Designed and named by Teague to look either "cute or controversial - depending on one's viewpoint ... for many, it seemed perfect for the free-thinking early 1970s."[21] American Motors executives apparently felt confident enough to not worry that the Gremlin name might have negative connotations.[20]Time magazine noted two definitions for gremlin: "Defined by Webster's as 'a small gnome held to be responsible for malfunction of equipment.' American Motors' definition: 'a pal to its friends and an ogre to its enemies.'"[18] The car's cartoon-inspired mascot was marketed for product differentiation and was intended to be memorable to consumers.[22][23] The Gremlin's hatchback design was also needed to make the car stand out in the competitive marketplace, and according to Teague: "Nobody would have paid it any attention if it had looked like one of the Big Three" automobiles.[21]
A book about the popular history of the 1970s introduces it as the decade of "pet rocks, shag carpets, platform shoes, and the AMC Gremlin."[113] It is among the cars that people who were in high school in the late 1970s and early 1980s would be familiar with because it was one of the first cars they drove and among most often seen in student parking lots.[114][115]
