One of my sister's friends had a Pacer, purchased at the urging of her husband for its futuristic attributes. She took it into the dealer not long after the purchase because it would make a clunking sound when rounding a turn. They told her the clunk was normal. She told them that if the clunk was normal, she didn't want the car anymore. I've forgotten what she replaced it with, but that was the end of her relationship with the Pacer.
Rambler made a few other attempts at being perceived as something other than an econo-box marque. The Marlin was the first, and it sort of looked like an Edsel and a Henry J. had a baby. The big bulky Javelin came along but never garnered much credibility. My aunt had a red one with racy trim and she was in her 50s by then. Enough said. Then there was the ("That's a") Matador. Not the boxy one that looked like a police cruiser, but the one that looked like it belonged in the garage of the Jupiter II -- if the J-II had a garage. You have to wonder what AMC was thinking, or if they were thinking at all.
I thought the Levi's upholstery was an interesting idea, but I don't know how well it held up. We all know that a pair of Levi's can wear out over time in areas where they're under stress. I suppose patching would add character, but probably not a good idea to do iron-ons.
Back around 1980 I helped a friend revive an ashy green '61 Rambler American that needed a new driveshaft (the old one had literally fallen off). It had a recently rebuilt engine, and he was told by the owners, who he knew, that if he could get if off the driveway he could have the car. It smelled musty inside from having sat for a couple of years, but damned if it didn't start right up after we put the new driveshaft on and were ready to take it for its test run through the neighborhood. We felt like thieves on that maiden drive, riding around in a car that was free!
It was a fun car that made lots of joyrides and party runs to Santa Cruz, San Francisco and Russian River, and it held its own keeping up with traffic on area freeways. Those were the days.
Rambler made a few other attempts at being perceived as something other than an econo-box marque. The Marlin was the first, and it sort of looked like an Edsel and a Henry J. had a baby. The big bulky Javelin came along but never garnered much credibility. My aunt had a red one with racy trim and she was in her 50s by then. Enough said. Then there was the ("That's a") Matador. Not the boxy one that looked like a police cruiser, but the one that looked like it belonged in the garage of the Jupiter II -- if the J-II had a garage. You have to wonder what AMC was thinking, or if they were thinking at all.
I thought the Levi's upholstery was an interesting idea, but I don't know how well it held up. We all know that a pair of Levi's can wear out over time in areas where they're under stress. I suppose patching would add character, but probably not a good idea to do iron-ons.
Back around 1980 I helped a friend revive an ashy green '61 Rambler American that needed a new driveshaft (the old one had literally fallen off). It had a recently rebuilt engine, and he was told by the owners, who he knew, that if he could get if off the driveway he could have the car. It smelled musty inside from having sat for a couple of years, but damned if it didn't start right up after we put the new driveshaft on and were ready to take it for its test run through the neighborhood. We felt like thieves on that maiden drive, riding around in a car that was free!
It was a fun car that made lots of joyrides and party runs to Santa Cruz, San Francisco and Russian River, and it held its own keeping up with traffic on area freeways. Those were the days.
