December 3: The last AMC Pacer rolls off the line on this date in 1979

No, the AMC Pacer has yet to show itself upon the 18th green at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and the average neighbor would still ask anyone who pulled up to their house in one to "party on, Garth." But the jibes about the Pacer being the ugliest car ever built don't fit anymore; among car buffs, AMC designer Richard Teague's weird choices have aged past oddity and disdain into something approaching appreciation. Mechanically, AMC's "Project Amigo" made all the wrong bets, with AMC execs choosing to build a car for safety first instead of efficiency or power right when oil prices soared. But the Pacer will have devotees long after every Vega and Mustang II turn to powder. As for the ads...