1975 AMC Pacer – ’70s Iconic Ugly Car

Known as the car with a body almost as wide as it was long, the 1975 AMC Pacer is a two-door compact automobile that was produced in the United States by the American Motors Corporation between 1975 and 1980. Detroit invented the subcompact car, first with the popular Gremlin model, and in 1975, AMC Pacer came out. Advertised as “the first wide car,” it was designed by AMC’s chief stylist Richard A. Teague who began to work on the Pacer in 1971, anticipating an increase in demand for smaller vehicles through the decade because of the gasoline situation.

Road & Track magazine described it as “fresh, bold and functional-looking”, maybe struck by the highly rounded shape and the huge glass area of the car which was very unusual for its time. Motor Trend magazine called the Pacer’s styling “the most innovative of all US small car.”

The AMC Pacer’s low-drag design, a low drag coefficient, the smooth blending the tops of the doors into the roof—an aerodynamic detail that, all predates today’s car design. The Pacer was also among the first production cars in the U.S. to feature rack-and-pinion steering. Inside is a sporty front bucket seat and a polyurethane dash. It has the largest glass area of any contemporary American sedan. The aerodynamic windshield helped fuel economy as well as reduced interior noise.

Although American car buyers bought 70,000 Pacers in 1975 alone, they did that to save on gas although it turned out that the Pacer wasn’t economical at all. But the car had more attraction for American car buyers like more headroom and legroom that the contemporary Chevelle or Torino, making the Pacer had that illusion of spaciousness.

One of the ’70s iconic ugly car, The 1975 AMC Pacer was seen in Disney’s Cars 2. A 1976 Pacer is driven by the lead characters of Wayne’s World, Wayne and Garth. In the movie, it is painted a sky blue.