AMC Hornet

The AMC Hornet was a compact automobile made by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) beginning with the 1970 model year and continuing through the 1977 model year. The Hornet's body and platform, which replaced the compact Rambler American, would be an important vehicle for AMC, serving the company in one form or another for eighteen years. The car was the basis of the AMC Concord and AMC's all-wheel drive AMC Eagle.

Origins of the "Hornet" nameplate

The Hornet name within AMC dated to its merger with Hudson in 1954. Hudson introduced the first Hudson Hornet in 1951. Hudson formed a stock racing team centered on the car, and the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" soon became famous for its wins and stock-racing title sweeps between 1951 and 1954. AMC, the resulting corporation formed by the merger of Nash Motors and Hudson continued to produce Nash-based Hornets, which were sold under the Hudson nameplate from 1955 to 1957. AMC retained rights to the name while it was dormant from 1958 to 1969.

The Hornet replaced the Rambler American in the fall of 1969, marking the end of the Rambler marque in the American and Canadian markets.

History

The Hornet's styling was based on AMC's 1966 "Cavalier" show car, and it was offered as a two-door and four-door sedan in its introductory year. A four-door station wagon variant named the "Sportabout" was added to the 1971 lineup. Also for 1971, the SC/360 was added, an 8-cylinder performance vehicle available as a two-door coupe. In 1973, a hatchback coupe was added to the lineup.

AMC used the Hornet as the basis for its AMC Gremlin, which consisted of the front half of the two-door Hornet's body and a truncated rear section with a window hatchback.

The 1972 Hornet was notable for being one of the first American cars to offer a special luxury trim package created by a fashion designer. Specifically, the model was called the Gucci series, named for Italian fashion designer Dr. Aldo Gucci. The car offered special beige-colored upholstery fabrics on the thickly padded seats and inside door panels (with red and green pinstriping), along with nameplates and a choice of four colors. The Gucci model proved to be a success, with nearly 3,000 1972 Hornets so equipped, and would inspire other automakers – including Ford's luxury brand, Lincoln – to offer trim packages styled by fashion designers.

In 1973 a Levi's Jeans trim package - based on the world-famous jeans manufacturer - was offered. The Levi's trim package was popular and offered throughout the mid-1970s.

Year-by-year changes

1970

Introduced in September 1969, the first year Hornets came in base and higher trim SST models and in 2 and 4-door sedans. The 199 in³ I6 was standard; the 232 standard on the SST. The 304 in³ V8 was optional.

1970 production:

2-door base: 43,610

4-door base: 17,948

2-door SST: 19,748

4-door SST: 19,786

1971

1971 saw the addition of the added the Sportabout, a 4-door wagon using a single hatch design in place of the traditional tailgate. The 2 and 4-door sedans were carryovers. The 232 engine was now standard across the range. Also of note was the SC360, a limited production 2-door with the 360 in³ V8, styled wheels, hood air vent and striping. Intended as a follow-up to the 1969 SC Rambler, the SC Hornet never sold well and only 784 were made.

1971 production:

2-door base: 19,395

4-door base: 10,403

2-door SST: 8,600

4-door SST: 10,651

Wagon SST: 73,471

SC360: 784

1972

The base Hornet was dropped in 1972 and all models were designated as "SST". The SST offered more items standard than the previous year's base model at about the same price. The "X" package, a Rallye package, was also added. Gucci designed a custom version of the Sportabout wagon.

1972 production:

2-door SST: 27,122

4-door SST: 24,254

Wagon SST: 34,065

1973

The SST model was dropped and all models were now simply named "Hornet". A 2-door hatchback was introduced. Sedans were carryover. Wagons received an optional D/L package. Front end bodywork was restyled to accommodate a new larger front bumper that met new 5-mph legislation.

1973 production:

2-door: 23,187

4-door: 25,452

Wagon: 44,719

Hatchback: 40,110

1974

All four versions of the Hornet were mostly carryovers in 1974, with minimal trim changes. The car's front bumper lost its full-width vinyl rub strip, but gained two rubber-faced bumper guards. A larger rear bumper was added to meet new 5-mph legislation, and the licence plate was moved up to a position between the taillights.

1974 production:

2-door: 29,950

4-door: 29,754

Wagon: 71,413

Hatchback: 55,158

1975

Focusing on the new Pacer, AMC kept the Hornet mostly unchanged. A new grille with vertical grating was the primary change.

1975 production:

2-door: 12,392

4-door: 20,565

Wagon: 39,593

Hatchback: 13,441

1976

In its sixth year as a carryover, AMC priced the sedan and hatchback at the same identically, with the Sportabout slightly higher. The Hornet faced new competition from the newly introduced Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare that year.

1976 production:

Total: 71,577

1977

After over seven years, the Hornet design seemed dated. A new model, the AMX, was available as a hatchback. The rest were unchanged. In fall 1977, the Hornet would be restyled to become the 1978 Concord, a self-proclaimed "luxury compact". The Concord would be marketed as more upscale than the Hornet and have more standard features as well as being more comfortable and more desirable to customers.

1977 production:

2-door: 6,076

4-door: 31,331

Wagon: 28,891

Hatchback: 11,545

Pop culture

A 1974 Hornet X is featured in the James Bond movie; The Man with the Golden Gun. 007 commandeers the car from a makeshift Bangkok, Thailand AMC dealership to chase the bad guy. In the film, the Hornet was used to perform a spiral jump, just as the Astro Spiral Javelin stunt car performed that same jump in AMC sponsored thrill shows in the Houston Astrodome, wherein Gremlins and Hornets also were used to drive around in circles on their side two wheels in the arena. This Hornet stunt car is preserved in a James Bond museum with other famous James Bond cars.

External links

AMC Hornet.com