987 and kept it running until 1990. 14 years and 290,000 miles is a pretty good run.
I owned a 1971 AMC Gremlin with a straight 6 232 cu engine auto right out of the showroom. had it for over 100,000 miles, never did anything to it other than oil and tires !! averaged 26- 28 MPG !Loved snow . Wish I had another today.
In the town I grew up in this guy rodded out a Gremlin put a Chevy 327 in it and had a multi colored candy paint job. It was pretty cool.
did it do wheelies?
@@ronvk100 never seen him get on it to much, he used to run it down Main St. a lot.
ronvk100 theres a few out there dealeeships installed 7 liter engines in them..cousin had one was a sleeper
Mine also was pretty good in the snow, I remember it having a big fuel tank for a smaller car. 21 gallons I believe! :) Go Gremlin!
I used to work for a photo-lab as a delivery/pick-up driver. When you take your film to the drugstore, I was the guy who picks it up, takes it to the lab, then delivers the photos back to the drugstore. Anyway, they had an entire fleet of Gremlins. I have to admit, they were good on gas, and relatively maintenance free. As a long time VW Bug driver, I was impressed.
I had a 1975 Gremlin. Owned and drove it before I had a drivers license. I received it for a birthday gift in 1986 for my 12th birthday. I wanted a dirt bike to ride around on the 10 acres of land we owned at the time but mom and dad said no to that. Well one thing led to another and I was given the car to run around through the fields. Dad and mom paid $200 for it. I had a blast driving it on the property until I got my drivers license in 1990. I currently own a 1977 Hornet love AMC cars. thanks for the video
Great little car. Loved it. AMC had some awesome cars. Thanks for sharing.
I had this car, a red one. I was 16 and put house speakers in the back, 8 track on deck and drove around blasting Boston and drinkin beer with my girls. Good times.
It had black smoke coming from the tailpipe, made a loud "tink tink tink" sound - faster when I stepped on the gas - and I had to put a quart of oil in it every so often (very often). I named the car Scarlette. I bought it in the mid 70s for $500, and sold it a couple of years later for $500. That car is one of the best memories of my teens.
Thankyou for making this excellent video. It is really great
My favorite subcompact car! Thanks for this great trip down memory lane.
My Dad loved gremlins and it was one of the first cars I learned to drive in the early 70s. He had an X model in 1975 with a 304 3 speed manual with a posi rear end. I learned a lot about street racing in that car.
Excellent, durable and beautiful automobiles. I really couldn't understand why they went out of the market. My mother in law had one and was an astonishing good car. I witnessed when they shutdown the plant in Mexico. Was kind of sad. Those were far better days even in the middle of "stone age" where no mobile phones and no social networking were around the corner.
We had Two of them and we're great solid cars...wish I had one today
I've got a sweet '71 for sale in Olympia, WA. Cool video. Glad I ran across it!
Bought a metal flake purple, with gold stripes Gremlin, three speed manual on the floor in 1971(?). Everyone hated it but me. Fun car, wish I still had it.
My first new car was a '71 with a 232 and stick shift. I loved that car, and the family that bought it from me kept it for many years for their kids to drive.
A well presented history of not only the much beloved Gremlin but the scrappy AMC that did fierce battle against the "Big Three." They should have won
Thanks Mike! And I agree, really sad AMC is no longer.
Mike Gehre Chrysler bought American Motors in 1987 but they got the Jeep line which American Motors got from Kaiser in 1970.
AMC was a company that was far ahead of it's time.
Unfortunately in the modern world where car companies consolidate or do joint ventures AMC wouldve eventually gotten swallowed up or gone out of business
Some people had panned the Gremlin. When you think on what Ford and GM offered in the Pinto and Vega they had nothing to say,
Gary Christensen my other had a Monza, Hitch was just a Vega with a makeover. It had three engines installed in it the first 11 months she had it. My dad traded it in on a 78T'Bird. I drove pinto's, Vegas, toyotas and every other small car of the era except the Mazda Rotary's, and I'll take a Gremlin any time. I wish I still had mine!
You are right. An acquaintance bought a new Vega when I bought the Gremlin. The Vega, and most owners would agree I think, was a mechanical disaster, unpowered and unreliable.
don’t forget the Pontiac Sunbird, which was a bootleg Monza. I had an ‘80 Sunbird and never was there ever a bigger turd
My aunt traded in her massive Chevy Caprice land yacht for a forest green Gremlin, which is actually a lot larger than it looks. I also knew someone who had the Levi’s jeans Gremlin. The coolest part was the exterior orange stitching graphics with the painted Levi’s tag. Gremlin styling really embodies the whole 1970s aesthetic.
Years ago, I was given a ‘74 Gremlin. It needed a little help to get back on the road, but was very dependable. The drivetrain was bulletproof, 6-cyl engine, 3 on the floor. It could melt the tires! I put a roof rack on it and hauled building materials. I even transported a Ford 391 heavy duty truck engine for a friend once. I’m sure it looked strange on I-44 with that big engine chained to the roof on a wooden pallet! Great little car.
The Gremlin held on for some years with a substantial redesign as the Spirit fastback and Kammback models, and as subcompact Eagle companion models to the Concord-based Eagles. These were popular models and gave rise to the all-wheel-drive crossovers infesting the roads today. Not a bad legacy.
in 1977 I purchased a used 1973 gremlin with the large straight six.. air conditioning... it was yellow with black racing stripes which ran down the side and curved up around the back window.. it has a air deflector on the rear roof.. it had the glass hatch in back in the fold down rear seat.. I loved my gremlin
Bought mine brand new in 1970. Loved that little car.
The biggest problem with the Gremlin was the weight ratio. Because of the V6/V8, RWD, and short wheelbase, the car was extremely unstable in slippery road conditions. If you've ever have seen an unweighted pick-up truck hit a patch of ice, you'll know how it handled. Because all the weight was over the front wheels, the rear could easily spinout making it impossible to recover. They also had an issue with a sticky throttle, allowing the engines to run away. That said, they had a lot of power.
With that jazz tune playing i was waiting on lieutenant inspector Callahan to come through that assembly line with his .44 Magnum drawn chasing after a crook who ran into the factory!!
My first car, I had a 70 Hornet, and my buddy in high school had a 71 Gremlin. We used to park next to each other in school every day. Those cars were big and heavy by todays standards.
I had a purple with gold stripe 1972 Gremlin X with 4 on the floor. I loved that car. I was just out of college and took a trip from the Midwest to Seattle. Short of funds, I'd put the back seat down and sleep curled up at truck stops.
Great story. From Colombia, a salute to those true automotive warriors, fine cars, no matter if was not big company as the Three Big Ones. Miss the brand really a lot, friends.... God bless Kenosha!!! For ever and keep all them on the road, please, it is your Lecacy. Do not let it go or die. Cheers!!!
Tofer, really really excellent video! I bopped around in a Gremlin after graduation of high school in 1974 and it was a blast! Easy to take good care of, peppy, nice options and bulletproof mechanicals. I wish I had a low mileage maxed out Gremlin today in my retirement.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed this. I've always lived AMC and the Gremlin in particular.
72 Orange Gremlin X. My room mates in college called it the pumpkin. Was in school in northern WI and got up one morning it was -45 deg--and not wind chill. The pumpkin started right up but the seat vinyl shattered into a million pieces when I got in..
Excellent work. My dad liked AMC and Rambler. Rebel SST was one he came home with. Great car for us.
I was dating a girl who's mother's boyfriend owned one, he gave me a few rides to the store in it, with the Levi interior and the V8 engine and I loved that little car!! It was fast with a 4 speed transmission and cool to ride in!! I wasn't driving just yet at the time....but I remember I have always loved the look of these little cars!!!
He must've put the four-speed in because no V8 Gremlins were ever built with 4-speeds. Torque-Command Auto or 3-speed stick were the only choices.
In 1977 I purchased a used 1973 gremlin.. yellow with black racing stripes that came down the sides and curved up alongside the rear window... It had the large straight six cylinder.. air condition.. in factory tinted glass that was tinted pretty dark.. I had the opening glass back hatch and fold down rear seat.. I loved my gremlin ❤️.. the V6 actually was pretty quick... I knew a guy that bought a 1977 gremlin x V8 back then.. he souped up the engine.. it had side pipes.. jacked up in the back with wide tires and traction bars.. his souped-up gremlin x was fast!
My Aunt Kris used to work at AMC in Kenosha WI when I was a kid. The late 70’s- early 80’s. Then it shut down because Chrysler bought them out. She and her husband had to relocate to Ohio. But my family had some AMC cars. I don’t know about a Gremlin. But had Concords, and another one. Can’t remember. I Wouldn’t mind buying a Nice fixed up Gremlin.
Hornet maybe
@@348loadedlever3 I found out. My parents had the Eagle after the Concord. Wish we still had it. I would have had to put a lot of work into it. It broke down a few times i remember.
i grew up 15 minutes from kenosha, just about all my friends parents drove "kenosha cadillacs"
theres a few rare ones with seven liter motors in them cousin had one was embarassed to be in it till we were at light and car pulled next to us ...he said watch...punched it .must have left easy sixty feet of rubber
I wouldn't mind having a restored Gremlin!
I’ve been seeing a lot more of these at car shows in recent years and it makes me happy.
The Music at the end felt like something straight from a Twin Peaks episode, loved it, and the video too.
I'm one of many who are helping to keep AMC's legacy alive. In my case it's a Jeep XJ Cherokee. I will grant she's post Chrysler buyout but she still has the heart of AMC and soul of Jeep.
It's such a shame no-one's putting that straight six in new cars anymore. My Cherokee's has over 200,000 on it. Same engine as AMC, perfected over many decades. Unbreakable.
I feel the same way. When they discontinued the XJ in 2001 that was the last of AMC.
I still have two AMC Jeeps. An 88' Wrangler 4.2 and a 92' Sahara 4.0 that they used to make the Jurassic Jeep. Both in showroom condition. I'll always have them.
I am sill driving an ‘84 AMC Eagle wagon with 4-wheel-drive. The 4.2 liter straight six is reliable and fairly fuel-efficient.
@@rastus666 I would love to have an Eagle. They are really neat cars.
My dad worked for American Motors from 1976-1986 as a designer and engineer, ending his time at LTV helping to design the original Hummer. He never had one of these as one of his company cars. He mostly had Jeep division vehicles; a couple of Cherokee's, a couple of CJ-7s (one of which he bought outright as a third car), a Jeep J-10 Honcho full sized truck, and oddly enough an AMC Spirit (the only AMC car he had). My friend's mother, however, rolled a used Gremilin for a while and a mean old lady on our street had a Spirit of her own. Another friend's dad had an old Spirit as well when I first met him and came over to his house for the first time.
When I was about 9 years old my parents bought a 1971 Baby Blue Gremlin base model. It was basically 4 wheels and and engine. The transmission was 3 on the tree (manual column shift for those that don't know what a tree is). As a bonus it had an AM only radio. Nice little car brand new for about $1900 plus tax. Great little car and we had it until I was in my early teens when I was paying attention to cars.
In the late 70s/early 80s....I was living up at South Lake Tahoe. I was at one of those self-service car washes, and happened to glance over to some guy who had just finished vacuuming out the rear of his Gremlin. He slammed the rear hatch shut & the back window shattered. Within a half-second of that.....in my line of sight & maybe only 50 feet away, across the street.....some other dude drove head-on into a tree on the side of the road. That's my memory of the Gremlin.
Had an '81 Spirit, which was basically what was left over from the Gremlin line with new rear side windows. Inline six was awesome till the rear main bearing went away. It was a small car but one night, I got 13 people in it and drove down an old country dirt road to a small lake, about three miles. Tough little car.
I had a friend in the early 80's with one, he transplanted a 401 from a grand wagoneer into it. He had graphics added to the sides, "the greep". It could give you some serious whiplash. Love to own an all original one some day.
I drove a 1976 Gremlin Levi's in my senior year (78-79) of high school. It was an I-4 with a four-speed manual. It had a nasty habit of shutting off in the middle of a drive. Thanks goodness it was manual steering. Once I went to college I got rid of it.
I found this channel today. Great content, subscribed right away.
My first car was a blue AMC Hornet SST that my dad gave me after it was totalled in a wreck. I got it running and drove it most of my junior year in high school until I rolled it off a bridge the summer before my senior year.
In early 1972 , I bought a 1971 Gremlin with 15,000 mi. on the odometer , emerald green with the 258 cu. in. straight six for $1,500.00 . Drove it for almost 3 years and sold it for $50 more than I paid for it. Had only changed the oil every 6 months and put gas in it -- no other repairs. Now, people laugh at the old Gremlins and call them ugly, but it was a pretty cool little run-about back then. "Loved my Gremlin".
Great nostalgic piece. I always say nostalgia is heroin for old folks. I had a 71 w 232 that was a hand me down from aunt to sister to me in the eighties. It was turd brown on brown and had a plywood rear window with a star shape cut out w plastic for sight. It had one working front brake and ran beautifully. I used it as a ski car in the mountains of B.C. for a few years, was dangerous as hell. Sold it for 40 bucks, a case of beer and some hash. The head banger who bought it totalled it the next winter. Go figure. Man we were haywire! Thanks for the video eh.
These cars were quite popular in the day. They were unique, low cost, economical cars that were easy to work on and reliable as well. My Mother had a Gremlin and my Brother had a Hornet.
the Gremlin was a great success over 700,000 sold !!
@@ronvk100 Not really, but in 8 years, 671 475 of Gremlin were produced.
Tremendous effort went into putting this together. Great work as always!!
Thanks Marven! I'm so glad you enjoyed.
Had a 72 gremlin X with the 258 cid payed $300 for the car had the car for 4 years wish i still had the car today very great cars
My Mormon friend Marlin had one of these, excellent cars indeed!!
I hear you wish I would have kept my old cars
My dad bought a 1974 4-door Matador brand new and it only needed routine maintenance for the 6 years he had it. I saw it around town years later looking pretty good. Not a popular car in my area but a good deal. The parts catalog was a "who's who" of parts made from the Big Three.
had a 72 in High School and College. Loved that car.
When it was numerous, it didn't catch my attention back in the seventies. But now I miss the vehicle.
I LOVED mine had it for many years great car never had a problem.
I found a one owner ‘77 baby blue Gremlin in the early nineties, 258 engine with 3 speed and overdrive, flawless Levi’s interior. White striped X with mags and a journal in the glove box with every tank of gas and oil change records! MPGs, belts, filters listed. The coil would overheat and shut her down which is the reason I only paid $300. Leno made a video in which he said the same thing was responsible when his bud Jeff’s Gremlin died at a red light in LA. New distributor and she drove for many more miles and beautiful memories. Loved that car! Still do.
Found my dream car, ‘74 Javelin with a built 401 pushing near 500 ponies, black leather interior, candy apple red paint. Stupidest thing I’ve ever done was sell the Grem for $50
I liked the Gremlin. My dads college professor friend got an Amx when they came out . I thought they were the coolest car.
A friend of mine right out of high school had a 1973 Gremlin. I thought it was so cool I bought a 1974 model with the V8 right off the showroom floor. That car was a blast! I had many adventures in it including taking it up a couple of easier jeep trails. I would have driven it several years longer but another friend destroyed it by putting it in a ditch during a snow storm. Good times!
I had a ‘78 Gremlin X with Levi denim interior, that car was indestructible.
This is the best video on AMC I have seen! Good Job, keep it up
My parents bought a brand new AMC Hornet, I think it was 1972, my mother let me drive it home, I had a driving learners permit. It was Orange with a V-8 304, automatic Trans, I gave the gas pedal a nudge and back end stepped out, after that I loved that car, about 5 years later at my Moms work someone stole it and wrecked it. It was a nice car.
I had a 1974 gold/green colored Gremlin, 232 6 cylinder with the automatic transmission. Bought used for $250.00. Two years later, sold it back to the guy I bought it from for $300.00. He pulled the engine and put it in his Jeep CJ.
Rebuilt it for burning oil 2 years ago and still running like new. Bullet proof engine. Loved that car, first one.
I had the 66 American Rambler convertible . It had a 232 . Very light car that surprised a few of my friends with Camaro's with its ability to shred tires .
My first car... Yellow and black Gremlin X with the 5l. The motor was replaced by me on a tree in the front yard with an amc 360 out of a station wagon... It was a Camaro killer... The back window was always breaking at the hinge...
Had a 74 gremlin x. Mellow yellow with black hockey stick on the side . Nice looking car .
In 1971, my parent bought two Gremlins for $1999 each included a "free" 12" b&w TV. I still have the original Gremlin gas caps and hub caps and some badging. I removed all before scrapping them.
I worked as a mechanic at an AMC Jeep Renault dealer during the 1980s. I have to say, AMC sure struggled to build a quality car. While I always admired the 4WD Eagle, it sure didn't scream reliability. The Jeep was the only thing keeping them above water in the 1980s.
But, we had some good times at the dealership. The 5 of us in the garage made some good money until the franchise sold out and moved to the auto mall as a Chrysler dealership. I ended up going back to the Ford dealership I started with years earlier.
Good times.
The only car my Grandfather bought new. We inherited it c1979. Dark metallic green. The basket weave vinyl seats printed on my kid legs. It was a '72 or so. It was an I6 of some sort. My mom sold the car to some people who claimed to be Gremlin aficionados, in Los Osos/Morro Bay area.
Another fabulous video. Thank you.
My Dad had one and I drove it to Jr. College (25 miles each way) for a summer. I really liked the car-it was well built and had a nice interior. Thanks for this look back!
This was a well made video and fun to watch, also great narration. The video had a great 70's feel to go with the age of the car. Thanks for posting....
For such a low selling price and a very primitive design, these were a very sturdy and powerful little car. I owned four of them, including two hot rodded-up V8 models...
My first car was a 1972 Gremlin X. 5 liter Windsor block.
Seams to me that AMC continued the Gremlin for a few more years as the Spirit.
My (then) girlfriend Debbie had a Gremlin X with the V8 back in 1978.That thing ran great! I'd love to have one, the other,or both again!
A friend of mine purposely found a Gremlin X to modify. The mildly built 401 he dropped in it made that car absolutely scary. All AMC V8's were identical dimensionally so going from a 304 to a 401 was easy.
I was a teenager and I had a 1974 Gremlin Levi interior edition. It had a 3 speed standard transmission in it. It had 13 inch tires on the front and 60's on the back I think they were called. Large wide tires that raised the entire back of the car. Which also made the headlights off level.
I eventually traded it I for a Monte Carlo.
ThanX for sharing this Tofer. I have a 1976 blue 6 cylinder with White stripes in really rusty shape and a 1977 in near perfect shape with the Audi 2 Litre. Red with black stripes. I am going to see if I can get that Audi motor to run this summer now that we are all in Quarantine.
Great presentation! I’m from Kenosha and both my mother and father worked for American Motors on the assembly line. The house that I grew up in was 2 blocks from one of the assembly lines. It seemed that I was destined the follow in my parent’s foot steps but the Vietnam war change all of that.
My older sister's husband (then her boyfriend) had one of these in green back in the mid-70s. It was a great car.
Aqkura
My brother had one. His gas cap with the gremlin on it was constantly being stolen. He finally gave up and pushed a rag in the hole 😂
Discovered your channel this morning, and been hooked all day since! Keep up the good work. Regards from Scotland 🏴
So glad you're enjoying the videos! Greetings from Los Angeles.