By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

We got a ton of comments on the list of “Top Ten Vehicles That Need to Come Back”. I didn’t include any of the cars below cause they are all from dead brands. But if we lived in an alternate universe, then yes, all of these rides would need to come back! See the rest of the list after the jump!

Pontiac Trans Am

Duh.

Continue reading "Top Ten Vehicles That Need to Come Back But Can’t Because Their Brands No Longer Exist" »

By Mike Bumbeck

Clunkbucket

Made largely of fiberglass. Engine in front with drive wheels out back. Not just one, but two flip-up fuel fill caps. Styling that hatches theories of Richard Teague getting a call from MI5 with a request to report to Norwich, UK in secret with the original plans for his 1968 AMC AMX GT concept. This is the Lotus Elite in all its 1974 splendor. Only about 2600 or so fiberglass-bodied Elites were made over the four year production run. This one belongs to one Dag Midtskog, who picked up the car in less than elite condition from a pal who had already parted the Lotus of a few spares for his own Elite. What Dag got was a transmissionless Elite missing more than a few parts. He’s spent the last five years locating a set of factory aluminum wheels, trim bits, missing glass, and a new-to-him transmission that’s currently bolted up to the original engine with only 38K miles of use. More Lotus Elite and a fiberglass tub full of photos over at Clunkbucket.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

No one ever brings AMC’s to SEMA–even the guy who runs Kennedy American AMC parts says he’s only ever seen one in his 14 consecutive SEMAs, and it was an AMX. So I just about lost it when I saw this ’73 Gremlin X sitting in the PRAUTOGY booth. The humble Grem is serving as a demo vehicle for PRAUTOGY’s new Halo application, a curious piece of gizmology that allows you to operate your vehicle’s electronics–including, in this case, power hood, rear hatch, and doors–from your iPhone. (Because, you know, somehow popping a hatch or pulling a hood release just isn’t cool anymore unless you can do it using a Mac product–kids these days!) In any case, apart from the electronics, air-bagged suspension, and suicide doors, the Gremlin was basically stock-looking, nice and refined. It was running a freshly-rebuilt 258 straight six and had even been repainted the same Golem-clay color it came with from the factory, along with the correct hockey stripes. Love it! See pics and video below the jump.

Continue reading "Oh My God, A Gremlin! At SEMA!" »

By Chris Trout

Troutster52

Eager to witness the brutal destruction of a pile of neglected cars, I attended the local county fair demolition derby this past weekend.  My expectations were met and exceeded as the killing blows were dealt to nearly all vehicles, most of which had entered the event hanging onto life by only a thread.  As is always true with any good demo derby, the un-muffled roar of engines filled the air blending with radiator steam, oil-burning exhaust and mud.

What I did not expect to see was an orange, reasonably straight AMC Gremlin complete with header relief in the hood, and all the other demo derby trimmings.  I always love to see an obscure piece of automotive history, but I had mixed emotions. The announcer begged it be withdrawn from the derby and restored and I couldn’t help but wonder if this little Gremlin is representative of Chrysler Corporation’s fate.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Chrysler's Fate?" »

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

This past Sunday, the Wally Parks NHRA Museum at Pomona was host to the 3rd annual Socal AMC gathering, a show so big that we haven’t seen its like since there were still AMC dealerships (speak for yourself – DS). The bulk of the interest was around the AMX and Javelin models, but there were still Ramblers, Gremlins, a Concord, a Pacer, and the most gorgeous restored Hudson pickup we’ve ever seen. As a bonus, if you were part of the show and entered a car there, you got to go poke around the museum for free. Sweet! Read the rest of the story and check out a bunch more pictures over at Hemmings.

Fast Lane Daily recently featured CarDomain member Marty’s Viper-green Gremlin, which was in the blog not too long ago. Derek D. seemed pretty stoked about the 343 conversion as well as the paint. Watch for it at around the 2:40 mark!

I love it when CarDomain members document paint on their ride pages, and Marty’s ’73 Gremlin getting done in Dodge Viper Snakeskin Green is one of my faves. But it’s not as though the Grem is all show, no go—Marty has spent the last winter swapping out the car’s factory 232 straight-six for an AMC 343 V8 mated to a Mustang 5-speed. Nice work all around! Check out his page.

In getting to know the AMC slice of the old car hobby over the last few years, it seems to me that everybody wants a Gremlin. From the people in their 30s and 40s just entering the old car hobby who remember driving a Gremmie as their first car, to the connoisseurs who are finally realizing that something from the 1970s is worth adding to their collections to regular folks looking for a cheap alternative collector car that’s good on gas, the Gremlin’s becoming hot stuff.

But what about parts? Most AMC outsiders tend not to pull the trigger when it comes to buying a Kenosha kart for the simple misbelief that there are no parts available. However, two Gremlin collections that will offer a good source of both projects and parts recently hit the market.

First, the James Hahn Gremlin collection in Texas, though it came to market under unfortunate circumstances when the Houston SWAT team shot Hahn to death last year. Hahn’s friend, Eddie Stakes, a prominent figure in AMC circles, is making sure the two dozen or so Gremlins either go to good homes or provide parts to good homes.

Second, a Michigan collection of about a dozen Gremlins and Spirits (the successor to the Gremlin) that a fella saved from the junkyards over the years has been threatened with an en masse return to the junkyards. Richard Estermeyer, another prominent AMCer, has taken it upon himself to make sure that none of the collection are crushed in vain. Richard indicated to me that he may know of another Gremlin stash – one in Virginia – that will soon become available. So if you’re looking to restore a Gremlin, now’s the time.

Okay, so it’s admittedly kind of weird that the magazine world’s wonky publishing timetable requires that Hot Rod be putting out its April Fool’s issue now—but then, this is one prank I didn’t want to have to wait for. The mag claims that American Motors is refurbishing its old plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and returning as "a full-line, full-service car company to do battle with the domestics and imports in the highly competitive North American marketplace." AMC will be churning out everything from a pillarless luxury sedan (the revamped Ambassador) to fuel-efficient compacts—that’s right, the retrostyled Gremlin and Pacer, below! I don’t care how much everyone claims to hate these cars—if they really did bring these back, they’d sell like crazy.