The AMC Concord is a compact car manufactured and marketed by the American Motors Corporation for model years 1978 through 1983. The Concord was essentially a revision of the AMC Hornet that was discontinued after 1977, but better equipped, quieter, and smoother-riding than the series it replaced. It was offered in four-door sedan, two-door coupe (through 1982), three-door hatchback (through 1979), and four-door station wagon with a rear liftgate. The Concord was AMC's volume seller from the time it appeared until the introduction of the Renault Alliance.
The car was available as a sports-oriented two-door hatchback AMX model without any "Concord" badges or identification for the 1978 model year, as well as the Concord Sundancer convertible during 1981 and 1982, an authorized conversion sold through AMC dealers.
Vehiculos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) assembled and marketed modified Concord versions in Mexico as the VAM American, including a unique VAM Lerma model.
A battery electric (BEV) conversion of the Concord station wagon was sold independently from AMC by Solargen during 1979 and 1980.
Origin and development
American Motors did not have the financial resources required to develop an entirely new car to replace its successful, but aging, Hornet. The competition was expected from the new Ford Fox platform (also introduced for the 1978 model year as the Fairmont and Zephyr). The rear-wheel drive GM A platform (RWD) intermediates, such as the Chevrolet Malibu, were to be downsized to the same wheelbase as the Hornet for the 1978 model year as well, following the previous shrinking of full-size GM models. Therefore, the smallest domestic American automaker needed something fresh to continue competing in a class that had long been their core market segment. The 1978 Concord offered slightly revised styling, a higher level of appointments and features as well as a greater emphasis on workmanship and quality that was prompted by the growing success of cars imported from Japan. The transformation of the old Hornet into the new 1978 Concord included positioning the new model as an upscale luxury compact with a competitive starting price in the mid-US$4,000 range (adjusted only for inflation equivalent to US$ in dollars).
The U.S. automobile industry has had a place "for a small company deft enough to exploit special market segments left untended by the giants" and under the leadership of "Gerald C. Meyers, AMC transformed the austere old Hornet into the more handsome Concord." Dick Teague, AMC's top car designer, utilized the facelifted 1977 Gremlin's front fenders with a new hood over a chrome six-section egg-crate grille incorporating white rectangular parking lights, as well as new rectangular headlights, bumpers, fiberglass rear fender end caps, rectangular tri-color taillights, and a stand-up hood ornament with a new Concord emblem. On cars with the optional D/L package, the roof featured an outlined quarter-vinyl cover in matching or contrasting colors.
The new model featured increased sound insulation and suspension upgrades to isolate the interior from vibration and noise. The new compact car's luxury ride - "aiming at a virtually noiseless boulevard ride" was engineered by isolating the front suspension and rear axle from the structure of the car. All Concord models included special insulation in the dashboard and front floor, as well as sound-deadening coatings to all areas where plastic components joined. Top models also came with molded fiberglass acoustical headlining and sound absorption pads behind all interior panels.
The Concord also came with numerous standard comfort and upscale features, gaining an inch (25.4 mm) of rear-seat headroom, as well as two additional inches (50.8 mm) of rear passenger legroom. An advantage of using the aging and heavy Hornet design was its body stiffness and safety performance. Crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed the probability of injury in a struck vehicle to range from a low of nine percent for the four-door AMC Concord to a high of 97 percent for the two-door Nissan Sentra.
American Motors was increasingly turning to the rapidly growing four-wheel-drive market. Nevertheless, most of the press coverage for the 1978 model year "was focused on AMC's new Concord luxury compact car, which was a sign that even then reporters still considered automobiles more important than Jeeps." The new Concord was popular with consumers by outselling all the other AMC car lines combined during its 1978 inaugural year.
Annual changes
1978
In its initial model year, the Concord models were available in base and the top-line D/L in four body styles. The marketing focused on the D/L version with AMC's sales brochure dedicated exclusively to describing the elegant appointments and comfort features with no extra charge for all the luxury.
The base model sedan Concords retained the previous Hornet's two-door and four-door sedan rooflines. It incorporated the new front and rear-end styling, as well as numerous mechanical improvements. AMC targeted this model for fleet buyers.
The D/L models featured many of the luxury cues that were popular on cars in the 1970s. These included a "landau" vinyl roof with opera windows (coupe only), color-keyed wheel covers, reclining seats covered in velveteen cloth, and woodgrain instrument panel overlays. The D/L wagon also featured exterior simulated woodgrain trim and reclining seats in a leather-like perforated vinyl.
A "Touring Wagon" package was available exclusively on D/L wagons. It included a unique beige interior with orange and brown accents on the seat upholstery, door panels, dash trim, and exterior bodyside molding. The carpeting was extra thick (24 oz.), and the steering wheel was wrapped in beige leather. The D/L wagon's exterior wood trim was unavailable with this package. The exterior colors of the Touring Wagon were limited to Alpine White, Sand Tan, Golden Ginger, and Mocha Brown. The full-wheel covers had matching painted trim.
A "Sport" package was available on all models when equipped with the optional I6 or the V8 engine. This package included slot-style road wheels, wide rocker panel moldings, and bodyside tape stripes on the lower half of the vehicle that went up around the wheel fender flares. The interior featured brushed aluminum instrument panel overlays, custom door trim panels, and the extra quiet insulation package. Bucket seats in soft-feel vinyl were included, with individual reclining seats in vinyl or velveteen crush fabric optional in sedans and wagon models.
A unique AMX model was available only on the liftback body style and featured unique trim as well as performance enhancements. The AMX was featured as a separate model in AMC's full-line brochure. This version turned out to be a one-year-only as the AMX model was moved to the sub-compact Spirit platform for the 1979 model year.
The AMC Straight-6 engine was standard, with the six-cylinder and a V8 being optional on the D/L models. Transmission options included a three-speed manual, a three-speed automatic, or a floor-shifted manual four-speed. A Concord with the V8 engine was tested by Car and Driver magazine and recorded acceleration from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 10.4 seconds and had a top speed of .
American Motors also introduced an optional Volkswagen/Audi-designed 2.0 L (122 cu in) I4 engine that was also available in the sub-compact Gremlin. The engine was the same as used in the Porsche 924, although the Porsche version was fitted with Bosch fuel injection instead of the carburetors on the AMC models. This engine provided improved economy, but was not as powerful as the standard six-cylinder engine. Because of the expense of acquiring the rights to the new 2.0 L engine, AMC did not offer this I4 as standard equipment.
American Motors marketed the Concord as a more economical alternative to larger luxury cars. At the time of Concord's introduction, the advertising tagline touted the car as "The luxury America wants, the size America needs." The most popular body style was the two-door coupe, accounting for almost half of total Concord production in 1978. The Concord outsold AMC's other passenger models (Pacer, Matador, and Gremlin) combined in its first year in the marketplace.
A Popular Science comparison of four new compact sedans concluded that AMC's aim "hit the mark" at car buyers switching to smaller cars. The AMC Concord earned "top honors for trim level" with its luxury, reclining seats covered in velvet-like fabric "front seats that would do a Cadillac proud", as well as its "in-line six is similar to a V8 in a number of respects, including smoothness, power, and noise levels." High-quality materials and attractive dash design "would have you thinking this was an expensive car were it for one thing: poor quality control." Compared to the Ford Fairmont, Plymouth Volaré, and Pontiac Phoenix, the 1978 compact cars offer more variety and "especially the Concord, are more refined than ever and make lots of sense as family cars."
Owners in a nationwide survey conducted by Popular Mechanics magazine responded that they liked their AMC Concords based on their combined of driving. Drivers reported "few and rather minor gripes". When asked to name their complaints, 30% of AMC Concord owners wrote none, thus beating the record of all the 17 automobiles surveyed by the magazine in 1977 by a wide margin - including the Honda Accord (with only an 18.9% "no complaints" rate).
1979
The 1979 model year saw moderate upgrades to the Concord. Front-end styling changed appreciably with a "waterfall" grille with a delicate chrome vertical bar treatment, quad rectangular headlights atop slim, wide clear parking and signal lights, and lighter aluminum bumpers were new for 1979. The D/L sedan was given a new vinyl roof design which extended only over the rear passenger compartment. It was complemented by chrome trim that overlaid the B-pillar and wrapped over the vinyl roof at its leading edge. A thin trim piece at the roof's edge simulated a convertible's fold-down hinge point. The D/L package, now the middle trim level, was extended to the hatchback, which was given a brushed aluminum Targa-like roof band and a half-vinyl roof to differentiate it from the base model hatchback.
The 1979 model year also introduced the "Limited" model, available in the coupe, sedan, and station wagon models. It included leather upholstery, thick carpeting, full courtesy lighting, body-colored wheel covers, and a standard AM radio. The Concord Limited was well equipped for a compact car at the time.
Special-order versions of Concords were built to contracts and fleet customers that had minimal trim and options as well as rear-seat delete and rear doors with non-opening windows and no interior door handles.
The Sport package was dropped for 1979, as was the AMX version that became available in the new AMC Spirit liftback body. The three-speed manual transmission was a "downgrade" option for Concord in 1979. The V8 engine was available, but not popular. The V8 with automatic transmission delivered in the city and on the highway, while the standard I6 was rated in the city and or better on the highway (depending on driving habits and transmission).
On 1 May 1979, AMC celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Nash-Hudson merger and released a limited number of specially appointed "Silver Anniversary" AMC Concords to commemorate the event.Cranswick, p. 252 The limited production models received a two-tone silver metallic finish, silver vinyl roof, wire wheel covers, commemorative badges, and the interior upholstered in black or russet "Caberfae" corduroy.