[3] The Pacer's width is equal to full-sized domestic vehicles at the time, and AMC promoted this unique design feature as "the first wide small car".

"[12] American Motors' chief stylist Dick Teague began work on the Pacer in 1971, anticipating an increase in demand for smaller vehicles throughout the decade.

The new car was designed to offer the interior room and feel of a big vehicle that drivers of traditional domestic automobiles were accustomed to, but in a much smaller, aerodynamic, and purposefully distinctive exterior package.

[13] American Motors called it "Project Amigo" as a fresh design "featuring a body style not seen before, using the latest technology and exceeding upcoming safety regulations".

[10] The May 1976 issue of Car and Driver dubbed it "The Flying Fishbowl,"[18] and it was also described as "the seventies answer to George Jetson's mode of transportation"[19] at a time when "Detroit was still rolling out boat-sized gas guzzlers.

"[4] The editors of The Motor opined the "more you study both the general layout and the detail features of the Pacer, the more convinced you become that the men who dreamed it up and decided to make it actually do drive around in crowded cities and consequently realize from their own experience that the traditional big barges are less and less easy to navigate through our streets.

"[33] The unusual proportions of the Pacer provided buyers the "idea of feeling like they were sitting in the front of a roomy big American car, but without all the unnecessary length.

However, GM canceled development in 1974 for reasons that included durability issues, the fuel crisis, tooling costs (for the engines and a new product line designed to take advantage of the rotary's ultra-compact dimensions), and the upcoming (the late 1970s) U.S. emissions legislation.

This involved a complete redesign of the drivetrain and firewall to keep the longer engine within the body dimensions designed for the Wankel, but allowed the Pacer to share many mechanical components with other AMC models.

Newsweek noted the "Pacer's primary competitive drawback is gasoline mileage: AMC offers only six-cylinder engines and the car gets only 18 miles per gallon in the city and suburban driving vs. 23 mpg or more for some four-cylinder competitors.

"[37] The "outside of the box" thinking incorporated by AMC in the Pacer as the first "wide, small car" attempted to capture a revolutionary change in the marketplace,[38] but a radical departure from what was accepted by consumers as "good styling" was a risky strategy.

Increasing competition from the Big Three U.S. automakers and the rapid consumer shift to small imported cars during the late 1970s decreased demand for the Pacer models.

Green also built two Pacer pace cars for B.F. Goodrich to use in the International Motor Sports Association circuit and provided body kits for Amos Johnson's Team Highball racecars.

[4] Pacers without the optional vinyl roof trim could be finished in several unique two-tone paint combinations,[63] with front and rear scuff molding extensions on the body sides.

[69] It never moved past the concept stage, but "inadvertently foreshadowed the minivan craze that would sweep America in the mid-1980s" as well as the "small worker van" market segment.

[71] Finished in pearlescent white with a two-section vinyl-covered roof that was padded, the Crown Pacer's exterior featured gold accents - including the spokes of the wire wheels.

[71] Pictures from the Chicago Auto Show show it with an interior upholstered in white leather and numerous luxury features such as a large inbuilt sun roof, real wire wheels, full rocker panel bright trim, color-matched integrated flexible front and fear fascia and bumper covers with black rubber guards and impact (nerf) strips as well as a full-width grille that also hid the headlights.

"[78] Later, a station wagon version had twenty VARTA batteries housed in two-packs (front and rear), with a 26 kW (35 hp) (at 3,000 rpm) motor, and the car was complete in every detail down to a gas heater.

The standard engine was VAM's 282 cu in (4.6 L) I6 producing 200 hp (149 kW; 203 PS) with 7.7:1 compression ratio, 266-degree camshaft, and a Holley 2300 two-barrel carburetor coupled to a steel intake manifold.

Standard convenience features included a custom luxury steering wheel, column-mounted manual shifter, woodgrain dashboard trim, inside hood release, individual reclining front seats with adjustable headrests, center folding armrest, fixed two-point seatbelts, two-speed electric wipers, electric washers integrated into the wiper arms, 140 km/h speedometer, courtesy lights, monaural AM radio with a single in-dash speaker, electric analog clock, heater with windshield defroster, lighter, dashboard ashtray, locking glove box, tinted windshield, plastic door panels with cloth insert and pull strap, dual rear ashtrays, folding down rear bench seat, trunk carpet, sound-insulating cardboard-type headliner (US base model type), and round dome light.

The external appearance and equipment of the VAM Pacer consisted of a full bright molding package (wheel lips, top edges of the hood and fenders, window surrounds, rocker panels), a bright rear panel between the taillights and the rear license plate housing, protective side moldings, front and rear bumper guards, bumper nerfing strips, five-mile-per-hour bumpers with recovering shocks (only VAM car with this characteristic along with the Matador-based Classic line), five-spoke in-house VAM wheels, trim rings and full cover volcano center caps on the wheels, ER78x14 radial tires, driver's side manual remote mirror, radio antenna on the passenger's side fender, squared VAM logo emblems on the fenders, Pacer emblems on the fenders and bright rear panel and a two-step hood latch.

[92] This strategy was reinforced after the first 200 units produced when the three-speed automatic transmission became standard equipment list and added an "Automático" emblem on the bright rear panel.

The 1979 VAM Pacer was a continuation of the 1978 model in terms of appearance, with the exceptions of the previously standard wheel covers and a new hood bright molding with front ornament.

The Pacer X interior included unique reclining front bucket seats, a center console with a locking compartment and ashtray instead of an armrest, a set of "rallye" gauges (water temperature, clock, ammeter, and oil pressure) instead of the in-dashboard ashtray, a 6000 rpm tachometer in place of the electric clock, three-arm spoked sports steering wheel with a circular horn button with a VAM logo, floor-mounted three-speed automatic transmission, remote-controlled driver's side door mirror, and reading dome lights.

Small Cars magazine noted that "admiration was an obvious reaction" at the press preview, and that "the knowledgeable product writers knew without being told that they were privileged to be there to see something new in automobile design".

[98] Summing up, he said that with its "very modern styling, ample power and generous interior" the Pacer was "more car" than "the Mustang II or "GM's sporty compacts (Monza, Skyhawk/Starfire)", and that its performance felt "strong—certainly on a par with most V8s.

"[98] Don Sherman wrote in the February 1975 issue of Car and Driver that it was "our first real urban transporter...There is, of course, the chance of monumental failure; it might be another Tucker ahead of its time ...

The histrionics are reflected in long stopping distances from highway speeds... [The car's] engineering—old-fashioned and unimaginative in the extreme—does not match the perky design", which the magazine declared "most attractive to look at and pleasant to sit in".

The car was modified with a large hamburger encompassing the hood and other fast food-stylized decor attached to the rear bumper, hubcaps, windshield wipers, and roof.

"[116] Hemmings Motor News noted that small cars have always played a role in U.S. automotive history, and that "among those produced during the late Seventies, the AMC Pacer was an economical giant, in a manner of speaking.