Dude, where’s the other half of your car?

Revolutionary.

The 1970-1/2 Gremlin was a milestone, not just for American Motors, but for the American automobile industry as a whole.    “They” call it the first American-built subcompact car.    But as much as I love AMC, I think that probably the Bantam, Crosley, and a few others, just might have a previous claim on that title, myself.   

And after all, “they” are the ones who told you Ford invented the automobile and that the Pontiac GTO was the first muscle car.   Let us instead say that the Gremlin is the first “modern” American-built subcompact car.


What was this milestone marking?

Nothing less than a major paradigm shift in the American automotive scene, probably still not yet fully realized in its magnitude.

EVERYTHING changed after this car hit the scene.

One  typical forerunner of modern corporate practice, that of remaining  lean, allowing quick response to exploit a market niche, is expressed  here by American Motors Corporation.
Also  representing early example of guerilla marketing and viral advertising,   no one had any idea it was coming until it was here.    No mean feat,  in the car world.  The styling was lifted off of the Hornet, and combined with the rear half of 1968’s  famous AMX GT concept show car.

AMC had their car out first, for once taking advantage of their much smaller size, scooping the Big Three by months, in getting this class of car to the marketplace.   It was positioned directly across from the foreign “big gun”, the Volkswagen Beetle, and compared favorably, selling well for years. AMC engineers knew well that basing it on a proven evolution of design, from the 1950 Rambler, to the 58-69 Rambler American, through the 1970 AMC Hornet, meant that the car was already reliable and durable, with most bugs already worked out.

The best the competition could muster was the Famous Disassembling Fireball Pinto Act, and the “Mission Impossible”, Vega, where the product self-destructed within blocks of the dealership. These were poorly thought-out designs, sacrificing everything for affordability and some semblance of fuel economy, which quickly degraded, along with the quickly-wearing components…

Chrysler “got smart”, and had the job farmed out to various foreign firms, to produce the Colt, Cricket, Omni, and Horizon. And in typical fashion, they were behind the mark by miles.

None of these competitors offered this kind of value, or sold anything like this car. Any one of the Big Three would have killed to put the Gremlin in their stable. We’d probably still have something with the Gremlin name on it if Ford had built it. Around two-thirds of a million of these cars were sold, so where are they all at today? Theories and rumours abound. My theory? I have had extensive experience in attempting to break, disable, or wear out more than a dozen Gremlins, of mine, family, friends and parents. My belief is, people simply drove the wheels off of these cars for 20-30 years, until there was no more wear left to give, no more tin for the worm, and then they were stuffed, screaming and kicking, into the maw of THE CRUSHER…
The Gremlin DEMANDS to be driven. Just looking at one makes you want to get in and go somewhere.

Here are a few nifty Gremlins seen through the years:






1970 Gremlin 2-Seater, identifiable in this picture by the lack of a rear window latch, as the hatch window didn’t open up on these cars.



 

1978 Gremlin GT- Very rare automobile



 

1977/78 West Coast-only Sundowner:  The “California Special” of Gremlins…

1979 Gremlin XP- show car. Last shot for the Gremlin name

1972 Voyager with its famous GremBin, an actual drawer-like sliding cargo section.   Somebody was taking the Kaiser-Frazer heritage a little too seriously…

This setup reminds me of the Kaiser Traveler and Frazer Vagabond, where the trunk would open all the way down from the top edge of the deck like a tailgate, and the rear glass hinged upwards.

 The Gremlin idea was revived in 1981 and 1982 as the AMC Spirit Kammback, a slightly updated version with the Spirit grille, and larger side windows that followed the profile of the car, rather than triangle shaped portholes.

Another version of this body was used on the 1981/1982 AMC Eagle Kammback, a four wheel drive version of the Gremlin:

Picture courtesy The AMC Eagle Nest Forums, for everything AMC Eagle.

Presidential Ramblers

Some mighty important people have taken a ride…

Between the Primary Elections around the country on Super Tuesday, and the fact of President’s Day in February, I thought we’d see where the interested parties stand on this issue…

Let’s face it, these guys know what they like…

And top power brokers like these are a big reason why I think Rambler has its place in history…
Need proof? How about the 27th President of the United States of America, Mr. William Howard Taft, riding in a 1910 Rambler Model 55, at the top of the page.

To prove our impartiality on this subject, we offer equal opportunity to the opposition for a speedy rebuttal:

William Jennings Bryan, Taft’s opponent in the Election of 1908… Later the 41st Secretary of State. At the Milwaukee Depot in a 1907 Rambler Model 25.

So they can say they were doing it first…

The people’s car, baby.

…OR CAN THEY?…

This is the 1905 Rambler Surrey Type Two, preferred by none other than the 26th President of the United States of America, Mr. Theodore Roosevelt. At the time he was the youngest President in history…

Here we have the 31st President of the United States of America, Mr. Herbert Hoover, next to his 1917 Hudson Super Six Landaulet, photographed while serving as U. S. Food Administrator, circa 1917-1919.

The 1960 AMC Mighty Mite Airborne Vehicle parades past the 35th President of the United States, Mr. John F. Kennedy, during his inauguration ceremonies in 1960…

The irresistable power image gained by riding with the Rambler Heritage was not restricted to American heads of State alone, however.

Prince William of Sweden enjoyed his 1927 Nash Ambassador Six, and even came to the Kenosha Plant to pick it up in person. He also insisted on driving it himself, and the chauffeur had to ride…

This beautiful 1920 Hudson Phaeton Special was delivered to the Prince of Wales. Not exactly Presidential material…

There seems to be a little editorial confusion here on the part of the 1969 American Motors Family Album…

The writer mentions that the company “announced” that its “Kenosha Factory” “covered more than 101 acres” and “employs 5,000 men”. But Hudsons were built in Detroit… The author has confused his notes between Nash and Hudson.

Emperor Nashimoto of Japan was more of a 1928 Hudson Sedan type of guy…

The King and Queen of Spain rolled around Spanish Morocco in a 1927 Hudson Phaeton.

My buddy Danimal, one of the Members at The AMC Heritage
Forum, posted a real nugget the other day. As part of the research on
one of his projects, he dug up this article on the Funny Car Jeeps from the 1966-1969 era.

Yes, I did say Funny Car, and Jeep, in the same sentence. These rides, along with Doug Nash’s Bronco Buster,

were genuine terrors on the AA/FC scene for a few years, so much so that the NHRA and AHRA
outlawed the little deathtraps before they even finalized their
newly-organized Funny Car classes in the rulebooks. That’s right, the
established powers in the drag racing world were intimidated by the
little Jeeps, and bent the ears of officials ’till they listened.

After all, it just ain’t fittin’ for one a them little flatfenders, to be a rippin’ up the whole ladder. Just taint fittin.

Danimal’s post on the Forum can be found here:

The AMC Heritage Forum > Forum > The American Motors Heritage > The AMC Racing Heritage > Jeep Funny Car “What??”

And that’s not all, when it comes to The AMC Funny Car Heritage.

There were a whole boatload of Javelin and AMX funnies, as well as a few Marlins and Rebels. Here’s a nice little article at Draglist.com, about the AMC Funny Car Battalion:

This is without even mentioning all the Ramblers, Henry J’s, Hudson Jets, and enormous quantities of Willys machines out there on the strips.

And don’t even get me started on Metropolitans…

-mike