Details of Cars

AMC Concord: the luxury compact that replaced the Hornet

AMC

AMC Concord DL
AMC Concord DL. Photo by Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

American Motors could not afford an all-new compact to replace the Hornet, so it rebuilt the old car with a new front, a quieter body and a much more luxurious specification. The result, the Concord, became the company’s volume seller and stayed in production until 1983.

AMC Concord at a glance

AMC Concord key facts
Maker American Motors Corporation
Production 1978–1983
Class compact car
Based on AMC Hornet, with a new front and rear
Body styles four-door sedan, two-door coupe (to 1982), three-door hatchback (to 1979), four-door wagon
Wheelbase 108 in (2,743 mm)
Starting price mid-US$4,000 range
Trim base and D/L, plus the Touring Wagon package
Special versions AMX hatchback 1978, Sundancer convertible 1981–82
Also built VAM American and VAM Lerma in Mexico

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the AMC Concord.

History of the AMC Concord

Why the Hornet became the Concord

American Motors did not have the money to develop a completely new car for 1978, when the Ford Fairmont and Zephyr on the new Fox platform and the downsized rear-wheel-drive GM A-body intermediates were due. The old Hornet was successful but ageing, so the company facelifted it instead. The 1978 Concord received a new hood over a chrome six-section egg-crate grille with white rectangular parking lights, rectangular headlights, new bumpers, fibreglass rear fender end caps, rectangular tri-colour taillights and a stand-up hood ornament with a new Concord emblem. The roof of cars with the optional D/L package had an outlined quarter-vinyl cover in matching or contrasting colours.

1982 AMC Concord Sundancer convertible
1982 Concord Sundancer convertible. Photo by CZmarlin — Christopher Ziemnowicz, a photo credit would be appreciated if this i, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Quiet and comfortable

The transformation was aimed at buyers of imported cars as much as at Detroit’s compacts: the Concord was positioned as an upscale luxury compact with a starting price in the mid-US$4,000 range. Sound insulation and suspension changes isolated the interior from vibration and noise, with the front suspension and rear axle separated from the body structure. All models had extra insulation in the dashboard and front floor and sound-deadening coatings where plastic parts met, and top models came with a moulded fibreglass acoustical headlining and absorption pads behind the interior panels. The Concord also gained an inch of rear-seat headroom and two inches of rear legroom over the Hornet. The heavy Hornet structure was an advantage in crash tests: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found a nine per cent probability of injury in a struck four-door Concord, against 97 per cent for a two-door Nissan Sentra.

Range and versions

In its first year the Concord came in base and top-line D/L form in four body styles, and the D/L was the focus of the advertising. It brought a landau vinyl roof with opera windows on the coupe, reclining velour seats and woodgrain instrument panel overlays; the D/L wagon had simulated woodgrain exterior trim. A Touring Wagon package for D/L wagons added a beige interior with orange and brown accents and extra-thick carpeting. For 1978 there was also a sports-oriented two-door hatchback sold as the AMX without any Concord badges, and in 1981 and 1982 AMC dealers offered the Sundancer convertible conversion. The Concord was AMC’s volume seller from its launch until the Renault Alliance arrived, and it outsold all the other AMC car lines combined in its first year.

Design and features

  • Hornet underpinnings: the strong, heavy 108-inch platform was carried over with new styling and a quieter body.
  • D/L luxury trim: velour reclining seats, woodgrain dashboard, vinyl roof with opera windows on the coupe.
  • Sound insulation: extra padding in the dashboard, floor and panels for a near-silent ride.
  • Four body styles: sedan, coupe, hatchback and wagon, with the wagon offered with a Touring package.

AMC Concord versions

  • Base Concord: the fleet and value version, mainly as a sedan.
  • Concord D/L: the luxury model with velour trim and vinyl roof.
  • Concord AMX 1978: a sports hatchback without Concord badges.
  • Sundancer 1981–82: an authorised convertible conversion sold through AMC dealers.
  • VAM American and Lerma: Mexican-built versions assembled by Vehiculos Automotores Mexicanos.
  • Solargen electric wagon: a battery-electric conversion sold independently in 1979–80.

The Concord was a development of the Hornet, and its four-wheel-drive derivative was the Eagle. More cars are in the AMC collection.

Sources

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