Baldo by Hector D. Cantú and Carlos Castellanos for July 24, 2015

I agree with Baldo’s eye roll in the final panel. (What’s the catch, owner of the used ’75 AMC Pacer?)

The AMC sloshmobile. Gas tank always sounding like a half-empty water jug. No never owned one, a less than fortunate friend did.

Wasn’t that the car used in the Wayne’s World movie?

Baldo’s missing the big picture here. Dad’s actually agreed to get him a car. That was the big obstacle; now he just has to convince Dad on the right car.

Didn’t own a Pacer, but did have a purple Gremlin with 3 speed on the floor. It was a good car for the time I had it.

I loved my Pacer! Ran like a champ, rusted like nobody’s business, but got the tomato plants started for 3 years.

$200 is what the junk yard will give you for it if it shows up pushed in. A decent parts-supply Pacer these days will go for $750-1000; if it actually looks not repulsive (clean, no holes in the fender, shiny paint, etc.) it could go for $2000 and up. And I say this as someone who doesn’t like them.More seriously, a Pacer that old 1) qualifies for antique/classic plates and discounted insurance (assuming it’s not a daily driver), and 2) have a retro/70s “cool” factor again, no matter how bad the car may have been otherwise.Perhaps Dad could foot the bill for this hunka junk, Baldo could “practice” his car-working skills, and turn around and flip it for a couple grand towards his dream car. On the other hand, there’s this saying that “no matter how much you try, you can’t polish a turd”…….

Fishbowl on wheels.

All depends on the one you get. I had a ’75 Pacer; never had a problem. Great visibility!

Could’ve been worse, Baldo. Could’ve been a late ’70s Pinto.

I always thought that the Pacer would look better without wheels…just hover inches off the ground…

We were an AMC family. I never had a Pacer but both my brother and parents did. I don’t ever recall any out of the ordinary issues with them. But then, nothing ran right in the seventies with the melding of 1930s engine technology and 1960s electronics.

I thought it was beat out by the Travant and Yugo, in that order. The Proletariat in the old Soviet Union got by with three-wheel home-builts. To simplify parts, the engine was often connected directly to the single front wheel and pivoted with it – but no lawnmower accessory.

The Pacer was not the worst car made. It was ugly but certainly not the worst. The Pinto or Vega could fit that description.

Not interested!

My uncle bought a Pacer and loved it. Then somebody stole it. He got the money from the insurance company and went to buy another one, but the price had gone up $500 dollars, so he had to settle for a Datsun, now called Nisson, and hated it. Floor boards rusted through before the year was out. He was so glad to get rid of it.

I actually had a yellow Gremlin with the Levi’s interior and manual transmission – was fun to drive, but fell apart over a period of a few years…

Another AMC family from the 60’s to late 70’s. My Grandfather had a Rambler, then later a Matador. My parents had 2 Hornets and my first car was a 72 Javelin. My friends called it a poor man’s Mustang. While the Gremlin and Pacer were the standouts, AMC made a few decent cars “Once upon a time”

my best friend bought this big tank of a car, 20, 25 years old back in 83 for $400. the insurance was more than the car. plus she had to get the tailpipe & the trunk lock fixed. no radio. a friend jammed one in for her that would periodically break into total static and require furious banging on the dashboard to make it resume working. some people found that disconcerting. also the passenger door didn’t work. you had to slide out the driver’s side or hop out the window like the dukes of hazzard. hard on short people. also a tiny hole in the floorboard required you to keep your foot over it to avoid a draft. in the end she had to pay to get it hauled away.

I never owned a pacer, but a neighbor did. I remember thinking it sounded like a good idea to have all that glass to eliminate blind spots, then I realized that all that glass made the inside of the car feel like a sauna, plus it looked ugly.

My uncle nearly bought a Pacer in 1978, but got a light brown Matador sedan. He handed it to me to drive. Then, after he broke both of his legs, he handed his two other cars to me. So now I’m basically stuck with three cars in the driveway.