I’m not really sure why I ended up thinking about this, but I couldn’t get out of my head that there have been at least two times in American car history where a super-cheap version of an already cheap car was offered without a rear seat, because cheap. The two cars I was thinking of that fit this exclusive and dazzling category of skinflintery were the 1970 AMC Gremlin and the 1976 Chevrolet Chevette Scooter. Both were designed to be the entriest of entry-level cars, and both, I think, accomplished their task well. But if you were buying these, things probably weren’t going super-fantastic for you, at least financially. So let’s compare these two, and see what may have been your best use of your scarce dollars!
Man, I do some important work here. I hope people appreciate it.
Of course, six years separate these two cars, so you’d never have been in a position to cross-shop these two at these prices when new. Sure, you could have gotten a Gremlin in 1976, but the base-base-base model with no rear seat or opening rear window was only available until 1972, and that’s the model I’m really interested in.
I suppose if you were someone who blew almost all of their money on a time machine and only had a limited amount of cash for a car, and were determined to buy American, then perhaps this comparison makes sense for you. Let’s say that’s my target reader for this: broke-ass patriotic American time-travelers in need of basic transportation. It’s important to know your audience.
Okay, let’s see how these two shitboxen stack up:
Wow, this is a trickier choice than I would have guessed! Each car has its own strengths and weaknesses. The Gremlin’s strength I think comes from the fact that it started out as a larger car that was truncated, brutally, aft of the B-pillar. As a result, it has a much larger and more powerful engine than the Chevette (a 128 hp straight-six as opposed to a 52 hp-four) so it has better performance, even when you factor in the power-soaking three-speed slushbox.
But, that also means fuel economy suffers, pretty significantly; highway mileage is about half that of the Chevette. Interestingly, both are still RWD, understandable for the Gremlin, given it’s minimal-development origins from the AMC Hornet, but a bit more inexcusable for the Chevette, existing well within the era of FWD subcompacts like the Volkswagen Rabbit and Honda Civic.
Price-wise, both are pretty damn close, with the Gremlin being about a grand cheaper, but both would be absolute bargains in the modern car market, at between $15-$16,000. Of course, both were austere stripper models without rear seats and all the luxury of a tollbooth, but cheap is cheap.
The Chevette did have one pretty significant advantage over the Gremlin, though: a rear hatch. On the more decadent four-seat Gremlins, the rear window opened like a hatch, but for the two-seater, that window remained sealed, so any luggage you crammed in there either had to go through the doors and behind the front seats, or through the rear window, destructively.
Of course, the Chevette lacked a glove box door, which the Gremlin generously gave you, and the Chevette’s passenger seat wasn’t adjustable, so there’s that. Man, that’s some penny-pinching! GM was so good at that.
You can see the four-seat one with its opening window in this old commercial, if you want a glimpse of real decadence:
The Chevette just let you load stuff in through a hatch into the pretty good-sized void where no rear bench seat resided.
You can see that hatch open in this commercial, which also claims MPG of 31 city/43 highway, but I think those were kind of unrealistic 70s-era numbers. I’m sticking with the ones I put in the chart, which are still impressive.
So which car would I pick, were I this broke-ass time traveling American? That’s tricky. I think the Chevette definitely wins on practicality, but even though I drive a 52 hp car as a daily now, and firmly believe that’s adequate, I have always liked that AMC straight-six. But with a slushbox? Hm. That would really sap the fun out of the thing.
I prefer the weird look of the Gremlin, and, yes, I adore the weird badge:
Is that enough to pick it over the Chevette? Honestly, I’m just not sure. Hey! Why don’t we do a little poll? This is the internet, not some magazine, we can be interactive!
I think the Gremlin has much more charm and character, but is less practical. I’d love to know what you’re all thinking, so please, vote away, and then explain your thinking in the comments! I’m dreadfully curious.
I would almost never want a Chevette. The only exception would be is if I was broke and couldn’t afford anything else. If I’m that broke, I’m going to be worried about paying for gas. That’s my logic anyway.
I’ve owned both of these models, although not in the absolute poverty spec shown here. My Gremlin (I-6 with 3-speed auto) had a fold-down rear seat and opening rear hatch, and my Chevette (I-4 and 4-speed manual) had a back seat, adjustable front seats, glove box and air conditioning.
The Chevette was more comfortable and easier to drive. Power was adequate when the national speed limit was 55 mph (as long as you didn’t have the automatic). Turning on the A/C was like hitting the brakes, haha. My biggest complaint about the Chevette is the terribly low quality of the interior plastics and switchgear. Car was very lightweight for the time.
The Gremlin was okay, although I remember the brakes being pretty horrible. Back seat was weird and not very comfortable too. Other than that, the Gremlin was an AMC Hornet with a truncated rear end — same switchgear, powertrain, etc. Pretty solidly built, especially compared with the Chevette.
If I was to have one now in 2024, strictly as a weekend and C&C car, I’d go with the Gremlin. Seems to me like it would hold up better over time than the Chevette. As commenter Alexander Moore said, “the economy of the Chevette isn’t worth the misery”.
Already lived the bottom rung part of life… Pinto w/ 1.6 Kent for power and one option of am radio. The drivetrain was unbreakable.
Gremlin. We had enough Chevy
ShitboxesChevettes in the family to make me never want to own one.They both have room for much larger engines swaps I believe it’s pretty simple to put a 401 in the Gremlin and I hear you can put a 350 in the Chevette.
In fact, an AMC dealer sold 401 gremlins.
GM on the other hand, built a V6 Chevette and deemed it so scary that they wouldn’t let the press drive it.
On a completely different note, I happen to know for a fact that sex in a Gremlin is a thing, but I have never heard of such shenanigans in a Chevette. Well on the roof of a Chevette maybe, but that does not count I think. That may have something to do with the demographics of Gremlin versus Chevette owners, however.
Shenanigans in a chevette? Confirmed.
GM and AMC marketed these cars to parents as a form of birth control and insurance against teenage pregnancy. But, I guess life finds a way…
Closest my buddy in HS got in his Chevette was a girl changing her shirt while they drove down the highway which caused him to veer to the right and scrape the side of his Chevette along the guardrail as he looked at boobs.
Chevy Chevette “will dive you crazy” there I FiFY!
Frankly, I’d prefer a Pinto as it’s relatively simple to improve the handling.
The Gremmie is cooler, but, because it weighs less—plus the stick and a hatch—I’d be happier actually driving the ‘vette.
I don’t know why you put an auto in the Gremlin. The cheapest of the cheap Gremlins had a 3-speed stick. Setting that aside, I’m picking the Gremlin anyhow. While all manner of engines can be shoved into a Chevette, the Gremlin had an easy button swap all the way up to an AMC 403.
I’d say, at a glance, the Gremlin’s only advantage is the more powerful engine. The Chevette handily seems to beat in every other category.
Wish the Chevette had an automatic available, but I guess it wouldn’t be much better for the time.
I think I’d choose the Chevette. Although both cars have some racing history the Gremlin was not very successful. I guess the related question is can you modify it post purchase? Both are punitive as is but the Chevette was a world car so all kinds of stuff bolts on. Even in the 70s access to a Telex could get you a Vauxhall slant 4 and some suspension tuning
I remember Gremlins being quite successful in the 70s era IMSA BFG Radial Challenge series. Amos Johnson, et al.
If I’m gonna drive a shitbox, it’s gonna be a stick. Gimme the Chevette.
Jeez, Gremlin all the way. Both cars are garbage, but the Gremlin at least has some quirky charm to it. The Chevette is an irredeemable piece of shit and always was.
I’m getting the ‘Vette. Why, they’re both penalty box strippers. I don’t go to strip clubs because I want something for my money. With the Chevette, I at least get great fuel economy.
Gremlin so I can drive around singing Bohemian Rhapsody.
Pretty sure that’s a Pacer, dude!
😉
Same difference lol
Didn’t the third gen RX7 and 4th gen supra have the rear seat delete option already preinstalled on every north American one?
I believe so, just like the CRZ (other countries I believe could get munchkin seats in the back)
First of all, I’m taking a Vega over either one of these cars. I know Vegas suck, fight me!
Second, I’ll take the Gremlin, particularly if it is an early one. There is something delightfully utilitarian about the Gremlin and Hornet of this era. The Chevette is just some rehashed Isuzu. I did my Driver’s Ed and took my road test for my license in a Chevette, and even then they do little for me.
Gremlin for me. Way more character and overall power and size for still carrying stuff around.
I remember both cars. Stripper Chevettes were for cheapskates of for the unfortunate soul whose car got totaled by the insurance company but the payout was peanuts.
The Gremlin was more of a thing for broke-ass college students or broke-ass recent college graduates or grad students. And as such was perfect for stuffing as many of your broke-ass (and potentially drunk-ass) college friends into, clown-car style, for the sort of shenanigans that broke-ass college students got into. No rear seats meant more room for stuffing more judgement-impaired broke-ass people in. And the big “C” pillars helped hide the throng being smuggled inside until the moment they piled out… and out… and out…
In general, the Gremlin’s rather enclosed back half holds so much more potential for vehicular-adjacent shenanigans.
The Gremlin is kind of fundamentally a silly car. The Chevette is just miserly misery.
The Col can confirm shenanigans were possible in either car.
But the Gremlin was much better suited these events.
Man, that really shows how bad inflation was between 1970 and 1976…
My uncle Gordy, a famous cheapskate, was a huge fan of the Chevette. He bought three of them in a row, kept each one until it ran out of warranty, then traded it in. I’m pretty sure at least one of his was a Scooter.
The whole family made fun of him for his little hatchbacks, and it must have gotten to him, because he traded in the last one on a Buick Skyhawk T-Type, with the 1.8 liter turbo four and a stick. That was as decadent as he would allow himself to get.
You need to factor in the extra cost of 5mph bumpers and post oil embargo greedflation with the Chevette msrp.
I believe that the Henry J also had a rear seat delete.
I learned to drive on an ’84 Chevette. So yeah, even though I prefer stick-shifts in small cars, I’m definitely picking the Gremlin. No way I’d want to go back to a “shove-it”.
A “Ve-shit”?
I’d say that’s a pretty apt description as well.
From a rudimentary search, the Chevette and Gremlin actually seem pretty closely matched in a straight line (0-60 in a bit under 16 seconds), with the Chevette likely benefiting from a lot less weight and gearing to exploit the low power. If I had to do a lot of highway driving, or had to take the automatic for arbitrary reasons, the Gremlin might be the better choice. But the lighter Chevette (which even has racing pedigree thanks to its European cousins!) would be a little more nimble, more fun, and I still have inexplicably fond memories of the absolutely thrashed fleet I got to use for pizza delivery.
Can I choose walking? Might get there faster
Couldn’t open the rear glass? I think my grandmother had a 2 seater, yellow on brown, and I recall opening the back glass. Of course this being 45 years ago, I could be wrong. Also, that I6 had a lot of pep.
you could option the opening glass, if you were a Rockefeller like your grandma!
My grandmother was not an options kinda gal. She would probably delete the radio to save ten bucks. She bought it used, so some other sucker paid for it.
I mean, you can see the latch mechanism and the hinges on the car in the infographic…
Gremlin for me. My HS girlfriend had a base model and I think my preference may be influenced my memories of teenage lust.
I was gonna say the same thing. Different girlfriend (I hope)!
Gremlin all day every day. The economy of the Chevette isn’t worth the misery. And the AMC is cheaper to buy? Maybe you could even retrofit AC and the opening glass hatch from better Gremlins, too. Plus the Gremlin looks more funky. The Chevette was just some generic little hatch that got used up and thrown away. Gremlins are now classics.