I friend of mine had a Pacer X I believe a 1976, with the low hood and thin grill, in my mind the best looking. It was his sisters car her dad had bought her as a graduation present that lasted her Al through college, till she sold it to her baby brother my friend, in 1982. So what did he do? With my help he swapped in an AMC 390 4 brl out of a wreaked AMX, we got the whole drivetrain out of. Luckily it was a three speed car to begin with that helped with the 4speed. Short story? That little car won him a ton of $$$ street racing and locally sports car racing in an abandoned mill complex. He added KONI shocks and the disks and calipers from the AMX, and we stiffened the springs all around that gained about an inch, that made room for bigger wheels and tires. That car was so much fun to drive. Unsuspecting drivers though it was a boy racer 304 V8 Pacer, because that’s what it sounded like. But let those secondaries open up!!! Second gear rubber and hookup……
I'm a luxury guy, but I wanted something smallish to commute in. Bought a new fully-loaded 1976 Pacer D/L; drove it for five years and loved it. VERY roomy, quiet, and luxurious; compared to its so-called competition like the Pinto or Vega, Are you kidding - those tin cans were not even close. The Pacer felt more like a Ford LTD once you were inside it than a compact. I personally loved the looks (of the coupe anyway, the wagon not so much - and they kind of ruined the front when they put a bulge in the hood to accommodate the V8). Fit and finish on mine were good, and I had zero problems other than maintenance items the entire time I owned it. I might still have it except for the problem with all cars back then after a few years - rust.
A girl at my high school inherited a really nice Pacer from her grandmother during my sophomore year in 1991. It was the only Pacer at our school. Everyone thought it was pretty dorky and she was kinda embarrassed to drive it. A year later we all thought it was cool! I hope she sent a thank you card to Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. 😂😂
Whether you liked it or not, the AMC Pacer was hands down the boldest production automotive design to be introduced in the 1970s. I remember the media reviews were not exactly great but also not terrible. In a sea of badly proportioned downsized cars during the malaise era, it stood out. Today I can't help but smile when I see one on the road although this is quite rare now. I wish OEMs were this bold again.
Fit and finish turned me from a cash ready buyer to no-way-in-Hell was I buying something which looked like a failed sixth grader's arts and crafts project.
Had GM followed through with their version of the Wankel engine, the Pacer could've been successful. When that fell through, AMC had to do a very clumsy retrofit job to shoehorn its primitive straight sixes into an engine bay very unsuited for them. AMC should've purchased Buick's 231 V6 engine, instead. Much more compact and would've fit perfectly. Yes, to use a GM engine in place of their own inline six would've made AMC look bad but, the result would've been better for the buyers and thus, saved the company's product reputation.
As a highschooler, I had a neighbor who was a mechanic at an AMC dealership. He brought home a Pacer for his wife to drive. She loved it, and so did I. I remember the TV commercials about the great site lines. The car had fantastic visibility. The car was stolen, and next thing I knew, the neighbors had an AMC Javelin. I used to miss the bus 2 or 3 times per month just to get Mary Ellen to drive me to school. My friends asked me about the hot chick with the hot car. Those were the days.
I started working for an AMC/Jeep dealer a couple of years after the Pacer was out of production but they turned up from time to time for service. I think what hurt them most was the fact that they didn't get much better fuel mileage than a mid size car of their time. The 258 I6 was a rock solid motor but it struggled to get 15 mpg. Back when they were still showing up in the dealer's shop, I saw more V8 models, and rarely saw a six cylinder model. I don't ever recall having to work on a wagon version. What I do remember them being known for is broken steering racks, mostly from owners hitting parking stops, and broken seats and interior parts that were hard to find even then. I remember one sitting for several months in the early 80's in need of a drivers seat frame after the original had broken off. The seat frame was apparently hard to find used as well for some reason. The glass bowl windows also led to rather rapid interior fade, most looked pretty rough after only a few years in the hot sun. The AC system always struggled to keep up. Overall though they were solid cars in the hands of an owner who drove conservatively and took decent care of them. I don't ever recall one being traded in though, that could mean that either owners kept them till they were scrap yard bound or they were sold elsewhere. The Concord on other hand was very common, especially in 4x4 configurations. I owned two wagons myself. I bought my first one after seeing one that got towed in after a head on collision. It had been rear ended and pushed into oncoming traffic at 60mph. When it was on the ground, we drove it around to the holding yard. I really wish the brand had survived and continued, they built decent cars, but once they got in bed with Renault, their reputation was ruined and what came afterwards were pure junk that should have never been sold on American soil.
Had GM followed through with their version of the Wankel engine, the Pacer could've been successful. When that fell through, AMC had to do a very clumsy retrofit job to shoehorn its primitive straight sixes into an engine bay very unsuited for them. AMC should've purchased Buick's 231 V6 engine, instead. Much more compact and would've fit perfectly. Yes, to use a GM engine in place of their own inline six would've made AMC look bad but, the result would've been better for the buyers and thus, saved the company's product reputation.
I'm not sure a GM built rotary would have been the answer, the design is just not that efficient and although the fit and power output would be better, its longevity would have suffered. The inline six engines were at least reliable and long term. A buddy still drives one he bought off some old woman back in 1984, its got well over 250k on it and still going. I rebuilt the transmission in it at 204k after it blew out a converter seal. AMC's biggest mistake was getting in bed with Renault, nearly everything that came out of that mix was pure crap. The Alliance, Fuego, Medalion, and the whole Eagle line was a nightmare plagued with engine and electrical issues they couldn't solve. It was so bad that in 1991 they still had left over Alliance models that wouldn't sell. It was so bad that they were offering them to employees for not much more than scap weight. I had one that was bought back from a customer, a white on white convertible. It had been back to the dealer over 30 times before lemon law forced a buy back. It sat in a holding pen well into the Chrysler years. Finally, when Chrysler was closing u the zone office they offered those cars for basically scrap value to those working there. I got it for $400, with 650 miles on it. I ended up pulling out the whole wiring harness and processor to find an intermittent loss of several signals. It turned out that the harness had 15 failed weld/crimps in it. Once up and running properly, it blew a head gasket and needed the engine liners all reset. The trans started to slip at 9k miles, I rebuilt the trans, it started to rust where the rear suspension attached, so I fixed that. It gladly became the property of my ex a few months later. I was glad to see both go.@@BlackPill-pu4vi
@@VB-bk1lh Wow. Awesome story about the AMC-Renault partnership. The rotary, at the time, seemed like a great idea. But, you're right and EPA regulations turned the rotary into a money pit that GM couldn't justify any longer. AMC really put all their eggs in the rotary basket and didn't have a Plan B on hand in case it fell through.
I’m one of them Pacer lovers. I bought one used back in the early 80’s, resealed the steering rack, tuned it up and we was off to the races. It had the 258 single barrel and 4 on the floor. I drove the heck out of that thing. I remember I was late leaving for a Greatful Dead Concert, I held her wide open from Stillwater Ok to OKC. Going around 110. I never held a car WOT that long in my life. I spun her out twice, new tires on the front and baldies on the back. Hit a water puddle in a slight turn and she was sideways. Luckily I didn’t hit a thing. That was a good ol car. When I sold it it had over 200000 miles on it and still running strong. The folks I sold it to drove it till the floor board fell out of it. It had a trailer hitch on it and it back several boats in the water. I’m now retired and I purchased a wagon in excellent shape with only 65000 miles on it. 258 2 barrel and automatic transmission. I get so many thumbs up and people taking pictures. They are a little over weight and gas mileage ain’t the best, but it rides good and fun to drive. By the way I own the other car that you say that wasn’t good, the Matador Coupe. It was designed for NASCAR. I was a Bobby Allison fan and he drove tha Matador so Ihad to have one. Win on Sunday sell on Monday. What hurt that car was the oil embargo and emission regulations that killed HP’s. Adam watch some old Bobby Allison utube videos, he won both races at Darlington in 75. I what to thank you for your quality work and reviewing a AMC, the underrated and under dog.
Loved my Pacer !! The wider track was rock stable. Loved to do donuts in the snow in a empty parking lot, as it always snapped back in line when I came out of the donut. Thus I always felt safe when driving normally during slippery conditions. Had lots of chrome window & door trim so I had it repainted to a deep royal dark blue to highlight the trim ... looked beautiful !
1:24 I still remember the TV commercials showing the "Italian" chefs making a huge submarine sandwich, and the only car that could handle such a wide sandwich? The Pacer.
I have a friend who drove a brown 1977 coupe in highschool. It was a smooth drive. Back then the Pacer wasn't yet a joke. The seats were very comfortable.
The mother of a girl I dated in high school bought one of these new. I got to drive it on a two hour drive from our rural MO town to St. Louis. I was very impressed with how it handled and rode, especially on the very curvy and hilly roads just out of town. I was used to the large GM and Ford cars my parents owned and the Pacer compared favorably to them. The sense of space in the interior was remarkable. Theirs was deep red in and out like one you featured in the video, almost exactly what GM used to call Firethorn.
I remember a teacher in grade school had a Pacer, and he was also very short and very round , which we all found very humourous! He also happened to teach LD classes, so it was a whole funny "picture". Nickamaed, Short Bus.
I remember seeing a new Pacer, for the first time, as it was off loaded off of the delivery truck, to a AMC dealership in the San Fernando Valley in the spring of 1975. The service people, and sales people all came out to inspect this brand new car. I was 17 years old, and it was interesting to see the attention the car got, as we all very closely inspected it. I worked for Gerald Meyers, for several years. He became the youngest ever CEO of AMC in 1977, I worked at his home until 1995. The Pacer was in the 1977 movie, "Oh God", the one where "God"-George Burns made it rain inside the car as John Denver drove it, a very funny scene, amongst many others, in that movie. I watched it again, two days ago. Thanks for another great car Vlog!
The Pacer was the PT Cruiser of the 70's. Like the Pacer, the PT Cruiser was actually extremely popular when it first came out. But after a while, all the people who wanted one already bought one. The companies kept on trying to sell them though and eventually both cars got the reputation as being the dorky car you bought because the dealer was desperate to get rid of it. You still do see some PT cruisers that were well cared for by the original owner who clearly loved the car
Ah, another car from my childhood. One which cements my opinion that cars back then could and often were groundbreaking in style. Not like the vast majority of cars today, which all look like they sat out in the sun just a bit too long and started to melt.
I almost bought a Pacer in 1975 when they first came out, but the wait list was too long. While I was looking to buy my car, I read somewhere that the rear axle on the Pacer was the same one used on the Matador, indicating how wide the car was. I believe it used tha Matador (and Rebel, Javelin) door lock mechanism, which as you noted were unusual in the placement of the interior lock button. Those cars had the release inside the arm rest. Dick Teague was a master of reuisng parts in his car designs, to keep the costs in line. Thank you for a wonderful video!
Our neighbors while I was growing up had two Pacer wagons. One was a light yellow and the other one was baby blue. They retired soon after purchasing them and they meticulously maintained them and drove them for the next twenty years. They alternated between driving one or the other to their winter home in Florida from Wisconsin every year. They were time warp vehicles when at 20 years old they looked better than most 2-year-old cars. When they passed away both of them sold at an estate sale for less than $1,000. I saw the baby blue one being driven around our town occasionally. It had been purchased by a painter and every time I saw it it look worse until it finally disappeared
The Pacer appealed to a select small group of people. Sales were good until that group had been satisfied. It was also expensive and other makes introduced other compacts that had newer features and styling. It was a decent car but again the unconventional styling didn't help mass sales. A lot of people wouldn't buy AMC because resale value wasn't great and they tended to have smaller platforms. I think of AMC as the Studebaker of the 70's and 80's. Well engineered cars but somewhat weird styling and low resale value. I like the AMC Hornets of the late 70's. The coupes had good styling and proportions. I'll never forget the ones in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Thanks for featuring the Pacer.
Although I didn’t personally know anyone who owned one, surely a manual with that straight 6 would have to be pretty reliable. I’ve always heard good things overall with AMC cars
I remember when I was 8 years old in 1975, my parents were looking for a car for my grandparents-- shortly after they moved from New York to the San Fernando Valley-- and my mom and I walked by this car on a used car lot, and she commented that it looked like a spaceship. I remember thinking it looking odd and ugly myself. Little did I know more widely accepted rounded, bubbly looking cars would be, come the 21st century.
The licorice dispenser in the ceiling should have been in every car, like the Mirth Mobile in Wayne's World. Now I have to go listen to Bohemian Rhapsody in a car. Good thing the Mirthlimo was a one off, the six wheeled stretch Pacer limo. None of the bands seemed to mind though. Flames on a Pacer!
As a young man I owned a 76 Pacer DL with a 3-speed manual and, as a young man, I abused this car mercilessly. It never failed to start and always took me where I needed to go. During the early 80s we were hit with one of the worst blizzards in history (minus 60 degrees wind chill) and my Pacer was the only car on the street to actually start. Of course, the street in question was outside the local tavern and my buddy needed a ride home. Ah, memories.
My great aunt had a baby blue Pacer like the one in Wayne's World. I loved riding in it as a kid. After that she got a Plymouth Horizon. Not as fun for me. But she seemed to like it. All the times I rode in that Pacer, I never realized that the passenger door was bigger than the driver door
I remember when these first came out, about half way through the 1975 model year. I had a customer who bought a yellow Pacer X. He was so proud of it. My mother in law had a white one and my aunt had a blue one with a manual transmission. I remember the build quality not being good.
Our next-door neighbor had one of these when I was a kid in the '80s. Most weekends he was out in his driveway, drinking beer and working on it, usually in as noisy a manner as possible. One day he got so mad at it (and drunk) that he drained the oil out, put a cinder block on the gas pedal, and ran the engine wide open until it seized. It may have been the most exciting thing that ever happened on our street, particularly when he followed it up with obscene ranting at the top of his lungs until someone called the cops. That was the end of the only Pacer in town.
Aunt and Uncle had a '76 Pacer. Really liked that car. But one glaring fact about it was with all that glass, the A/C couldn't cope with the West Texas sunshine in the summer. Front seat not bad but back seat was like an oven. They kept it for several years and was very reliable.
These cars were underrated … With a bit more development, they surely would have been a success. They handled amazingly well and with the right engine, would have been a very space-efficient package to boot.
My neighbor had one and liked it. He referred to it as his terrarium. They were meant to have a wankel but I don’t think that ever happened. The longer six cylinder meant the engine was jammed against the firewall and replacing two plugs was difficult and expensive.
Adam, my oldest Brother and his first wife bought a Pacer new in 1975. It was a 2-tone blue with a interesting interior design. I got to ride in it quite a bit, and eventually got to drive it before they got rid of it. It had the 258cid in it. Also, my late Broth-in-law bought a plain 77 Pacer new, and I got to ride in it.
We had them as driver ed cars. My dad bought one and it was a really nice driving vehicle with great visibility. The back end could get a little squirrelly in the rain though. And yes, A/C was a must with all that glass.
To add to my last comment, I had the basic 6 cylinder motor which was more than enough power for the 75 Pacer. Never got great gas milage but just what you'd expect from a 6 cylinder motor of the time. Had lots of glass so, without A/C, it was a "cooker" in the summer. My kids would call it the "egg" and made it clear I was not to pick them up in front of their school ... major embarrassment! Coming home late one evening, my wife also was upset that it wasn't a Porsche like the car she wanted and had spotted behind us. As that car passed , we all had a good laugh as it was, yep, you guessed it, another beautiful Pacer. Lesson learned, Pacers looks like Porsches when approaching from behind at night.
The Pacer was one of the cars my Driver's Ed class used. The others were the Matador and the Ford LTD. I hated the LTD because it had power brakes and I think I gave the other students whiplash when it was my turn to drive the car out of the tightly spaced Shop class building. I have a memory of the D.E. teacher allowing us to have the rear hatch open on the Pacer on really hot days because there wasn't any A/C. I did D.E. during Summer School.
Quirky ! I never heard nor noted the passenger door was longer, now THAT is a good engineering idea. My teen cousin and I at age of wishing for maybe 70 Cuda, 68 Camaro, 67 Mustang fastback, Roadrunner, when we first saw the Pacer we totally spazzed. Could hardly believe our eyes. If not a thrifty 4 popper in it, not a lot of reason to buy unless tight big city parking was a thing. Otherwise, might as well have bought AMC Ambassador, a nice alternative to full sized land yachts of the Big 3, or a Plymouth Valiant, a fine midsize long lasting car, slant six. Mid 60’s Ramblers were a very good idea, just right size really. Didn’t their front seats fold flat like a bed? But Americans in a big country wanted BIG cars. I recall the general attitude and bought into it back then, “If not full sized, it won’t last as long”. Seems like the Vega and Pinto didn’t get as good of econ either for their size, and so many problems. No wonder the long lasting, very thrifty Honda Civics CVCC soon sold so many. But many of us recall how fast the early cars from Japan rusted out on salty winter roads. Thanks for this video on the Pacer ! A fun look back.
I was in elementary school when the Pacer was introduced. My parents had an AMC Hornet and would take it to the local AMC dealer to get it serviced and the Pacer was a big attraction for the dealership. One of my first car models was a MPC 1/25th scale AMC Pacer. After building the model, I had some questions about the interior configuration...and I remember being at a shopping center with my Mom and we parked next to a Pacer and I spent time walking around the car and studying the interior. Compared to the other cars being introduced that year, the Pacer seemed futuristic and a clean sheet compared to other contemporary automobiles. Did we consider getting a Pacer? No...at the time, the AMC dealer was also acquiring a SAAB franchise and Dad was really liking the idea of a SAAB 99 with front wheel drive to get through the snow.. Did we get a SAAB? Unfortunately, Dad's job required him to transfer cities from time to time and we moved to a more rural area that didn't have a dealer close by and Dad wasn't keen on owning a Swedish car where the nearest dealer was 400 miles away. We did get a VW Rabbit from a local dealer a few years later. Getting back to the development of the Pacer, GM's cancellation of the Rotary was occurring at the same time GM was acquiring the tooling of the Buick V6 from AMC to use in their own cars. I recall AMC didn't care for the Buick V6 but given the Pacers cab forward design, a V6 would have been a better fit versus the longer AMC 6 cylinders. Of course, GM refined the Buick V6 and that basic engine outlasted AMC by over 20 years after Chrysler acquired AMC. In hindsight, AMC should have focused on the Pacer and not the Matador coupe and developed the car into a sedan and other variants. Hard to say what would have worked given their limited resources but AMC was innovative, and willing to take chances and I think some of that engineering and design philosophy helped shape Chrysler's product line into the 90s before the merger with Daimler.
A buddy of mine had one of these. He pulled the original 258 six out and replaced it with a somewhat modded Olds 403 V8. What a trip... It would get funny looks wherever it went, and then wide-eyed looks of astonishment as 'Spacer' (his name for it) would get up and run like a scalded dog. He had plans to 'chop' the car (basically section out part of the pillars and glass) to lower the roof. He had drawn up sketches of it and everything and it was gonna look pretty darned wicked. The project got stalled because... well, you know, life 'n stuff.
My father was a manufacturing engineer for Jeep which permitted him to lease AMC automobiles at very reasonable prices. During the Pacer years, he had a 1976 run of the mill Pacer which wasn't much to write home about. However, in 1978 he leased a fully loaded Pacer 'woody' wagon in a turquoise color, wood grain sides with aluminum wheels, AM/FM/CB radio, limited slip differential, cruise control, intermittent wipers, etc. Even though the 304 was available, he opted for the 258 inline 6 cylinder. I was amazed at how good it went in snow and ice for being a rear-wheel-drive car. I really loved the Pacer as I would frequently drive it while he was overseas on company business. Yes, it was not very economical regarding fuel mileage but was a blast to drive.
We had these as company cars when I worked at a TV station. I drove them frequently. The interior bits fell apart quickly. The seatback angle was not adjustable, although they had bucket seats, and the angle of the seat was too upright for my taste and on a long trip it made me tired from sitting upright. One of my colleagues had the car stall out in a blizzard and he had to make a life-threatening walk through the storm. It turned out to be caused by carburetor icing, an issue that was solved (in every other car) in the 1940's. Poor mileage for a small car.
I like the low belt-line of the "wagon" version of the Pacer. Today's vehicles "high belt-lines" make the occupants feel claustrophobic, especially with black interiors.
The Pacer lol. I can recall we had one as a rental car in Hawaii, and took it on the road to Heavenly Hana. There were 9 of us crammed into that car, and I (about 10 yrs old at the time) was in the hatchback with three teenage girls (which was more than ok). Oh, and the car did fine, as it was surprisingly large inside and quite comfortable. I haven't seen one on the road in years, although I did see a Gremlin the other day.
The Pacer was the PT Cruiser of the 70's. I recall that a customer of my father's Shell station was a mother who drove a yellow Pacer with the fake wood paneling. Her kids always looked like they were suffering from the heat because the Pacer's windows were like a magnifying glass.
These were around in my childhood, although I've never driven or even ridden in one. I never noticed until recently however, the interior and dash design on these is quite nice. I was familiar with Spirits and Concords in the day, and this seems better and less of an afterthought.
If I had been alive and an adult during its run I would have soooooooooo bought one. It was an awesome car regardless of the fact that the rotary engine didn't make it to the final product. Also.....I was born in 1983. As a little kid I always loved seeing AMC vehicles. If AMC had survived........ I'd be a die hard AMC customer!!!
"Corpulent" I just learned a new word from you, Adam! And yeah, I had to look it up. But now I know..... along with a lot of other details about this AMC. Thanks
Very interesting so thank you. We got some of AMC’s cars here in Australia in the 60’s & early ‘70’s but they were branded as Ramblers, so we got the Rambler Javelin, AMX, Hornet, and Matador. They were all right hand drive although I don’t know if they came from the factory that way or were converted here. Something I’ve always wondered about is why the other manufacturers were willing to sell components to AMC especially when AMC would use a mix of both Ford and GM parts on the same vehicle. Wasn’t it Ford and GM that helped kill off Tucker and DMC DeLorean? So why help AMC? Cheers mate, Stuart 🇦🇺
A forerunner of the compact cars we have today, which are much more efficient and handle like a dream...Don't know how well the '75 Pacer handled and freeway driving may have been a problem, Adam🤔🤲
I'm from a former AMC family😁My first 2 cars were Hornets. Grandfather had a '78 Matador Barcelona sedan when I was a kid. He traded it in '85 for a Dodge Diplomat😁
When AMC exported the Pacer to the United Kingdom, the manufacturer organised the right-hand-drive conversion and ECE homologation with a local specialist. The dashboard was custom made from Grelmin/Javelin with Pacer instrument cluster The steering column was split in half at the firewall and connected with the chain drive. The chain drive would eventually loosened up and stretched a bit longer, making the steering more dodgy. The brake pedal was connected to the brake master cylinder on the left via the steel tube. The biggest problem was the "driver's side" being four inches longer on the right side than the "passenger's side" on the left., making the clumsy embarkation and disembarkation. Pacer was wider than Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Its extreme thirsty appetite for petrol was another reason for its dismal sale. The retail price of £5,500 ($48,000 US adjusted) didn't help...
My uncle bought one of the early ones. When 11 year old me asked him how he liked it, I was a bit surprised when he just sneered and said “it’s gutless.” That points to the problem with so many early American attempts to build fuel-efficient small cars: putting an underpowered engine in a heavy car (the Pacer was 3000 lbs!) just leads people to drive with a heavy foot, increasing consumption in their frustrated efforts to just get on down the road. Eventually each automaker had to learn that you can’t build a successful small car with big car parts.
That’s actually exactly what happened … Ford had Pintos, GM had Vegas, Chrysler had Mitsubishis, and AMC had old-styled, heavy cars - and then Renault 😪 … But except for the Renaults, I liked them.
A friend had a 1975 AMC Pacer and he was disappointed on how poor the mpg was. Around 13 to 17 mpg for that little car. There were two engines available in the Pacer, both inline-sixes (232 and 258 cubic inches) with the larger giving a sluggish 95 hp @ 3050 rpm & 179 lb-ft of torque @ 2100 rpm. The Pacer's handling suffered a bit from its weight (3432 pounds) and its high center of gravity, which contribute to the car's pronounced understeer in low-speed cornering.
I really enjoyed this video. I was lucky enough to own a '77 Pacer Wagon. It was interesting to say the least. Changing the belts was always a challenge. It's interesting that you called it "corpulent". I would venture to call it chubby.
One of many interesting chapters in AMC's struggle to remain independent. A clever idea that needed a better powertrain to deliver on its promised novelty. The nicely restored yellow example in your video appears to be wearing recent aftermarket 17 x 8 (?) alloy wheels which give the car a MUCH better looking stance than the original car ever had. Kudos to its owner!
Love AMC and Love the Pacer! I Love all a the 70's, 60's, 50's and 40's AMERICAN Vehicles! I absolutely detest the modern vehicle (exception challenger, charger, 300 and the Magnum Wagon) They have no character or class...nothing! AMC made some of the oddest, but neatest cars. Great video! I's also nice, for once, that you get a vid that isn't about it being the ugliest car ever and just 'raggin' on it. If they need ugly vehicles then look no further than pretty much every modern vehicle!! \m/
I’m pretty sure that you mentioned it before that the Pacer was an inspiration for rear of the Porsche 928. Although I had a close car with a Saab once it amazes me that I never got hit by an opening car door while riding a bicycle in the late 1970’s and 80’s-with all those Monte Carlos, Grand Prixs and Thunderbirds running around!
A couple of our customers had Pacers. Both of them were actually pretty thirsty with the 258 6cyl. And because the car wasn't originally designed for the 6 cylinder, the 6 cylinder was actually not as easy to service as most inline 6cyls. Part of it was under the cowl . It was actually a sort of cab forward design before it became a common term
Had GM followed through with their version of the Wankel engine, the Pacer could've been successful. When that fell through, AMC had to do a very clumsy retrofit job to shoehorn its primitive straight sixes into an engine bay very unsuited for them. It is clear that the straight six forced the dashboard back into the passenger compartment and that also forced the back seat between the rear wheel wells. The front was spacious and the back seat looked like an afterthought because of how everything was shoved to the rear. AMC should've purchased Buick's 231 V6 engine, instead. Much more compact and would've fit perfectly. Yes, to use a GM engine in place of their own inline six would've made AMC look bad but, the result would've been better for the buyers and thus, saved the company's product reputation.
@@BlackPill-pu4vi I’m not too sure because the Pacer actually DID sell well initially. Despite the seating accommodations. I think people aren’t remembering that it was not a particularly good car. For some reason it was more trouble prone than the Gremlin which had the same engine. Of course the Buick engine would have been an easier fit. But the stying was polarizing as were most AMC’s . People either loved or hated it. Once those who loved it bought it, the market dried up. We had a customer who owned one. Even she called it “the bubble “.
Great video on the Pacer. Never owned one, but I like them. They were the kind of unique cars that came from the smaller independent companies like Studebaker, Kaiser & AMC.
Was one door (on a 2 door model) longer than the one on the opposite side of the car? I remember that a larger (for a Rambler) circa late 1950s or early 1960s had a 225 engine which I think was the Buick designed shaker V6 -- maybe a stop gap more powerful than the primitive Rambler inline 6 either flathead or overhead valve before the much better new Rambler/Jeep sixes came in about 1965 (like the 232 which probably had as much or more power than the rough running Buick V6) people just didn't feel familiar enough with AMC/Rambler to consider or trust,say,the Hornet or Gremlin over the far inferior Vegas and Pintos.
AMC was far smaller than GM, Ford of Chysler. When AMC made a mistake they had to live with it much longer than the big 3. They were constantly resuing parts from 1 design in the next vehicle to keep costs down. Even though the Pacer had a good year or 2 it quickly faded inpopularity and AMC was stuck with it long enough to hurt them. I was born and raised in Kenosha so I saw a lot of them. Eventually my grandfathers eyesight deteriated and my parents bought him a Pacer because they figured it had so much more glass that it would be safer for everyone including other drivers. It was bright yellow with a royal blue interior. A hideous car but his last and he never got in an accident with it. The car ran forever. It;s lifters (258 six) ticked like carzy but it ran for years and years and went though 3 drivers after my grandpa. Last I saw it, it had 150K on it and was still going.
The "tip" seals are actually called apex seals. You are correct about the efficiency, and emissions issues. They also were finicky during cold starts. Fuel injection helped a lot. Also, the black stuff on the glass is called Frit!
I wanted a Mazda RX2 coupe in the worst way, at least until I learned about the rotary engine failures. Those things were good looking with very nice interiors and were FAST!
Thanks Adam for another thoughtful video about a landmark car in the history of American cars. A friend of mine in high school, whose parents could have afforded a Rolls Royce if they'd wanted one, bought a Pacer in 1976; candy apple red with white interior. We called it the apple. It was a wonderful car. We used to drive around Chicago in it and loved it dearly. Wish I could find/afford one today, but not surprisingly, they've been headed back up in price over the last few years.
My mom had one of these and she loved it. I had my driving test in it as well. My parents must’ve had a thing for the odd and unusual since we also owned an International Travelall. I do remember the Pacer unintentionally being thrown in reverse gear going down a hill around 45-50 mph. No issue! Just kept running. We did have issues with the “brain box” on it though. To the point where my mom carried a screwdriver in it to tap on the brain box when it wouldn’t start.
Interesting about the door trim being higher than the belt mldg. Because the glass wouldn't go down all the way, Haha Also i believe the passenger door was longer ( provided access to rear seat)than the driver door, Not sure if that was mentioned, Love your videos Adam! Very informative, Your very knowledgeable young man
Oh! That must have been the inspiration for the early Saturday Night Live commercial parody for the Royal Deluxe II... However in their version it was something else being cut. 😂
You really put effort into the history of this product line. It was quite good. It was interesting and informative. I recall these cars. I recall that wagon especially. My 4th grade teacher had a white Pacer. They used to call her car the "bubble car". I remember Concord too. I know Lynda Carter drove one on a episode on Wonder Woman. I thought or was told the Chrysler Concorde got its name from this Concord, but there was the jet too. Who knows.... When people thing of this car, they think of Wayne's World. Thank you Adam.
I friend of mine had a Pacer X I believe a 1976, with the low hood and thin grill, in my mind the best looking. It was his sisters car her dad had bought her as a graduation present that lasted her Al through college, till she sold it to her baby brother my friend, in 1982. So what did he do? With my help he swapped in an AMC 390 4 brl out of a wreaked AMX, we got the whole drivetrain out of. Luckily it was a three speed car to begin with that helped with the 4speed. Short story? That little car won him a ton of $$$ street racing and locally sports car racing in an abandoned mill complex. He added KONI shocks and the disks and calipers from the AMX, and we stiffened the springs all around that gained about an inch, that made room for bigger wheels and tires. That car was so much fun to drive. Unsuspecting drivers though it was a boy racer 304 V8 Pacer, because that’s what it sounded like. But let those secondaries open up!!! Second gear rubber and hookup……
I'm a luxury guy, but I wanted something smallish to commute in. Bought a new fully-loaded 1976 Pacer D/L; drove it for five years and loved it. VERY roomy, quiet, and luxurious; compared to its so-called competition like the Pinto or Vega, Are you kidding - those tin cans were not even close. The Pacer felt more like a Ford LTD once you were inside it than a compact. I personally loved the looks (of the coupe anyway, the wagon not so much - and they kind of ruined the front when they put a bulge in the hood to accommodate the V8).
Fit and finish on mine were good, and I had zero problems other than maintenance items the entire time I owned it. I might still have it except for the problem with all cars back then after a few years - rust.
A girl at my high school inherited a really nice Pacer from her grandmother during my sophomore year in 1991. It was the only Pacer at our school. Everyone thought it was pretty dorky and she was kinda embarrassed to drive it.
A year later we all thought it was cool! I hope she sent a thank you card to Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. 😂😂
Whether you liked it or not, the AMC Pacer was hands down the boldest production automotive design to be introduced in the 1970s. I remember the media reviews were not exactly great but also not terrible. In a sea of badly proportioned downsized cars during the malaise era, it stood out. Today I can't help but smile when I see one on the road although this is quite rare now. I wish OEMs were this bold again.
In a world on Volares, Novas, Mavericks and Hornets, the Pacer was definitely different😁
Fit and finish turned me from a cash ready buyer to no-way-in-Hell was I buying something which looked like a failed sixth grader's arts and crafts project.
I had a yellow Pacer just like the one in the video. Great car, great memories.
Agreed! Loved the Pacer and AMC in general. 👍
Had GM followed through with their version of the Wankel engine, the Pacer could've been successful. When that fell through, AMC had to do a very clumsy retrofit job to shoehorn its primitive straight sixes into an engine bay very unsuited for them. AMC should've purchased Buick's 231 V6 engine, instead. Much more compact and would've fit perfectly.
Yes, to use a GM engine in place of their own inline six would've made AMC look bad but, the result would've been better for the buyers and thus, saved the company's product reputation.
AMC was always the underdog, with many things working against them. They did well to hang in there as long as they did.
Mitt Romney's father became AMC’s president and CEO in 1954.
I just had a massive wave of nostalgia seeing those door lock plungers… it’s been years since I’ve seen one of those in a car.
As a highschooler, I had a neighbor who was a mechanic at an AMC dealership. He brought home a Pacer for his wife to drive. She loved it, and so did I. I remember the TV commercials about the great site lines. The car had fantastic visibility. The car was stolen, and next thing I knew, the neighbors had an AMC Javelin. I used to miss the bus 2 or 3 times per month just to get Mary Ellen to drive me to school. My friends asked me about the hot chick with the hot car. Those were the days.
An AMC mechanic with a hot wife. What's the odds of that! lol
Stacey's mom
@@kge420 Haven't thought of that in years!!!
I had an auto body shop in 1975. I bought my wife a pacer also. She loved, it was a great car.
@@ggeorge4144 What were you driving at the time?
John Denver proudly drove a Pacer in Oh God in 1976-77
More AMC episodes please!
I started working for an AMC/Jeep dealer a couple of years after the Pacer was out of production but they turned up from time to time for service. I think what hurt them most was the fact that they didn't get much better fuel mileage than a mid size car of their time. The 258 I6 was a rock solid motor but it struggled to get 15 mpg.
Back when they were still showing up in the dealer's shop, I saw more V8 models, and rarely saw a six cylinder model. I don't ever recall having to work on a wagon version.
What I do remember them being known for is broken steering racks, mostly from owners hitting parking stops, and broken seats and interior parts that were hard to find even then. I remember one sitting for several months in the early 80's in need of a drivers seat frame after the original had broken off. The seat frame was apparently hard to find used as well for some reason.
The glass bowl windows also led to rather rapid interior fade, most looked pretty rough after only a few years in the hot sun. The AC system always struggled to keep up.
Overall though they were solid cars in the hands of an owner who drove conservatively and took decent care of them. I don't ever recall one being traded in though, that could mean that either owners kept them till they were scrap yard bound or they were sold elsewhere.
The Concord on other hand was very common, especially in 4x4 configurations. I owned two wagons myself. I bought my first one after seeing one that got towed in after a head on collision. It had been rear ended and pushed into oncoming traffic at 60mph. When it was on the ground, we drove it around to the holding yard.
I really wish the brand had survived and continued, they built decent cars, but once they got in bed with Renault, their reputation was ruined and what came afterwards were pure junk that should have never been sold on American soil.
Had GM followed through with their version of the Wankel engine, the Pacer could've been successful. When that fell through, AMC had to do a very clumsy retrofit job to shoehorn its primitive straight sixes into an engine bay very unsuited for them. AMC should've purchased Buick's 231 V6 engine, instead. Much more compact and would've fit perfectly.
Yes, to use a GM engine in place of their own inline six would've made AMC look bad but, the result would've been better for the buyers and thus, saved the company's product reputation.
I'm not sure a GM built rotary would have been the answer, the design is just not that efficient and although the fit and power output would be better, its longevity would have suffered.
The inline six engines were at least reliable and long term. A buddy still drives one he bought off some old woman back in 1984, its got well over 250k on it and still going.
I rebuilt the transmission in it at 204k after it blew out a converter seal.
AMC's biggest mistake was getting in bed with Renault, nearly everything that came out of that mix was pure crap. The Alliance, Fuego, Medalion, and the whole Eagle line was a nightmare plagued with engine and electrical issues they couldn't solve. It was so bad that in 1991 they still had left over Alliance models that wouldn't sell. It was so bad that they were offering them to employees for not much more than scap weight. I had one that was bought back from a customer, a white on white convertible. It had been back to the dealer over 30 times before lemon law forced a buy back. It sat in a holding pen well into the Chrysler years. Finally, when Chrysler was closing u the zone office they offered those cars for basically scrap value to those working there. I got it for $400, with 650 miles on it. I ended up pulling out the whole wiring harness and processor to find an intermittent loss of several signals. It turned out that the harness had 15 failed weld/crimps in it. Once up and running properly, it blew a head gasket and needed the engine liners all reset. The trans started to slip at 9k miles, I rebuilt the trans, it started to rust where the rear suspension attached, so I fixed that. It gladly became the property of my ex a few months later. I was glad to see both go.@@BlackPill-pu4vi
@@VB-bk1lh Wow. Awesome story about the AMC-Renault partnership.
The rotary, at the time, seemed like a great idea. But, you're right and EPA regulations turned the rotary into a money pit that GM couldn't justify any longer. AMC really put all their eggs in the rotary basket and didn't have a Plan B on hand in case it fell through.
my friends mom had one i thought it looked cool...thanks
Also, because of its elephantine width, it weighed 3.400 lbs. That didn't contribute to good fuel economy either.
My small town in Ontario Canada had a foundry that cast AMC engines and the workers got a deal on the cars so there were AMC's in a lot of driveways.
I’m one of them Pacer lovers. I bought one used back in the early 80’s, resealed the steering rack, tuned it up and we was off to the races. It had the 258 single barrel and 4 on the floor. I drove the heck out of that thing. I remember I was late leaving for a Greatful Dead Concert, I held her wide open from Stillwater Ok to OKC. Going around 110. I never held a car WOT that long in my life. I spun her out twice, new tires on the front and baldies on the back. Hit a water puddle in a slight turn and she was sideways. Luckily I didn’t hit a thing. That was a good ol car. When I sold it it had over 200000 miles on it and still running strong. The folks I sold it to drove it till the floor board fell out of it. It had a trailer hitch on it and it back several boats in the water. I’m now retired and I purchased a wagon in excellent shape with only 65000 miles on it. 258 2 barrel and automatic transmission. I get so many thumbs up and people taking pictures. They are a little over weight and gas mileage ain’t the best, but it rides good and fun to drive. By the way I own the other car that you say that wasn’t good, the Matador Coupe. It was designed for NASCAR. I was a Bobby Allison fan and he drove tha Matador so Ihad to have one. Win on Sunday sell on Monday. What hurt that car was the oil embargo and emission regulations that killed HP’s. Adam watch some old Bobby Allison utube videos, he won both races at Darlington in 75. I what to thank you for your quality work and reviewing a AMC, the underrated and under dog.
Loved my Pacer !! The wider track was rock stable. Loved to do donuts in the snow in a empty parking lot, as it always snapped back in line when I came out of the donut. Thus I always felt safe when driving normally during slippery conditions. Had lots of chrome window & door trim so I had it repainted to a deep royal dark blue to highlight the trim ... looked beautiful !
1:24 I still remember the TV commercials showing the "Italian" chefs making a huge submarine sandwich, and the only car that could handle such a wide sandwich? The Pacer.
I have a friend who drove a brown 1977 coupe in highschool. It was a smooth drive. Back then the Pacer wasn't yet a joke.
The seats were very comfortable.
Remember- "You can't RIDE like a Pacer unless you're WIDE like a Pacer!"
The mother of a girl I dated in high school bought one of these new. I got to drive it on a two hour drive from our rural MO town to St. Louis. I was very impressed with how it handled and rode, especially on the very curvy and hilly roads just out of town. I was used to the large GM and Ford cars my parents owned and the Pacer compared favorably to them. The sense of space in the interior was remarkable. Theirs was deep red in and out like one you featured in the video, almost exactly what GM used to call Firethorn.
I remember a teacher in grade school had a Pacer, and he was also very short and very round , which we all found very humourous!
He also happened to teach LD classes, so it was a whole funny "picture".
Nickamaed, Short Bus.
Such fun and interesting cars! I'm glad you featured them, Adam. I always loved the "Indian blanket" upholstery.
I remember seeing a new Pacer, for the first time, as it was off loaded off of the delivery truck, to a AMC dealership in the San Fernando Valley in the spring of 1975. The service people, and sales people all came out to inspect this brand new car. I was 17 years old, and it was interesting to see the attention the car got, as we all very closely inspected it. I worked for Gerald Meyers, for several years. He became the youngest ever CEO of AMC in 1977, I worked at his home until 1995. The Pacer was in the 1977 movie, "Oh God", the one where "God"-George Burns made it rain inside the car as John Denver drove it, a very funny scene, amongst many others, in that movie. I watched it again, two days ago. Thanks for another great car Vlog!
The Pacer was the PT Cruiser of the 70's. Like the Pacer, the PT Cruiser was actually extremely popular when it first came out. But after a while, all the people who wanted one already bought one. The companies kept on trying to sell them though and eventually both cars got the reputation as being the dorky car you bought because the dealer was desperate to get rid of it. You still do see some PT cruisers that were well cared for by the original owner who clearly loved the car
Makes sense...the PT Cruiser was created mainly by former AMC engineers.
Like Hydra in S.H.I.E.L.D., a beautiful parasite controlling Chrysler. ;)
This just happened to pop up in ny feed an i just happened to click it. This was a very well done review. Thank you.
I loved the looks of this car back in the day and I still do. Never drove in one, although they were available in Europe.
I still miss mine. Thanks for the memories!
Great content. Once note, the Ford Pinto had rack and pinion steering starting in 1971. I know as I drove (and worked on) one for years.
True!
Ah, another car from my childhood. One which cements my opinion that cars back then could and often were groundbreaking in style. Not like the vast majority of cars today, which all look like they sat out in the sun just a bit too long and started to melt.
I almost bought a Pacer in 1975 when they first came out, but the wait list was too long. While I was looking to buy my car, I read somewhere that the rear axle on the Pacer was the same one used on the Matador, indicating how wide the car was. I believe it used tha Matador (and Rebel, Javelin) door lock mechanism, which as you noted were unusual in the placement of the interior lock button. Those cars had the release inside the arm rest. Dick Teague was a master of reuisng parts in his car designs, to keep the costs in line. Thank you for a wonderful video!
Ironically AMC had an engine that would have fit just fine-but they sold it just before they launched the Pacer. The Buick V6.
Our neighbors while I was growing up had two Pacer wagons.
One was a light yellow and the other one was baby blue.
They retired soon after purchasing them and they meticulously maintained them and drove them for the next twenty years. They alternated between driving one or the other to their winter home in Florida from Wisconsin every year.
They were time warp vehicles when at 20 years old they looked better than most 2-year-old cars.
When they passed away both of them sold at an estate sale for less than $1,000.
I saw the baby blue one being driven around our town occasionally. It had been purchased by a painter and every time I saw it it look worse until it finally disappeared
The Pacer appealed to a select small group of people. Sales were good until that group had been satisfied. It was also expensive and other makes introduced other compacts that had newer features and styling. It was a decent car but again the unconventional styling didn't help mass sales. A lot of people wouldn't buy AMC because resale value wasn't great and they tended to have smaller platforms. I think of AMC as the Studebaker of the 70's and 80's. Well engineered cars but somewhat weird styling and low resale value. I like the AMC Hornets of the late 70's. The coupes had good styling and proportions. I'll never forget the ones in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Thanks for featuring the Pacer.
Although I didn’t personally know anyone who owned one, surely a manual with that straight 6 would have to be pretty reliable. I’ve always heard good things overall with AMC cars
I remember when I was 8 years old in 1975, my parents were looking for a car for my grandparents-- shortly after they moved from New York to the San Fernando Valley-- and my mom and I walked by this car on a used car lot, and she commented that it looked like a spaceship. I remember thinking it looking odd and ugly myself. Little did I know more widely accepted rounded, bubbly looking cars would be, come the 21st century.
Those cars were like McDonald's ash trays...stamped out crap.
The licorice dispenser in the ceiling should have been in every car, like the Mirth Mobile in Wayne's World. Now I have to go listen to Bohemian Rhapsody in a car. Good thing the Mirthlimo was a one off, the six wheeled stretch Pacer limo. None of the bands seemed to mind though. Flames on a Pacer!
The red Pacer had beautiful upholstery. We need more of that in todays cars.
I remember these were all over in the 70s and 80s but every time I see one of these I can't help but think of Wayne's World.
As a young man I owned a 76 Pacer DL with a 3-speed manual and, as a young man, I abused this car mercilessly. It never failed to start and always took me where I needed to go. During the early 80s we were hit with one of the worst blizzards in history (minus 60 degrees wind chill) and my Pacer was the only car on the street to actually start. Of course, the street in question was outside the local tavern and my buddy needed a ride home. Ah, memories.
My great aunt had a baby blue Pacer like the one in Wayne's World. I loved riding in it as a kid. After that she got a Plymouth Horizon. Not as fun for me. But she seemed to like it. All the times I rode in that Pacer, I never realized that the passenger door was bigger than the driver door
I remember when these first came out, about half way through the 1975 model year. I had a customer who bought a yellow Pacer X. He was so proud of it. My mother in law had a white one and my aunt had a blue one with a manual transmission. I remember the build quality not being good.
Our next-door neighbor had one of these when I was a kid in the '80s. Most weekends he was out in his driveway, drinking beer and working on it, usually in as noisy a manner as possible. One day he got so mad at it (and drunk) that he drained the oil out, put a cinder block on the gas pedal, and ran the engine wide open until it seized. It may have been the most exciting thing that ever happened on our street, particularly when he followed it up with obscene ranting at the top of his lungs until someone called the cops. That was the end of the only Pacer in town.
The Pacer was a great car to take your driver's test in. Parallel parking was a breeze!
Aunt and Uncle had a '76 Pacer. Really liked that car. But one glaring fact about it was with all that glass, the A/C couldn't cope with the West Texas sunshine in the summer. Front seat not bad but back seat was like an oven. They kept it for several years and was very reliable.
These cars were underrated … With a bit more development, they surely would have been a success.
They handled amazingly well and with the right engine, would have been a very space-efficient package to boot.
My neighbor had one and liked it. He referred to it as his terrarium. They were meant to have a wankel but I don’t think that ever happened. The longer six cylinder meant the engine was jammed against the firewall and replacing two plugs was difficult and expensive.
what amazes me the most about the pacer is that they made right hand drive models for the uk!
Adam, my oldest Brother and his first wife bought a Pacer new in 1975. It was a 2-tone blue with a interesting interior design. I got to ride in it quite a bit, and eventually got to drive it before they got rid of it. It had the 258cid in it. Also, my late Broth-in-law bought a plain 77 Pacer new, and I got to ride in it.
We had them as driver ed cars. My dad bought one and it was a really nice driving vehicle with great visibility. The back end could get a little squirrelly in the rain though. And yes, A/C was a must with all that glass.
To add to my last comment, I had the basic 6 cylinder motor which was more than enough power for the 75 Pacer. Never got great gas milage but just what you'd expect from a 6 cylinder motor of the time. Had lots of glass so, without A/C, it was a "cooker" in the summer. My kids would call it the "egg" and made it clear I was not to pick them up in front of their school ... major embarrassment! Coming home late one evening, my wife also was upset that it wasn't a Porsche like the car she wanted and had spotted behind us. As that car passed , we all had a good laugh as it was, yep, you guessed it, another beautiful Pacer. Lesson learned, Pacers looks like Porsches when approaching from behind at night.
The greenhouse is beautiful. All the curved glass with lines that encircle and meet….bravo!
The Pacer was one of the cars my Driver's Ed class used. The others were the Matador and the Ford LTD. I hated the LTD because it had power brakes and I think I gave the other students whiplash when it was my turn to drive the car out of the tightly spaced Shop class building. I have a memory of the D.E. teacher allowing us to have the rear hatch open on the Pacer on really hot days because there wasn't any A/C. I did D.E. during Summer School.
Quirky ! I never heard nor noted the passenger door was longer, now THAT is a good engineering idea. My teen cousin and I at age of wishing for maybe 70 Cuda, 68 Camaro, 67 Mustang fastback, Roadrunner, when we first saw the Pacer we totally spazzed. Could hardly believe our eyes. If not a thrifty 4 popper in it, not a lot of reason to buy unless tight big city parking was a thing. Otherwise, might as well have bought AMC Ambassador, a nice alternative to full sized land yachts of the Big 3, or a Plymouth Valiant, a fine midsize long lasting car, slant six. Mid 60’s Ramblers were a very good idea, just right size really. Didn’t their front seats fold flat like a bed? But Americans in a big country wanted BIG cars. I recall the general attitude and bought into it back then, “If not full sized, it won’t last as long”. Seems like the Vega and Pinto didn’t get as good of econ either for their size, and so many problems. No wonder the long lasting, very thrifty Honda Civics CVCC soon sold so many. But many of us recall how fast the early cars from Japan rusted out on salty winter roads. Thanks for this video on the Pacer ! A fun look back.
The AMC Pacer is certainly a very unique vehicle!!!
Long live Ramblers!!! 👍👍😁
Adam, I think we can all agree, the Pacer wagon was the one to get. 😉
I test drive a new one in '75. It was my first time driving an AMC vehicle. My impression was that, overall, it was a crudely built machine.
I was in elementary school when the Pacer was introduced. My parents had an AMC Hornet and would take it to the local AMC dealer to get it serviced and the Pacer was a big attraction for the dealership. One of my first car models was a MPC 1/25th scale AMC Pacer. After building the model, I had some questions about the interior configuration...and I remember being at a shopping center with my Mom and we parked next to a Pacer and I spent time walking around the car and studying the interior.
Compared to the other cars being introduced that year, the Pacer seemed futuristic and a clean sheet compared to other contemporary automobiles. Did we consider getting a Pacer? No...at the time, the AMC dealer was also acquiring a SAAB franchise and Dad was really liking the idea of a SAAB 99 with front wheel drive to get through the snow.. Did we get a SAAB? Unfortunately, Dad's job required him to transfer cities from time to time and we moved to a more rural area that didn't have a dealer close by and Dad wasn't keen on owning a Swedish car where the nearest dealer was 400 miles away. We did get a VW Rabbit from a local dealer a few years later.
Getting back to the development of the Pacer, GM's cancellation of the Rotary was occurring at the same time GM was acquiring the tooling of the Buick V6 from AMC to use in their own cars. I recall AMC didn't care for the Buick V6 but given the Pacers cab forward design, a V6 would have been a better fit versus the longer AMC 6 cylinders. Of course, GM refined the Buick V6 and that basic engine outlasted AMC by over 20 years after Chrysler acquired AMC. In hindsight, AMC should have focused on the Pacer and not the Matador coupe and developed the car into a sedan and other variants. Hard to say what would have worked given their limited resources but AMC was innovative, and willing to take chances and I think some of that engineering and design philosophy helped shape Chrysler's product line into the 90s before the merger with Daimler.
Your videos are consistently informative and interesting. Thank you.
Bong hits and Rare Classic Cars channel. Woohoo.
A buddy of mine had one of these. He pulled the original 258 six out and replaced it with a somewhat modded Olds 403 V8. What a trip... It would get funny looks wherever it went, and then wide-eyed looks of astonishment as 'Spacer' (his name for it) would get up and run like a scalded dog.
He had plans to 'chop' the car (basically section out part of the pillars and glass) to lower the roof. He had drawn up sketches of it and everything and it was gonna look pretty darned wicked. The project got stalled because... well, you know, life 'n stuff.
I thought the Pacer was available with a 304 V8
@@kellismith4329 In the last two years. The inline six was available from 1975 onward.
My father was a manufacturing engineer for Jeep which permitted him to lease AMC automobiles at very reasonable prices. During the Pacer years, he had a 1976 run of the mill Pacer which wasn't much to write home about. However, in 1978 he leased a fully loaded Pacer 'woody' wagon in a turquoise color, wood grain sides with aluminum wheels, AM/FM/CB radio, limited slip differential, cruise control, intermittent wipers, etc. Even though the 304 was available, he opted for the 258 inline 6 cylinder. I was amazed at how good it went in snow and ice for being a rear-wheel-drive car. I really loved the Pacer as I would frequently drive it while he was overseas on company business. Yes, it was not very economical regarding fuel mileage but was a blast to drive.
We had these as company cars when I worked at a TV station. I drove them frequently. The interior bits fell apart quickly. The seatback angle was not adjustable, although they had bucket seats, and the angle of the seat was too upright for my taste and on a long trip it made me tired from sitting upright. One of my colleagues had the car stall out in a blizzard and he had to make a life-threatening walk through the storm. It turned out to be caused by carburetor icing, an issue that was solved (in every other car) in the 1940's. Poor mileage for a small car.
It was crap.
True.
I like the low belt-line of the "wagon" version of the Pacer. Today's vehicles "high belt-lines" make the occupants feel claustrophobic, especially with black interiors.
The Pacer lol. I can recall we had one as a rental car in Hawaii, and took it on the road to Heavenly Hana. There were 9 of us crammed into that car, and I (about 10 yrs old at the time) was in the hatchback with three teenage girls (which was more than ok). Oh, and the car did fine, as it was surprisingly large inside and quite comfortable. I haven't seen one on the road in years, although I did see a Gremlin the other day.
I was a kid when they were introduced. Liked ‘em then, like ‘em now! Long live the quirks!
The Pacer was the PT Cruiser of the 70's. I recall that a customer of my father's Shell station was a mother who drove a yellow Pacer with the fake wood paneling. Her kids always looked like they were suffering from the heat because the Pacer's windows were like a magnifying glass.
Unlike the PT cruiser though, some Pacers have not yet made it to the junkyard
These were around in my childhood, although I've never driven or even ridden in one. I never noticed until recently however, the interior and dash design on these is quite nice. I was familiar with Spirits and Concords in the day, and this seems better and less of an afterthought.
If I had been alive and an adult during its run I would have soooooooooo bought one. It was an awesome car regardless of the fact that the rotary engine didn't make it to the final product.
Also.....I was born in 1983. As a little kid I always loved seeing AMC vehicles. If AMC had survived........ I'd be a die hard AMC customer!!!
Any kid from the 70's will attest these were wild cars to see on the street.
Remember the comercial with the chef making the 6 foot long sandwich!?
Yes!
ruclips.net/video/E3Utv8kXPUI/видео.html
I didn't know that the Pacer was 77 inches wide. That's wider than some modern compact SUVs and crossovers.
I believe Pintos used rack and pinion steering beginning well before the Pacer.
"Corpulent"
I just learned a new word from you, Adam! And yeah, I had to look it up. But now I know..... along with a lot of other details about this AMC. Thanks
Your videos are so insightful and your presentation is very pleasant. I hope you continue to bring us great videos.
Very interesting so thank you. We got some of AMC’s cars here in Australia in the 60’s & early ‘70’s but they were branded as Ramblers, so we got the Rambler Javelin, AMX, Hornet, and Matador. They were all right hand drive although I don’t know if they came from the factory that way or were converted here. Something I’ve always wondered about is why the other manufacturers were willing to sell components to AMC especially when AMC would use a mix of both Ford and GM parts on the same vehicle. Wasn’t it Ford and GM that helped kill off Tucker and DMC DeLorean? So why help AMC?
Cheers mate, Stuart 🇦🇺
A forerunner of the compact cars we have today, which are much more efficient and handle like a dream...Don't know how well the '75 Pacer handled and freeway driving may have been a problem, Adam🤔🤲
I'm from a former AMC family😁My first 2 cars were Hornets. Grandfather had a '78 Matador Barcelona sedan when I was a kid. He traded it in '85 for a Dodge Diplomat😁
When AMC exported the Pacer to the United Kingdom, the manufacturer organised the right-hand-drive conversion and ECE homologation with a local specialist. The dashboard was custom made from Grelmin/Javelin with Pacer instrument cluster The steering column was split in half at the firewall and connected with the chain drive. The chain drive would eventually loosened up and stretched a bit longer, making the steering more dodgy. The brake pedal was connected to the brake master cylinder on the left via the steel tube. The biggest problem was the "driver's side" being four inches longer on the right side than the "passenger's side" on the left., making the clumsy embarkation and disembarkation. Pacer was wider than Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Its extreme thirsty appetite for petrol was another reason for its dismal sale. The retail price of £5,500 ($48,000 US adjusted) didn't help...
My uncle bought one of the early ones. When 11 year old me asked him how he liked it, I was a bit surprised when he just sneered and said “it’s gutless.”
That points to the problem with so many early American attempts to build fuel-efficient small cars: putting an underpowered engine in a heavy car (the Pacer was 3000 lbs!) just leads people to drive with a heavy foot, increasing consumption in their frustrated efforts to just get on down the road. Eventually each automaker had to learn that you can’t build a successful small car with big car parts.
That’s actually exactly what happened …
Ford had Pintos, GM had Vegas, Chrysler had Mitsubishis, and AMC had old-styled, heavy cars
- and then Renault 😪 …
But except for the Renaults, I liked them.
A friend had a 1975 AMC Pacer and he was disappointed on how poor the mpg was. Around 13 to 17 mpg for that little car. There were two engines available in the Pacer, both inline-sixes (232 and 258 cubic inches) with the larger giving a sluggish 95 hp @ 3050 rpm & 179 lb-ft of torque @ 2100 rpm. The Pacer's handling suffered a bit from its weight (3432 pounds) and its high center of gravity, which contribute to the car's pronounced understeer in low-speed cornering.
The guts of a Wankel remind me of a Spirograph.
I loved my '77 wagon. Looked like it was built in 2050, accelerated like an old Rambler
I really enjoyed this video. I was lucky enough to own a '77 Pacer Wagon. It was interesting to say the least. Changing the belts was always a challenge. It's interesting that you called it "corpulent". I would venture to call it chubby.
I had the wagon, and loved it. It had the 258 six and was roomy and peppy. I wish I had it today!
One of many interesting chapters in AMC's struggle to remain independent. A clever idea that needed a better powertrain to deliver on its promised novelty. The nicely restored yellow example in your video appears to be wearing recent aftermarket 17 x 8 (?) alloy wheels which give the car a MUCH better looking stance than the original car ever had. Kudos to its owner!
My sister bought one and never stopped loving it. To me it seemed like fantasy design just theater on wheels.
Love AMC and Love the Pacer! I Love all a the 70's, 60's, 50's and 40's AMERICAN Vehicles! I absolutely detest the modern vehicle (exception challenger, charger, 300 and the Magnum Wagon) They have no character or class...nothing! AMC made some of the oddest, but neatest cars. Great video! I's also nice, for once, that you get a vid that isn't about it being the ugliest car ever and just 'raggin' on it. If they need ugly vehicles then look no further than pretty much every modern vehicle!! \m/
I learned how to drive in a 76 Pacer, the fishbowl.
I’m pretty sure that you mentioned it before that the Pacer was an inspiration for rear of the Porsche 928. Although I had a close car with a Saab once it amazes me that I never got hit by an opening car door while riding a bicycle in the late 1970’s and 80’s-with all those Monte Carlos, Grand Prixs and Thunderbirds running around!
Come on man. That crap was no inspiration for anything except a garbage dump.
💯 A+
Thank you. Also the way the two doors curve into the roof line are predictable of 1980's design
A couple of our customers had Pacers. Both of them were actually pretty thirsty with the 258 6cyl. And because the car wasn't originally designed for the 6 cylinder, the 6 cylinder was actually not as easy to service as most inline 6cyls. Part of it was under the cowl . It was actually a sort of cab forward design before it became a common term
Chrysler's cab forward LH platform was headed by AMC engineers
@@manuelsmiley7125 i learn so much from this channel from Adam as well as many of the viewers.
Had GM followed through with their version of the Wankel engine, the Pacer could've been successful. When that fell through, AMC had to do a very clumsy retrofit job to shoehorn its primitive straight sixes into an engine bay very unsuited for them.
It is clear that the straight six forced the dashboard back into the passenger compartment and that also forced the back seat between the rear wheel wells. The front was spacious and the back seat looked like an afterthought because of how everything was shoved to the rear. AMC should've purchased Buick's 231 V6 engine, instead. Much more compact and would've fit perfectly.
Yes, to use a GM engine in place of their own inline six would've made AMC look bad but, the result would've been better for the buyers and thus, saved the company's product reputation.
@@BlackPill-pu4vi The Buick V6 had JUST been sold back to GM. AMC had purchased it during the 1960s . So it wouldn’t have been that big of a stretch.
@@BlackPill-pu4vi I’m not too sure because the Pacer actually DID sell well initially. Despite the seating accommodations. I think people aren’t remembering that it was not a particularly good car. For some reason it was more trouble prone than the Gremlin which had the same engine. Of course the Buick engine would have been an easier fit. But the stying was polarizing as were most AMC’s . People either loved or hated it. Once those who loved it bought it, the market dried up. We had a customer who owned one. Even she called it “the bubble “.
Great video on the Pacer. Never owned one, but I like them. They were the kind of unique cars that came from the smaller independent companies like Studebaker, Kaiser & AMC.
Was one door (on a 2 door model) longer than the one on the opposite side of the car?
I remember that a larger (for a Rambler) circa late 1950s or early 1960s had a 225 engine which I think was the Buick designed shaker V6 -- maybe a stop gap more powerful than the primitive Rambler inline 6 either flathead or overhead valve before the much better new Rambler/Jeep sixes came in about 1965 (like the 232 which probably had as much or more power than the rough running Buick V6)
people just didn't feel familiar enough with AMC/Rambler to consider or trust,say,the Hornet or Gremlin over the far inferior Vegas and Pintos.
AMC was far smaller than GM, Ford of Chysler. When AMC made a mistake they had to live with it much longer than the big 3. They were constantly resuing parts from 1 design in the next vehicle to keep costs down. Even though the Pacer had a good year or 2 it quickly faded inpopularity and AMC was stuck with it long enough to hurt them. I was born and raised in Kenosha so I saw a lot of them. Eventually my grandfathers eyesight deteriated and my parents bought him a Pacer because they figured it had so much more glass that it would be safer for everyone including other drivers. It was bright yellow with a royal blue interior. A hideous car but his last and he never got in an accident with it. The car ran forever. It;s lifters (258 six) ticked like carzy but it ran for years and years and went though 3 drivers after my grandpa. Last I saw it, it had 150K on it and was still going.
The "tip" seals are actually called apex seals. You are correct about the efficiency, and emissions issues. They also were finicky during cold starts. Fuel injection helped a lot. Also, the black stuff on the glass is called Frit!
They were crap.
@@KB-ke3fi pretty much!
I wanted a Mazda RX2 coupe in the worst way, at least until I learned about the rotary engine failures. Those things were good looking with very nice interiors and were FAST!
Years ago I had a co-worker with an RX-7, and he replaced the engine approximately every 50,000 miles... At least they didn't weigh very much!
The older I get the more I like the design of the pacer!😅
Thanks Adam for another thoughtful video about a landmark car in the history of American cars. A friend of mine in high school, whose parents could have afforded a Rolls Royce if they'd wanted one, bought a Pacer in 1976; candy apple red with white interior. We called it the apple. It was a wonderful car. We used to drive around Chicago in it and loved it dearly. Wish I could find/afford one today, but not surprisingly, they've been headed back up in price over the last few years.
My mom had one of these and she loved it. I had my driving test in it as well. My parents must’ve had a thing for the odd and unusual since we also owned an International Travelall. I do remember the Pacer unintentionally being thrown in reverse gear going down a hill around 45-50 mph. No issue! Just kept running. We did have issues with the “brain box” on it though. To the point where my mom carried a screwdriver in it to tap on the brain box when it wouldn’t start.
I remember vividly the International Travelalls, really liked the boxy styling of the later ones in the 1970's, maybe Adam can do a feature on them?
Look at all that glass! Been in a few like riding around in a fishbowl! Great car, great video
Interesting about the door trim being higher than the belt mldg. Because the glass wouldn't go down all the way,
Haha
Also i believe the passenger door was longer ( provided access to rear seat)than the driver door,
Not sure if that was mentioned,
Love your videos Adam!
Very informative,
Your very knowledgeable young man
Yes-the passenger door being longer was mentioned.
I really enjoy your channel and if I had any friends, I would certainly tell them all about it.
I can remember the TV ads for these, with the guy cutting diamonds in the backseat while they manouvered through traffic
Oh! That must have been the inspiration for the early Saturday Night Live commercial parody for the Royal Deluxe II... However in their version it was something else being cut. 😂
You really put effort into the history of this product line. It was quite good. It was interesting and informative. I recall these cars. I recall that wagon especially. My 4th grade teacher had a white Pacer. They used to call her car the "bubble car". I remember Concord too. I know Lynda Carter drove one on a episode on Wonder Woman. I thought or was told the Chrysler Concorde got its name from this Concord, but there was the jet too. Who knows.... When people thing of this car, they think of Wayne's World. Thank you Adam.