Compact car produced by American Motors Corporation
Motor vehicle
AMC Gremlin
1975 AMC Gremlin
Overview
Manufacturer
American Motors Corporation
Also called
American Motors Gremlin[1]
VAM Gremlin (Mexico)[2]
Production
1970–1978 (US)
1974–1983 (Mexico)
671,475 produced
Assembly
Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Mexico City, Mexico (VAM)
Designer
Bob Nixon
Dick Teague
Body and chassis
Class
Subcompact
Body style
2-door sedan
2-door hatchback
Layout
FR layout
Related
AMC Spirit
AMC Eagle
AMC Hornet
AMC Concord
Powertrain
Engine
1,984 cc (121 cu in) VW EA831[3] I4
3,258 cc (198.8 cu in) AMC 199 I6
3,801 cc (232.0 cu in) AMC 232 I6
4,230 cc (258.1 cu in) AMC 258 I6
4,978 cc (303.8 cu in) AMC 304 V8
Transmission
3- or 4-speed Borg-Warner manual
3-speed with Laycock de Normanville overdrive
3-speed Borg-Warner automatic (1970–1971)
3-speed Chrysler TorqueFlite automatic (1972–1978)
Dimensions
Wheelbase
96 in (2,438 mm)
Length
161.3 in (4,097 mm) (1970–1972)
165.5 in (4,204 mm) (1973)
170.3 in (4,326 mm) (1974–1975)
169.4 in (4,303 mm) (1976)
166.5 in (4,229 mm) (1977–1978)
Width
70.6 in (1,793 mm)
Height
51.8 in (1,316 mm)
Curb weight
2,633 lb (1,194 kg)[4]
Chronology
Successor
AMC Spirit
The AMC Gremlin (also American Motors Gremlin)[1] is a subcompact automobile introduced in 1970, manufactured and marketed in a single, two-door body style (1970–1978) by American Motors Corporation (AMC), as well as in Mexico (1974–1983) by AMC's Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) subsidiary.
Using a shortened Hornet platform and bodywork with a pronounced kammback tail, the Gremlin was classified as an economy car and competed with the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto, as well as imported cars including the Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Corolla.[5][6] The small domestic automaker marketed the Gremlin as "the first American-built import."[7]
The Gremlin reached a total production of 671,475 over a single generation. It was superseded by a restyled and revised variant, the AMC Spirit produced from 1979 through 1983. This was long after the retirement of the Ford Pinto that suffered from stories about exploding gas tanks, as well as the Chevrolet Vega with its rusting bodies and durability problems with its aluminum engine.[8][9]
^ ab"The New American Car (1970 AMC advertisement)". oldcaradvertising.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^"Made in Mexico - Gremlins with a Spanish accent". Hemmings Classic Car. July 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
^Severson, Aaron (April 8, 2008). "Do Not Feed After Midnight: The AMC Gremlin > Ate Up With Motor". Ate Up With Motor. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
^Lamm, Michael (April 1970). "The Gremlins will get you if you don't watch out!". Popular Mechanics. 133 (4): 106–109. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
^"Gremlin sub-compact draws bead on VW Beetle and other imports". Product Engineering. 41. Morgan-Grampian: 42. 1970.
^National Research Council (1982). The Competitive Status of the U.S. Auto Industry: A Study of the Influences of Technology in Determining International Industrial Competitive Advantage. National Academy Press. p. 71. doi:10.17226/291. ISBN 978-0-309-03289-6. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
^Gustafson, Sven (April 1, 2020). "AMC Gremlin was unleashed 50 years ago today, no fooling". Autoblog. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
^Wojdyla, Ben (May 20, 2011). "Ford Pinto Fuel Tanks: Epic Auto Failures". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
^Huffman, John Pearley (October 19, 2010). "The Car That Nearly Destroyed GM". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
The AMCGremlin (also American Motors Gremlin) is a subcompact automobile introduced in 1970, manufactured and marketed in a single, two-door body style...
The AMC Spirit is a subcompact car sold by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1979 through 1983. Replacing the AMCGremlin, the Spirit was available...
cars built in the United States. Early 1970s subcompacts include the AMCGremlin, Chevrolet Vega, and Ford Pinto. The term subcompact originated during...
A gremlin is a mischievous folkloric creature invented at the beginning of the 20th century to originally explain malfunctions in aircraft, and later...
1969, AMC earned a high rate return for its development investment for the Hornet. The platform became the basis for AMC's subcompact Gremlin, luxury...
the combined totals of its domestic rivals, the Chevrolet Vega and the AMCGremlin. The Pinto and Mercury Bobcat were produced at Edison Assembly in Edison...
automakers introduced even smaller subcompact cars that included the AMCGremlin, Chevrolet Vega, and Ford Pinto. In 1973, the Energy Crisis started,...
Corporation (AMC) released the first North American subcompact car since the 1953-1961 Nash Metropolitan, the AMCGremlin. Although the Gremlin has the appearance...
previous year. Two smaller subcompact models, the AMC Eagle Kammback, based on the AMC Spirit sedan (née Gremlin), and the sporty Eagle SX/4, based on the Spirit...
Gremlins is a 1984 American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton,...
Questionable Cars of All Time", it said of the Gremlin, "Like other AMC cars (see the Pacer) the Gremlin can be seen as either a daring leap forward by...
and Hornets and Gremlins, Oh My: The Quirky Classics of A.M.C." The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2013. "Pacers in Print". AMC Pacer Page. Archived...
June 2007). "American Flava: the Levi's Gremlin press release". Hemmings. Retrieved 30 September 2019. "Even AMC cars were hit by the blue jeans craze of...
drawing of the suspected kidnapper and his blue AMCGremlin was released, and authorities questioned every Gremlin owner in Oakland County. Investigators created...
entered the market. American-made cars such as the "quirky" AMCGremlin, the jelly bean shaped AMC Pacer, and Pontiac Firebird's powerful Trans Am "sum up"...
the AMCGremlin, Chevrolet Vega, and Ford Pinto, along with captive imports. AMC was determined to have the first subcompact offering and 1970 AMC Gremlin...
egress". xsens.com. Retrieved 3 August 2021. Gold, Aaron (1 June 2020). "AMCGremlin: A Terrible Car That Wasn't Really Terrible". MotorTrend. Retrieved 3...
establishment of the subcompact segment with the introduction of the AMCGremlin, followed by the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto. The station wagon (estate...
Torque (net) 105 lb⋅ft (142 N⋅m) @ 2,800 rpm It was used in the AMCGremlin, AMC Spirit, and AMC Concord, The only Jeep this engine was used in was the 1979...
car to Rachel". Joey drives a 1974 AMCGremlin at the time of the testamentary instrument, but later sells the Gremlin and purchases a 2016 Rolls-Royce...
with other contemporary cars such as the Ford Pinto, Volkswagen Beetle, AMCGremlin, and Toyota Corolla were done by a number of magazines. The Vega came...
was in use for 40 years and was last applied on the 1977 AMC Hornet and the 1978 AMCGremlin models. Wolfe, Steven J. (2000). "HVAC Time Line". Refrigeration...
AMC transformed the austere old Hornet into the more handsome Concord." Dick Teague, AMC's top car designer, utilized the facelifted 1977 Gremlin's front...
segment dropped 37%. Ambassador sales were no different. The demand for AMCGremlins and Hornets was increasing since 1971, and the automaker was unable to...
perspective, Nesbitt cited several summer drives across North America in an AMCGremlin with his mother: This gave me a good sense of what makes the American...
Global Information