AMC Concord - Origin and Development

Origin and Development

American Motors was unable to develop a completely new car to replace its successful, but aging, Hornet. Competition was expected from the new Ford Fox platform (also introduced for 1978) and the rear-wheel drive GM X platform (introduced in the late 1960s) was still popular. Therefore, the financially strapped, smallest domestic American automaker needed something fresh to continue competing in a class that had long been their core market segment. The 1978 Concord was not much different structurally or mechanically from its predecessor, but with a new appearance and a higher level of appointments and features, it looked more "important" and, like the other AMC models, benefited from an urgent stress 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 promoting the new model as an upscale luxury compact with competitive starting price in the mid-US$4,000 range (adjusted only for inflation equivalent to US$14,253 in 2012 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 handsomer Concord." Richard A. Teague, AMC's top car designer, took AMC's compact platform and gave it noticeable changes starting with a new front end with a slope that gave it a sporty, yet formal appearance. American Motor's design studio under Teague mastered of the art of getting attractive new cars from a minimal investment. The "new" car 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. The roof featured an outlined quarter-vinyl cover that was available in matching or contrasting color.

The new model featured increased sound insulation and suspension upgrades to isolate the interior from vibration and noise. The Concord also came with numerous standard comfort and upscale features. American Motors equipped the "easy-to-handle size" car with a "roomy sumptuous interior that was stuffed, folded and carpeted to within an inch of its life". The Concord also gained an extra inch (25.4 mm) of rear seat headroom, as well as two additional inches (50.8 mm) of legroom for rear seat passengers. 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 9 percent for the 4-door AMC Concord to a high of 97 percent for the 2-door Nissan Sentra.

American Motors was increasingly turning to the rapidly growing four-wheel-drive market, but 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."