I happened upon a 1974 hornet quite by accident in 1983, my brother in law had bought it at auction and after getting it home decided that he didn't like it, and sold it to me for $500 , it was during a real bad recession and I had just snagged a job and needed a car , well that hornet served me very well and I drove that car for 9 years, easy to fix great gas mileage, quite reliable, was ( when I look back on it ) the best car I ever owned.
the first car I ever bought (not my dad's hand-me-down) was a pristine 1973 AMC Hornet (Silver with plaid interior, racing stripe, 258-6cyl, auto and a/c!)... I loved that car........ Selling it was a mistake.. That bug badge on the hood and the flush door handles---so great.
AMC made a great value for the money car, built on the legacy of Nash and Rambler, their straight 6s were very popular and just absolutely dead on reliable.
I sold my 75 Hornet 2 years ago. The engine was like brand new, but it was very hard to start, and it had power brakes but they didn't stop the car quick enough. I replaced everything to do with the brakes, to no avail. I think the gas tank had a hole on top, making it hard to start because the hole would release the pressure and the gas would run from the line back to the tank.
I owned a 1976 Hornet Hatchback with 304 V8. My friends and I took it on two road trips that year. We put 33,000 miles on it the first year. I remember waking up in the middle of the night in the Arizona with my friend doing 90 MPH through the desert. He has told me often how much he liked this car and he owned a Firebird at the time. I am from Milwaukee and it was a sad day when the AMC plants closed down. Glad to see that there are still people who admire this car.
My late Dad sold AMCs, Olds and Cadillacs in the 70s. My first car was a gently used '74 Hornet 2 door Coup with 258 eng. I loved that little car. It was clearly not as fast and cool as a Javelin or a Trans AM, but it was quick off the line, good on gas and very reliable. The front, split bench seatbacks folded flush with the rear seat....the ultimate "makeout car"! Many victories! ;-}
I actually liked the Hornet based Eagle 4x4 wagons from the 80's. The Eagle and early Subaru 4wd wagons were really the first "crossover" vehicles before the term became commonplace. These definitely have more character than today's Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4.
As a lifetime AMC enthusiast this episode was extremely well done. My first car was a factory ordered '76 Hornet X hatchback with a 304 V8 and 3:15's. Not exactly a screamer but a good runner for the day... nobody got more with less.
I remember a neighbour with an AMC Matador. It was like a car from another planet. Big, wide, sleek, elegant. It was surrounded by british compact cars. Now you can imagine the wow-factor of that car. To this day it shaped my love for AMC cars.
My first car was a 75 Hornet D/L. Bought it in '87 for $350.00, drove it for 4 years. Had the 258 six, which had nice power off the line, 0-50 in 8 seconds. Not real quick at high speeds, but speed limit was 55☺
@@toddtravis2596 My Grandpa as well. He had a 78 Matador Barcelona sedan with the 304 motor. I always looked up to and respected my Grandparents, and Grandpa's advice on cars was the last word for me. Grandpa had originally been a Nash guy, than Rambler. He had an Ambassador before the Matador, but I don't remember that car much, was just a small child
I find that to be the case with all the Independent marques, my personal favorite being Studebaker. The Big Three are just so incredibly dull compared to them. That said, I do like most imports too. I'm not a jingoist, after all.
I find all vehicles interesting. I would also like to see just what modern updates to the engines, transmissions, and other parts of the AMC cars could do to make them the snarling road beasts that they were meant to be in their lives. Could you imagine a 1,000, or more, horsepower AMC Javelin, Hornet, Concorde, Hornet Sport Wagon, Hornet Hatchback, Eagle, Sprint, Matador, AMX, Rebel, Machine, Ambassador, Rambler, or Marlin, as well as an equal amount of torque, quad carburators, Brembo, or other top of the line brakes, turbochargers, superchargers, and other modern goodies?
the 2 AMC vehicles i have owned in the past were the 1972 AMC Javelin SST with a 401 4bbl v8 ,& 1971 AMC Hornet Sportabout wagon with the 258 inline 6.....both great cars!!
AMC was a major contributor of innovative products. Pacer Gremlin and Eagle are good examples along with the Hornet. The demise of AMC was a loss to the American car consumer and to the industry.
My Dad owned a 71 and a 76 hornet sportabout wagons back in the 1970's. The 71 had the 232 and the 76 had the 258 straight 6 engines. Both Automatics and both bulletproof in reliability.
I had a 304 1974 Sportabout - was not the model of reliability - more nickel and dime stuff - the main engine and transmission held together but about everything else had problems. I remember being able to push my fingers under the windshield to touch the hood.........my 1968 Cougar would NOT do that.
In high school, I had a '72 Hornet. The original 304 V-8 gave out 6 months after I got it, so my dad & I dropped a 360 out of a wrecked Ambassador. That thing was a hairy little BEAST with that 360 in it. Hardly ever lost a light-to-light race once the 360 went in. A great little car...
My first car was a ‘71 hornet. The 232 was indestructible provided points, plugs and condenser were changed regularly. I loved that car. The fully reclining bucket seats were pretty awesome too!
Thomas Barnard that’s ok. The AMC/Eagle Premier’s (released right before the buyout) legacy is still going on, over 30 years later. The premier was one of the earliest cab forward designed car, something Chrysler, through their purchase of AMC, used for years in the 90s. Plus the premier’s platform became the Chrysler LH platform which nearly every Chrysler car was built on into the early 2000s. Plus since the LH platform was also designed to also be RWD (designated as LX), its still being used to this day under the current Charger, challenger and 300C (with updates). And even the plant that the LX cars are built in is an old AMC factory.
From 1971-75 the Hornet Sportabout was the only domestic compact wagon, at a time when the subcompacts were all two-doors and the midsize wagons barely smaller than the record-huge full sizes. In 1971 over half of all Hornets built were wagons and it was the top seller for the rest of the run.
My first car in the mid ‘80s was a ‘76 Green Hornet Sportabout. I don’t think I really appreciated that car until much later. It was the perfect car for a high school kid, very practical and could haul a bunch of friends but not fast enough to get you into trouble.
As many car historians have said, AMC was ahead of the curve with the Eagle as American buyers didn't warm to AWD until much later, starting with the (expensive) Audi Quattro. In the 1990s, Subaru almost left the US until it decided AWD was their true niche as it couldn't compete with Honda/Toyota/Nissan on FWD. Today, it is almost a requirement for a car, much less an SUV, to offer AWD/4WD as an option. If American buyers had seen AWD as a true benefit, AMC could have remained independent by being the "Subaru" of the 1980s.
There is a rumor that Audi stole the AWD design from AMC. In the late 70s AMC was buying 4 cylinder engines from VW/Audi. VW/Audi engineers were sent to AMC to help them integrate the engines into existing AMC vehicles. It is believed that those VW engineers saw some of AMC’s designs for several AWD systems that later highly resembled the Quattro AWD setup that Audi later came out with. A little Corprate espionage possibly? Subaru later used an old AMC/Eagle slogan for years, “The Beauty of All Wheel Drive”.
@@CamaroAmx Chrysler kept Subaru in business by killing Eagle. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've been at a gas station and some nostalgic Subaru owner told me they wish they never got rid of their Engle.
My first car was a '75 Hornet D/L with the 258 six. Comfortable, easy to work on, nice power off the line/fun to drive, decent on gas. Not real quick at higher speeds, but speed limit was 55, so didn't matter. Laying rubber at a stop sign was driving fun back then, not driving 100 on the freeway like now
The Jeep brand would have never disappeared. Ford or GM would have been all over that. Jeep/AMC was actually way ahead of the game with regards to AWD. Their plan in the late 70’s was to make every vehicle AWD. The Jeep Quadratrac was miles ahead of everyone else for AWD. The Jeep Cherokee release was delayed by Chrysler and caused Jeep to miss being first to market with the SUV, the GM S-10 series beat it out. For those that remember, the Jeep J-10/ Honcho pickup was a great truck too. AMC just didn’t have a big enough dealer market to sell enough cars. They made some great ones.
And AMC’s last car platform is still being made. The LH platform is a slightly tweaked version of a platform that AMC started using shortly before the buyout. The LH platform was used for years as the basis for the Chrysler “cloud” cars in the 90s (breeze, cirrus, Sebring, stratus, intrepid). And since the design is able to use FWD (LH) or RWD (LX), it’s still around (with updating) today as the Charger, Challenger and 300C. They are even built in the last factory AMC built, Brampton-Ontario. The AMC straight 6/4 lasted until 2006. The AMC Model 20 rear is still used as the Dana 44 (with some changes). Even AMC door handles lasted until 2006 on Wranglers (they were originally designed for AMC’s cars in the 60s).
I loved these in the seventies. You used to see them everywhere. I think AMC may have been the first to feature "designer editions" of cars with its Gucci Hornet, a few years before Lincoln was offering its designer editions of the Mark series. AMC was also famous in the seventies for contracting with Levi's to produce Levi's editions of its models featuring denim seat upholstery complete with Levi's tags like on Levi's jeans.
Great story.. I bought a new '74 Hornet hatchback 258ci. because of the fuel embargo. It was strong enough to tow U-hauls across country and served me well for many years. Nice to know it saved Jeep as I now drive Jeeps.
In summer of 74 I ordered a Hornet Hatchback, X package, 258 w/3 speed, PS, disc brakes, limited slip rear end w/3.08 gear ratio, front sway bar, white w/orange stripe, no radio and Levi interior. $3200 out the door. Drove it from the dealer to the auto parts store and bought better shocks. Then I drove it to the store selling car stereos and bought a Craig tape deck that you could remove from the mount. Tape decks were getting jacked all the time.
Thank goodness they survived. I wish they were bought by gm though. My aunt had a 71 woody wagon. No hubcaps and lots of rust. The exhaust leaks made it sound awesome. I'd have to say that behind the javelin the hornet was their best. Bucket list an AMX or sc360 for me please!!
Especially with compacts, amc by far had the best quality ones of the era. Just feel AMC was extremely high quality and well thought out for their limited budget
Well, thank you Hornet. I am still driving my 2001 Cherokee. I never owned an AMC. But many of my family and friends did. I always thought they were very cool little cars. The AMC car I admired most was the Eagle. It was an idea ahead of its time.
This is one of my favorite channels on RU-vid. I get to reminisce about cars in my past just like the Hornet and Gremlin which I owned one of each when I was younger...💯
I was shuttled around in bare bones '73 metallic blue four door with an inline six in the late 70s-early-80s. It had a beautiful zinc hornet gas cap that an adult forgot to put back after filling up and was lost forever.
We saw lot of right hand drive Ramblers in Australia too despite earlier advice in comments here, but called Rambler not AMC. Likely the most common US sourced car in Australia in the 1960s. Assembled at the Port Melbourne factory of Australian Motor Industries alongside Toyotas, Mercedes Benz and Triumphs amongst others, with some local content such as Australian developed right hand drive dashboards. Stopped when Toyota liked the results of their cars so much they took over the company around 1972. So Ramblers assembled to Toyota standards. Larger Rambler V8s and later Rebels used as Police cars in Sydney New South Wales in the mid 1960s , whereas Victoria Police went for Studebakers at the same time. The upmarket good looking Hornet 6 was the last produced and found some buyers willing to pay a premium for something similar but different than the Australian Falcons and GM Holdens. A few Javelins and AMXs assembled too, but about 50% dearer than the local competition from Falcon GT HO with the 351 V8 or 350 V8 GM Holden Monaro , so only small numbers made here. Ramblers here, were thought of as luxury cars for people a bit richer than average. Search Rambler Australia here to find more.
I had a '77 Hornet hatchback, by buddy had a '74 Sportabout. The biggest issue with them wasn't the powertrain, it was the body. They rusted out faster than just about any other car on the market, even worse than the Japanese cars did at the time. It was especially bad in the front fenders. I purchased my '77 in 1983 for $100 so it was about 6 years old at the time. It ran great but there were already rust holes in the fenders large enough to put my fist through! Doors were rotting out at the bottom, rear quarters were rotting out too. This was in the Chicago area so they saw a lot of road salt but still, fist sized rust holes at 6 years means it probably started to rust thru the body at 3 or 4 years old. AMC was generally viewed at the time as cheap cars that folks with limited means bought (like me!). As we moved into the 80's folks were becoming much more materialistic and image was becoming important so most didn't want to be caught dead seen riding in an AMC which helped to seal their fate.
And the Quattro system is suspiciously similar to a version AMC designed around the same time VW/Audi was helping AMC integrate their 4 cylinder engines into AMC cars years before the Quattro came out . A little corporate espionage?
Always loved the AMX 69&73 Javelin with the 401. A nice set of rims traction bar's 4 speed beautiful. They remind me of the Falcon XB Mad Max Interceptor.
The Matador also helped save American Motors and Jeep. The Police Dept in my town used Matadors with the 401 cubic inch motor fir a few years. It was actually a pretty good price car at that time.
Our first NEW family car that I was old enough to drive was a 1970 AMC Hornet with the 232 engine. It was a great looking car that had a lot of pep! As a 16 year old it was an acceptable substitute for the muscle car I wanted 10:49 my father to buy. We looked at the Mustang & Road Runner, but my wise father chose something much more sensible. Many fond memories driving that car over the years. Many years later I purchase my first Jeep Grand Cherokee and owned three different ones over 30 years. Love Jeeps. I never knew that our Hornet provided me with the opportunity to drive Jeeps. Thanks. Great video!
Loved these cars. I'll take mine as a 1971 wagon with 304 V8, thanks. Pity Ramber / AMC folded. For a time, they made good, humble cars. And yes, I'm a "boomer".
@Gert van der Horst Perhaps that was Lee's aim, but the 1993--2004 Chrysler LH platform cars, known in Chrysler advertising as "Cab Forward design", came from AMC / Renault Eagle Premier design.
My mom had a 76 Hornet Wagon that I drove through High School. While it was technically bland, it was roomy for a very nimble car, never gave us a minute of trouble, for an economy mid size car it handled amazingly well, and was really comfortable. I would love to lay my hands on a like new Eagle wagon with a 4.2L swapped to a Mopar Performance multi point fuel injection.
I had a 75 Hornet hatchback 304. Sport package with buckets console shift and decal striping, rally wheels. I loved that little car. Perfect at the time for a kid in college. Kinda big brother to my previous Vega GT.
Very good and thorough coverage of AMC and the Hornet. I had no idea of the AMC production numbers. AMC made the most of the little they had. I had the opportunity to ride in a Rambler Scrambler and was very impressed. I wonder if the Gremlin had looked like the Spirit would it have sold better? AMC was just a bit ahead of the market with the Eagle and Cherokee
Well, if you think about it...the inline 6 platform was designed in 1966. That same platform continued with the 4.0 liter, that lasted into the next century.
wastegate - Exactly. If anyone considered those engines durable it’s only because they were underperforming, utilitarian A to B engines, like in a tractor or something. In the racing world only AMX’s, some top end Javelins, and maybe that “ The Machine” monstrosity came close to the other manufacturers top end performance contenders. The rest of AMC’s output was pretty mundane stuff. 🚜
Hard to really say. Jeep was always a solid money maker for AMC. It’s always been a shame that AMC got bought by Chrysler. AMC was on an upswing in sales and profitability by 1987. AMC had several vehicles and platforms that would sell very well in the pipeline. The Jeep Grand Cherokee was basically done by the time Chrysler got Jeep. That sold very well. The Eagle premier had an early version of what Chrysler would later call the LH platform and had cab forward styling. The cab forward design became a signature design element for Chrysler cars in the 90s and they sold very well. The LH platform is still technically in use today. The LX platform is the rwd version of the LH platform (as the LH platform was designed to be rwd or fwd with LH for fwd versions and LX for rwd versions). Chrysler got a lot more then Jeep when they bought AMC. They got a new platform that, with some tweaking, would be used for the next 30 years, they got a team system that allowed vehicles to go from concept to production faster then ever, they learned a lot of money stretching ideas that in turn made Chrysler the most profitable car company in the world during the 90s, and they got an influx of new talent that would help design future popular cars for years (they were apart of team viper, helped design the 94 Ram, Viper, neon, PT Cruiser, Prowler and many others). And they got a brand new state of the art factory that they still use today (the Brampton, Ontario plant that currently builds the Charger, Challenger and 300). Plus they got always money making Jeep and their lucrative government contracts.
Great video! I ordered a brand new 77 Hornet Hatchback with a 304, Posi-traction, Cruise Control and a few other goodies. I STILL HAVE IT, LOVE IT AND DRIVE IT! People are amazed when they see it, because most of idea what it is, or what an AMC is. The one mistake that you made was that you could not order the AMX in 77, I know because I heard it was coming but would not be available till 78. I have the 1977 and the 1978 Hornet Brochures and it is only shown in the 1978 edition. Great Job Done!.
Had a 1975 Hornet X hatchback with 258 and three speed manual with electric overdrive. Got great milage on highway. Also didn't need a tent when camping, with rear seat down had a little over six feet to sleep.
Being from West Virginia we’re always for the underdog, loved these old Hornets, Javelins looked a little to in the future, we had a neighbor that had one and it looked like a spaceship inside and out compared to my grandfather’s 62 Falcon and they kept it for years must have been a pretty good car. They was kind of like British Leyland destined to die🥲
What an excellent video! Your clarity, your research, and your great detail make me stick around. I believe I have seen this video several times, but it's just so darn enjoyable.
Thanks for good documentary on Hornet. -around '69/'70 AMC sold Kelvinator, bought Jeep & formed AM General. AM General enjoyed postal and military vehicle production contracts. -from heavy trucks to mail delivery vans. By '77 they made a public announcement that they'd sold more Jeeps than cars & actually turned a profit. This motovated their morph into Jeep Eagle
I had a 77 Hornet with the 258 and a three speed on the floor. I bought it for 500 dollars in 1993. Think it had 40K miles on it. It lasted for seven years. So simple....It just would not die. Just slowly rusted away....... 2 Door Sedan in baby blue
AMC dealers rarely got anything decent on trade-in's. But when when the Jeep craze hit, all of a sudden AMC dealers started getting high end cars on their used car lots. People were trading in expensive cars for CJ's and XJ's. I had a V8 Gremlin and enjoyed it very much!!
I've always wanted an AMC Eagle 4 wheel drive. I thought they were pretty cool when I was a teen in the early 80s. By the time I could afford a new car in 87 they weren't making the ones I liked any more. Don't really see many examples left where I live.
I also like the AMC Eagles as well. The AMC Eagle and the Subaru 4wd wagons from the same era were really the first "crossover" vehicles. Compare to today's Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V, the Eagle wagon definitely has more character.
... Of all things, in Jan '24, I was lucky enough to buy a 1973 AMC Hornet Sportabout Gucci X ... Running, driving, 258 I6, automatic, tilt steering wheel, sport steering wheel, fancy wheels, Gucci interior seats and headliner, independent & reclining front seats, a locking storage area, and roof rack ... Could use a paint job ... The body is rust and dent free ... Who could predict I'd buy a fifty year old car in 2024 ? 🇺🇸
AMC was AWESOME with the BEST Jeeps ever made! The AMC Eagle. Concord, and Spirit are GORGEOUS cars to this day! AMC should of NEVER gone out of business. Just IMAGINE what they would be making today!
When I worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation, we had an old AMC Concorde in our motor pool. Prior to us getting it, it had been assigned to the Director of Highways (Harold Monroney). By the time we got it, it was a tired old vehicle with over 180,000 miles on it. I remember driving it once. The fuel pick up hesitated whenever you went around a corner and the windshield wipers were really noisy. The air conditioner would freeze you out, but it also put out a fog of cold air.
When l was a senior in H.S. and for 2 years after that l owned a 74 A.M.C. Hornet Sportabout wagon. I loved that car. 258-6cyl. auto. School bus yellow with a black stripe down the side and black int. I eventually sold it and bought a 73 Ford F-100 to use working construction. I miss that car.
Great content, The Hornet and its sucessors were definitely critical for AMC, although I would argue it was Jeep that saved this platform by enabling the 4WD version to be developed. Had AMC not acquired Jeep in 1970, there would be no Eagle to carry it into the late 1980s.
401ci Hornet S models would of course be fantastic. The 4cyl. was 151ci - 2500cc - ealiers were bi directionaly located valves. Earlier 232ci. Overhead Cam was a goat of a climber in a 65' wagoneer - (not conventional valvetrain 232ci type).
Keep up the great work on this wonderful, informative channel. Thank you for your work putting it out here for all of us old pistonheads. First Hornet hood striping I've ever seen.
Gonna be starting on my sons 76 hornet hatch back.. just picked up a rebuildable 304 , still looking for a 4 speed for it. Should be a fun first car for him
I worked for AMC from 1975 until Chrysler took over. They were good cars but kind of homely. My AMC was a 1970 Rebel Machine, man I loved that car and with factory gear upgrades it was just a smidge below 14 seconds flat in the quarter on 60 series street tires. My dad had the Hornet AMX in red, very good very slow.
