Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: AMC Pacer

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Rozenburg, Holland
    Posts
    27,329

    AMC Pacer

    Whatever you can think of this car, it certainly had some impact when it appeared on the market during the early spring of 1975. Its proportions were rather odd, with a width that did not really match the length of the car, but created a sense of interior space that was unique. In order to give rear seat passengers easy access the passenger door was made much longer than the drivers’s door.

    Three different engines were available, ranging from a 3.8 litre inline 6 to a 5 litre V8. The latter only became available after 1978. By that time sales had already dropped considerably, and production was halted in 1980, during the dying years of the AMC group. In total 280,589 units of these remarkable car were made.

    Shown here is a 1977 car, with the smallest 6 cylinder engine, which has apparently been used on some racing track as a rescue car. It wood be nice to know which tracks did use the Pacers. The car made an appearance at the 2006 Concours d’Elegance at Palace Het Loo. It was first registered in Holland in 2001 and runs on LPG.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    No(r)way.
    Posts
    2,467
    My father actually tryed to enquire a Pacer in the 80's...
    What was he thinking Thank god he didn't

    And the fact that they don't take much of a crash from behinde, as the odd position of the gas tank
    You can see it right behind the rear seats Isn't it the gas tank?
    I have heard something about that issue before.. And it beeing one of the reasons it "flopped"....

    Any Am-car lover who can confirm this?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Rozenburg, Holland
    Posts
    27,329
    Quote Originally Posted by LotusLocost
    My father actually tryed to enquire a Pacer in the 80's...
    What was he thinking Thank god he didn't

    And the fact that they don't take much of a crash from behinde, as the odd position of the gas tank
    You can see it right behind the rear seats Isn't it the gas tank?
    I have heard something about that issue before.. And it beeing one of the reasons it "flopped"....

    Any Am-car lover who can confirm this?
    yes it is the LPG tank right behind the rear seats...
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    4,031
    Quote Originally Posted by LotusLocost
    I have heard something about that issue before.. And it beeing one of the reasons it "flopped"....

    Any Am-car lover who can confirm this?
    The firey little Ford Pinto was infamous for just such a thing. They were a hot car - for all the wrong reasons - so perhaps it is that machine you are thinking of?

    I confess to always being an admirer of AMC's Pacer, and their preceding Gremlin too which was of course a trunkated version of the good looking Hornet. Brave AMC obviously took a huge risk with the wide-body Pacer, which displayed a refreshing boldness in both concept and design, including its strong and still-novel stying that completely shunned the 'me too' sameness of its uninspiring competitors

    The other crucial factor to remember when judging Pacer is that it was originally concieved to be powered by a GM-sourced rotary engine. However history shows that this powerplant was a no-show, which left AMC no option other than to persist with their existing engine range which was jammed into the snub-nosed Pacer, and by account spoiled the originally-planned balance of the car

    Pacer is one of those 'what if' cars; it was crippled in gestation by the '70s fuel crisis and a non-existent motor. But you have to wonder about if what might have happened actually did, and cute little rotary-powered Pacers had been allowed to fulfill its designers dreams and roam free in the shopping marts and highways of an alternative future that failed to materialise
    Last edited by nota; 11-01-2006 at 10:43 AM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Mexico City, Mexico
    Posts
    4,708
    When AMC was shaping the car in clay, they did so using the biggest ugly stick they could find!! Damn that thing is fugly!!
    "NEVER ALLOW SOMEONE TO BE YOUR PRIORITY, WHILE ALLOWING YOURSELF TO BE THEIR OPTION"

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Connecticut, USA
    Posts
    6,065

    Party on Wayne.
    Party on Garth.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Californian by nature, living in Teggsas.
    Posts
    4,130
    For some reason, I've always kind of liked these, and its stablemate the Gremlin. It's certainly not what I would call an attractive vehicle, but there's something about them that holds a certain appeal for me. I always thought it was interesting you could get them with V8's as well, something the rival Pinto, Vega, Omni, or Chevette couldn't say.

    They also made smaller cars cool to youth buyers, kind of what Toyota's trying to do with Scions (except that the Scion box thing is absolutely hideous in every way imaginible).
    An it harm none, do as ye will

    Approximately 79% of statistics are made up.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. AMC AMX-3 1970-1971
    By Vaigra in forum Matt's Hi-Res Hide-Out
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 08-13-2023, 01:10 PM
  2. Really useful performance listings...
    By Egg Nog in forum Technical forums
    Replies: 59
    Last Post: 04-18-2021, 05:13 PM
  3. AMC Matador 1971-1978
    By Sauc3 in forum Matt's Hi-Res Hide-Out
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 06-18-2013, 09:01 AM
  4. AMC Pacer (Amigo) 1975-1980
    By Revo in forum Matt's Hi-Res Hide-Out
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 06-18-2013, 08:47 AM
  5. 1980 AMC Spirit
    By AMCoelacanth in forum User's rides
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 04-10-2005, 07:40 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •