Tagged: Nerdy

AMC Pacer

Life span: 1975-80

The main selling point of the American Motors' Pacer wagon was its extreme width. Compact cars weren't popular in the early '70s, so AMC made the Pacer as wide as a Cadillac of the same era.

In the fuel-starved America of the time, a small car with lots of interior space no doubt seemed smart, and the Pacer did find a ready market in its early days. Unfortunately, the bulbous, blobby Pacer is remembered today as the ultimate example of "the nerdy car my parents drove." (Its starring role in the 1992 geeksploitation flick "Wayne's World" didn't help.)

Introduced in 1975 the Pacer met with initial success, but sales dwindled quickly and the model was phased out after only five years. Among its odder features was a passenger side door that was four inches longer than the driver's side door The idea was to allow easier access to the rear seats. Almost 40 percent of the car's total surface area was glass, leading to "fishbowl on wheels" wisecracks.

Today, the AMC Pacer is seeing some interest as a collectible icon of the '70s. McKeel Hagerty, president of Hagerty Insurance, the collector car insurance company that did the "Questionable cars" survey, owns one himself.