When the topic of conversation turns to AMC, things become comic. “Remember the Pacer? How about the AMC Gremlin?” Who doesn’t have a memory of some poor sod in the past who had to drive one.
Not A Ford, not GM, not Chrysler, but American Motors – the fine folks who brought us the Rambler. As a kid, my father would get caught behind a slow-poke and would mutter “Rambler Driver”. Even Mr. Magoo did in the opening of the now-banned kids cartoon (very un-PC by today’s standards).
But poor American Motors, the Javelin was a legitimate car with clean contemporary ponycar lines, and set up right, could humiliate an unsuspecting Camaro driver at the stoplight…again…if set up right.
Many buyers selected the "Go Package" available with the 360 and 390 four-barrel V8 engines and it included front disk brakes, dual exhaust system, heavy-duty suspension with anti-sway bar, heavy-duty cooling, as well as wide Goodyear white-lettered performance tires on styled road wheels. Also, strong participation by AMC in Trans-Am and drag racing served to enhance its image, and notable was that its motorsports efforts were achieved on a shoestring budget with the automaker racking up a respectable number of points against its giant competitors.
Today’s Musclecar Monday car is, from Kenosha WI, the AMC Javelin.
