Love it or hate it, the AMC Pacer is an automotive legend
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As the 1960s ended, American Motors Corp. was the lone surviving independent automaker in the U.S., so company executives decided to embrace the obvious: AMC was very different from the Big Three. AMC proved that to be true, time and again.
Following in the footsteps of the Gremlin, AMC introduced the bulbous Pacer in 1975 with an advertising campaign that claimed, “When you buy any other car, all you end up with is today’s car. When you get a Pacer, you get a piece of tomorrow.” In four short years, however, tomorrow was oh-so yesterday. The final Pacer rolled out of AMC’s plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on December 3, 1979.
Forty years later, most of us living outside the Pacer’s circle of love consider it among the ugliest vehicles of all time. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but despite some favorable media reviews upon its introduction—words like futuristic, bold, and unique were bandied about—more people found the car strange at best and hideous at worst. Perhaps folks were confused that AMC chose to call it a two-door “compact,” when anyone looking at it can tell you, “There’s no way that thing is compact.”
The Pacer was nearly half as wide (77 inches) as it was long (171.5 inches on a 100-inch wheelbase), and with its large wrap-around windows, it quickly became known as “the fish bowl.” On hot summer days, however, it was “the boiling lobster pot.”
Among the Pacer’s many oddities was a feature that designers thought would be a handy benefit; the passenger door was four inches longer than the driver’s door, so passengers could get into the back seat easier.
Pacers were available with numerous upgrade options, including the X package with bucket seats, a floor shifter, and a sway bar, along with modest trim accents. That optional plaid upholstery was not only eye-popping but somehow appropriate. Under the hood, the original design specified a lightweight Wankel rotary engine, but development complications ultimately led to an overweight, low-output six-cylinder engine in production models. Even a bump in power in 1976 and the addition of an optional 5.0-liter V-8 in ’78 weren’t enough to make the Pacer a sales winner.
As you would expect, however, the car’s unconventional wide body made for an enormous interior, one that presumably could fit a television, a La-Z-Boy, and the entire cast of The Waltons with room to spare.
The Pacer received its moment in the sun in the 1992 comedy Wayne’s World, taking center stage in the iconic scene in which Wayne and friends belt out Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. (Go ahead and watch, we’ll wait.)
Wayne’s robin-egg blue 1976 Pacer sold for $37,400 at Barrett-Jackson’s Las Vegas auction in 2016, but the average value for a ’76 Pacer in #3 (Good) condition is $4900 ($5000 for final-year ’79 models).
Once considered a nerd car, the Pacer has found new appreciation among collectors in the last several years, and not just as an obvious “Worst in Class” contender at every Concours d’Lemons. Those who love it, love it… and sometimes modify it—like this LS-swapped Pacer that was featured on Jay Leno’s Garage. (Shameless plug: You can also wear a Pacer. Check out Hagerty’s Pacer-proud Christmas sweater here.)
No matter how you feel about the Pacer, 40 years after the last one was built, the wide-bodied boat is not only immediately recognizable, it’s legendary.
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I had a ‘78 Pacer wagon with the 304 V-8. I removed all the smog devices, added a 650 Holley carb and a custom bent dual exhaust with Flowmasters. I used to beat small block Camaros and Firebirds all night long in that car. It was a blast!
Pacers or Gremlins were not my favorite AMC cars.
Ridiculing the Pacer’s looks without mentioning Honda’s Element, Toyota Scion, Nissan Juke or Cube is ridiculous. At least it had some aerodynamics, unlike those motorized bricks. Also the 258 Cu. In. six, was plenty powerful.
It’s easy to criticize an “out” vehicle; people are tribal and follow trends like placid sheep.
Look at a contemporary- the ’76 Monte Carlo, truly a grotesque design with GM’s deep pockets.
Many new SUV’s follow the Pacer model… after it has been bent, folded and contorted with the origami “too many character lines” design scheme.
The Pacer is a study of clean design by comparison.
I never thought of AMC’s products as ugly. I reserve that description for the Juke. When the Pacer was fairly new, a neighbor converted a wagon into a flatbed with wooden slats. I don’t remember whether this was his choice or if it had been damaged.
My mother had a Pacer Wagon in the top trim. I remember that it was a bit hard to work on the engine, but, other than that, it was a pretty good car. I borrowed it often and actually preferred it to my Mustang II. The straight 6 in the Pacer had much more torque than the anemic V-6 in the Mustang.
These were originally designed for a rotary engine. Many manufacturers thought it would be the future powerplant but couldn’t get the economy or seal problems solved. That’s why a third of the straight six is behind the firewall. The Wankel is very compact.
I had a friend who worked for the company that made the exhaust system.. He said the couldn’t control floorboard heat so they made Air conditioning standard equipment.
I leased a new 1975 Pacer. The car was a great conversation starter. It was a Pacer X with special order black paint. The biggest problem I had was AMC crappy electronic ignition. It had a habit of quitting without warning. Sometimes it would restart, sometimes it wouldn’t. I’d call the dealer I leased it thru and give them the location and tell them to send the wrecker for the POS. My last AMC product.
Sad to see the Rambler Six reviled; its roots go back to Doctor Zerk. Never was an engine so transformed by conversion to EFI; most Rambler engines were, eventually, oil film generators, but in the Cherokee it became a sleek and tight little number, maybe the best power plant of any Jeep. One of the great straight 6’s.
I parted out two pacer’s for street rods, the front suspension un bolted and dropped out then you had independent front suspension, disc brakes, rack and pinion steering. The front clip was the right width for a 1950’s pickup. They had a GM steering column and Ford brakes. The last one I parted was a wagon and drove it home for 75.00
I’ve owned 3 pacers, 2 wagons, and coupe. Loved the wagons, always wanted another wagon, last year, with a v8. The coupe I bought on my sons 16th birthday from a guy whose mother won it in Quaker Oats baking contest for her cookie recipe. Nicest one I ever owned. Oh, my son wouldn’t ride in it, lol. I sold that to a gent that collected them! After he bought it he told me that this one was the best he’d bought! Proud new owner.
the very embodiment of a rolling (sometimes) POS;
the American Yugo;
That “overweight, low-output six-cylinder engine” continued in production as the Jeep 4.0 until 2006. It was a much better engine than you are giving it credit for.
I bought a 1976 Pacer in Toledo, Ohio in July 1976, on the way to my first assignment as a Marine 2dLt at Camp Pendleton, CA. Dad worked at Jeep and I got an employee discount. Dad had to co-sign the loan because as a 2dLt I didn’t make enough money to get a loan on my own! Car was two-tone, sand on top and cranberry on the bottom. Cranberry would come off when you waxed the car. The car was OK to drive and a comfortable ride. Made the trip to California fine. In-line six cylinder was underpowered and would actually bog down when the A/C compressor kicked in. Without A/C in Southern California the car would have been miserable because of the acres of glass. Had chronic carburetor issues. Worse thing for a young man was the image it projected. All of my enlisted Marines assumed I was married because of the car! Traded the car in 1978 for a Datsun 280Z. Image problem solved!