Word: subcompacts
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Karen Liable could type "four-barrel carburetor," but she certainly did not know what it did or even looked like. For precisely that reason, she was picked to leave her desk at the Ford Motor Co. last week, don coveralls, and approach a waiting Pinto, the 2,000-lb. subcompact that Ford will put on sale Sept. 11. Her mission: to perform many of the adjustments described in the owner's manual, The Happy Pinto -and How to Keep It That Way. If Karen failed, Ford officials said, the manual would be deemed a failure, and would have...
...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 without taking off the bumper. All that's necessary to remove the bumper...
...certain amount of dissatisfaction among automakers that the annual changes add so much to their bills for tooling and marketing. The consumerism movement has also made customers more concerned about prices and less interested in change for the sake of change. Last week G.M. announced that its new subcompact car, which is called Vega 2300 and is scheduled to roll out next September, will not look any different for at least four years...
Sawed-Off Station Wagon. Last week American Motors showed off the first subcompact, the Gremlin.* It was, said A.M.C. President William Luneberg, purposely designed to be "a contentious car, and nobody will be neutral about it." That may well be true. On the outside the Gremlin resembles a sawed-off station wagon, with a long, low hood and swept-up rear, and is faintly reminiscent of the original Studebaker Avanti. Though the Gremlin is only two inches longer than the 159-in. Volkswagen, the elongated hood makes the difference seem considerably more. It is 10 in. wider than a Volks...