1980 AMC Pacer DL Wagon: Last Call

There are some cars out there that, despite being out of production for many decades, are polarizing if mentioned amongst those who remember them. Pinto. Vega. Maverick (no, not the current popular trucklet). Gremlin. Hornet. And Pacer. Oh yes, the AMC Pacer, who could ever forget it?! “Party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth!” But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. So buckle up, we’re diving into AMC history today!

AMC, for those of you just joining us, was a result of Nash and Hudson merging in 1954. Initially both marques were offered, but the last real Hudsons were built in 1954, and the ’55–57 versions were “Hashes,” basically Nashes with different sheetmetal and interiors. Rambler was what really saved the new company’s bacon in the ’50s; by 1957 the last Nashes and Hudsons were built and Rambler was the primary focus.

As time went by, however, the plucky Wisconsin corporation started trying to more closely match its lineup with the Big Three, which resulted in myriad Classics, Ambassadors and Matadors appearing in showrooms. The Rambler name itself was retired for good after 1969 (the cars themselves became known as AMCs instead of Ramblers, starting in 1966); its replacement would be the all-new 1970 AMC Hornet—which, ironically, would be the foundation of most future AMC cars, all the way to the final 1988 AMC Eagle 4×4 station wagons.

By the early ’70s, the personal luxury car market was booming, but the all-new ’74 Matador Coupe failed to ignite, sales-wise. Perhaps it just wasn’t formal enough—though in later years it was offered with opera windows and tony Barcelona and Barcelona II luxury trim packages. So in 1975 AMC tried a different tack, with the “wide small car,” the Pacer.

It looked like nothing else on the road. And that more or less remains true today. The main selling factor was that although it was a small car, it was wide, thus providing “big car” room in a tidier package. It was appropriately quirky. Ample glass area was featured, and the passenger side door was four inches longer than the driver’s door. This was carried over to the Pacer wagons, which joined the two-door hatchback in the 1977 model year.

Sales of the 100-inch wheelbase hatchback was initially encouraging, as 72,158 were built. Many trim and decor options and packages were available, including the “X” package, which, like the Gremlin X, provided a sportier appearance designed to appeal to the younger set. Base price in 1975 was $3299 (about $19,152 today).

But here’s the rub: Most any new car will initially sell like gangbusters—at first. Only time will tell if any new model will carve out a niche for itself, or fall flat. With the Pacer, there was a lot of initial interest, but then it faded away. Just not right out of the gate.

In fact, sales increased in 1976 to the tune of 117,244 cars built. Base price bumped up slightly, to $3499 ($19,207). This healthy bump in its second year likely encouraged AMC to add the station wagon version, which appeared in 1977. Its base price was $3799 ($19,580); the hatchback now had an MSRP of $3649 ($18,807). But this was the year sales started to tank, despite the addition of the wagon. Only 20,265 hatchbacks and 37,999 wagons were sold for the year.

The 1978s had a new look up front with a more ornate grille and taller hood with a “power bulge.” This was done to make the AMC 304-cubic-inch V-8 available. It was an intriguing development. There were now four distinct models, the hatchback and the wagon, either with the venerable 258 six or 304 V-8, your choice.

But the availability of more oomph under the hood didn’t seem to help one whit. Sales that year were arguably catastrophic, with only 18,717 six-cylinder Pacers and 2514 V-8 models produced. I could find no individual breakouts by model or body style.  By this time the cheapest model was the six-cylinder hatchback at $4048 ($20,863). Priciest was the V-8 wagon, to the tune of $4443 ($22,900).

In 1979, AMC seemingly went full-zoot luxury on most of its models, including the Pacer. A New Limited model was added, surpassing even the previous top of the line DL version in comfort and convenience features and gadgets.

A most unusual model was the Pacer Limited Wagon. It was near Cadillac-like in its interior, with really snazzy leather and corduroy seating. As the ’79 brochure related, “The new Pacer Limited wagon offers even higher levels of appointments and conveniences. Standard are genuine leather seats with corduroy accents, luxury woodgrain steering wheel, and a host of power extras … an unmatched combination of big car room, ride, and comfort with excellent maneuverability.”

When I first spotted our featured car, I thought it could be a Limited—until I saw the non-leather interior. Though it too is pretty snazzy for a late-1970s small car. DLs had Caberfae corduroy seats in 1979, in ’80 it was Rochelle velour. But Limiteds added extra ribbed bright trim on the rocker panels, color-keyed styled wheel covers, and other niceties. But even the DL interior was a very nice place to be.

In the end, the Pacer just was not selling. Despite all the new extras and models, the bright, cheery pictures in the brochures, sales continued their drop. In 1979 only, 9201 six-cylinder models and 1014 V-8s were built. A Limited V-8 wagon, the most expensive model, was now up to $6589 ($28,347).

The 1980 model year was the end of the road for the Pacer. After Renault got a controlling interest in AMC starting in 1978, much of the model lineup was discontinued, starting with the Matador coupe, sedan, and wagon in 1978. The Gremlin disappeared after ’78, as well, but it returned in a fashion as the updated Spirit; the “Spirit Sedan” was basically the old Gremlin, albeit with a new nose and larger, non-triangular rear quarter windows.

As for the Pacer, it was only available as a DL or Limited, hatchback or wagon. Just 405 DL sedans and 1341 DL wagons were built. I could not find figures for the two Limited models. DL wagons like today’s featured example started at $5558 ($21,067).

I spotted this one in October, 2023—it was for sale in Boise, Idaho. As the ad relayed, “1980 AMC Pacer Wagon · DL · Wagon · Driven 27,900 miles Very nice original survivor 1980 AMC Pacer DL Wagon. A/C blows cold, radio, heat, defrost, windows, all work. Brand new old stock (NOS) front glass windshield just installed! I’m buying a truck so selling to help pay for the truck. I’m going to have it fully detailed soon and can get other pictures after that is completed.”

Hopefully, it went to a good home. Love them or hate them, surviving Pacers are seldom seen. And while I’d slightly prefer a Limited due to the extra-Broughamy features—especially those leather and corduroy seats—this was still a really nice car!

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