AMC PACER — машина будущего, пришедшая слишком рано

1975. A bubble-shaped car appears in American showrooms—rounded, with panoramic windows, asymmetrical doors, and a short, sloping nose. It's called a fishbowl on wheels, a goldfish, a Wisconsin flying saucer. Comedians laugh at it. It's parodied in movies. And forty years later, it turns out that it was this car—the AMC Pacer—that was the first in America to do what has now become the norm in the automotive world. The story of a car designed for the revolutionary Wankel rotary engine—and which, at the last minute, was left without it. The story of the man who designed it single-handedly against the entire industry—AMC Vice President of Design Richard Teague. The story of America's last independent auto company, which invested sixty million dollars and its last hope in this project. Why did the Pacer take off at the start and collapse two years later? Why did General Motors let down the little AMC at the worst possible moment? How did a mistake in one December week turn the car of the future into a car of the past? And why are collectors today looking at that strange teardrop-shaped body with new eyes? This issue offers a detailed history of the AMC Pacer. From the first sketches in the Kenosha studio to the last example rolling off the assembly line in December 1980. From triumph at the start to a quiet death in the shadow of the oil crisis. From the ridicule of "Wayne's World" to belated recognition.