Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Unseen beauty
Continuing the AMC theme. Dick Teague took over Rambler styling from the clumsy Ed Anderson, and immediately started to improve things. The '63 Rambler was perfect.
The '70 Hornet and Gremlin were neat and respectable but not beautiful. Respectable is what Rambler buyers wanted, so the Hornet lasted 17 years through rebranding as Concord and Eagle.
Every designer has bad days, and the Pacer was Teague's only major bad day.
This is the '79, already failed in the market. Ugly was only part of the problem. It failed to fulfill the AMC brand promise. Small but overweight. Poor gas economy. Poor use of space. The extreme outside width didn't help the interior dimensions, and the engine compartment lumped into the passenger area. (I rode in a Pacer often in '76 while carpooling to work, and it felt cramped. There wasn't enough room for your head or your feet.)
You can't blame designers for a bad product. You have to blame the managers who should have been sensitive to the needs of their specific customers. Smart managers would have known that Teague could do better, and would have urged him to try a different way.
At the same time Teague was improving the Hornet/Concord into a perfect design that I've never seen in real life.
This Concord hatchback is PERFECT and TIMELESS. Every shape is perfectly harmonious, every piece of trim and color and texture is just right. I'm hesitant to dethrone the '53 Studie goddess, but this just might do it.
Only a few of them were sold, for good reasons. AMC was struggling, and needed to focus tightly on the somewhat successful Hornet and Jeep lines. No spare money to push a sporty type.
This is the '79, already failed in the market. Ugly was only part of the problem. It failed to fulfill the AMC brand promise. Small but overweight. Poor gas economy. Poor use of space. The extreme outside width didn't help the interior dimensions, and the engine compartment lumped into the passenger area. (I rode in a Pacer often in '76 while carpooling to work, and it felt cramped. There wasn't enough room for your head or your feet.)
You can't blame designers for a bad product. You have to blame the managers who should have been sensitive to the needs of their specific customers. Smart managers would have known that Teague could do better, and would have urged him to try a different way.
At the same time Teague was improving the Hornet/Concord into a perfect design that I've never seen in real life.
This Concord hatchback is PERFECT and TIMELESS. Every shape is perfectly harmonious, every piece of trim and color and texture is just right. I'm hesitant to dethrone the '53 Studie goddess, but this just might do it.
Only a few of them were sold, for good reasons. AMC was struggling, and needed to focus tightly on the somewhat successful Hornet and Jeep lines. No spare money to push a sporty type.
Labels: Editors
¶ 11:39 PM
