First car, Dad's hand me down 72 Hornet sedan, bench seat, 3 on the tree, am radio with the 232 straight six ..... As basic as you could get ....
Next, Brand new 1977 Hornet Hatchback AMX. 258 straight six with 4 on the floor, black interior with white seats, and an actual AM/FM Stereo radio, and only $4,500 out the door .....
Shortly after being sworn in as a NYCPD officer ( 1968 )….. I got to participate in the First ( of a few ) Harlem riots …… the only safe and welcome place to be when not on the " line ", was at various Fire Dept. stations ( the neighborhood folks LOVED the fireman ) … so did we. Well at one of the fire houses I discovered a car for sale ( one of my long time dream cars - the other was the Shelby Cobra 427 roadster which I built a copy of in 98 ) It was a lt. blue pearlescent ( factory color ) Jag XKE roadster, dk. blue genuine canvass top with dk. blue leather seats ( the real kind )…… It had the upgraded 40DOHC triple Webers, which gave much better acceleration and 10-15 higher mph at top end …….. Here's the kicker, I only paid $1800.00 ….. not bad for a First car ...…………. Mike
It was a lt. blue pearlescent ( factory color ) Jag XKE roadster, dk. blue genuine canvass top with dk. blue leather seats ( the real kind )…… It had the upgraded 40DOHC triple Webers, which gave much better acceleration and 10-15 higher mph at top end …….. Here's the kicker, I only paid $1800.00 ….. not bad for a First car ...…………. Mike
Growing up in Kenosha Wisconsin meant the American Motorors Corporation was as common as peanut butter and jelly and Saturday morning cartoons.
The engine factory was a critical component of our city economy. Many of my friends parents and grandparents worked at the AMC factory and nearly everyone in town owned/drove an AMC (Hornet, Matador, Concord, Rebel, Gremlin, Gremlin AMX, Javelin, Javelin AMX, Pacer, Spirit, etc.). Some did venture off to a 60s era Camaro, 70s era Chevy Nova, Pontiac GTO or 80s era Trans-Am, Firebird but for the most part everything was AMC.
I was with my older brother when he bought his AMC in 1982, paid $1,200, less than 30k miles. It was a Forest Green 1972 Javelin AMX with a 401 cu in V-8 and glass-packed headers. I loved that car and am taken back to my childhood when I see any old, classic AMC today... muscle car or not.
If I remember right, K Cars were Lee Iaccocas' attempt to save Chrysler. And I guess they did. When they came out, my boss had a company car. It was a K car and had a turbo. He always (jokingly) referred to it as "The Turbo"..... Jim
2005 Windveil Blue Premium Mustang Convertible
2008 Honda GL1800/California Sidecar Trike, SOLD
2014 Platinum Silver Satin Spyder RTL, SOLD
Semper Fi
I like it better than today's cars. It has some personality and a style that doesn't look like every other car. You can bet that Gremlin gets more attention at car shows than all those Camaros and Mustangs. But then I guess I am weird. I have a three-wheeled motorcycle and I think that my Can Am and cars like the Gremlin and MGB are far more fun than these 800 HP monstrosities that are supposed to be sporty. IMO it's more about style and performance you can actually use than chest-thumping showoffs. So you can go 0-60 in 2 seconds and pull 1.05 gs. Unless you go to a track, that's just wasted performance ... but how many times do you drive through the Wal-Mart parking lot. Far more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.
Speaking of Camaros, has anyone seen the movie "A Simple Favor"? It's a great movie IMO but there is a scene in that movie in which they crash (or seem to crash) a beautifully restored '68 or '69 Camaro. I really can't believe they'd crash such a car but it sure looks realistic.