AMC Gremlin

AMC Gremlin
1975 AMC Gremlin
Overview
Manufacturer	American Motors Corporation
Also called	American Motors Gremlin
Production	1970–1978
Assembly	Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States Brampton, Ontario, Canada Mexico City, Mexico (VAM)
Designer	Bob Nixon Richard A. Teague
Body and chassis
Class	Subcompact
Body style	2-door hatchback
Layout	FR layout
Related	AMC Spirit AMC Eagle AMC Hornet AMC Concord
Powertrain
Engine	122 cu in (2.0 L) Audi/VW EA831I4 199 cu in (3.3 L) I6 232 cu in (3.8 L) I6 258 cu in (4.2 L) I6 304 cu in (5.0 L) V8 401 cu in (6.6 L) V8 (Randall 401-XR)
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)
Chronology
Successor	AMC Spirit

The AMC Gremlin is an American subcompact automobile introduced in 1970 engineered and manufactured and marketed in a single, two-door body style in America (1970-1978) by American Motors Corporation (AMC) — as well as in Mexico (1974-1978) by AMC's Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) subsidiary.

Featuring a shortened Hornet platform and bodywork with a pronounced, almost vertical, hatchback tail, the Gremlin was classified an economy car by 1970s U.S. standards and competed with the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto, as well as imported cars that included the Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Corona. The small domestic automaker marketed the Gremlin as "the first American-built import".

The Gremlin reached a total production of 671,475 over a single generation — and was superseded by a restyled variant, the AMC Spirit.

The idea for the Gremlin began in 1966 when design chief at American Motors, Richard A. Teague, and stylist Bob Nixon discussed the possibility of a shortened version of AMC's compact car. On an airline flight, Teague's solution, which he said he sketched on an air sickness bag, was to truncate the tail of a Javelin. Bob Nixon joined AMC as a 23-year-old and did the first formal design sketches in 1967 for the car that was to be the Gremlin.

Ford and General Motors were to launch new subcompact cars for 1971, but AMC did not have the financial resources to compete with an entirely new design. Teague's idea of using the pony car Javelin resulted in the AMX-GT concept, first shown at the New York International Auto Show in April 1968. This version did not go into production, but the AMX name was used from 1968 to 1970 on a shortened, two-seat sports car built from the Javelin.

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