page_title: AMC Pacer
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: AMC Pacer / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: 1975 AMC Pacer base model (made by American Motors Corporation) the standard trim version instrument panel, steering wheel, and dashboard.
context_page_description: The AMC Pacer is a two-door compact car produced in the United States by American Motors Corporation from the 1975 to 1980 model years.
  Design work began in 1971. The rounded shape and large glass area were unusual compared with the three-box designs of the era. The Pacer's width is equal to full-sized domestic vehicles at the time, and this unique design feature was promoted by AMC as "the first wide small car." The Pacer was the first modern, mass-produced, U.S. automobile design using the cab forward concept.
  The Pacer's rounded and aerodynamic "jellybean" styling has made it an icon of the 1970s. The body surface was 37 percent glass, and its surface area of 5,615 square inches was 16 percent more than the average passenger car at the time. The May 1976 issue of Car and Driver dubbed it "The Flying Fishbowl," and it was also described as "the seventies answer to George Jetson's mode of transportation" at a time when "Detroit was still rolling out boat-sized gas guzzlers."
context_section_description: American Motors' chief stylist Dick Teague began work on the Pacer in 1971, anticipating an increase in demand for smaller vehicles through the decade. The new car was designed to offer the interior room and feel of a big car that drivers of traditional domestic automobiles were accustomed to, but in a much smaller, aerodynamic and purposefully distinctive exterior package. American Motors called it "Project Amigo" as a fresh design "featuring a body style not seen before, using the latest technology and exceeding upcoming safety regulations."
  Car and Driver magazine noted that "AMC said it was the first car designed from the inside out. Four passengers were positioned with reasonable clearances and then the rest of the car was built around them as compactly as possible."
  The shape was highly rounded with a huge glass area and was very unusual for its time. Road & Track magazine described it as "fresh, bold and functional-looking".
  Development was under Product Group Vice President Gerald C. Meyers, whose goal was to develop a car that was unique: "everything that we do must distinguish itself as being importantly different than what can be expected from the competition." Even before its introduction, AMC's Board Chairman Roy D. Chapin, Jr. described "It will be a visibly different car, maybe even controversial. It's an idea that represents a transition between what has been and what's coming. Today versus tomorrow." According to Popular Mechanics, "This is the first time in the history of the American automobile industry that a car manufacturer has said in advance of bringing out a new product that some people may not like it."
  A number of futuristic ideas were explored by AMC, but the automaker lacked adequate resources to build components from scratch. Instead, they needed to use outside suppliers or adapt certain existing parts for use in their own production facilities. Unique for a comparatively small car, the Pacer was as wide as a full-size American car of the era. American Motors did not describe it as "cab forward," but the Pacer's layout included wheels pushed to the corners (short overhangs), a relatively wide body and A-pillars moved forward. The windshield was placed over part of the engine compartment, with the bottom edge of the glass forward of the firewall. Contrary to myth, the Pacer was not widened six inches (152.4 mm) to make room for the rear-wheel drive configuration. The editor of Road & Track asserted that front-wheel drive, as well as a transverse mid-engined configuration, were among "various mechanical layouts ... tossed around by the idea people at AMC," adding that "it's unlikely they ever had much hope of being able to produce anything other than their traditional front engine and rear drive, using components already in production."
  The introductory 1975 AMC advertising and literature proclaimed it as "the first wide small car." The width was dictated partly by marketing strategy—American drivers were accustomed to large vehicles and the Pacer's occupants had the impression of being in a larger car—and partly by the fact that AMC's assembly lines were already set up for full-size cars.
  Teague's low-drag design, which predated the fuel crisis and the flood of small foreign imports into the American market, was highly innovative. Its drag coefficient of 0.43 was relatively low for that time. Teague even eliminated rain gutters, smoothly blending the tops of the doors into the roof—an aerodynamic detail that, although criticized at the time for allowing rain onto the front seat, has become the norm in today's designs.
  Also unique was that the passenger door was four inches (101 mm) longer than the driver's. This made passenger loading easier, particularly from the rear seats; and they would also tend to use the safer curb side in countries that drive on the right.
  An entirely fresh approach was also taken by AMC engineers with the Pacer's front suspension and engine mounting. It was the first U.S. small car to isolate the engine and suspension system noises from the passenger compartment. The
caption: Pacer's design of dashboard for safety and ease of service instrument panel
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A460", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2010:04:14 19:30:15", "Image ExifOffset": "13734", "Thumbnail ImageWidth": "200", "Thumbnail ImageLength": "114", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "200", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "13432", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:04:14 19:30:15", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:04:14 19:30:15", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "189/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "27/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2527", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1442", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "227134/17", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "388800/29", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}