There are few American cars that are able to set tongues like the AMC Gremlin. It is without doubt one of the most striking creations from the 1970s. This week, the special Gremlin turned 50, so we will of course take a moment to think about that.
The 1970s were quite special in the car field, especially in the United States. After decades of driving large cars without worry and burning an unnecessary amount of fuel, the car world started to look very different from the early 1970s. The Japanese and Germans, of all people, gained a firm foothold in the American car market and managed to attract more and more Americans from the showrooms of the domestic brands with their relatively small, economical and reliable cars.
The Americans did not allow this to happen, so various cars were created to stop the advance of foreign competition. That turned out to be no easy task, because suddenly cars had to be developed that in almost everything were not in line with the American vision of mobility. Many models were therefore laughed at by the public, did not catch on, or were simply not thought out enough. The Beetles and Corollas thrived.
Surprisingly, AMC came up against big names like GM, Ford and Chrysler, a car that did quite well. The Gremlin. His name fits the Gremlin’s somewhat tough look, but apparently it didn’t scare people too much. The Gremlin was on the market from April 1970 to late 1978 and with over 670,000 copies sold it was a huge success.
That was due to a number of things. First of all, the 1973 oil crisis, which made the relatively economical Gremlin even more attractive because of the fuel shortage. Although direct competition also benefited from this, the Gremlin was able to respond perfectly as an attractive American solution to the crisis. In addition, the Gremlin with its entry-level engine, a 3.3-liter six-cylinder, was still a hit better than the foreign alternatives. The purchase price was also not surprising. By current standards between € 11,000 and € 12,000.
Although AMC went on the bottle later and because of cars like the Gremlin and the even more separate Pacer, it may evoke a somewhat dubious memory for some, so it was not so surprising. All the more reason to take a top hat for the Gremlin, who has now seen Abraham.