AMC Pacer : A car outta time.

Designed from inside out , the Pacer was kind of a revolution during its time. It was small from the outside but gave its occupants a roomy feel . The car was literally around its occupants . This car was launched in 1974 the year of the Arab oil embargo , an era where people flocked to small cars with smaller engines and this car had it all at its design period including an extras list that would make the present day Mercedes or BMW blush , but would you believe this car lived a very short lifespan of four years . Lets find why......

In the year 1973 when the Pacer was being designed , it was supposed to be powered by a cutting edge rotary Wankel engine purchased from the General Motors. Soon after the design was completed , GM discontinued its Wankel engine as it proved no good . It was neither fuel efficient nor reliable.

As I mentioned earlier the Pacer had a jaw dropping number of extras namely , Automatic transmission for $299 , Air conditioning for $399 and an 8 Track radio .Some of these extras were vital. The tinted glass for the huge glass area and power brakes , given the car's weight were a necessity in order to stop the Pacer without having to perform workouts at the driver seat. 

The first year of production saw a large sales , it was an instant hit with over 145,000 units being sold. Its looks were loved by all , its quirkiness exemplified by its uneven doors , its size both inside and out made it a perfect urban mom's car. It was these features that attracted buyers , but just as the demon always attracts people by showing them what they like , the engine tight fitted into the car was possessed by a lethal demon . 

In the second year of production around 120,000 units were sold but the demon was slowly showing its true colours . The car only clocked 16mpg provided the AC was not used , there were several mechanical faults too and parking the car was also getting difficult due to its weight . 

In the third year of production the demon was upgraded from a V6 to V8 to address the lack of power and lack of steering feel , but this worsened the already horrendous problems the car caused and made took it to being the worst car of America from once being the most loved. 

The production was ceased in 1979 and so was AMC's American dream. AMC itself struggled for eight more years under various managements before being sold to Chrysler.