Sports cars/muscle cars/enthusiast cars simply do not pay the bills. And the shift to smaller and more fuel efficient cars was already in full swing (even before the oil crisis) and AMC needed a new car but didn't have new car budget. I actually like their ingenuity, quite frankly. Ugly as sin, but the car still had character.
Also Pontiac with the Trans Am, GTO, Le Mans, then somehow that Aztek...
...and the J2000.
MONEY!
Sports cars/muscle cars/enthusiast cars simply do not pay the bills. And the shift to smaller and more fuel efficient cars was already in full swing (even before the oil crisis) and AMC needed a new car but didn't have new car budget. I actually like their ingenuity, quite frankly. Ugly as sin, but the car still had character.