Collectibility
Now old enough to be a "classic car", the Pacer has come to be regarded in some quarters as a 1970s design icon. According to Business Week, the 1970s were "infamous for disco, Watergate and some of the ugliest cars ever."
Nevertheless, in spite of their bad reputations, cars of the 1970s era such as the Pacer are becoming collectors' items. Business Week reported that the rising values of so-called "nerd cars" - ugly 1970s-era cars - prompted the CEO of a major collector-car insurance company to buy a Pacer which has "inexplicably appreciated substantially beyond the US$2,300 that he paid for it in 2004." In 2002 he said: "In what can sometimes be a sea of automotive sameness, the AMC Pacer continues to turn heads even today", and he put the value of a "mint Pacer" at "between US$4000 and US$6000", saying that "the increased value is fueled solely by the heart. This trend is all about a fascination with '70s things almost because they were so bad." (Author's emphasis.)
The Pacer has been described as one of the formerly unloved cars from the 1970s that are enjoying a resurgence in both collectibility and auto restoration — especially among fans of cars from that era. The Pacer is one of several 1970s cars that were always thought of as cheap vehicles; therefore they were poorly maintained, which reduced their life expectancy. Also the heavy engines used in the car put more load on the front suspension than intended, which caused the rack & pinion steering to fail frequently on Pacers built in 1975.
One collector-car expert says you will pay just about the same, around US$20,000, for a complete restoration, whether it’s on a US$1,000 1978 AMC Pacer or a US$5,000 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. When restored, the value of the Pacer may be about US$4,000, compared with the Camaro’s US$25,000.
Today the Pacer's originality, as well as its deficiencies, are appreciated, if not loved, by car hobbyists and serious collectors alike.
Although "automotive oddity" is a recognition that the Pacer gets for its contribution to history, some owners appreciate them and have also upgraded them with the modern AMC 4.0 Jeep engine as a "low-buck, dare to be different" automobile.
Read more about this topic: AMC Pacer