American Motors - 1970s Product Developments

1970s Product Developments

In 1970, AMC consolidated all passenger cars under one distinct brand identity and debuted the AMC Hornet range of compact cars.

With the Hornet and later Gremlin AMC shared platforms. The Gremlin, the first North American-built subcompact, sold more than 670,000 units from 1970–1978. The Hornet became AMC's best-selling passenger car since the Rambler Classic, with more than 860,000 units sold by the time production ended in 1977.

The new mid-sized AMC Matador replaced the Rebel in 1971, using an advertising campaign that asked, "What's a Matador?" In 1972, AMC won the tender for Los Angeles Police Department cruisers, and Matadors were used by the department from 1972 to 1975, replacing the Plymouth Satellite. American Motors supplied Mark VII Limited owner Jack Webb with two Matadors for use in his popular television series Adam-12, increasing the cars' public profile.

In 1973, AMC signed a licensing agreement with Curtiss-Wright to build Wankel engines for cars and Jeeps.

Starting in 1974, the Matador sedan and station wagon were mildly refreshed, with new boxier front ends. The Matador two-door hardtop, known as the "flying brick" due to its poor aerodynamics in NASCAR competition, was replaced at great cost with a sleek, smoothly shaped, and radically styled two-door coupe. The model received praise for its design, including "Best Styled Car of 1974" by Car and Driver magazine, customer satisfaction, and sold almost 100,000 coupes over a five-year period. The Matador Coupe shared few components with the Matador sedan and station wagon, other than suspension, drive train, some trim, and interior parts.

The Ambassador was redesigned and stretched 7 inches (178 mm) to became the biggest ever—just as the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo sparked gasoline rationing across the nation. The additional length was due to a new front end design and stronger energy absorbing bumpers required of all automobiles sold in the U.S. Sales of all large-sized cars fell due to economic problems and rising gasoline prices. The full-sized Ambassador was discontinued as AMC's flagship line after the 1974 model year. Nash and AMC had made Ambassadors during 1927–1974, the longest use of the same model name for any AMC product, and, at the time the longest continuously used nameplate in the industry.

In 1974, AMC's AM General subsidiary began building urban transit buses in cooperation with Flyer Industries of Winnipeg, Canada. The Metropolitan coach had sold 5,212 units when production ceased in 1978.

The AMC Pacer, an innovative all-new model introduced in March 1975 and billed as "the first wide small car", was a subcompact designed to provide the comfort of a full-sized car. Its pre-production development coincided with two changes in U.S. Federal passenger auto laws: first, the reduction in permissible emissions for passenger auto engines, which the Pacer would have met with the Wankel-type engine it was designed for, as the Wankel's compact dimensions allowed space for extensive emission control equipment in the engine bay; second, a tightening of U.S. passenger auto safety laws, which accounted for the Pacer's designed-in safety features, e.g. internal door beams. These, together with the wide body and large glass area, added considerable weight.

With the advent of the Arab Oil Embargo energy crisis of 1973, General Motors aborted the Wankel rotary engine around which the Pacer had been designed, as its fuel consumption exceeded that of conventional engines with similar power. Therefore AMC's existing 258 cu in (4.2 L) and 232 cu in (3.8 L) AMC Straight-6 engines were used in the Pacer instead. Fuel economy was better than a rotary, but still relatively poor in light of the new focus on energy efficiency. Also, as the Pacer shared few components other than drivetrain with other AMC cars, it was expensive to make and the cost increased when sales fell steeply after the first two years.

Development and production costs for the Pacer and Matador Coupe drained capital which might otherwise have been invested in updating the more popular Hornet and Gremlin lines, so that towards the end of the 1970s the company faced the growing energy crisis with aged products that were uncompetitive in hotly contested markets. However, "AMC used cars, as far back as 1967, had the advantage of good warranty coverage ... so most owners were conscious of low-cost car maintenance ... AMC units some of the very best buys on the used car market" by 1975.

The 1977 Gremlin had redesigned headlights, grille, rear hatch and fascia. For economy in the fuel crisis, AMC offered the car with a more fuel-efficient Volkswagen-designed Audi 4-cylinder engine 2.0 L (122 cu in). The engine was expensive for AMC to build and the Gremlin retained the less costly but also less economical 232 cu in (3.8 L) as standard equipment.

The AMX nameplate was revived in 1977. It was a sporty appearance package on the Hornet hatchback featuring upgrades, as well as the 258 cu in (4.2 L) inline-6 as standard with a choice of 3-speed automatic or 4-speed manual transmissions. The 304 cu in (5.0 L) V8 engine was optional with the automatic transmission.

As all Matadors now received standard equipment that was formerly optional (e.g. power steering, automatic transmission), the "Brougham" package was dropped. Optional on the Matador coupe was a "landau" vinyl roof with "opera" windows, and top-line Barcelonas offered new two-tone paint.

For 1978, the Hornet platform was redesigned with an adaptation of the new Gremlin front-end design and renamed AMC Concord. AMC targeted it at the emerging "premium compact" market segment, paying particular attention to ride and handling, standard equipment, trim, and interior luxury.

Gremlins borrowed the Concord instrument panel, as well as a Hornet AMX-inspired GT sports appearance package and a new striping treatment for X models.

The AMC Pacer hood was modified to clear a V8 engine, and a Sports package replaced the former X package. With falling sales of Matador Coupes, sedans and wagons, their 304 cu in (5.0 L) V8 engine was dropped, leaving only the 258 cu in (4.2 L) Inline-6 (standard on coupes and sedans) and the 360 cu in (5.9 L) V8 (optional on coupes and sedans, standard on wagons). The two-tone Barcelona luxury package was offered on Matador sedans, and two-tone red paint introduced as an additional Barcelona option. Matador production ceased at the end of the model year with total sales of 10,576 units. The Matador was no longer attractive as automakers struggled to overcome economic woes including continuing fuel price increases and double digit domestic inflation.

In 1979, the Spirit sedan replaced the Gremlin. A new fastback version of the car, the Spirit Liftback, proved successful.

In December, Pacer production ceased after a small run of 1980 models was built to use up parts stock.

Concords received a new front end treatment, and in their final season, hatchbacks became available in DL trim. On May 1, 1979, AMC marked the 25th anniversary of the Nash-Hudson merger with "Silver Anniversary" editions of the AMC Concord and Jeep CJ in two-tone silver (Jeeps then accounted for around 50% of the company's sales and most of its profits); and introduced "LeCar", a U.S. version of the small, fuel-efficient Renault 5, in dealer showrooms.

Concord and Spirit models were dropped after 1983.