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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 replaced the compact Rambler American marking the end of the Rambler marque in the American and Canadian markets.
The new Hornet became an important vehicle and platform for AMC. It served the company in one form or another for eighteen years, until the 1988 model year. It would outlast other compact platforms such as the Nova, Maverick, and Valiant. The car was the basis of the AMC Concord and AMC's all-wheel drive AMC Eagle.

Contents
Origins of the "Hornet" nameplate
History
Year-by-year changes
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
Pop culture
2008 Hornet by Dodge
External links
References

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. American Motors, 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. The company retained rights to the name while it was dormant from 1958 to 1969.

History

The Hornet's styling was based on the AMC Cavalier show car. The Hornet 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 (The tire pressure sticker on the first 1970 models hinted at the SC/360). 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. 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 was 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 on the base models with 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 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 compact 2-door muscle car with the 360 in³ V8, styled wheels, hood scoop, body striping, as well as other performance and appearance upgrades. Intended as a follow-up to the 1969 SC Rambler, the SC Hornet never sold well and only 784 were made. The Sportabout's production numbers, on the other hand, speak for themselves; for most of its life it was the only American-made wagon in its size class.
: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 (Gucci version: 2,584)

1973

The SST model was dropped and all models were now simply named "Hornet". Front-end bodywork was restyled to accommodate a new larger energy-absorbing recoverable front bumper system that met the new "no-damage at 5 mph (8 km/h)" legislation. As a result, overall length was increased 6. :inches (165 :mm).
A 2-door hatchback was introduced that Car and Driver magazine called it "the styling coup of 1973". A fold-down rear seat increased cargo volume from 9.5 to 23 :cubic feet (269 to 651 :liters) with an almost flat floor. A dealer accessory was available to convert the open hatchback area into a camper. The sedan models were carried over while the wagons received an optional "D/L" package. It included exterior woodgrain body side decal panels, a roof rack with air deflector, and individual reclining seats upholstered in a plush cloth. The Gucci wagon continued for one more year, while the hatchback was available with a Levis interior option. The "X" package was now available only for the Sportabout and hatchback.
:1973 production:
::2-door: 23,187
::4-door: 25,452
::Wagon: 44,719 (Gucci version: 2,251)
::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 license 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 sports oriented model, the AMX, was available only as a hatchback. This marked the return of a famous name that evoked AMC's original AMX two-seat sports car. The rest of the Hornet line was unchanged.
:1977 production:
::2-door: 6,076
::4-door: 31,331
::Wagon: 28,891
::Hatchback: 11,545
In Fall 1977, the Hornet was restyled to become the 1978 Concord and helped establish the "luxury compact" market segment. With its upgraded design, components, and more standard features, the new Concord was more upscale than the economy-focused Hornet, as well as being more comfortable and more desirable to customers.

Pop culture

A 1974 Hornet X Hatchback is featured in the James Bond movie; The Man with the Golden Gun. 007 commandeers the car from a makeshift Bangkok, Thailand AMC dealership in a car chase. In the film, the Hornet was used to perform a spiral jump, just as the Astro Spiral Javelin stunt cars 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.

2008 Hornet by Dodge

A small concept car called Hornet was designed and developed by Dodge in 2006 for possible production in 2008.

External links

★ AMC Hornet.com

★ Information about 1972 Hornet

References

★ The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975, Gunnell, John, Editor, , , Kraus Publications, 1987, ISBN 0-87341-096-3