American Motors refreshed its lineup in 1978, replacing the Hornet with the compact Concord. While the styling was renewed, it was essentially the same car, with roots dating back to 1970, when the Hornet replaced the aging American. The seller has a DL 4-door sedan from 1983, the car’s last year (rear wheel drive was out and front wheel drive was in, thanks to the Renault alliance). Located in Neshkoro, Wisconsin, this apparent survivor from Kenosha is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $3,995 OBO.
Over its six-year run, the Concord accounted for more than 400,000 new AMC cars being added to the road. But production numbers declined from year to year to the point that just 5,300 were sold in 1983, the majority being 4-door sedans like the seller’s unit. So, in a world where AMC cars are sort of rare, this one is rarer. A 258 cubic-inch inline-6 was standard, a venerable engine produced by AMC, and one of these lies under the hood of the seller’s DL (which came with a higher level of trim).
We’re told the car has just 33,600 miles and the condition of the interior tends to support that claim. That points to a vehicle that’s never been used very much by any of its owners. The car came out of Florida, so perhaps some little old Grandma only drove it to the grocery store and church on Sundays. An automatic transmission is there to back up the six-banger.
Rust is not an issue, but the burgundy paint (original?) is more than faded in a few places. The seller refers to the vinyl roof as a “rag top” and as being in need of work, but this car is not a convertible. The interior is quite tidy, and the machine runs and drives, so maybe it would be a sound purchase for continued limited use. But a new top and paint could do wonders for this little car. Kudos to “Lothar… of the Hill People” for another vintage tip.
AMC did a good job dressing up the old Hornet. Those front seats look a lot more comfortable than the bench in my father’s ’70 Hornet. But American buyers wanted something new and front wheel drive was where it was at. Though AMC did sell quite a few 4WD Eagles with this body. I wish we could buy a car like this now, a straight six and rear wheel drive. Everything sold now is way over complicated. Thanks Russ for another Rambler here for Rambler week! From $3,995 up to 18 grand, a seat for every …
My aunt had a ’79 Concord D/L in light blue with dark blue vinyl roof and dark blue velour. It felt very upscale compared with my mom’s ’71 Hornet SST, though under the skin they were the same car! AMC really had to improvise and scrap due to a limited development budget, and they did a decent job for awhile.
This is what the Hornet should have been in the first place. Between the cheap-looking multi-piece ill-fitting dashboard and seats worse than a park bench, the interior of the Hornet was a big letdown even by the standards of the day. Back when I had a Sportabout I replaced the lousy seats with a set out of a wrecked Concord – what a difference!
It looks like the engine in this car still sports an original-type plastic valve cover – not one of AMC’s brighter ideas. They always warp and leak. Aftermarket aluminum replacements are available thanks to the Jeep crowd.
These were equipped with a feedback carburetor and a complex emissions system with miles of vacuum plumbing and gadgetry. If you’re in an area where cars this old are tested for emissions it can be a challenge to pass.
The first Hornet was sold as the “Little Rich Car”. They could have been truly first in the game had they followed through on that.
But no. AMC waited until well after the Maverick w/ LDO package, the Valiant Brougham, the Granada and Monarch, the Chevy Nova Concours to deliver at least some faux luxury. The D/L didn’t cut it. Sweaty looking striped vinyl in the deluxe versions were well below the standard the LDO option in the Maverick set…
Glad you mentioned the park bench seats and ragged dash of the early Hornet [and Gremlin]. The seats in my folk’s Gremlin had the seat hardware punching through the upholstery on each side of the seat within a month of their buying it. Slabs. Dashboard was a mess of mis-aligned parts.
AMC missed so many chances. Marlin: could have been personal luxury to beat Chevrolet to market with Monte Carlo. The Little Rich Car slant could have been first with a luxury compact Hornet, but instead AMC chose to chase Maverick’s $1995 list price down market. $1998, I think it was. Pacer and Matador…Answers to questions no one asked. At least the rear windows rolled down in the Matador coupe… Unless one bought one with the gawd awful vinyl top with opera window package.
I loved them all. But they were years late developing their own 4 cylinder while blowing money on other projects and racing and trying to be radical contracting to but GM’s rotary to install in the Pacer.
AMC abandoned their profitable niche to chase markets dominated by the Big Three and didn’t have the money to compete with them in those markets.
Motor Trend, describing the 1969 Rebel: “AMC’s bread and butter car. But thinly sliced and lightly spread…..”
AMC ad: “If you had to compete with GM, Ford and Chrysler what would you do?” Motor Trend’s answer: “Kick some butts on the assembly line and get the workers to finish their work”.
I hated reading stuff like that. AMC was my brand, along with Mercury and we had both in the family.
This would be a proud addition tom the driveway.
I remember reading in one of what used to be called “mechanics magazines” (Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, etc.) about AMC’s upcoming 1967 models. The writer essentially called it American Motors’ “suicidal” attempt to compete model-for-model with the Big 3.
Not that they had much choice. AMC used to have the compact and mid-size market virtually all to itself but the big guys had invaded that space with a vengeance and the competition in that arena was fierce by the mid-1960s. It must have been pretty tough to sell a Rambler Classic equipped with vacuum wipers, torque-tube drive, and trunnion-based front suspension against any of the GM “A” bodies.
Would AMC have been more successful marketing a more luxurious compact in the 1960s and early 1970s? At this late date in hindsight it seems like a missed opportunity. However back then most car buyers expected a larger car when they spent more money, not a small car with luxury touches.
I do remember the Hornet’s “Little Rich Car” sales pitch. One look at the interior and sitting in those back-breaking seats would dispel that notion pretty quickly. (The previous Rambler American was a lot more comfortable!)
I always like the Concorde. Dictate did a fine job on updating the hornet was such a limited budget. I found it interesting that AMC cut out the sea panel and put a window in there and General Motors did at the same time as well. It’s unfortunate that AMC didn’t have the money to replace the instrument panel. I never liked that cheap looking shelf underneath it. This particular Concorde, even though it states such low mileage, looks pretty rough. Has it been left outside for a few decades? Something like that’s happened. The engine bay looks filthy. The seats are all dirty. It needs a total repaint. I’d have to be there and actually look at the car in person, but it needs to work.