Editing AMC Gremlin (section)

== Marketplace and reception ==
The 1970s were one of the most volatile periods in the history of the automobile industry which is renowned for its ups and downs.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Lauren S. |last1=Bahr |first2=Bernard |last2=Johnston |title=Collier's Encyclopedia |volume=3 |page=356 |year=1993 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wokxAQAAIAAJ&q=AMC+Gremlin+History |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> A total of 671,475 Gremlins were sold in the United States and Canada, making it the most popular single generation body style/chassis produced by AMC (other models, such as the Rambler and even Hornet, have higher production numbers, but consisted of more than one chassis design and body style in the case of the Rambler, multiple body styles for the Hornet).

A book about the popular history of the 1970s introduces it as the decade of "pet rocks, shag carpets, platform shoes, and the AMC Gremlin."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Seventies Unplugged: A Kaleidoscopic Look at a Violent Decade |first=Gerard J. |last=De Groot |publisher=Macmillan |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-330-45578-7 |page=xii |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cj4qAQAAMAAJ&q=pet+rocks,+shag+carpets,+platform+shoes+and+the+AMC+Gremlin |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> It is among the cars that people who were in high school in the late 1970s and early 1980s would be familiar with because it was one of the first cars they drove and among most often seen in student parking lots.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mansour |first=David |title=From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century |publisher=Andrews McMeel |year=2005 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hK0rPUF85loC&q=AMC+Gremlin&pg=PA17 |page=17 |isbn=978-0-7407-5118-9 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-123A709FDD54B290.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924171804/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-123A709FDD54B290.html |archive-date= September 24, 2015 |title=What's homecoming without a Gremlin? |newspaper=The Herald News - Joliet (IL) |date=September 19, 2008 |first=Tony |last=Graf |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> Kiplinger's personal finance magazine, ''Changing Times'', listed the AMC Gremlin as first among the best subcompact used cars as "selected by top mechanics for good value, good service."<ref name="kiplinger"/> Five years after the Gremlin's introduction, the mechanics liked the six-cylinder engine and most preferred automatic transmission.<ref name="kiplinger"/> Comments included, "I have one. It's the greatest. I own one with a 304 V-8 engine. Have no trouble outside of normal maintenance."<ref name="kiplinger">{{cite magazine|title=The best of the used cars: Top mechanics name their favorites for good value, good service |magazine=Changing Times |publisher=Kiplinger's |date=September 1976 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=EQUEAAAAMBAJ&q=AMC+Gremlin&pg=PA7 |volume=30|issue= 1 |page=9 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>

During the early 1970s American cars "are remembered far more often for their power than their style, and ... throughout the decade, the character of cars became blurred. Only a handful of cars had real personalities...." the AMC Gremlin was one of them, "a pioneering hatchback".<ref name="hine"/> According to [[Tom and Ray Magliozzi]], "it's easy to criticize this car now, because just about any car from the early '70s would look bad next to today's cars. They had no fuel injection, no independent suspension, no air bags, no anti-lock brakes, no nothing! But compared with the other cars of its era, the Gremlin wasn't bad."<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9916391.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924202218/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9916391.html |archive-date= September 24, 2015 |title=Gremlin may have some life left in it |newspaper=Charleston Daily Mail |date=May 17, 2004 |first1=Tom |last1=Magliozzi |first2=Ray |last2=Magliozzi |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>

Officially discontinued after the 1978 model year, the Gremlin was restyled, including a new model that featured a sloping liftback for 1979 and the model line renamed the [[AMC Spirit]]. This restyled continuation of the familiar chopped-tail two-door and the new hatch coupe caused sales to increase to 52,478 units for 1979.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z5TAAAAMAAJ&q=Officially+discontinued+for+1979,+the+AMC+Gremlin+lived+on+in+spirit+52478 |title=Chronicle of the American automobile: over 100 years of auto history |first=James M. |last=Flammang |page=515 |publisher=Publications International |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-7853-0778-5 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> The original "Kammback" body style continued in production until 1982 as the Spirit Sedan with larger rear side windows. The basic design was also used for the small [[AMC Eagle]] Kammback in 1981 and 1982.

American Motors lacked the funds to come up with a separate platform for a sub-compact car, so it did something different with an existing model, and "although car snobs make fun of the chop-tailed Gremlin, it was a huge sales hit."<ref name="365mustdrive">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=paxDpyBaPh8C&q=Different+can+be+good+American+Motors+didn't+have+the+money+to+develop&pg=PA18 |title=365 Cars You Must Drive |first1=Matt |last1=Stone |first2=John |last2=Matras |pages=18–19 |publisher=MBI Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7603-2414-1 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> The authors of the book ''365 Cars You Must Drive'' "that any self-respecting auto enthusiast just has to know and experience from the driver's seat" describe that "driving a Gremlin isn't about the drive; it's about being seen in one, making a statement that you dig the mid-1970s, and also wouldn't be caught dead in something normal."<ref name="365mustdrive"/> An article published by ''Time'' in 2007 included the Gremlin as one of "The 50 Worst Cars of All Time", describing it as an AMC Hornet with the rear end whacked off, and criticizing its exterior proportions, with a long low snout, long front overhang, and a truncated tail, "like the tail snapped off a salamander".<ref>{{cite magazine |url = http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658498_1657865,00.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071015041545/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658498_1657865,00.html |archive-date = October 15, 2007 |magazine=Time |title=The 50 Worst Cars Of All Time |date=September 7, 2007 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:1976 AMC Gremlin X - 15952684672.jpg|thumb|1976 AMC Gremlin X at the Tupelo Automobile Museum]]
In 2007, ''Popular Science'' magazine included the {{convert|13.4|ft|m|1|adj=on}} AMC Gremlin as one of six historic cars that took "Small Steps to a Smart Future" in a special issue about the "Future of the Car: Efficiency".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Funk |first=McKenzie |title=Small Steps to a Smart Future |magazine=Popular Science |date=May 2007 |volume=270 |issue=5 |pages=86–87 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=y9bRa2jm0sYC&q=Small+Steps+to+a+Smart+Future+AMC+gremlin&pg=PA86 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>

The Gremlin has a following among old car hobbyists and collectors of historic vehicles. In some cases, the Gremlin enjoys "a cult-like following in today's collectible car market".<ref name=StLouis/> In 2007, ''[[Business Week]]'' reported that 1970s cars such as the Gremlin were increasingly attractive to buyers, and an insurance provider for collector-car owners reported that values were rising at that time.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-08-23/revenge-of-the-nerd-carsbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120814143239/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-08-23/revenge-of-the-nerd-carsbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |archive-date= August 14, 2012 |last=Palmeri |first=Christopher |title=Revenge of the Nerd Cars |work=Business Week |date=August 23, 2007|access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3079093/Nerd-cars-capture-special-market.html |title=Nerd cars capture special market |work=Best's Review |date=July 1, 2003 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110517153618/http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3079093/Nerd-cars-capture-special-market.html |archive-date=May 17, 2011 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>

In light of rising gasoline prices, the Gremlin offers a relatively economical alternative to [[muscle cars]] and the more massive American cars of its era-especially for buyers leaning toward the eccentric.<ref name=culture/> AMC said the Gremlin got "the best gas mileage of any production car made in America", and its {{convert|21|usgal|L impgal|0|adj=on}} gas tank allowed {{convert|500|mi|km|0}} or more between fill-ups.

===Future U.S. Presidents===
Two former [[President of the United States|U.S. presidents]] drove AMC Gremlins during their younger days.

"[[Bill Clinton]] drove the back roads of Northwest [[Arkansas]] in his green AMC Gremlin"<ref>{{cite book |last=Olson |first=Barbara |title=Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton |publisher=Regnery Publishing |year=2001 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=foWUM2R1K0wC&q=AMC+Gremlin&pg=PA89 |page=89 |isbn=978-0-89526-197-7 | access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> during his 1974 campaign for the only attempt he made for a seat in the [[United States Congress]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0407.cooper.html |title=Bill of Right, What Clinton really reveals in his new memoir |first=Matthew |last=Cooper |magazine=Washington Monthly |date=July–August 2004 |access-date=June 27, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140317005402/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0407.cooper.html |archive-date=March 17, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

An AMC Gremlin with a Levi interior was owned by the [[George H. W. Bush]] family and driven by [[George W. Bush]] in 1973 while getting his [[Master of Business Administration]] (MBA) degree.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rove |first=Karl |title=Courage and consequence: my life as a conservative in the fight |publisher=Threshold Editions | year=2010 |url= https://archive.org/details/courageconsequen00rove_0 |url-access=registration |quote=AMC Gremlin. |page=[https://archive.org/details/courageconsequen00rove_0/page/39 39] |isbn=978-1-4391-9105-7 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dubose |first1=Lou |first2=Jan |last2=Reid |first3=Carl M. |last3=Cannon|title=Boy Genius: Karl Rove, the Brains Behind the Remarkable Political Triumph of George W. Bush |publisher=PublicAffairs |year=2002 |url= https://archive.org/details/boygeniuskarlrov00dubo | url-access=registration | quote=AMC Gremlin. |page= [https://archive.org/details/boygeniuskarlrov00dubo/page/14 14] |isbn=978-1-58648-192-6 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>

===Hot Wheels model===
[[Hot Wheels]] designer Paul Tam created a model of a Gremlin with six wheels for the 1972 Hot Wheels series, called "Open Fire", with the extra pair of wheels under a large, exposed metal engine.<ref name="hotwheels"/> Other than the engine, extra wheels, and elongated hood, "the Open Fire retains many accurate styling details of the Gremlin. Later on, in the Flying Colors range, Hot Wheels made the Gremlin Grinder: A rear-jacked Gremlin with a huge open engine that was produced through the mid-1970s in either green or chrome. The last one was a stockcar or rally car custom version of the Gremlin that was first made in the early 1980s and is still popular today, "The Greased Gremlin".<ref name="hotwheels">{{cite book |last=Ragan |first=Mac |title=Hot Wheels Cars |publisher=MBI Publishing |year=2001 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nxNITOLQBJUC&q=AMC+Gremlin&pg=PA36 |pages=36–37 |isbn=978-0-7603-0839-4 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>