Dude, where's the other half of your car?
Revolutionary.
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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 I think that probably the Bantam, Crosley, and a few others, just might have a previous claim on that title, myself. Let us say it 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.
They put 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.
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. 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.
Over 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 went, screaming and kicking, into the maw of THE CRUSHER...
The Gremlin DEMANDS to be driven. Just looking at one makes you want to go somewhere...
I am honestly trying to get this page more finished, but MY Gremlin, Molly Blue won't let me get out of the car, except to gas her up...
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 Sundowner
The "California Special"
of Gremlins...
1979 Gremlin XP
Last shot for the
Gremlin name
Voyageur with GremBin
Somebody was taking
the Kaiser-Frazer heritage
a little too seriously...
Not sure when this is, but it has the old-style window latch... probably 72 or 73. Large bumpers suggest 73
