Comments on: Misunderstood Classics – 1970-78 AMC Gremlin http://www.cardesignfetish.com/2010/01/31/misunderstood-classics-1970-78-amc-gremlin Design From the Mouths of Designers. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:54:20 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Jason White http://www.cardesignfetish.com/2010/01/31/misunderstood-classics-1970-78-amc-gremlin/comment-page-1#comment-5132 Jason White Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:32:51 +0000 http://www.cardesignfetish.com/?p=4379#comment-5132 sf, you are quite correct. The Gremlin was not helped by the fact that it was adapted from an existing vehicle. If AMC had the funds to develop an entirely new subcompact, things may have turned out quite different... sf, you are quite correct. The Gremlin was not helped by the fact that it was adapted from an existing vehicle. If AMC had the funds to develop an entirely new subcompact, things may have turned out quite different…

]]> By: sf http://www.cardesignfetish.com/2010/01/31/misunderstood-classics-1970-78-amc-gremlin/comment-page-1#comment-5131 sf Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:13:02 +0000 http://www.cardesignfetish.com/?p=4379#comment-5131 "What makes iconic small cars like the Beetle and the Mini so iconic? A distinctive profile." Yes, the Gremlin designers succeeded in creating an icon: for ugly cars. You alluded to part of the problem in your analysis when you critiqued the front end. Therein is the problem, where this car was a stitch up of a current design with an add-on solution. And where the beetle and mini (and later the golf) succeeded in their originality - to meet specific design briefs - the Gremlin was an apt failure and would've been a failure regardless of the name chosen. “What makes iconic small cars like the Beetle and the Mini so iconic? A distinctive profile.”

Yes, the Gremlin designers succeeded in creating an icon: for ugly cars. You alluded to part of the problem in your analysis when you critiqued the front end. Therein is the problem, where this car was a stitch up of a current design with an add-on solution. And where the beetle and mini (and later the golf) succeeded in their originality – to meet specific design briefs – the Gremlin was an apt failure and would’ve been a failure regardless of the name chosen.

]]> By: Greg http://www.cardesignfetish.com/2010/01/31/misunderstood-classics-1970-78-amc-gremlin/comment-page-1#comment-5128 Greg Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:04:17 +0000 http://www.cardesignfetish.com/?p=4379#comment-5128 There's just nothing that I can appreciate about the Gremlin. Five years later, the Pacer, was a much finer example of quirky design. I don't think the shape made the Gremlin an icon. The name did. There’s just nothing that I can appreciate about the Gremlin. Five years later, the Pacer, was a much finer example of quirky design. I don’t think the shape made the Gremlin an icon. The name did.

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