Word: gremlin
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...series of head-on test crashes at 40 to 50 m.p.h. Each collision pitted a small car against a larger model produced by the same U.S. manufacturer: a Chevrolet Vega against an Impala, a Ford Pinto against a Galaxie, a Dodge Colt against a Plymouth Fury, an American Motors Gremlin against an Ambassador...
Those hopes flared brightly last September when the Ford Pinto and Chevy Vega began rolling off assembly lines to join the American Motors Gremlin in battling the imports. By then it was too late to keep imported-car sales from climbing to a 1970 record of 1,245,793 cars, or 14.9% of the U.S. market. American executives hoped that the availability of the three subcompacts would hold 1971 import sales to about 1,000,000 cars, or around 10% of a slightly larger market. Instead, imports so far in 1971 are accounting for 15.5% of all cars sold...
...unveiled its first small car, the Ventura II, built on the same 111-in. wheelbase chassis as Chevy's compact Nova. Ford introduced a second model of its front-running Pinto subcompact, a "runabout" that has an upward-opening rear door much like the Vega's or Gremlin's. Increased supplies of the Vega may help to curtail sales of imports too; Chevy still has not reached its goal of building 1,600 Vegas a day, but hopes to do so in late March or early April...
...annual battle of the automakers, this year's big weapon is the small car. Largely to combat the inroads made by the imports, which have lately captured more than 15% of the nation's auto market, American Motors has brought out the Gremlin, General Motors has introduced the Vega, and Ford the Pinto. In anxious counterattack, Germany's Volkswagen and Japan's Toyota are mounting an assault with new models at prices that remain equal to or lower than those of competitive U.S. cars...
Ford's fix-it-yourself approach reflects an effort by Detroit to turn out cars that can be adjusted easily by the ordinary driver. The trend began with the introduction of two small, easily fixable models-Ford's Maverick and American Motors' Gremlin. As the automakers bring out new small cars, it is continuing. On Sept. 10, General Motors will introduce its subcompact, the Vega, and executives are boasting about how easy it is to repair. Says one: "Just five screws hold Vega's grille in place. It can be removed in less than ten minutes...