1976 AMC Gremlin: Regular Car Reviews
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ต.ค. 2024
- The Gremlin was the beginning of the end for American Motor Company, the once-4th American car manufacturer. They were the Amiga of Car-Makers.
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This car is so 70’s I can smell the cigarette smoke and cheap cologne from here. This thing screams wood panels and Atari 2600.
And Disco, bell bottom jeans, and hairy chest men with open shirts and gold chains.
And now every manufacturer is making a Gremlin type SUV or CUV.
*Hai Karate Intensifies*
Surprised it doesn't have pubic hair
Meh, needs more cowbell.
AMC was good on irony, naming a mechanical device after a mythical creature that loves breaking and sabotaging mechanical devices.
the movie came after
@@TheWillrus The gremlin mythos predates the second world war.
@@TheWillrus WW2 gremlin lore came before both of them.
Also it had it's premiere and started sales on 1 april 1970 :D
I drove a AMC Hornet, no frills and no power steering. It drove like a tank on or off the road. I lived.
Always appreciate when someone keeps a car in pretty much all original shape.
True that. I'm a big fan of that.
It's sad because the absolute best engines ever made aren't Japanese. They are AMC engines. The AMC 242 or (4.0) used widely in the Jeep lineup is the absolute best of the best. Yet somehow this company died. They made cars like the AMC Eagle that to this day are best in class unbeaten and still viewed as low miles when hitting the 200,000 mile mark... A huge step for any other vehicle. The death of AMC is an example of the average humans stupidity for buying GM, dangerous Ford or imports over something so much better.
ReNegaDe-SpitFire Volvos pre-Ford were great too
I agree, because many people always modify old cars entirely or mess up its appearance.
"It's like the steering ratio is hooked up to a random number generator." LOL
If you're going to quote the video we all just watched, at least get the quote right..
@@norgepalm7315: Bah...
@@deusexaethera good job fixing the quote, goat.
@@norgepalm7315: You rhymed! You're a poet and had no idea.
111!
AMC was an amazingly innovative company in its dying days.
They made the Wagoneer which pioneered the four door midsized family SUV when all others were topless trucks (Bronco, Blazer, Ramcharger, Scout), or very expensive specialty vehicles (Land Cruiser, Land Rover).
Out of the Pacer they made the AMC Eagle... the precursor to Subaru’s entire design philosophy and to the millions of crossovers today.
They made the Jeep Cherokee in 1984 which continued on well into the 21st century nearly unchanged, and pioneered the unibody family SUV.
They were also in the process of designing the Grand Cherokee, one of the most luxurious proponents of the 1990s SUV craze when Suburbans were still strictly utilitarian.
Finally, what would have been known as the Chrysler LH platform was initially developed by American Motors with help from Renault as a way to catch American motors up to modern spacious front wheel drive platforms like the Ford Taurus. The longitudinally mounted engine allowed for a “cab forward” design which gave unrivalled space and aerodynamics. At the time, the most advanced native Chrysler products were the K based New Yorker and Imperial. It would be the basis for all Chrysler cars into the 2000s until they brought their Mercedes-derived RWD cars in.
Bartonovich52 AMC would’ve been great with some Japanese money and parts. If say Nissan/Honda/Toyota (since isuzu, mazda and mitsubishi were already paired up) or even Subaru bought/invested in them, they would’ve probably lasted until recently, with their really good ideas. Subaru would’ve been a great fit for AMC
Bartonovich52....Wow your ignorance is HERE as well? "Out of the Pacer they made the AMC Eagle" - The EAGLE was based on the CONCORD Chassis, which was just an update of the HORNET Chassis, in fact the short wheelbase Kammback (Gremin) and SX/4 (Spirit) models didn't come out until 1981... and NO EAGLE ever shared the Body or Chassis of "The Pacer" so I think you seriously need to quit being a "Internet Know-Nothing" and throw your keyboard in the trash.
The Cherokee is still made to this day, in China. Beijing Auto Works began licence building them in the 80s, and continues to this day. It is sold as the BAW Qishi (which means warrior).
@@volvodude101 stopped in 2014
@@jeffreyrigged I guess I was only 6 years off
1976, when "standards" meant dressing your toilet in orange shag carpet because the bathroom floor and walls weren't enough.
Goddamn dude, this comment needs a trigger warning. _[shudder]_
Orange shag with embroidered butterflies, our bathroom in the early 80's 😂
A plus, all that carpet absorbs any embarrassing bathroom noises.
@@jessicah3450 lol. So you're saying that the shag carpet is a diarrhea pain muffler
I still want carpeting in my restroom 🥺
@@jessicah3450 And a great absorbant for all the associated bathroom filth. WTF was grandma thinking in the 80's.
Better yet, Who the fuk thought anything "carpet" in a bathroom was a good idea?
Funny how time demeans and redeems a car. In the 70's, the Gremlin was a perfectly cromulent, if no-frills, car. In the 80's it was a jalopy for the kids, scored for cheap from the PennySaver. In the 90's it was complete joke; an "Oh my God, you're driving a WHAT?" kind of car. But in the 00's and teens? An oddball classic.
Perfectly stated.
The circle is complete.
omg are you a Brit or something......." CROMULENT " ???????? I gotta look that up
@@inkey2 He may be a journalism major. Actually I looked it up and it's a made-up word from an episode of The Simpsons. The joke is on us!
@@moonbeamskies3346 HAHA
"In the 1970s, amc was hip, specifically 1970 through 1979"
Yes...thats...the 1970s
Pure
Speech 100.
endmegod They were hip? Few people bought these POS.
@@melrose9252 They were all over the place in the 70's. I remember it well.
They were NEVER concidered hip even when 1st. released.
This chanell is full of misinformation.
"Weather Eye" was the first modern automotive recirculating heating system, Developed by Nash in the 1930's Being superior to other heaters of the day, it was copied by just about everyone else eventually. Later the first low cost A/C (cooling) system was added to it. The name of the system was famous by the 50's (A bit less famous than "Body by Fisher" was to GM, but same concept.) Since Nash (along with Hudson) were the companies that merged to create AMC in the 1950s, AMC kept the branding for it's HVAC systems.
Thanks for that expert analysis. This idiot narrator isn't anywhere as funny as he thinks he is but he makes up for it by being ignorant of any technical knowledge.
I owned white 1976 Gremlin with light blue interior and loaded with options. Yep, three speed on the floor auto, bucket seats, power steering, front disk brakes, rear defogger, AM radio, chrome air deflector over the hatch, wide "racing" stripes on the sides, deluxe deep pile carpeting, and the big 258 CID inline 6 that managed to get a very economical 20mpg on the highway. Terrible in snow but otherwise bullet proof that Gremlin saw me through four years of university.
For the time the braking was good with easily controlled, straight stops. The steering was much more precise than your video suggests and cornering was good with the optional anti-sway bar.
Both working and studying full time I graduated with zero student debt and bought a "really good" car in April 1981. Yes sir a beautiful looking red interior, gloss black 1981 Pontiac Phoenix, a car so badly made I pined for my old Gremlin. Believe me there were cars much, much worse than the AMC Gremlin.
Awesome
I feel bad for replying to your comment 2 years after your wrote it, however I just wanted to say I loved your little anecdote and although it's very brief, it's a detailed look at a period in your life that passed over 40 years ago and I want to tell you that you made a great case for AMC's importance in America's once great auto industry.
It's amazing how quickly time flies. When you purchased your Gremlin the American auto industry was less than 70 years old, same with the American film industry. Technology we now see as ancient could then be considered relatively new. So the build quality of a once-new Gremlin, now old but still running (like in this video) is a testament to American engineering.
@@charlesdarwin7253 Thank you for the kind words. AMC built decent, basic cars. Honestly, build quality was better than the Chrysler products I owned but the company had no product development funds to do more than reinvent the Hornet in the form of the Gremlin, Concord, Spirit, and Eagle. I looked at a Spirit and it was much nicer and better finished than my Gremlin but it rode and handled exactly the same. That's when I bought the worst car I ever owned the '81 Pontiac Phoenix 2 door.
@@Retired_Gentleman Our family car in the mid to late 1980’s was a 1982 Pontiac Bonneville. I remember my father cussing that car many times. Our neighbor had a 1985 or so Toyota Cressida that was absolutely bulletproof and my Dad eventually ended up buying a 1992 Camry. Once he bought a Toyota he never bought another domestic car. Our neighbor still owns the Cressida to this day and it still looks pretty nice for how old it is. My Mom also paid for college as she went and graduated with no debt of any kind. She said upon graduation she had 9 job offers !! I think both are things that just don’t happen in this day and age, which is a shame
@@RobertSmith-le8wp This is true. School wasn't so expensive that working your way through university was quite possible.
My days back then are remembered by me as a time of constant exhaustion. If I had a few extra dollars (a rarity) I'd enjoy a meal at the Woolworths lunch counter after classes but before work.
I always ordered the special which was the "steakum sandwich meal" consisting of a paper thin slice of steak served with fried onions on a toasted bun with fries. If I was really flush I'd order a Coke instead of a glass of water.
Most weeks this three dollar meal was an extravagance I couldn't afford though. Like your mother I graduated with zero debt and stepped into my career.
*BROWN*
Also I want one with a manual.
BROOOOOOWWWWWWWN
"It's just not the shade of Brown I was looking for."
But why? Everything about this review suggests its a shit car.
It's like the squared-off cousin of the Austin Allegro, which was also brown - it doesn't have a hatchback even though it looks as if it does, just like the Allegro. Spooky!
I generally like American cars but this thing is so ugly! I know us Brits have dished up some horrors but for gods sake what were they thinking?
If you want to compare to cars 40 years newer, the points are valid. But if you want to look at the Gremlin's real competition in domestic subcompacts starting in 1971, then compare it to the Ford Pinto and the Chevrolet Vega. One has a reputation for fiery crashes and the other for an engine that self-destructed within a few years.
Honesty and reliability only count in long-term relationships.
The Gremlin would get about half the gas mileage of the Vega or Pinto though. That might be why Gremlin sales tanked after fuel economy became something manufacturers had to disclose.
Great point. Id be dead if my Gremny drove that sloppy. Its suspension is toast. The steering box is the super tuff GM Saginaw which is wonderfully over engineered for the lighter AMC car line. This car may have had a manuel box which is dangerous today....many cars had them. Thats owners fault for basing out the options,not AMCs. Think about a 5,000 lb Bel Aire, etc with that same ratio box. Yep, it was very common as were horrible drum brakes on all 4. There was adequate roads back then. Traffic has tripled and nothing but an asteroid is gonna stop the ruinous growth.
@gathamauto...very few Vegas had engines last a few years. Bought mine new and got several weeks of faithful service before a rod knock announced its noisy demise
It's a sad fact. The usual failure mode was wear of the cylinders to the point of losing oil control and compression. I worked in a parts store/machine shop in the '70s, and we refitted many of them with a special kit that had cylinder sleeves made of iron or steel. It was a good repair, but the sleeve kits were in demand, and we couldn't keep them in stock.
Vega.... Every 70 miles add another quart of oil... Gremlin.... Just drive it.
I had one of these new. It had the 232/6. It had overdrive and got 25 mpg easy. Also it would smoke any other subcompact on the market. AMC cars were good quality with the best warranty in the business. I loved mine.
Right on. Most All the cars back then had only 3 or 4 speeds yet no overdrive. You had to press the gas to go downhill even with hiway rear gears. Billions of gal of gas couldve been saved and less engine wear if OD had been mandated. Less pollution too. Many Ramblers with the 199 six cylinder had the E Stick OD. This may ne the first referene tk E for electronic that i know of. This was also the same basic de cubed 6 cyl. Wow 25 mpg! This is easily more than double other cars at the time which realistically got 5-9 mpg.
@@rickcain5717 25 on the highway 2 adults and luggage. OD was electric activated by a button on the turn signal stalk.
Wow!. Try that in a beetle...and think of the misery of those in a beetle back seat. So was that OD hung on back of a Borg Warner t 14? Or T 150? Was that on 87 octane , AC?
Of course you know all this. Im just in mode of trying to give others food for thought
@@rickcain5717 Unleaded was just becoming mandatory on cars because of catalytic converters. Mine said unleaded fuel only on the fuel gauge (new that year) but it ran so clean it did not use a converter. Not sure of the octane or the tranny. I messed up the shifter (totally my fault) and the dealer was upset with me for trying to get a warranty claim. I was 16 and had no money. I had purchased the additional year of the Buyer Protection Plan for a $100! AMC bought me a new shifter! No questions asked. The dealer was pissed, though. lol
I farted in a brand new demonstrator Gremlin once.
Legend
I thought it was a fart but alas it was semi solid
AMC made great cars. I had a couple of them.
SC/Rambler is a favorite of mine
We had 2 amc gremlins. My 16 year old brother crashed it on nj turnpike on our way to atlantic city back in 1986.
When my older sister needed a car to learn to drive, my parents bought a forest green amc gremlin for her. We had that thing for a couple of years
The Eagle was truly ahead of its time.
Had a '69 Javelin with that same 232ci engine. You could do a lot with that motor. Valve job, headers,2 barrel intake and it was a lot of fun.
I have a ful resto THE MACHINE
The "Weather Eye" Was an invetion of the Nash automotive company, the first to make true climate control options for cars. Nash and Hudson fused in the mid 1950s-1960 to form AMC. They tried to involve Studebaker and Packard as well, but they attempted to go it alone with one of them hiding their debts.
AMC, last of the independents. The brochures and advertising from this era don't mention "Weather Eye" anymore, I wonder to what extent it was on the Gremlin's heater faceplate for potential buyers who recognized it from 20 years before vs strictly for trademark retention.
My 63 rambler has weather eye too!
Nash probably got that from Kelvinator, an appliance manufacturer that they (for some weird-ass reason) decided to mesh with.
@@trashrabbit69 In terms of odd business marriages, Nash and Kelvinator has to be at the top.
I don't believe either of my Eagles (83 and 86) say anything about Weather Eye, but I do remember my buddy's '72 Ambassador does.
My Dad got one of these towards the tail end of high school, and then drove it cross country from Maine to California when he enlisted in the Navy. Apparently it had belonged to an older woman who drove it home and then died the same evening. As a result, my grandparents got a brand new car for a less than brand new price. My Dad said that he actually liked it, not least of which because the Chevy Chevette he bought as a replacement burned a quart of oil every month.
Your Dad's taste in cars is somethin.
Well my Dad upgraded to a '78 Firebird shortly thereafter. However, I challenge you to go back to the mid-70s, live on the east coast (where cars return to the earth in a few winters), and then find a decent automobile.
@@njc1230 Fair point lol
@@njc1230 haunted car
Chevy.......
I don't care what anybody says, this is one of my favorite cars.
@Pedro DLR Be my guest. I can buy a Gremlin with the money it brings in 😉
9:38 The designer was Richard A. Teague, who had also designed the final generation Packard automobiles. His name was not Bob.
Amateur vid. Terrible.
And the XJ Jeep Cherokee was his last design
@bodd boward well, forgetting the correct name did deny RCR a chance to say "Dick" but I think they make up for it whenever they *aren't* talking about Richard "Bob" Teague.
"I'd take you to the movies honey; but they don't let us bring outside snacks" - this one's a keeper lol
2:08 "there are people that put LS's in these.."
but it's america and people put LS's in everything and anything..
on a long enough timeline...
LS LAWNMOWER
I thought that's Australia
@@DaSaint97 Australia Barra swaps everything
@@LouisSubearth ah you right
It's about time, you have truly A S C E N D E D in B R O W N N N N N
lol even the owner has a browns hoodie on
Is it weird that I actually think the gremlin and the pacer look pretty cool
Amc eagle is where its at
They look cool. But that is kinda it.
I kinda like how the Gremlin looks. It's kinda boxy but still cool.
Cool? More like distinctive and weird.
Yes.
You nailed it. My first car in 1982 was a ‘74 AMC Gremlin. Great first car because it was the cheapest car I could buy and within 6 months I ended rolling it in a corner. That said, it was the best car to rollover because I didn’t get a scratch, and even though every body panel was dented and scraped, I was able to drive it for another 6 months. After 38 years of driving it was the only at-fault accident I’ve been in. I would have to say the car helped me learn to be a better driver.
I owned a used one... loved it
You could buy a NEW Gremlin for under $2000...
The Gremlin Gas Cap was awesome 😎 and very unique.
'I"M GOING TO HANDLE RAW CHICKEN....UNNNNGHHHH.......AND THEN IM GONNA ASK TO USE YOUR PHONE''
1976 was a great year! Our space program was rocketing away, the United States had its bicentennial, disco was in its death throes, and that's the year I was born. And the AMC Gremlin was built here in my home state of Wisconsin. Although I have a bit of a soft spot for the Gremlin I still want to get my hands on a Pacer...
Also don't you mean 43 years???
You need to recheck your calendar. We hadn't even reached peak disco by '76.
I was born the day disco died in 1979.
@Ross Bourne You're welcome...
@@wizardmix "Disco Demolition Night" at old Comiskey Park. The footage is just wow.
@@wizardmix I would also like to extend thanks for your contribution to music!
AMC developed the Jeep Cherokee and 4.0. The Javelin, the Eagle, the Spirit. Great company back In the day
Yep, put in the Jeep drivelin and get ready to hold on and get great MPG. Its the same 7 main bearing 6 from 1963.
Don't forget about the truly competitive real muscle car, the AMX
My dad loved his Eagle and raves about what a great car it was.
Little tidbit for you, the Gremlin was announced on April 1 1970. It was an April Fool's joke that some psychopath at AMC took seriously.
@Sledge Patrick
It's an economy car from the early 1970s, what did you expect? A new BMW with 0.5 turns lock-to-lock?
@Sledge Patrick Alrighty then. Have a nice day.
Then again the Barracuda was also announced on April 1st
1:39 I don't know why I've always loved plain steelies with dog-dish caps.
They are simple but elegant
Woof
Loving Roman coming out the start gate with a cover of Keane!
Sports Shirt was possibly the most relatable thing I’ve ever heard on the internet.
I work with a guy who used to work for AMC in Kenosha Wisconsin and I love all the stories he has about the company. He also was in the Navy Seabees and did construction in Vietnam. Really cool interesting guy and I think he's sad that the company didn't survive
Wonder how he feels about his city being torched by assholes.
I too have an "economy" 3.8 in my '86 Bonneville. Made a whopping 110hp and took 19 seconds to cross the quarter mile. Love that old thing
so much BROWN
*BUT NOT ENOUGH BROWN*
The Gremlin is one of many, MANY cars that I love and am so glad that other people own and maintain them so I can enjoy them for a few minutes at a time at car shows and then walk away. Owning a weird and unique vehicle is great if you're able to take care of it properly.
Malaise and Brown, perfect!
I had a 1972 AMC Gremlin ..... LOVED THAT CAR :-) Thank you for wonderful memories !
It’s 2021, and I want a Gremlin! LoL
Same
Just bought one, 1974. Stuck in a garage for the last 35 years. All original.
I'd prefer a Pacer with a Chevy Stovebolt I6 or Toyota 1G and a 4speed (auto or manual) I6 swapped in
It's like a bizarro world version of the Austin Allegro - angular instead of blobby, with opening rear glass instead of a tiny little boot. And brown instead of burnt orange.
I have a decent rust free 71 gremlin X I gave 2500 for, nice little car, they grow on you for sure!
"And... the goblin, he had a Gremlin! And he jacked it up on some fat tires, and uh, and he tuned it up on some 4.11 positrak out back, 750 double pumper, Edelbrock intake, bore over 30, 11-to-1 pop-up pistons turbo jets 390 horsepower! I mean, he
had some freakin' muscle!"
TastyBusiness hey there Bubs
THIS IS THE CAR THAT KIDS LIKE
That kid totally looks like Bobby Hill. And his first car would totally have been a Gremlin.
@Frank Slender stfu
what kid ?
A 1976 AMC GREMLIN IS ONE OF THE MOST ALL TIME BEAUTIFUL CAR EVER EXISTED
Yeah, and the sun is blue and burns very cold
As a moody teenager. I can confirm that he is very correct. In fact we do all of that and more.
This is probably the best narrative I’ve ever heard for any car review. Hilarious and entertaining!
“Weather Eye” is a holdover for the climate control from the Nash/Kelvinator days (who was acquired by AMC).
True. This guy doesn't have a clue about such automotive history like that.
AMC didn't "acquire" anything. AMC was formed when Nash/Kelvinator merged with Hudson in 1954.
@@kenk2306 That's right. And I think Rambler was officially under the American Motors Corp name by '54 as well.
@@UberLummox Nash Motor Co was the original company that became AMC. Actually, Nash acquired Hudson though it was called a merger at the time. The 1950 Nash Rambler was a stylish compact car, was a big hit for Nash. With the postiive name recognition, it became AMCs 'Brand'
@@boggy7665 Yes right. Nash/Kalvenator as was said above. You've explained it well though.
Right when you said “What the hell is that thing?” I looked at the red Hyundai Tucson and damn it’s blimpy looking by comparison. Despite how much better cars may be today they managed to make them so much worse in the looks.
What I find fascinating is how much bigger newer small cars are, but in different dimensions. A Saturn Ion parked next to my in my Escort Wagon last week and that Ion is a solid 4" taller than my car. I would have never guessed that if they weren't parked next to each other.
Too bad you guys are too young to remember that all American compact and many larger cars, could be ordered very basic. That means radio delete, no A/C, usually no P/Steering or power brakes, and manual 3 speed transmission was the basic rule, many years before that '76 AMC Gremlin was new! That was a good car, for what it was, and the straight six ran forever. Years ago I had (for a second car) a '76 Hornet station wagon, great car to drive and haul stuff!😁 If today I had a '76, or older AMC Gremlin, or Hornet in as good of condition as this one, I would gladly drive it! Also, car glove box manuals by all manufacturers, back then, covered other models that were basically the same car, except for optional equipment and trim levels, they didn't print an individual manual for each model! Some of that continues today. Still I enjoy your videos, keep them coming!
I had an '89 S10 that was ordered radio delete, manual steering, power brakes, and A/C... Dude the ordered it must have been an odd duck. Anyhow, that's the newest consumer vehicle I've ever seen that came factory radio delete.
I wish they still offered a no frills base model.
The 1st car my parents bought, and I can remember riding in it, was a 1959 full-size Chevrolet wagon that had manual steering, manual drum brakes, 3 speed column shift transmission. I remember Mom struggling with the steering turning city corners.
My friend has a Gremlin. I’ve ridden in it multiple times. It is consistently one of the most terrifying things I’ve done. Going 45 down the highway feels like 90.
I drove a Gremlin once. The steering wheel had a freakin' mind of its own. Terrifying to drive.
No no no! You forgot to wear your "Earth Shoes" and mood ring, that make the Gremlin work gooder!
I LOVE these cars! Will have one some day...Need one to add to my collection of 11 AMC Pacers....
"Suffering was the only thing / made me feel I was alive." - Carly Simon
Are any of those pacers for sale? And if so, do you ship to Canada?
If it didn't look cool i'd think it was a joke...
some of the swedes also like volvos
......it doesn't look cool.
It is a joke
@@wadeguidry6675 says you
Well it was first released on April Fool’s Day 1970 so you may be on to something
Had a 76 in 1982. Perfect teenager car. Easy to work on. Back held one bale of hay.
I had a Concorde-same car plaus a trunk. You could change the oil without getting under the car-just push the oil pan under and loosen the drain plug from on top-oil filter was on the side of the block. Carbureator rebuild kit was $6.00-took me 30 minutes-easiest car in the world to maintain.
I always liked the amc gremlin and pacer
same
same
There was a time when the Gremlins were unbeatable in the IMSA RS-series road racing events.
@@charlessmileyvideos damn
Same here
Really sad blanked off high center air vent. With AC you got a real vent, and a shelf below the dashboard with round vents near each end as seen in the manual at 8:52. "Weather Eye" was a Nash thing. Nashes had the first integrated AC in 1954, all in front instead of a separate AC in the trunk, basically a similar configuration to modern cars and called All-Weather Eye, although they used that name for the heaters starting in 1938. Their "Weather Eye" heaters were the first to use fresh air instead of just recirculating.
They also had a nice feature of air vents you open to bring air in from outside without messing with the heating.
It is a shame that AMC stopped offering "Command Air" which was only available for 1970 and 1971. This gave you the upper high level vent which helped increase the "flow through" ventilation. Also came in handy for warming up the cabin in winter. Should have become standard in '72, but like I said in a previous post, AMC had to pinch pennies and de-content the cars as much as possible. They seemed to have forgotten the ideas of "economies of scale". If ALL CARS had the items, then there's no money to lose; just build the price into the cars. But in the 70's they wanted to have the lowest priced car in America and that meant getting rid of EVERYTHING. I'd have rather had a GOOD car for the money, than simply "the cheapest car".
I had a 1975 Hornet Sportabout Wagon, in a lighter brown. It was THE best vehicle I have ever owned and driven.
If only they'd done the Concord treatment to it earlier than they did. The lumpy seats and the cheap-looking dash let the rest of the car down. I swear the instrument panel glass covers are just laboratory-grade watchglasses.
I'm sorry to hear that..
So you've never owned a car made after 1986?
The pretty tall blonde that lived down the block when i was a kid had a green 72, had the 304 with the 3 speed. I loved her car almost as much as her😊.
Hey, it's still running and looks good. You want to review something that really drove Americans to buy Toyotas, try and find an original Vega!
Otto! There's a gremlin on the side of the bus!
kal Frid I just made the last payment
LMFAO! Good one.
Oh man, I'm just realising that now, I always thought Otto meant Hans Moleman and not his car when Bart told him that.
@@juliansommer8600 : the fact that you even thought of Hans Moleman shows evidence of your superior intellect. Party on!
@@wadeguidry6675 you have to know that here in europe the gremlin is completely unknown
As a life long auto enthusiast I subscribe to a number of you tube car channels. But this is the ONLY channel to review old beaters and that’s an endearing quality. I wanted a stick and no one in my family could drive one so I got professional lessons I learned to drive a stick in this car so it has a special place in my heart .
It looks great its a Cult car now.
For a time in the 70's, the Alabama State Troopers used AMC's Javelin for patrol cars. My parents said they would tear up and down the interstate with them.
1) Build quality was noticeable by its absence from ALL American cars in the 1970's. My father had a late 1970's Mercury Monarch with a heater that the dealer eventually refused to keep trying to make work. AMCs were often known as "Kenosha Rattlers" by those who knew they were built in Kenosha, WI.
2) There was a short-lived sitcom in the 1990's called "Bakersfield P.D"." starring Giancarlo Esposito. The idea was that everybody in the Bakersfield, CA police department was a lunatic but him, a recent transplant from Washington DC. To show how crazy they were, one of his fellow officers drove a Gremlin. Big yuks! (It was actually a good show with many good people, IIRC.)
The official car of “the Wayne’s world car! Ohh wait different AMC”
“For meee...For me...FORRR MEEE! DUN DUN DUN DA DUN DUN!”
**bohemian rhapsody plays**
The Pacer is miles cooler than this.
I drove my gremlin daily up until a few months ago and that was probably the most common thing people said.
@@ronindebeatrice you mean miles worse
Also there was an Eagle version with four wheel drive. You could have a manual, four wheel drive Gremlin. Think about that!
I'm looking forward to it as much as to my next floor mat. Very exciting!
@@zloychechen5150 Those were.... Surprisingly good, once you stopped laughing at the 'Eagle SX4' stickers and... spoiler? :)
The SX4 is a separate model of Eagle based on the Spirit (and they're awesome!). The car the OP is describing is the Eagle Kammback. It's a Gremlin body with bigger back windows. They're also awesome, and somewhat rare in their time and I'm guessing almost impossible to find in decent shape now.
@@TheBrokenLife Cool, I did see those, but thought 'SX4' was basically a trim level for them all in my memory.
Nope... But there is an Eagle "Sport" package. Blacked out mirrors and grill and usually racier color schemes than the normal yellow on brown 90% of them seemed to be.
I wish AMC was still around
Only a communist would want that... 😂
I want a javelin lol
The AMC Eagle is cool imo.
Sacrifice your bath plug! It can be made into a suspension bushing.
@@mattw8332
My father said, communism works if it's done right. 😂
My first car was a 71 AMC Hornet, 232 with a three on the tree. Loved that car.
5:55 “De-assed” is a good way to describe the rear of this car
I liked the later description of "Sawed-off Station Wagon".
Duster, Maverick, Gremlin, and the Chevette. Our family was poor.
Dusters? Nothing to turn your nose up at. Mavericks? Good enough that knew someone still driving the family hand-me-down at the tail end of the 90s. Gremlins? Well, “de-assed Hornet” is as fitting a summation as I’ve ever come across. At least the Hornet itself was decent for its intended purpose. Now, Chevettes? Those I’ve never heard a nice thing said of.
Dusters are magic. I've occasionally gone into parking lots and seen people talking to their cars. With a Duster, you find them talking to *your* car. :)
A properly maintained Gremlin or any AMC before Renault could easily give 500,000 miles.
This was pure brown at it brownest
The Weather Eye was actually a pretty advanced system when it came out. Research it.
YEP. AMC ac cycles rather than running compressor full time. Desert only was to prevent evaporator freeze up. Such a huge amount of haters/ignorant peeps.
The A/C on my 1973 Hornet which came as std. equipment was still ice cold after 13 years. I remember the compressor was made by Airtemp, a subsidiary of Chrysler Corp. 258 engine was bulletproof and auto trans was a 904 Torqueflite. AMC called it "Torque Command". AMC, through its Nash roots had more experience with unibody construction than any other domestic car mfg.
@@rickcain5717 Including the Dennis Miller wannabe narrator.
I'm Australian, in Melbourne as I write. But in 1980/81, I was researching in Kentucky for that year. The year of 'The Louisville Explosion'. "What's this got to do with the Gremlin," I hear you say. Well it was an AMC Gremlin which, just near our UofL Apartment, when transporting homebound nurses in the wee small hours of the morn, grounded & sparked as it sped into a rough old underpass just north of Churchill Downs & beneath the Southern/L&N railroad line. These sparks in turn ignited wayward gasses from a nearby Breakfast Food factory thus causing said huge event. So..... I'm here to say that this car was both Gremlin by name, & a real Gremlin by nature. The 'Gremlin'. A truly creepily inspired choice by AMC. Maybe, the first American Hatchback, & borne of haste moreso than genuine inspiration. Those were the days my friend.
Wow. I looked it up... a Ralston-Purina soy oil extraction facility dumped thousands of gallons of hexane (a gasoline-like hydrocarbon) into the sewer. More than 13 miles of sewer and streets were wrecked in the ensuing explosions. A Gremlin, eh?
I thought by watching this I might want to buy an AMC Gremlin, but really, now I gotta have a Douglasville Scoreres shirt.
Still much better than anything compact big 3 had. Faster ,safer and reliable
I always liked the Gremlin. Wish they would bring it all back. AMC
Bring back the "Sportabout" wagon too! prettier than any "crossover" would buy a modernized one today!
I've always liked the design/look of the Gremlin. I'd love to have one just like this, but in Black.
I have to admit I owned one when I was 20 who was in 1974 color was black air-conditioning power steering 258 cc three speed manual it was simple to work on I ran it hard it held up well considering (three clutches and several sets of tires) it was a dependable vehicle I have to say for what I paid for it served me well. The 258 six cylinder was the same motor they put in the jeep!
That was my first car. Neon blue 76 gremlin, 3 speed stick. Loved that little car.
Best writing from you guys in years...the shower beer joke? "Bear" reference? Random number generator steering? It was like a greatest hits.
The 232cid 3.8Lwas standard. There was a 258cid 4.2L that was an option and a 304cid 5.0L V8 that came in the Gremlin X
In the first year or two of this car, AMC offered 199 & 232 versions of the engine. They raised the deck height & lengthened the stroke, and the same basic engine was offered as 232 & 258. That may be where the confusion came from. Also, 'X' was a trim package. I think the engine option was a separate thing.
This is partially correct. The 304 could be ordered in base model Gremlins as well, and the Gremlin Xs could be ordered with either of the sixes.
I had a 258 6 banger gremlin ; and I kicked every camaro rally sport with a 250 6cylinder I raced. In the 1/8 mile I completely destroyed a mustang 302 "cobra" you know the kind that Farah facet drove on charleys angles.. what a joke! No rally sport camaro with a 6cylinder ever never could get within half a 1/4 mile with that gremlin x! I am a Chevy man, but my first big drag race, 15yrs old, I became a drag racing hero that night! I beat the shit out of that camaro..! Until my mom with her pink curlers and one pink house shoe.. the other house shoe was beating me to death in front of all the kids that had seen me as big daddy just a few minutes before my beating for stealing her car keys and drag racing before I had DL! Oh yeah she told my dad,, ofcouse.. after a hard scolding in front of everyone, , when we was alone he ask,, those boys in the camaro was picking on you right? Yes sir dad.. you just had to prove yourself and your mother's car? Yes sir dad ,they was making fun of moms gremlin, I had to at least try.. so your friend told me that you completely womped that rally sport? Yes dad,, 3 Times in a roll, the last time I gave him 3 car lengths, like I watched you do those Ford's when you had that 409 nobody could ever beat.. my dad grounded me for a week and no tv at night.. but that wink he gave me! That wink changed my whole life! AoC and Pelosi will never understand that.. but AOC,, go piss up a down spout!
@@eddiebarnett2217 My 74 Gremlin would regularly beat my friends 72 Mustang Grande with a 351 Cleveland. You could just see the burning ember of embarrassment in his soul. AMC six-bangers have plenty of torque, and that's what gets you going. Only problem I ever had with the Gremlin was it ate starters, but I think that was because of shitty pot-metal rebuilds more than anything. Was a great first car for $400, even back in 86.
A 5.0l V8 in one of these must have been interesting...
My first automobile was a '77 Hornet. Yes, it had the same owners manual and on/off throttle. At least mine was the upper spec version. It has AM and FM. It had a similar weird AC, along with the usual stuff, it had a "desert only" setting. I'm not sure what it was supposed to do.
Desert Only was a super cold AC setting.
Desert only was not a gimmick. It was for use in ultra low humidity like, the fkin desert. It allowed the compressor to stay on full time. Other environments with humidity could cause evaporator freeze up-...like ALL my pre 1973 cars do. Like ALL other cars of the day do. AMC was THE ONLY car of its day to even cycle the compressor which saved gas. I get 29.9 degrees on an Alabama Summer day...but, the ventilation was not the best. Still, its fun to have frosted windows on a 98 degree day in a gremlin.
Laugh at it now but they were reliable.I own a 1983 Amc Concord Station Wagon that i purchased in 2000 with 37,000 miles.It's at 83,000 miles now and the only thing I've replaced is oil,filter,tires,brakes....Oh and a water pump...Great vehicle!
Dude... tons of factual errors. The 232 was standard in 1976 and it made 90hp that year, not 145. Richard... not Bob Teague was the guy who designed the car. Bob Nixon didn’t succeed him during the car’s development. Also, “Weather Eye” was a name from the old Nash days when they pioneered the in-car heating and ventilation system in the 1930s. I’m 35 and I had a ‘76 in high school. You’re right about the steering and brakes. Mine had the optional 258 six and 3-speed auto on the column, as well as the Custom trim upgrade and rally stripes. I loved that car.
AMC couldn’t compete in the ‘80s because the Pacer and Matador coupe sucked up all their development money, but failed after their first years on the market. So AMC didn’t have money to update the rest of the line. They did do the Eagle in the ‘80s, which was innovative, and their own 4cyl and inline-6 eventually got fuel injection.
That's not tons of factual errors, that's two factual errors, for a car that virtually nobody today knows anything about, so it's probably hard enough to do any research on it and expect a correct answer.
Alex C I counted 6 from my comment alone. And a quick Google and TH-cam search yields all the info I gave. It'd take 20 minutes compared to however many hours editing took.
They also had to be bailed-out by Renault, who wanted to enter the U.S. market.
Gage M. Renault was already in the US market when they bailed AMC out. They had been in the US since the 1950s.
This video has too much speaking...some feature gremlin though
My first car was an '81 AMC Concord. It was solid and easy to work on. Seemed to be a step up from the Gremlin, and I got a fair amount of years out of it. I learned auto repair working on the Concord.
Oh, this brings back memories....my parents owned a silver/blue one when I was born. They kept it I think till '82 or so. I still have distinct memories...one of which was how bad the factory paint job was, it was just flaking off everywhere. I guess AMC was cutting corners at this point. I was just a little dude & just remember being in the back seat for the most part;)
Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown.
This a 1976 AMC Gremlin. It's BROOOOOWWWWNNNNN
@@randy4903"Dry-rotted leaf" was a popular shade of shit stain in those years.
Right down to the BROWNS sweatshirt.
brOOOWNNNNNNN.
Ezra Pound!!
"Oh no, I just made my last payment!"
I get it :D
BOOOMM
@@hamstirrer6882 That was a Vega. This thing would last until you couldn't stand it any more.
I'm still paying for my Ford Model T.
@@boggy7665 Perhaps, But Pintos were the actual exploding car, But the Gremlin DID explode on the referenced Simpson's episode.
Neighbor had 2 of them when I was little. A 73 and 75. Couldn't keep them from rusting. She used to squirt oil out of 1 of those old time cans in the cracks and seams of the body panels, until there were pools of oil on the pavement. Cars still rusted out. As lack luster as they were, those old sixes ran forever. Fun part about AMC's during the 70s was finding parts.. Do you have the Chrysler trans or Borg/Warner? Do you have a BBD carb, or Autolite? Do you have the Chrysler 8.25, or Dana rear end diff? Is your turn signal switch a Delco unit or Ford? Do you have the Bendix brakes or Kelsey Hayes? If you had a/c, do you have the Borg/Warner unit or the Autolite/Motorcraft compressor?... Fun times!
Terrible myopic review...every Gremmy wasnt optioned that weak in all ways.
You think that's fun, go into an Autozone and ask for a part for a Studebaker. They may have it, but they'll never know. It's fun confusing them though.
@Scott Martin Or "Who made Studebaker, GM or Ford?", "A 289 V8, so it has a Ford engine?".
I go through that with my AMC 327 being confused with the Chevy that came out 5 years later
My very dear uncle drove a Gremlin for a few years in the mid to late 1970s. He was an awesome guy then and still is today. But today he drives a very cool Honda Civic Coupe!
I remember riding in his Gremlin once or twice. Experiences like that are what made me who I am today.
What did that experience teach me?
That I can never own a car without air-conditioning, and boy oh boy, cars had no safety features back in the 70s, but somehow we all lived to see today! Well, most of us anyway.
And a story for some other time, another uncle of mine drove a Pinto. He drove his daughters and I around in that fine automobile at a time before the car become notorious for exploding on impact and killing a fair number of its occupants.
Those were the days my friend!
"In the 1970s, AMC was hip and alt,™. Specifically 1970 to 1979 "
Ahh, yes. Thank you for specifying, Mr. Regular.
AMC Gremlin....
40-odd years old, still faster than a new Nissan Versa.
Setting the bar pretty low there
@@ThatWolfWithShades
It's also way cooler than a Versa
I’m 30 years old, and probably also faster than a Versa.
@@Stahlwerk88 One problem is, it uses close to twice as much gas as the Versa
If you think about it this is basically like what Chrysler did with the Valiant but instead of designing a stylish back end (Duster and Aussie Charger) they just chopped it at a weird angle.
Plus the Barracuda
It was the hornet cut off
@@johnkendall6962 incorrect, it was originally designed to be a clipped Javelin. RICHARD Teague came up with the idea on an airline napkin on a cross country flight, so the story goes...
@@abelsabrowsky4470 The shortened Javelin was the AMX. The Hornet was to compete with Fords Maverick and Chevy's Nova. When American motors didn't have the money to make a whole new car to compete with Ford's new Pinto and Chevy's new Vega they shortened the new Hornet . My wife owned a new Hornet and I owned a Gremlin both with the 258 inline 6 and automatic transmission . Underneath from the back seat forward they were the same.
tbh i find this car pretty cool, imagine getting rwd hatch with v8 in front today, hot hatch as hell
It was far from the beginning of the end for AMC. This is one of the most popular cars they ever sold. And it's Hornet/Concord underpinnings brought the world the first SUV.
“I’m going to handle raw chicken then ask to use your phone” will definitely be on my grave stone.
232 was not optional. 232 was the standard engine in 1976. 258 was optional as was the 304 V8. Oh and also, by 1976, the 232 was only making 100hp.
I'm going to assume this Gremlin must have some mechanical issues. My own Gremlin is also a manual steering, manual brakes and 3-speed floor shift. It handles adequately, though mine has a front sway bar and I can see this car does not. The steering is firm but vague. My throttle response and acceleration is lively. My brakes are great for being 9" drums. Hauls the car to a stop quickly and straight. Maybe you need to review cars that are mechanically sound? Reviewing something with problems will only perpetuate the negative ideas people have towards the cars. And how can you pick on a car that doesn't have optional extras? That's how cars were in the 70's. You can't apply modern ideas to a 40+ year old car. Yes, it can have a radio if the original owner wanted one. Yes, it could have Air Conditioning. Yes, it could have disc brakes, bucket seats, power steering, delay wipers, tilt steering, cruise control.....
But the original owner had to equip it so. Don't rag on a car for not having stuff that most of it's contemporaries didn't even OFFER!
Lastly, it was RICHARD (a.k.a. "Dick") Teague who was AMC's President of Design. I've no idea who "Bob" Teague is.
@@That_AMC_Guy how did you get one?
@@GiordanDiodato A Gremlin? I bought one. I used money. Marvelous invention, that.
Alfred Neuman, You know your AMCs. I like that...Mine was yellow with that wide black stripe...
Obviously, you need to offer yours to Mr Regular to recover the besmirched Gremlin name :D
compwiz101, LOL. It was the car of extremes. Extremely reliable. Fit and finish was extremely bad...It cost $2050 new, divided by 12 years ($171 year) Just had spark plugs changed in my 06 Toyota Highlander, cost over $400...
“AMC is to cars what BlackBerry was to phones...” *mic drop* 😳 the most truth out of someone I’ve heard in a decade. I salute you sir, I salute you.
And the other option was a Nokia! Oh... that's right. Those fukkers were BULLETPROOF! Someone tried to jack you, you could beat 'em senseless with it and then call the cops, if you could get a signal!
When I was in the single-digit ages, my parents had a 1982 AMC Concord that they bought in 1983. I think it was built on the same chassis as the Hornet, but it had a different body. It was actually an OK car, and still to this day Mom says it was her favorite. It had a 258 inline six, and a three speed automatic. I remember the engine looking a lot like the one shown in this video, but not as bright blue.
I'd love to find a Concord in running condition, but I'm thinking that compared to a modern car, it wouldn't be that great.
Oddman1980 I still use two AMC Eagles as daily runners; and 83, and 85, both with the 258. Essentially the same as your mother’s Concord, except they had 4 wheel drive. They’re still perfectly solid on the highway with everything else on the road, and other than lack of safety features and a little more road noise, there’s not much to miss driving them over a modern car. If you find one that’s been well taken care of, I can guarantee it could out last you.
Actually the Concord body WAS the Hornet's. Exact same car, except the Concord got a fancier grille and the D/L trim level got a padded half vinyl roof. Compare a base Concord of any body style with a Hornet and you'll see they are the very same car!
In the late 80s I had a green gremlin. Ugly as hell but super reliable. And its 6 cylinder was strong.
"And I'm gonna rant about that."
Alright, subscribed.
Otto Mann! There's a Gremlin on the side of the bus!