Famous Pacers in Television Shows

Harvey Birdman, sketch on 'Adult Swim' and series, unknown episode, 2000-.

"You can clearly see a red Pacer parked in the driveway of the former evil lair. It doesn't play any role but it was a surprise to see!" -Charlie Gravelle

Stroker and Hoop, sketch on 'Adult Swim' and series, unknown episode, 2004-2006.

"You'll see a [Knight Rider] KIT-like talking Pacer with a spoiler. It's hilarious." -Kevin Murphy

Hope & Faith, multiple episodes, 2004-2007.

"A baby blue '78 coupe was featured [in an episode]. The two main characters were driving their father, played by Robert Wagner, to his wedding in it. I'm not sure why they were in a Pacer." -Jon Eisen

"They went car shopping... and there was a light blue Pacer in the lot!" -Aaron Schwartz

"They showed this real nice wedgewood blue '78 pacer 66-7. Of course, they had to degrade it by showing it being pushed back to the slimy used car dealer's lot and asking to have this lemon traded back. The gal got the car in payment for doing some commercial or something. Anyway, it was a real nice looking car and some good shots, except for the the degrading remarks by those low-life producers and fakers... I meant actors and actresses." -Ken Siroonian

 

In another episode, Regis Philbin cameos as a used car dealer, and the baby blue Pacer is in the lot. (Thanks to Harrel Lamkin for the sighting!)

Jackie Chan Adventures, Episode 74 (Season 4), "The Demon Behind", first aired 10/11/2003.

"I was surprised to see that the villians in the show were driving a pale blue Pacer! I couldn't belive it! You never got to see a good front view but they showed great side and rear-end views. The car only appears in a few scenes, but you can see it clearly during this one fight scene." -Charlie Gravelle

Sex and the City, Episode 84 (Season 6), "Boy, Interrupted", first aired 8/24/2003.

"David Duchovny (of X-Files fame) guest-starred as Carrie's high school boyfriend, with whom she met up 20 years after high school. During their meeting, they reminisced, and he mentioned that he had a Pacer while they dated, and Carrie thought fondly about it.

"Later in the episode, they mention making out in the car, and he said that it was much better now without the shifter in his behind... so I'm assuming he had a floor shift model, though with the amount of room in these cars, it still seems unlikely that that would happen. :o)" -Aaron Schwartz

Futurama, Episode 68 (Season 5), "Spanish Fry", first aired 7/13/2003.

"Fry, Leela and Bender walk past a group of aliens roasting a pacer on a giant rotisserie." -Pete Ciani

Crank Yankers, Episode 14 (Season 2), first aired 3/25/2003.

"One of their puppets was driving a Pacer when he hit someone, while on the phone with the water company." -Aaron Schwartz

La familia Peluche (Mexico), 2002-2004.

"This is a comedy series of a family always getting into trouble. They drive a late model Pacer covered in cloth." -Mauricio Jordán Márquez (also reported by Rafael Tellez Giron, who also mentioned that the cloth cover is a "velvet jacket")

What's With Andy? Episode 52 (Season 2), "Mr. E.G. Goes to Moosehoof", first aired 2002(?).

"In an episode of this Canadian cartoon, the girls from the rival city can be seen driving in what looks like an old gray Pacer. The car hardly has any detail at all, no interior color, no real attention to details, but it did have the rounded rear end as well as the noticable front grill." -Charlie

Caitlin's Way, unknown episode, 2002.

A Pacer can be seen at the beginning of an episode of this Nickelodeon show.

Taken, unknown episode, 2002.

This Steven Spielberg miniseries features a Pacer at the beginning of one of the episodes. As the credits roll, a late model brown Pacer coupe drives up a long dirt road to a house.

Even Stevens, unknown episode, 2002.

"I saw a red Pacer with white interior in very good condition on the Disney Channel TV show, Even Stevens. It was the PE teacher's car and they were trying to film him. He had blinds that he pulled down on the driver's side window." -Parker Rome

Thanks also to Brian Buckley for spotting this one. He added, "It's treated as a bit of a joke on the show and he always has mechanical problems with it."

Family Guy, Episode 32 (Season 3), "One if by Clam, Two if by Sea", first aired 8/1/2001.

"The very first shot has a green 1977 Pacer in it. The next shot has a Delorean in it, and it says '1985' under it. Then after that it shows a VW Beetle with the caption 'Present day' under it." -Matt T.

"At the beginning, it shows the Drunken Clam pub through the decades. In 1976, there is a green pacer in front of the pub." -Nik Mullen

Sk8, 2001.

"In [this] short-lived show on Saturday mornings, one of the girls in the show drives a Pacer." -Liz Gay

Daria, unknown episode, 2001.

"A guy was giving Quinn a ride home and he drove what looked like a blue Pacer!" -Alex

Strip Mall, unknown episode, 2000.

"Last night I saw, for the first time, a TV show called 'Strip Mall' in which the 'heroes' drove a red Pacer. Maybe I'm getting real old, but the best part of the show was the Pacer!" -Nolan Dehner

Futurama, Episode 11 (Season 2), "The Lesser of Two Evils", 2000.

"They go to [Past-O-Rama theme park], and Frye calls the 20th century car the La Toura, but it is a Pacer drawn almost perfectly." -ArcticBoy Bob Wilson

Image courtesy of ArcticBoy. Thanks to Andrew Roemer for the episode identification.

The Tonight Show, 8 May 2000.

"Emilio Estevez is on The Tonight Show tonight and brought an 8MM film that he, his brother Charlie Sheen, and their neighbor, Sean Penn filmed while they were all teenagers. At the beginning of the clip, Emilio drives up in a 75-77 Pacer coupe. It's only on for a few seconds." -Glen Hoag

UPDATED! The X-Files, Episode 42 (Season 2), "Fearful Symmetry", first aired 2/24/1995.

"A red early model Pacer is crushed in the opening sequence by an invisible elephant. After the intro credits, David Duchovny examines the damage." -Nicholas Prefontaine

Thanks also to Brenda Carter for reporting this famous Pacer sighting. Charlie Gravelle kindly captured the following stills, in sequence as the Pacer is squished by the invisible elephant, then later as it's examined by Mulder and Scully.

 

NEW! Mad About You, unknown episode, 1992-1999.

Paul Ryser's character called the Pacer a "poor little misunderstood car".

Thanks to Mark Cranswick for this one.

Martin, 1992-1997.

"The character Cole drives a pacer, and they talk about it quite a lot throughout the series." -Angela

Wings, unknown episode, 1990-1997.

"Tim Daly's character (Joe Hackett) mentions in an eposode that in high school he owned a Pacer." -Liz Gay

Beverly Hills 90210, Episode 1 (Season 1), first aired 10/4/1990.

As the Walshes show up for the first day of school, one of the teachers drives up in an early-model Pacer.

Married... with Children, Episode 66 (Season 4), "Oh, What a Feeling", first aired 11/19/1989.

In this episode, Al had to purchase a "new" used car, an early model dark red coupe. He's shown pushing it into the garage. He states to Peggy, "It pushes pretty smooth. A little tough passing on the expressways, but the handling more than makes up for it." He replaces it with a green Gremlin that also isn't running. Finally, he gets suckered into unknowingly buying back his old used car. Thanks also to Jeremy Plourde for reporting this sighting.

Alien Nation, unknown episode, 1989.

The "bad guy" was stealing some other guy's yellow/brown Pacer wagon. The owner jumped in the passenger's seat, and the "bad guy" killed him by issuing a single axillary blow.

Golden Girls, unknown episode, 1985-1992.

Sophia states: "No, Rose is my daughter now, and Dorothy, you are the biggest disappointment to hit the streets since the AMC Pacer." Thanks to Heidi for the reference.

St. Elsewhere, opening credits, 1982-1988.

"They have a Pacer parked out in front of the hospital in the opening credits. I used to watch the show just for that reason!" -Kie Spring

NEW! Charlie's Angels, Marathon Angels, first aired 3/7/1979.

"The angels are seen at a park headed into a visitor's center. There is a brown AMC Pacer Wagon parked near the entrance." - Eric Larsen

The Hardy Boys Mysteries, unknown episode, 1977-1979.

"I caught an old episode of The Hardy Boys (title unknown, but it is the one where Shaun Cassidy sings 'That's Rock and Roll' in a bar). There is a scene that looks to be filmed on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, CA, where Parker Stevenson is being driven around in a van. There are a number of Pacer coupes in the scene, either parked or driving around. It was a great surprise." -Steve Gidlow

Rockford Files, Episode 56, "The Trouble With Warren", first aired 12/24/1976.

An early model light blue Pacer coupe escaped an AMC Matador cop car in a car chase. Thanks to Steve Panhorst for the sighting. Images courtesy of ArcticBoy.