The AMC Hornet is a compact automobile manufactured and marketed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1970 through 1977 model years, in two- and four-door sedan, station wagon, and hatchback coupe configurations. The Hornet replaced the compact Rambler American line, marking the end of the Rambler marque in the United States and Canadian markets.
The Hornet became significant for AMC in not only being a top seller during its production, but also a car platform serving the company in varying forms through the 1988 model year. Introduced in late 1969, AMC quickly earned a high rate of return for its development investment for the Hornet. The platform became the basis for AMC's subcompact Gremlin, luxury compact Concord, liftback and sedan Spirit, and the innovative all-wheel drive AMC Eagle. Its design would also outlast domestic competitors' compact platforms, including the Chevrolet Nova, Ford Maverick, and Plymouth Valiant.
The AMC Hornet also served as an experimental platform for alternative fuel and other automotive technologies. Hornets were campaigned at various motorsports events with some corporate support. A hatchback model also starred in an exceptional stunt jump in the 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.
Hornets were marketed in foreign markets and were assembled under license agreements between AMC and local manufacturers—for example, with Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM), Australian Motor Industries (AMI), and Toyota S.A. Ltd. in South Africa.
The "Hornet" name Hudson Motor Car Company introduced the first Hornet in 1951 as a performance model featuring the automaker's new "H-145" engine. The automaker formed a stock car racing team centered on the car, and the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" soon became famous for its wins and stock-car title sweeps between 1951 and 1954. Hornets "dominated stock car racing in the early-1950s, when stock car racers actually drove regular production stock cars." The Hudson Hornet car inspired Paul Newman's Doc Hudson movie character.
American Motors retained rights to the "Hornet" name during the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) resolution on factory-supported racing from 1957 until 1962. This was initiated by the AMA to limit the auto industry's horsepower race and corporate sponsorship of racing to glamorize speed or performance. Thus, the Hornet was dormant from 1958 until 1969 when AMC introduced a new compact car line for the 1970 model year.
The Hornet name has since become steeped in history, not only for being a motorsport legend that was later immortalized in movies, but also because it was a "game changer" for AMC as the compact-size Hornet platform became the base for new market segments.
The rights to the "Hornet" nameplate were then transferred to Chrysler with the larger automaker's acquisition of AMC in 1987. The nameplate has been on several concept cars since then. The Hornet nameplate was reintroduced for the 2023 model year as a compact SUV marketed under the Dodge brand.
AMC Hornet development
Positioning The AMC Hornet emerged as a pivotal vehicle in AMC's strategy, directly replacing the venerable Rambler American. The Hornet's styling was foreshadowed by a pair of 1966 show cars, the four-door AMC Cavalier and the two-door Vixen. These designs showed that "AMC's stylists had a very good grasp of the direction the industry as a whole would take as 1970 began." Introduced in 1969 for the 1970 model year, it became "a car that could hardly have hit the market more squarely." The objective of AMC was to target buyers who wanted economy in a car with style, performance, and "fun to drive." The Hornet, as well as the Ford Maverick, was considered a response by the domestic automakers to battle with the imports. The rising tide of imported cars had captured a significant portion of the U.S. market.
Development of the new model took AMC three years, a million person-hours, and US$40 million. The Hornet was an all-new design. An all-new robust front suspension with anti-brake dive was developed for AMC's large-sized "senior" 1970 models, and instead of developing lighter components for the new compact-size platform, the same parts were incorporated into the Hornet, demonstrating an engineering efficiency.
The chassis and sheet metal were entirely new, with the conventional front-engine rear-drive drivetrain carried over from the previous Rambler American. The Hornet's wheelbase platform was longer than its predecessor. The design incorporated AMC's numerous innovative features and groundbreaking ideas. The AMC Hornet was the first U.S.-made automobile to feature guardrail beam doors to protect occupants in the event of a side impact.
The compact-sized Hornet continued AMC's role as a "niche" marketer specializing in small cars. It became one of AMC's best sellers. The Hornet was the first car in a line of new models that AMC would introduce over the following three years.
The Hornet set the tone for what designer Dick Teague and chief executive officer Roy D. Chapin Jr. had had in mind for the company in the 1970s. The platform ultimately evolved into the innovative four-wheel-drive AMC Eagle, produced through 1988.
Pricing With its manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $1,994 for the base two-door model, the 1970 Hornet was a low-priced, economical small family car providing "cut-above interior appointments. The base version 1970 Ford Maverick was listed at $1 more while the Chevrolet Nova and Plymouth Duster were priced 10% higher. The Hornet and the Maverick were designed to stem the tide of imported cars that had captured 10% of the total U.S. market, with 80% of them retailing under $2,000. While domestic cars had generally grown larger, heavier, more fuel-consumptive, and more profitable through options, the rise of economical foreign vehicles highlighted a market segment where American offerings had largely abandoned the under-$2,000 price point. Of the original eleven compact car nameplates, only four still qualified as compact-sized by 1969, and only one, the Rambler American, was priced under $2,000.
The Hornet was initially available in a choice of two economical straight-six engines or a potent V8. When equipped with the V8 engine, the Hornet was in the compact performance market segment (along with the competing Ford Maverick, Chevrolet Nova, and Plymouth or Dodge models) for buyers who "wanted to drive something fun" without increasingly expensive to operate muscle cars.
The Hornet was offered as a two-door and four-door notchback sedan in its introductory year. The station wagon and two-door hardtop (no "B" pillar) body styles which had been available in the predecessor Rambler American line, were not carried over for the Hornet's initial launch.
Expanding the line In April 1970, a mid-model year introduction used the Hornet as the basis for the wheelbase AMC Gremlin, which utilized the front half of the two-door Hornet's body and a truncated rear section with a window hatchback.
A four-door station wagon variant named the "Sportabout" was added to the 1971 lineup. It featured a steeply raked hatchback rather than a conventional station wagon design with a rear window retracting into a drop-down tailgate. American Motors was careful not to describe the new body style as a traditional station wagon. Advertising emphasized that "it's not so much a station wagon as it is a sporty car with cargo space" and that the Sportabout is in a class by itself because it "combines fun with function."
A unique SC/360 model was added for the 1971 model year. Available only as a two-door sedan, it included AMC's V8 engine as standard, making it a compact-sized muscle car. For the 1973 model year, a semi-fastback hatchback coupe with fold-down rear seats was also added to the lineup.
In 1973, a Levi's Jeans trim package was added based on the famous jeans manufacturer. The Levi's trim package was popular and was available for several years. The Hornet station wagon version was offered for two model years with a luxury trim package designed by Italian fashion designer Dr. Aldo Gucci. It is notable for being one of the first American cars to offer an upscale fashion "designer" trim level.
Year-by-year changes
1970
Introduced in September 1969, the first-year Hornets came in "base" and higher trim SST models, in two- and four-door sedan body styles. American Motors positioned the new line of sedans to be an American-designed small car that did not automatically stand for "cheap" by including features and conveniences that were optional to not available on competing brands, as well as making the Hornet wider on a longer wheelbase and with more body weight giving extra stability, increased ride comfort, better handling, interior room, trunk space, and enhanced security.
The Hornet was promoted as "the little rich car" with room for five passengers. The base model two-door sedan was $1,994, with the four-door an additional $78. The base Hornets "were nicely trimmed for the price" with standard armrests, ashtrays, interior lights, glove box, cigarette lighter, coat hooks, and an integrated dash ventilation system. The SST trim models were priced at $150 additional to the base two- or four-door versions and added a bright trim for the roof, wheel fender openings, rocker panel, and insert between the taillights, as well as a custom steering wheel, locking glove box, full-width under-dash parcel shelf, day/night rearview mirror, and functional items. The SST was available with two-tone paint, a black, white, or blue vinyl covered roof, as well as individually adjustable reclining front seats in upholstered in custom fabric with matching side trim and door panels.
The straight-6 engine with a one-barrel carburetor rated at at 4400 rpm and of torque at 1600 rpm was standard on base trim models. The SST versions included the one-barrel engine producing at 4300 rpm and of torque at 1600 rpm. A two-barrel version of this engine was optional on both models increasing output by and . The standard transmission was the column-shifted three-speed manual with the one-barrel I6 engines. Optional was the three-speed automatic and required with the two-barrel .
Optional on SST models was the two-barrel V8 engine rated at at 4400 rpm and of torque at 2800 rpm. The V8 option was only offered together with the automatic transmission and included a standard front suspension sway bar, larger 11-inch drum brakes, and optional power-assisted front disk brakes as well as up-sized fiberglass-belted tires that included C or D78x14 black or twin-stripe whitewalls, and D70x14 red lines.
The annual new car issue of Popular Science introduced the 1970 model by entitling its article: "Rambler is dead – long live the Hornet!" The authors not only compared the new Hornet with the outgoing Rambler American, but also with its primary competition, the Ford Maverick and finding the Hornet better to Ford's new model in several factors that are significant to consumers, as well as "certainly superior among economy cars" in ride-and-handling and "way ahead" in performance.
Popular Mechanics magazine road-tested an SST trim version with the V8 engine and automatic transmission and summarized the findings in the article's sub-title: "It has a lot of good things in a not-too-small package."
Popular Science magazine conducted a comparison road test of four of the lowest-priced U.S. cars (AMC Hornet, Ford Maverick, Plymouth Duster, and Chevrolet Nova), describing the 1970 Hornet as offering more interior and trunk room, excellent visibility in all directions, achieving the highest fuel economy, needed the optional disk brakes, and the authors concluded that it was the "practical family car ... better value than any of the others".
1970 production: 2-door base: 43,610 4-door base: 17,948 2-door SST: 19,748 4-door SST: 19,786
1971