A Little Space Rocket and a Cultural Heritage for the Car Enthusiast
The pacesetter in a race is usually described as a pacer – the one who sets the trend for the rest of the field. The question is whether the AMC Pacer X would ever become a trendsetter in the true sense of the word – yet the Pacer has managed to cling on among car enthusiasts worldwide and is today a rarity that stirs opinions wherever it turns up.
Bidders HighwayJune 22, 2023 12:00
– The Pacer has, for me, always been one of those cars you have to tick off in life, says the seller of the object on Bidders Highway. I searched on and off for two years, and there are quite a few rough examples out there. When this one turned up, it was just a matter of grabbing it.
It wasn't only the connections to Wayne's World that attracted him – the film about the two rocking teenagers broadcasting TV from their parents' basement, who have their own Pacer called the "Mirthmobile" – but rather the car's peculiar shape.
– I'm drawn to odd cars, he explains. The AMC Pacer is odd and has an "ID". And the fact that it's been voted the ugliest car in the world only makes it more attractive to me.
The contemporary popular culture at the time the car was introduced was shaped by fantasies about space – Star Wars was, after all, only two years away. That the AMC Pacer looks like a space capsule is therefore no coincidence. This car was meant for the future, hoped American Motors Corporation. But the future had other plans, and the little rocket only reached the treetops.
The seller hopes the car will find a new home with someone who wants to preserve it, as the car is now considered a cultural heritage. He himself is on the hunt for the car's predecessor, the AMC Gremlin, or alternatively a motorcycle. The "Mirthmobile", incidentally, sold for record sums at auction in 2022 – how will this object fare?
It wasn't only the connections to Wayne's World that attracted him – the film about the two rocking teenagers broadcasting TV from their parents' basement, who have their own Pacer called the "Mirthmobile" – but rather the car's peculiar shape.
– I'm drawn to odd cars, he explains. The AMC Pacer is odd and has an "ID". And the fact that it's been voted the ugliest car in the world only makes it more attractive to me.
The contemporary popular culture at the time the car was introduced was shaped by fantasies about space – Star Wars was, after all, only two years away. That the AMC Pacer looks like a space capsule is therefore no coincidence. This car was meant for the future, hoped American Motors Corporation. But the future had other plans, and the little rocket only reached the treetops.
The seller hopes the car will find a new home with someone who wants to preserve it, as the car is now considered a cultural heritage. He himself is on the hunt for the car's predecessor, the AMC Gremlin, or alternatively a motorcycle. The "Mirthmobile", incidentally, sold for record sums at auction in 2022 – how will this object fare?
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