Historiography: The "Ugly" Subcompacts of the 1970s

Were these cars considered "subcompacts" or "compacts?"

That is a 50-year old question that has scratched the heads of those of us who lament and laugh of these cars. In particular, how do we map the advent of a new class of American car to today’s automobiles?

History has a relative position as the needle is adjusted. What we consider a subcompact today might be considered a "minicar" in the early 1970s. Yet, it is hard to calculate positioning the lineage of the Ford Pinto to today's Ford Fiesta. Then, maybe, it was correct.

What baffles me was the designation of what were "compacts," "mid-sizes" and "full-sizes" of three or four decades ago were larger than what we consider them today. It is as we shrunk the Big Mac to slider size and called it a "medium" car.

For the purpose of this discussion, the focus is on three of the biggest laughs in American car history – the AMC Gremlin, Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto.

Way before the advent of this trio, Americans had small cars on sale. In the 1940s, Crosley and American Bantam built cars that were small enough for two average Americans to get inside – albeit tightly. Compacts popped up in the 1950s with the Nash Rambler, Hudson Jet and Kaiser-Frazer's Henry J. It would take until 1959 when Studebaker joined the fray with the Lark, followed by the Big Three for 1960.

By 1969, a "compact" car would be about the size of today's Toyota Camry. They actually sat 4-6 people in relative comfort, were powered by a varying array of engines – including a V8 option. They were priced "affordably," considering how inexpensive gasoline was. Yet, it would be larger cars that would sell the most above the compacts of the time.

Meanwhile, automobiles from Europe and Japan were beginning to threaten the domestic auto industry. Volkswagen grew a lineup based on a rear-engine/drive platform with the Beetle, Squareback, Fastback and Karman Ghia finding fans and owners at that time. Toyota and Datsun began their growth on small cars, such as the Corona and 510 respectively – seen as the forerunners of today's Camry and Altima.

The Domestic automakers saw the threat and devised up a response. At first, General Motors and Ford began importing from their overseas operations. The MkII Cortina saw few takers at Ford showrooms, while Opel did get a few enthusiasts at Buick dealers. Yet, these two efforts planted the seeds on a domestic subcompact.

However, American Motors beat GM and Ford to the punch. The idea was to take a new platform that introduced the new Hornet and shorten it. The chop was not a complete one, as the reduction of size came from the rear end. The front fender resembled the Hornet's, despite a different front clip, hood and resulting roofline. The doors were from the two-door Hornet, but everything else was completely different – emphasize the word "different" in this case.

The Gremlin arrived in 1970 to the curious and the guffawing. AMC did such an amazing job touting Richard’s Teague's basic design, once finished by Bob Nixon. Did anyone notice that the Gremlin was half a Hornet two-door? Were we to consider the truncated rear end with the glass hatchback was to be the next cool thing in America?

Yet, people actually thought the Gremlin was a decent car. It had a youthful outlook – more so than the Hornet. AMC offered everything from a four-cylinder to a big V8. The big seller was the in-line six models – three engines with roots dating back to the 1950s. Still, no one noticed the Hornet dashboard because they were in love with the bucket seats found on more than a few Gremlins of the time.

In its first model year – a shortened 1970 run – over 25,000 were sold. Not bad, but it would be a success for AMC by 1974 with over 171,000 units delivered. The Gremlin's run would end in 1978, superseded by a couple of Spirit and Eagle hatchbacks. The Pacer made things interesting by devouring into the Gremlin's sales at a clip of over 60% in 1975.

The fall of 1970 revealed what GM and Ford had in mind. First, the highly touted Chevrolet Vega showed up to widened eyes. They had four body styles to sell – a hatchback coupe, a notchback two-door, a two-door wagon and a panel van. The GM folks were ecstatic that they had a hatchback to sell, hence the focus on sales were on that particular body style. Engines were strictly four-cylinders with a choice of a manual or an automatic transmission.

At almost 170-inches long, the Vega would be dwarfed by today's Chevrolet Sonic sedan – albeit by a few inches. The rear-drive Vega had a few surprises all around. The engine was aluminum – a new paradigm for GM at the time. Space was a bit tight, compared to a Chevy Nova. Hatch space would be larger than the Nova's trunk, if the seats were folded down.

In its first year, over 277,000 units were made. Despite the $200 gap in price between it and the Gremlin, the Vega was seen as highly successful. This was bolstered by Motor Trend’s Car of The Year award. However, the Vega was not fool proof. By 1972, GM issued recalls covering 500,000 Vegas on various issues such as rustproofing, axles, throttles and so forth.

By 1977, the Vega and its Pontiac twin, the Astre, were taken off sale. It was not without some positive moments, such as the Cosworth Vega. That alone could have saved the car. Built on the same platform were a quartet of sportier editions – the Chevrolet Monza, Pontiac Sunbird, Buick Skyhawk and Oldsmobile Starfire. The entire rear-drive line would cease to exist by 1980.

While the Vega was living its own saga in the marketplace, Ford introduced the Pinto. This was Lee Iacocca's idea, though instead of adapting a global platform – the European Escort, to be exact – it decided to go all-American. The result was a unibody construction with small dimensions, light weight, a four-cylinder engine, a choice of a manual or an automatic with a coupe and a wagon available. The hatchback would come later in 1971.

With the Gremlin receiving some giggles and the Vega being slapped with recalls, the Pinto seemed to be the winner amongst the three. It would spawn a Mercury version and the 1974 Mustang II during its lifetime. A V6 was added to the mix by 1975. First year production came out to over 350,000 units. The Pinto peaked in 1974 with well over 500,000 units built, with a steady decline until its last breath in 1980.

Things seem to be going great until someone got rear-ended in a Pinto. The result was catastrophic with a direct hit to the fuel tank. The tank itself was designed right in front of the rear bumper. There were other defects that included the filler neck breaking off and the lack of reinforcement between the tank and the rear differential. Eventually, Ford recalled the Pinto by installing a protection shield between the tank and the differential, along with other fixes based on prior faults.

By 1980, the rear-drive Pinto was considered an albatross. Ford replaced it with an Americanized version of the global front-drive Escort.

What about Chrysler? Why did they not jump into the subcompact segment like their domestic rivals did? Actually, they had other plans. You probably heard of the term "captive imports." It is not the same as what GM and Ford did by importing their European products under their own names and marketing. Chrysler leveraged their offshore units and partnerships to bring in cars under their own name. That is what a captive import was.

Plymouth dealers introduced the Cricket for 1971. It was a rebadged Hillman Avenger built by Chrysler's Rootes Group unit in the UK. Unlike the Gremlin, Vega and Pinto, this was a four-door sedan, accompanied by a wagon. Was that a big mistake? Well…Crickets were not known for their quality and reliability. How many Crickets do you see on the road today – if any?

However, Dodge brought in the first Japanese-sourced vehicle to be sold through a domestic brand – the Colt. For 1971, Chrysler reached out to their partner in Japan, Mitsubishi, for a car to match the Vega, Gremlin and Pinto. Mitsubishi supplied their Colt Galant in four body styles – a two-door sedan, a four-door sedan, a two-door hardtop and a wagon. It just seemed that the Colt would be underdog amongst the big domestics in building the subcompact class. They tended to be more durable and reliable, though somehow were seen as "tinny" as their Japanese rivals.

While the Cricket was last sold as a 1973 model, the Colt name continued on longer. The Galant models stuck with the brand though three generations, despite a switch to the Lancer for 1977 and to the much smaller front-drive Mirage by 1979. The last Colts would be sold by Dodge and Plymouth in 1994.

We might not remember the Colt as readily the Gremlin, Vega and Pinto. Our reminders of these three are usually trivial with the word "ugly" attached to them. Today's standards would state that they were indeed not suitable for even the laziest eye to enjoy. This trio was often derided as poorly executed, poorly designed and not well built. Some questioned whether these three were the best our domestic auto industry could do at the time.

To answer that, one would look back at their development. While AMC had a lineage of small cars, developing the new Hornet platform apart from the Rambler American it replaced was a huge undertaking by the company. The Gremlin was an afterthought given the lack of resources to develop a true subcompact platform. The basic structure of the Hornet/Gremlin did continue on through the 1980s as the underpinnings for the first real crossover – the AMC Eagle.

The Pinto lasted into 1980, despite some engineering issues around the gas tank. Ford took a risk by not developing the subcompact on an existing European platform. One would argue whether it was a smart move or not. Escorts of the era were durable cars that won rallies and touring car races. Though some would argue that, for the most part, the Pinto structure was as solid as the Escort’s. If it was a solid as they claimed they were, why did they develop the Fox Platform to remove the Mustang off of the Pinto one by 1979? Perhaps it was right to replace the Pinto with a global platform based on the new generation of the Escort for 1981.

Then, we have the case for the Vega. It was a good idea that was poorly executed right off the bat. They played with new technologies the domestic auto industry was not ready to implement. Still, the design was handsome – despite given the "ugly" label years later. GM tried on this one. They improved the breed by developing a sportier quartet of coupes where the work was skin deep. To make the new subcompact coupe work, they improved upon the many problems the Vega had before calling it the Monza or selling it at Buick and Oldsmobile dealers.

The concept of the subcompact had changed by 1981. They had to be driven by the front wheels, maintained a four-cylinder engine and had enough room for four average adults – in a pinch. It just seems odd to see a Nissan Versa or a Kia Rio sedan side by side with a 1971 Vega or Pinto – and see the similarity in size between these four. Perhaps this answer that 50-year-old question of what you would classify these domestic subcompacts.

Then again, the debate has another tack. By lumping the Vega, Gremlin and Pinto with the Datsun 510, Toyota Corona, Volkswagen Beetle and Renault 12, one would argue the domestic product's worthiness in creating a segment that just seemed like a catch-all for anything "small." Even these vehicles were not created equal, but rather by guilt by association. Today, we would take the time to rationalize each model into their proper verticals based on size and competitive value.

Today, we laugh at the Gremlin, cringe at the Vega and make jokes about the Pinto. Perhaps it is the cycle of automotive history that gives us permission to do so.

All photos by Randy Stern