We have seen quite a few AMC Concords here over the last few years and I always find it interesting that AMC felt a need to make what was basically a luxurious Hornet. This first-year car, a 1978 AMC Concord D/L, can be found here on craigslist. It’s located in Kewaunee, Wisconsin and the seller is asking $6,000 or offer. Thanks to AMXBrian for sending in this tip!
The first thing I notice, other than the nice shade of light blue and the white landau-style vinyl top, are the wheels. They add some zing to this otherwise somewhat posh looking car. The seller does have the original wheels and caps on like new tires.
It’s hard to mistake the Hornet design here. I really like the crisp design of the Hornet or Concord two-door sedan. I could maybe live without the vinyl roof but that’s part of the deal, the Concord was meant to be more upscale than the Hornet was. It was smoother, quieter, it had more room and a better ride.
There are no photos of the 258 cubic-inch inline-six engine in the listing and this is the only interior photo showing even a tiny sliver of the seats so we really don’t know the condition of the engine or seat fabric. We do know that the car has 50,200 miles and is in very good condition and it handles and drives great, according to the seller. Is there enough info here for you to make an offer on this good looking Concord?
I like it and it would make a great entry level collector car. After being at a huge auto flea market yesterday and seeing absolute junk being for sale for 7 to 10 grand I think this is a good deal.
Correcting myself here – the Concord’s front styling did change for 1979, moving to a 4-headlight system with a plastic grille. However the rear styling was not changed until 1980.
So it’s just the front that was a one-year-only affair on the Concord.
(And this followup wound up in the wrong place in the thread! Oh well…)
Looks like a great survivor! A little low-spec for the upscale Concord with no AC and what appears to be just an AM radio. I don’t see any word in the ad about power steering or brakes. The front and rear styling are 1978-only.
The reason AMC felt the need to upgrade the Hornet to the Concord was that they had little choice. There was no money left to develop new core products after blowing their capital on models that ultimately flopped (Matador Coupe, Pacer). Also millions were wasted on misadventures such as buying a license to build Wankel rotary engines which the Company really had no hope of ever engineering and building, and investing heavily in a VW/Audi/Porsche 4-cylinder engine that was not really suitable for most of their products.
So towards the end of the 1970s AMC was faced with a fleet of aging and unwanted products which they could not afford to replace. Thus the Hornet was upgraded to the Concord (later the 4WD Eagle), and for ’79 the Gremlin was restyled into the Spirit. It actually worked for them, for a little while.
It’s a good thing for AMC that the Hornet was a nice clean design because the basic body served them from 1970 through 1988 model years.
It had no more room than a Hornet, save for the compact spare.
The only body change was an added crease above the rear window
No more room since it still had the 1960s-design Hornet body, but a whole lot more comfortable, quieter, and better riding.
Love the car. Would not mind owning it at all except for the price. In some parts of the country it may be a fair and reasonable price but in my general area $4000.00 to $4500.00 would be top dollar.
I think the price is right. Most in demand year and second most in demand body style (hatchback is first). I am fixing up a 4 door 78, not a total resto and will have about $4000 in it. This car is definatly worth 2k more