Some people might refer to these five
cars as “classic”, in some ways they are but in most ways they
were just a passing fad. “Vintage” can be defined as old or
obsolete, which describes these cars a little better. Everyone has
different tastes when it comes to vehicles, but these were known for
the designer’s bad styling taste. There will always be funny
looking cars that you just shake your head at and promise yourself
you will never be seen driving, but to those that drove these unique
vehicles, the marketing tactics appealed to them enough to purchase
them, drive them, and in some cases keep them around forever.
AMC Gremlin
AMC built some of the funniest looking
cars of the era in the United States, they tried to redeem themselves
with more high performance versions of most of their cars, but it was
not enough to keep AMC going in the car business. The Gremlin was
introduced to the United States and Canadian car buyers on April 1,
1970, quite a fitting day for such an interesting vehicle. It
actually became AMC’s most popular selling car of its era; AMC’s
most popular, so that is not exactly a big accomplishment. Although
with the competition at the time, the Ford Pinto and Toyota Corona,
it really did not take a lot to outdo them. The 1970’s gas crisis
brought about the need for more fuel-efficient small cars, and this
was AMC’s answer to the wave of the new subcompact cars. The
vehicle was designed in every way to increase fuel economy with its
small stature and small 3.8L 6cyl motor, that has an EPA estimated 28
to 30mpg, which is impressive even today. The vehicle was marketed to
younger buyer as it was designed with a back seat was only big enough
for smaller children, or a two-seater with no back seat at all. The
interesting shape of the Gremlin came about due to a lack of funds to
create a completely new body style to fit into the size requirements
of a subcompact car, so they simply took the body style of an AMC
Javelin, and chopped the end off. It would be nice if everything in
life were always that simple.
AMC Pacer
Another member of the line of AMC’s
unique looking vehicles, the AMC Pacer, resembles more of a terrarium
with wheels than a car. The Pacer debuted in 1975 and ceased
production in 1980, but the first design for the vehicle actually
began in 1971. The demise of the Pacer was blamed on the influx of
compact foreign cars that hit the United States in the late 1970’s.
The design gets its uniqueness from the way it was designed, from the
inside out. AMC was determined to build a futuristic looking car that
could accommodate four people comfortably. This led to the look of
the first wide, compact car that was designed to seat four adults,
but remained fuel-efficient. The body design also allowed it to be
one of the safest cars on the road at the time, and was even ahead of
its time. Even during its last year of production in 1980, it was
still one of the safest vehicles built. The car was originally
introduced as an economy compact car, but as popularity and marketing
increased internationally, it turned into a luxury compact car. It
was marketed in various trims that appealed to everyone as they added
leather interior options, power door locks and high performance
packages. As odd as this vehicle looks, it is becoming a collector’s
item, not for just its unique look, but for all the innovation it
brought to the car industry at the time.
VW Thing
The VW Thing or as it was known by its
model number, the 181, was originally developed by VW as a military
vehicle, and was produced for the military from 1969 until 1983. The
vehicle was also marketed to civilians from 1969 until 1980 but was
dropped from the American market in 1975 due to it not meeting safety
standards. Prior to the Thing being available in the United States,
the most popular VW products were dune buggies and the Beetle.
Executives felt that the Thing would be popular due to its military
feel and off-road capability, so it was essentially a hybrid of a car
and a dune buggy. The vehicle was actually built out of leftover
parts from vehicles no longer being produced put on the base of a
Karmann Ghia. It was made as inexpensively as possible as it was only
to be a fill in until the military vehicle, the Europa Jeep went into
production for both the military and civilian production. The project
which was to be initially sponsored and funded by NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organization), ending up taking too long and costing
too much, and was closed. The vehicle was eventually replaced by
another model and ended production in 1983. For those lucky enough to
find a Thing in running condition today, they own a piece of military
history, put together with scrap parts, but still ended up being a
popular vehicle.
BMW Isetta
A picture can say
a thousand words, and for some people, the first look at the Isetta
leaves them saying, “What is that?” This strange little vehicle
was one of the first mass produced micro cars, and known as the
“bubble car”. This three wheeled, 1 cylindered, 300cc, 13hp
“mini” was built by BMW from 1955 to 1962. It actually rose to
the top selling 1 cylinder car in the world. Its strange design
included a bench seat that could seat two somewhat comfortably, a
chain drive and four forward gears and one reverse gear. Entry to the
vehicle was gained by opening almost the entire front of the vehicle,
including the entire dash and windshield. The steering wheel could be
moved out of the way to allow easier entry for the driver. The
three-wheel design looks as though it could be unstable, but the
limited power did not really allow the driver to win any land speed
records. Depending on where the vehicle was registered, in some
cases all that was needed was a motorcycle license to drive it. The
one major downfall of this little car was the entry design. It did
not allow you to park it facing inward into a garage or other
enclosure, as you would more than likely have to crawl out the roof
to get out of it. This also posed problems if the car was every
involved in a front-end crash, as you would hopefully not be injured
and be able to crawl out the top. For obvious safety problems, the
vehicle was discontinued.
AMC Matador
As you may have noticed, AMC was not on
the top of the list when it came to building stylish vehicle. The AMC
Matador was built as a mid-sized car and was produced from 1971 to
1978. The body style changed once during this time, but it was not
made any less odd looking. The vehicle was designed to appeal to
those who wanted a somewhat luxury vehicle, who had “grown up”
out of the muscle car era. This was also the first vehicle in the
industry to come with a manufacturer’s warranty, which was at the
time 12 months or 12,000 miles. Other innovations of this vehicle
included some of the first crash absorbing bumpers with the
installation of “shock absorbers” between the bumpers and the
frame. There was also a larger range of engines available from an
economical V6 to a larger and more powerful V8, for those who were
not quite ready to give up the entire muscle car feel. The car even
was used by the Los Angeles Police Department for a period after they
were offered in a four-door model. The styling of the Matador
belonged to its predecessor, the Rebel, which was largely ignored, as
it was not a muscle car produced in a muscle car era. With the option
to create a more family car, and still have some of the muscle car
options, the Matador may have not been the most stylish car, but it
did follow the trend of the times.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nick is a car fanatic and runs the
website http://www.californiaautoinsurancehq.com/
where Californian citizens can compare free
California auto insurance quotes that can save individuals up to
$50.00 per month!
Originally posted at Popgive.com.![]()
