Thank you a million times for this Tofer. And you are the ONLY review of this car that didnt mock, snark and impune. These cars were daring, innovative and bold, from a small "little engine that could" car company. I think AMC tried very hard, and they deserve credit for that and deserve to be remembered in a better light. Thanks to you Tofer, and sadly no one else, you create with dignity and respect. Full of information yet civilly creative. As only you can do. You were "raised right" as my mom says, and it shows. God gave you beautiful gifts. Thank you for what you do! We appreciate you dear Tofer :)
One of my favorites, the AMC Pacer was way ahead of its time. I especially liked the Pacer wagon. AMC's 6-cylinder engines were inline sixes, NOT V-6s.
The pacer was my favorite car as a little kid. My kindergarten teacher had one. I pass by that former American Center world headquarters every day. Beautiful all glass building in Southfield, Michigan. Another fantastic video bringing us back to our childhood ❤️
High quality documentary, Tofer. I love it that you didn't try to make fun of the Pacer too much. Excellent graphics and audio too, as always. Thank you very much! ❤️👏🏼😀
If AMC had developed a V6 version of their V8, for the Pacer, it might have been more successful than it was. I had the good fortune of driving a 232ci, straight-6 Pacer. And while it handled quite well, it was rather underpowered. However, shrinking the 343ci V8 to say a 258ci V6 might have solved that problem. It certainly would have fit better under the hood (than the straight-6), and probably would have provided more power then the 258ci straight-6 that was optional in the Pacer. AMC V8's were know to punch higher than their displacement would suggest. Would that have held true for a V6? Alas, we'll never really know. But I think it's still interesting to consider.
Excellent Video, your understanding of American cars and the time they were introduced always amazes me, just like the Pinto and the Lincoln Versailles, I grew up with these cars and they bring back really great memories. I can’t thank you enough. Keep on making your great videos!
I too come from a Ford family. My cousin had a Pacer. As a passenger, I remember the bewildered looks we would get from others when he drove it. Turns out, this car was way ahead of his time. Look at the SVUs and cross-overs of today. Thanks for another video packed with a lot of great information!
Well done ! I miss that period in time when we had cars that were quirky but had character . The AMC Pacer certainly had fond memories for me , my family and friends owned one of these quirky but cool cars 🚗 .
I remember getting a ride from someone once as a kid in a Pacer and I remember being surprised and liking how well you could see out of it! Especially in the early 80s and back in the 70 it was hard to find cars with that much visibility looking at the road. I still think Pacers are really cute and a very good design..
Thank you for another video masterpiece! You certainly hit the nail on the head when you said the Pacer represents the passion sorely missing from today's automobiles!
Excellent and quite informative video. I liked the editing and the effort put in the video. The footage really went well with what was being said. Thank you.
Hi Chris you really brought back memories with this one!My uncle worked for them and this car was a flop!A few of the employees at this plant ended up being mentors of mine back in 80's.✌️✌️✌️👋👋
Indeed, if they'd had the ex-Buick V-6 they got in the Kaiser Jeep deal, they would've had a lot easier time fitting it in the space meant for the rotary than the long straight-6. But they had sold the V6 back to GM.
@@sutherlandA1 correct my bad! From 1966 through 71 it was available however as AMC bout Kaiser and the deal was officially final in 1970 I'd say AMC just let it run out on the line! Because AMC most likely never bought the rights to manufacturer the V6!
I had a 77 AMC Pacer wagon best car I ever owned never had any problems out of 8 years I own that wish I still had it best driver in car lots of room Justin all good round car miss it
The press demand for rotary engines in the 70's has always mystified me because gm spent the equivalent of $3.000.000.000 in today's money trying to develop the design for the vega in the late 60's and they just gave up on it in the early 70's after coming to the conclusion that there was no way that you could make an aircraft engine that is designed to be torn down and rebuilt every 2000 hours into a car engine that could run for 500.000 miles with only basic maintenance. When Mazda won the 1991 24 Hours Of Le Mans with its rotary powered 787 B it wasn't because the engine was superior, it was because all of their competition either crashed out or suffered mechanical failures.
Call me crazy but I always thought the Pacer was a cool looking car. There was nothing like it. If the cards had played better and they could have gotten a FWD to work, things would have been different I think.
I never knew until today that Chrysler took the Hellcat name from AMC, just as they have the Rebel (appearance variant on Ram 1500's) and Hornet (now Dodge's smallest US-spec car, a compact sized crossover). Oddly or not, the Pacer name was taken by AMC from Ford's unsuccessful Edsel division (that has their own "quirky and forgotten vibe" unto itself)..
Another great episode 👍 if AMC would have had a better financial situation they would (and in my opinion) could have been another Ford or GM. They had better ideas and designs than the big three. But they were always looked at as quirky, with way out there designs. (Just an opinion from my point of view) The Pacer is one such example. To make a car with one door longer than the other is an executive meeting I would have liked to been at when it was being explained. You know there was an entire room full of people with this look on their face because they got it and the rest of Detroit wouldn’t. But the public did. And that’s what made them cool 😎 Always root for the underdog 🤘 keep up the great videos 👍
In as much as GM had promised an FWD rotary engine package (as we understand it); how much different would the history have been if AMC had taken an FWD package with a GM V-6 in lieu of the rotary?
They dodged a bullet by not getting the rotary engine. That engine wouldn't have been a good idea in a heavy car like this. The gas mileage would have been terrible and the rotary was a finicky engine.
That's very true. Mazda's big claim to fame is having won the '91 24 Hours Of Le Mans with their rotary powered 787B because of "superior reliability and performance" (what their marketing said in TV Ad's for the RX-7 at the time) but the reality is that their win was simply a case of dumb luck and nothing else. The reality is that all of their competition from Peugeot, Porsche, Jaguar, Toyota and Nissan either crashed out of the race or retired due to mechanical issues, had those other cars been a bit more reliable or not crashed out of the race chances are the 787B would've gone down as little more than an interesting experiment that ultimately failed. And the story of the car being banned because of its engine is also bullshit because the new engine formulae (3.5L V-10's) that was going too take effect at the start of the '92 WSC season basically made all of the then current engines illegal anyways. It's also telling that when mazda decided to get back into sports prototype racing as a works engine supplier when IMSA introduced the DPI rules set in the early '10's they threw their hat in the ring with a traditional turbocharged V6 instead of their then new three rotor engine that was in the RX-8 at the time.
Hi Tofer, American Motors never had a full size car and/or full size wheel track, not even the Ambassador. The Pacer was a mid size car width. American Motors advertised the Ambassador as full size, but was only full size wheel base but same track as the Rebel/Matador "mid size". The Gremlin was advertised as a "sub compact" but regular compact width, it was a chopped off Hornet. American Motors only had two platforms, compact and mid size. They did not have the money to tool up to a sub compact car or a full size car. Please reply. Dave...
I don't recall whether I did, but if I implied Pacer actually had a full size wheel track it was an exaggeration and I should have clarified that. Thanks for watching!
AMC was financially successful when staying true to a basic idea embraced by George Romney: build in volume on a basic package of "black metal." The 1950 Rambler, produced with an interruption through 1963, the Rambler models built from 1956 on the longer wheelbases through 1962, the Classic and Ambassador models of 53-68 (joined by the American in 64) and the cars built from the Hornet platform all proved that a variety of desirable cars could be built without resorting to engineering and production costs that resulted from "one-offs." The Pacer, and the previously introduced 74 Matador coupe, were not translatable to other market segments when the Hornet gave them Gremlin (wildly successful given its modest cost), Eagle, Concord, and Spirit. Those variations had differing degrees of success, but helped the company enter new market points without the crushing costs occasioned by trying to answer the so-called Big Three (two of which went bankrupt - AMC never did).
@@edarcuri182 Thank you for the reply. I am 63 years old. You do have a very good point! In the mean time, AMC was about five to ten years too late. One thing is, when a brand loyal Am or AMC for that matter, went to trade in his very reliable Am or AMC, when he sat in the driver's seat, he saw the same instrument panel "dashboard" and steering wheel from the five year old car that he was trading in, with over boosted power steering feeling like a rubber steering shaft. I think this hurt Am/AMC considerably. AMC used GM-Saginaw power steering component(s). AMC could have used a Chevrolet Comoro Z/28 or a Oldsmobile Cutlass steering gear "steering box" it would have not cost AMC any more. Please reply. Dave...
Too bad they did not offered louvers on the side and hatchback glass area. Rear seat passengers would not fry in the summertime. I had owned a 1976 Pacer with a 258 I6.
Yeah the wagon was much better looking than the 2 door model. But it still was a eyesore. No matter how much you polish a turd, at the end of the day, you still have a tick turd of a car. Maybe if they had put some HP under the hood, it could have at least got out its own way, and sprinted away to avoid embarrassment. No wonder AMC went under. Then they made matters worse by merging with Renault.
A horrible piece of junk. Mom had one fairly new. It was one issue after another. Caught fire while we were driving and literally burned to the ground. Had 42 000 miles
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Thank you a million times for this Tofer. And you are the ONLY review of this car that didnt mock, snark and impune. These cars were daring, innovative and bold, from a small "little engine that could" car company. I think AMC tried very hard, and they deserve credit for that and deserve to be remembered in a better light. Thanks to you Tofer, and sadly no one else, you create with dignity and respect. Full of information yet civilly creative. As only you can do. You were "raised right" as my mom says, and it shows. God gave you beautiful gifts. Thank you for what you do! We appreciate you dear Tofer :)
Very surprised at no mention of Wayne's world. That movie put the pacer on the map for a whole generation that grew up after the decent of AMC
Party on
"Gone, but not Forgotten" is the same way I feel about Oldsmobile.
One of my favorites, the AMC Pacer was way ahead of its time. I especially liked the Pacer wagon.
AMC's 6-cylinder engines were inline sixes, NOT V-6s.
The pacer was my favorite car as a little kid. My kindergarten teacher had one. I pass by that former American Center world headquarters every day. Beautiful all glass building in Southfield, Michigan. Another fantastic video bringing us back to our childhood ❤️
I owned a 1976 base model and a 1978 Deluxe model. Loved them both. Better handling than my Camaro and Challenger.
High quality documentary, Tofer. I love it that you didn't try to make fun of the Pacer too much. Excellent graphics and audio too, as always. Thank you very much! ❤️👏🏼😀
FYI, of course the Pacer had inline sixes. I flubbed that detail, sorry folks. Hope you enjoy!
Actually, a few had 304 V8's...
If AMC had developed a V6 version of their V8, for the Pacer, it might have been more successful than it was.
I had the good fortune of driving a 232ci, straight-6 Pacer. And while it handled quite well, it was rather underpowered. However, shrinking the 343ci V8 to say a 258ci V6 might have solved that problem. It certainly would have fit better under the hood (than the straight-6), and probably would have provided more power then the 258ci straight-6 that was optional in the Pacer. AMC V8's were know to punch higher than their displacement would suggest. Would that have held true for a V6?
Alas, we'll never really know. But I think it's still interesting to consider.
Excellent Video, your understanding of American cars and the time they were introduced always amazes me, just like the Pinto and the Lincoln Versailles, I grew up with these cars and they bring back really great memories. I can’t thank you enough. Keep on making your great videos!
A Pacer video without a nod to Wayne’s World? Good!!! That’s what separates your videos from the others, defying convention!
I too come from a Ford family. My cousin had a Pacer. As a passenger, I remember the bewildered looks we would get from others when he drove it. Turns out, this car was way ahead of his time. Look at the SVUs and cross-overs of today. Thanks for another video packed with a lot of great information!
Well done ! I miss that period in time when we had cars that were quirky but had character . The AMC Pacer certainly had fond memories for me , my family and friends owned one of these quirky but cool cars 🚗 .
I loved my '76 AMC Pacer. Best car for winter. Plowed through snow and great on ice. I really miss it.
I believe that AMC is hanging out with Packard for a while. Plymouth however is looking forward to a visit.
I remember getting a ride from someone once as a kid in a Pacer and I remember being surprised and liking how well you could see out of it! Especially in the early 80s and back in the 70 it was hard to find cars with that much visibility looking at the road. I still think Pacers are really cute and a very good design..
Thank you for another video masterpiece! You certainly hit the nail on the head when you said the Pacer represents the passion sorely missing from today's automobiles!
Another beauty ❤️ Exquisite work as usual sir!
I Remember AMC as the underdog of American cars always head of the time and always a lot of quirkiness.
And never stop trying to survive.
Excellent and quite informative video. I liked the editing and the effort put in the video. The footage really went well with what was being said. Thank you.
Thanks so much! I appreciate the support you've given over the past few years.
Well researched and well put together video, as always! Thanks for your work.
Thanks for this video! Always nice to see the pictures and options of these old cars
Hi Chris you really brought back memories with this one!My uncle worked for them and this car was a flop!A few of the employees at this plant ended up being mentors of mine back in 80's.✌️✌️✌️👋👋
Glad you showed the commercial where they took the ltd panels off to reveal the Pacer. I still remember that from the day
Ive owned 2 pacer wagons Loved them both!! 1 had a factory 304 V8 the other had the 258 six! Amazing cars!!
Revolutionary car, great video.
Nice video. Lots of interesting info here.
whats this? Got yourself a personalized outro now? Minty bud 👌Thats a nice touch.
Excellent video with some inspired period references. Thoroughly enjoyable.
AMC used an inline six not V -6 but did add a 304 V-8 later on
The 232 and 258 I6 and in 1978 the 304 V8
Indeed, if they'd had the ex-Buick V-6 they got in the Kaiser Jeep deal, they would've had a lot easier time fitting it in the space meant for the rotary than the long straight-6. But they had sold the V6 back to GM.
@@nlpnt Kaiser Jeep used the Chevy V8 for a while but they used AMC 258 inline 6 cylinders not a v6
@@American-Motors-Corporation they did use a V6 in jeeps in the late 60s using tooling they bought from Buick and marketed as the 'Dauntless V6'
@@sutherlandA1 correct my bad!
From 1966 through 71 it was available however as AMC bout Kaiser and the deal was officially final in 1970 I'd say AMC just let it run out on the line!
Because AMC most likely never bought the rights to manufacturer the V6!
FCA needs to bring back AMC.
Thank you
Done very well absolutely enjoyed it
Your videos are rich and textured and layered like a Joe Dante film they're so good
The best car videos on all of TH-cam I love your videos makes me happy your videos 🤗
Excellent
I had a 77 AMC Pacer wagon best car I ever owned never had any problems out of 8 years I own that wish I still had it best driver in car lots of room Justin all good round car miss it
EXCELLENT!!!!!! PARTY ON, TOFER!!!!!!
Finally😁
The press demand for rotary engines in the 70's has always mystified me because gm spent the equivalent of $3.000.000.000 in today's money trying to develop the design for the vega in the late 60's and they just gave up on it in the early 70's after coming to the conclusion that there was no way that you could make an aircraft engine that is designed to be torn down and rebuilt every 2000 hours into a car engine that could run for 500.000 miles with only basic maintenance.
When Mazda won the 1991 24 Hours Of Le Mans with its rotary powered 787 B it wasn't because the engine was superior, it was because all of their competition either crashed out or suffered mechanical failures.
What if he honks in the car?
I give you a no honk guarantee.
Hey Phil, if you're gonna spew, spew into this..
Cool😀
Call me crazy but I always thought the Pacer was a cool looking car. There was nothing like it. If the cards had played better and they could have gotten a FWD to work, things would have been different I think.
I never knew until today that Chrysler took the Hellcat name from AMC, just as they have the Rebel (appearance variant on Ram 1500's) and Hornet (now Dodge's smallest US-spec car, a compact sized crossover).
Oddly or not, the Pacer name was taken by AMC from Ford's unsuccessful Edsel division (that has their own "quirky and forgotten vibe" unto itself)..
If the pacer had been a front wheel drive and had some rally good reflective glass it would have been much better.
I grew up with AMC and ford's in the 80s, my dad had a gremlin and later a matador bought used for cheap, tough cars
Also... my dad had an rx 4 mazda and went to his grave saying it was the worst car he ever bought
Another great episode 👍 if AMC would have had a better financial situation they would (and in my opinion) could have been another Ford or GM. They had better ideas and designs than the big three. But they were always looked at as quirky, with way out there designs. (Just an opinion from my point of view) The Pacer is one such example. To make a car with one door longer than the other is an executive meeting I would have liked to been at when it was being explained. You know there was an entire room full of people with this look on their face because they got it and the rest of Detroit wouldn’t. But the public did. And that’s what made them cool 😎 Always root for the underdog 🤘 keep up the great videos 👍
In as much as GM had promised an FWD rotary engine package (as we understand it); how much different would the history have been if AMC had taken an FWD package with a GM V-6 in lieu of the rotary?
They dodged a bullet by not getting the rotary engine. That engine wouldn't have been a good idea in a heavy car like this. The gas mileage would have been terrible and the rotary was a finicky engine.
That's very true.
Mazda's big claim to fame is having won the '91 24 Hours Of Le Mans with their rotary powered 787B because of "superior reliability and performance" (what their marketing said in TV Ad's for the RX-7 at the time) but the reality is that their win was simply a case of dumb luck and nothing else.
The reality is that all of their competition from Peugeot, Porsche, Jaguar, Toyota and Nissan either crashed out of the race or retired due to mechanical issues, had those other cars been a bit more reliable or not crashed out of the race chances are the 787B would've gone down as little more than an interesting experiment that ultimately failed.
And the story of the car being banned because of its engine is also bullshit because the new engine formulae (3.5L V-10's) that was going too take effect at the start of the '92 WSC season basically made all of the then current engines illegal anyways.
It's also telling that when mazda decided to get back into sports prototype racing as a works engine supplier when IMSA introduced the DPI rules set in the early '10's they threw their hat in the ring with a traditional turbocharged V6 instead of their then new three rotor engine that was in the RX-8 at the time.
Hi Tofer, American Motors never had a full size car and/or full size wheel track, not even the Ambassador. The Pacer was a mid size car width. American Motors advertised the Ambassador as full size, but was only full size wheel base but same track as the Rebel/Matador "mid size". The Gremlin was advertised as a "sub compact" but regular compact width, it was a chopped off Hornet. American Motors only had two platforms, compact and mid size. They did not have the money to tool up to a sub compact car or a full size car. Please reply. Dave...
I don't recall whether I did, but if I implied Pacer actually had a full size wheel track it was an exaggeration and I should have clarified that. Thanks for watching!
AMC was financially successful when staying true to a basic idea embraced by George Romney: build in volume on a basic package of "black metal." The 1950 Rambler, produced with an interruption through 1963, the Rambler models built from 1956 on the longer wheelbases through 1962, the Classic and Ambassador models of 53-68 (joined by the American in 64) and the cars built from the Hornet platform all proved that a variety of desirable cars could be built without resorting to engineering and production costs that resulted from "one-offs."
The Pacer, and the previously introduced 74 Matador coupe, were not translatable to other market segments when the Hornet gave them Gremlin (wildly successful given its modest cost), Eagle, Concord, and Spirit. Those variations had differing degrees of success, but helped the company enter new market points without the crushing costs occasioned by trying to answer the so-called Big Three (two of which went bankrupt - AMC never did).
@@edarcuri182 Thank you for the reply. I am 63 years old. You do have a very good point! In the mean time, AMC was about five to ten years too late. One thing is, when a brand loyal Am or AMC for that matter, went to trade in his very reliable Am or AMC, when he sat in the driver's seat, he saw the same instrument panel "dashboard" and steering wheel from the five year old car that he was trading in, with over boosted power steering feeling like a rubber steering shaft. I think this hurt Am/AMC considerably. AMC used GM-Saginaw power steering component(s). AMC could have used a Chevrolet Comoro Z/28 or a Oldsmobile Cutlass steering gear "steering box" it would have not cost AMC any more. Please reply. Dave...
One door was longer than the other… which is very odd.
Too bad they did not offered louvers on the side and hatchback glass area. Rear seat passengers would not fry in the summertime. I had owned a 1976 Pacer with a 258 I6.
Too bad from the start AMC didn't design and make a 4 cylinder and make the car a FWD.
Yeah the wagon was much better looking than the 2 door model. But it still was a eyesore. No matter how much you polish a turd, at the end of the day, you still have a tick turd of a car. Maybe if they had put some HP under the hood, it could have at least got out its own way, and sprinted away to avoid embarrassment. No wonder AMC went under. Then they made matters worse by merging with Renault.
A horrible piece of junk. Mom had one fairly new. It was one issue after another. Caught fire while we were driving and literally burned to the ground. Had 42 000 miles