(first posted 6/29/2015) Leave it to me. At a car show surrounded by seductive chariots spanning from 1933 to 1977, I manage to fall in love with an AMC Hornet. I guess in terms of old machinery (and brunettes with glasses, aka my wife), love at first sight is no myth. I already have the girl, but if it’s possible to have a crush on a car, I’m lost, man, lost.
We’ve had Hornet Sportabouts on here before, and judging by the response to those, I’m not alone in my whirlwind affair with this wallflower. Of course, this nerd girl has come to the dance dressed to kill. Oh, Hornet, your butterscotch paint and harmonizing white stripe leave me weak in the knees.
Of course, sometimes there’s just a little detail that makes you fall in love all over again, like a Hornet badge that’s almost a touch too precious. Ah, what’s the use? Let’s suspend our disbelief a while longer.
I was meant to adore thee, oh Hornet. Your hubcaps have stung me like Cupid’s arrow. When I was a kid, I saw a ladybug and a bumblebee sitting near each other, and I was hell bent on petting just one of them. I chose the bee…was it cosmic foreshadowing? It stung like hell, the price I paid for thinking a bee was fuzzy and beautiful.
Of course, an AMC Hornet could cause similar exquisite pain; all old cars do. Their beauty and allure draw a poor, mixed up fella in until one day he’s trying to yank the driver’s side axle out of his Dart wagon on a nasty garage floor, and he just can’t get it and he wonders why he bothers. Oh wait. Too close to home…Damn you, Hornet, you temptress!
Of course, what makes the Sportabout is the tailgate. Somehow, a Hornet sedan or even an SC/360 with its bellowing engine can’t fascinate like the wagon can. How backwards is a company when its workaday choremobile is the Brigitte Bardot of the bunch? Oh god, did I just compare a Hornet to her? I’m a mess, and it’s not just the car…why am I using a 50 year old cultural reference? Hornet!!!!
I’m fairly certain I’m off the deep end here, but just in case anybody is following me like a lemming, here’s another shot of the Hornet’s best angle. Even those government bumpers can’t spoil the Hornet. Not to mention, is it just me, or did AMC get these bumpers far more right than the Big Three did (Firebirds, perhaps, notwithstanding)?
Remember that scene in The Graduate where Benjamin Braddock wistfully signed Elaine’s name over and over again on a piece of notebook paper? I’m not saying I’ve copied that scene, replacing “Elaine” with “Sportabout,” but I’m not saying I haven’t.
Alas, this love affair is not to be, and it’s just as well. All the magnets at the car shows share a similar warning, for good reason: “look, but don’t touch.” In fact, here’s this Hornet’s owner locking her up so no weirdos try to run off with her, uh, it. Additionally, one must respect the bond between owner and car; after all, I don’t like when overzealous old guys drool all over my ’53 Special. It makes me jealous and defensive. Therefore, I’ll just chalk this up to a chance encounter on the street. Just a glance, nothing more. Please, Hornet, don’t haunt my dreams!
🙂
In some ways these cars were ahead of their time. Unibody compact “crossovers” in an age filled with body on frame dinosaurs.
My thoughts exactly. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that they still build the Sportabout to this day; they just call them CUVs.
Or maybe a Subaru. Is it possible that, back in the day, Subaru took one look at the Sportabout and decided that was the direction they wanted to take their product line?
We had a 77(?) and it was a backfiring menace.
However, this doesn’t look so bad. Someone has really but some time and love into this car and it shows.
looks can kill
@Lynne :
Engines of this period that backfire are usually the “gulp valve” slicking, failing or the vacuum hose simply fell off .
-Nate
I find these Hornet/Concord/Eagle wagons to be strangely handsome cars. This ’74 has one of the nicer-looking radiator grilles from that 18-year run, too.
Completely agree. Very attractive shape and size, easy to see why it lasted so long in its Hornet -> Concord -> Eagle guise.
And that grille treatment is very nice.
I like the original grill from the 70 model, which had a nice clean look to it. Turn the 74 grill inside out and it would look like a 63 Rambler Classic !
My mother had a ’73 Sportabout (similar color with a wood grain decal on the side) back during my teenage years. It had a 258 with an automatic as well as, really exotic for the time, disc brakes on the front.
I was charged with taking care of it, and I gained a lot of my mechanical knowledge from that car. It was really straightforward and nothing was particularly hard to do.
Overall, it was a solid and reliable car. It’s worst fault was the fact that the window crank knobs would fall off with regularity.
Sad to say, I did not have the kind of appreciation for it expressed by our story author. My head was filled with dreams of fire breathing muscle cars at the time.
You know you’re getting old when you stop lusting after sixties’ GTOs and Roadrunners, and get wistful over a Hornet Sportabout.
Word.
Our family also had a 73 Sportabout with the 258 six and auto Trans .
I always liked the “form” of this car. The sedan, especially the two-door, looks a bit frumpy but the wagon version just looks right to this architect.
Years ago I had the “opportunity” to drive a recent model AMC Concord with the 258 cu. in. six. It held its own on the open highways in Texas where the 55mph national speed limit was laughably ignored. It was no dragster but neither did it mind going 75 for hours on end. That particular vehicle had the DL trim and was notably quiet and comfortable especially compared to other cars in its size range.
If I wanted to get an older car today just for the fun of it the Hornet would be a very strong candidate. I would be interested to know whether it would embarrass my children or amaze them with the level of cool their father does possess.
A car like this is mighty appealing to me, too, but I have to wonder about parts availability.
Most mechanical parts would be no problem. The 258 six was also used in Jeeps. Automatic transmission in these from ’72 on would be a Chrysler Torqueflite, still easily serviced. Starting in 1972 AMC cars also came with electric wipers which was a nice upgrade from previous models. These are basic cars and easy to work on.
Body parts would be scarce. (Chrysler destroyed all of the pre-1980 AMC parts as well as the tools to make them when they took the company over.)
You have described my life. As many times as I have fallen in love with a car and bought it, there were at least 20 that I fell in love with but did not (usually could not) buy. Just last weekend in the parking area for a car show sat a 64 Studebaker 2 door sedan with a V8 and a 4 speed. And a For Sale sign in the window. Gaaaaaa!
Although I have never come under much of a swoon for AMC stuff, I do like the Sportabout. I would have to do something about those wheelcovers, though. Didn’t like them in the 70s, and still don’t. That Matador wagon right next door looks pretty nice too . . . .
Here’s another shot, JP…
Such a beautiful car. And then . . . it turns around and faces the camera. Aaaaggggghhhh!
Which Twilight Zone ep is this?
“Which Twilight Zone ep is this?”
Eye of the Beholder. For the benefit of our younger readers, the plot: A female medical patient with bandages on her face. You only see the backs of the heads of the medical people. All of the talk is whether she will be cured or sentenced to a life of ugly disfigurement. They take off the bandages. The beautiful woman looks in the mirror and screams, because the operation was a failure. Then you see the faces of the doctors and nurses.
This was all I could think of after seeing the alluring rear 3/4 shot of that Matador wagon – I had assumed it to be a pre-74. Then I saw the front and had the same jarring reaction I had the first time I watched that Twilight Zone episode.
Then I saw the front and had the same jarring reaction I had the first time I watched that Twilight Zone episode.
Some of the AMC styling guys show up at the local AMC meet in Livonia each year (while the AMC plant was in Kenosha, the HQ, engineering and styling were in metro Detroit) If I think of it, I should ask them why they did what they did with the senior 74s. My guess was adapting what was a 1967 platform to mid 70s crash test standards required more front crush space.
This is what the Matador looked like when if first replaced the Rebel in 71.
“This is what the Matador looked like when if first replaced the Rebel in 71. ” .
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Not only beautiful but good handlers (unlike most AMC products) and seriously heavy duty .
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L.A.P.D. bought these Matadors for several years : Sedans for Panda and metro duty , wagons for Division support and Captains cars .
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Some a-hole in assembly in 1974 thought it funny to not tighten the lower left front ball joint nut on RPO Police models (only) so we had a few crashes when they let go usually at speed , other wise these were trouble free cars and we still had Matador Wagons & Metro cars in daily service into the 1990’s .
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-Nate
Not only beautiful but good handlers (unlike most AMC products) and seriously heavy duty .
What made me an AMC disciple was when I worked at the foundry in 75. The company had two cars a 74 LTD and the 74 Ambassador. The Amby handled lights years better than the Ford. Both had about 45K on them, but the Ford wallowed and bobbed all over the road. The Amby was smooth and responsive.
Steve, I think We solved this one awhile back. The 74 Ambassador had a bit of a protrusion, but an attractive one. The Amby’s extra wheelbase was all in the doghouse. For some reason, it looks like they kept the underhood structure and hood latch point the same on both cars, and cut down the sides of the hood. The same kind of screaming cost cutting as the front of the 58 Studebaker, IMHO. Engineer a shorter wheelbase but keep the same overall length? Gaaah!
Why they couldn’t have just kept the Ambassador pieces, and sold two cars – the high level Amby and the low level Matador. A mystery, because they ended up killing the pretty one and trying to sell the ugly one for the rest of it’s existence.
For some reason, it looks like they kept the underhood structure and hood latch point the same on both cars, and cut down the sides of the hood.
I checked classiccardatabase for overall length.
73 Ambassador: 212.9
74 Ambassador: 219.3
73 Matador: 208.5
74 Matador: 216
73 Ford Torino (for comparison) 212
74 Torino: 215
So the 74 crash bumpers added 6.4″ to the Amby, 7.5″ to the Matador and only 3″ to the Torino.
All the length difference between the Amby and Matador was in front of the firewall. Both AMC products grew more than the Torino, which had received a new platform in 72.
It looks to me like both AMC products needed to add more crush room in front to meet crash standards The Matador, having a shorter front clip than the Amby in the first place, had to have more crush room added. That would also answer the question of why AMC didn’t downsize the Matador to improve fuel economy by reverting to the Rebel’s 114″ wheelbase: the Rebel’s front clip, being 4″ shorter than the Matador’s would not have had enough crush room.
I need to remember to ask the styling guys about this at the next meet. The youngest of them only came on board near the end of the Pacer’s run. The others are quite elderly and we need to capture this knowledge before they are gone.
Steve, there were no “crush zone” standards to meet in 1974. In fact, it was essentially the opposite: the 5 mile bumpers had to take a hit at that speed without any damage to the rest of the car. That’s why they stuck out so far.
So as far as I can tell, the 5 mile bumpers on the Amby are not the reason for the additional length. In particular: there was no need to extend the nose for that standard; as the bumper had to take it anywhere along its front. In fact, nobody else did that.
I have to assume that the reason was stylistic/marketing, simply ta way to give the Amby more length to compete better against the giant full size cars from the competition. I see no reason why AMC couldn’t have just modified the existing ’73 front end and added the typical 5 mile bumper like everyone else.
Steve, those measurements are fascinating. From pictures, I have a hard time seeing where the Matador loses the 3 inches of overall length from the Ambassador. I can see the shorter wheelbase, but the Matador looks like what it loses in wheelbase, it makes up for in front overhang. It would be interesting to learn about this, as nobody seems to have cared up to now. I have to believe that there were manufacturing compromises in the Matador that dictated that snout.
Jim, did you spot the NYer on the other side of the road from the Sportabout? White with a red top.
Only after you pointed it out. This show was a 70s-fest, for sure. The problem with too many 70s cars all together in the same place at the same time (at least for me) is that it reminds me why I drove mostly 60s cars when these were so common. 🙂
I may have said this before somewhere, But IMO the AMC Sportabout was the one time when the wagon was the style leader of it’s line. the coupe and sedan seemed to be derived from the wagon rather than the other way around.
The Hornet Sportabout-along with the hatchback version were easily the best looking versions of the Hornet/Concord/Eagle. Dick Teague did a really good job of integrating those 5 mph bumpers into the overall design as opposed to say, Fords, where they simply looked like an afterthought. The Eagle version of this vehicle was an absolutely great looking vehicle-my favorite AMC automobile.
While everyone remembers the seventies AMC misfires (Gremlin, Pacer, Matador coupe), the Sportabout was one of their all-too-rare (and maybe their last) hits. It’s a shame it wasn’t more popular because it truly was a decent looking, practical car that still had styling flare.
OTOH, if the Sportabout had been more popular, the Big 3 would have surely gotten similar products into production and ran AMC out of business that much sooner, a la what was done to Studebaker when the Lark turned out to be a success.
I had a ’73 Hatchback in college, fire engine red. I loved that thing – perfect size, and sporty to boot.
The Sportabout was attractive as well…perhaps why I’ve gravitated to an Outback…
I loved how AMCs small cars like this were almost always available with a V8. Make mine a V8 or let me drop a fuel injected straight 6 from a Wrangler in there.
A 4.0L HO with the Aisin Warner 4-Speed from the XJ would make a really nice driver.
That is not a 1974, it is a 1973… You can tell be the grille. I used to own a 1973 Hornet 4 door sedan, and it had the same grille and pointy hubcaps.
Mine was primer grey, with a fugly plaid interior, Sparkomatic shit radio(all treble, NO bass, lol) and the bulletproof AMC inline 6.
It could be a 1974, if it was an early production model, which got the leftover 1973 bits.
It’s probably a ’74. According to the brochures at TOCMP, the ’73 and ’74 Hornet used the same grille and hubcaps. The big difference is the black front and rear bumper guards on the ’74, seen on the featured car. The Hornet got a new grille for 1975.
Okay, you’re right, tonyola.
I always thought that grille was a 1973 only option. Always preferred the 1975-77 grille, with the square turn signals.
The big tip-off to tell a ’73 from a ’74 is the rear bumper. 1973 Hornets all had a 2.5 MPH rear bumper, which looked like the earlier bumper but extended. 1974 models went with the full 5 MPH bumper, which sat lower and had a much larger filler panel. The grilles are the same.
I would happily make room in my garage for this Sportabout.
If that’s an accurate year-of-manufacture license plate on the back, then I’d say this is a 1973 model. 🙂
Michigan used the 1973 plate with tabs in 1974 and 1975. This is a 1974 model because the sign on the window at the show said it was a 1974 model. 🙂
This is a beautiful car. Thanks for sharing the pics and the prose. There’s a car lot down the road with a 78 powder blue Cutlass and a two door silver Granada sitting side by side. My resistance is getting weak….
A nice and affordable red and white one appeared on Craigslist a few days ago. I forwarded the ad to myself for further consideration but I think you need it more.
Sportabout….the name itself is priceless.
It’s too bad that, with all the retro-mania a few years back, Chrysler couldn’t have, somehow, worked what would become the craptacular Caliber into a new Sportabout. Then, they even had a second chance when they spat out the lackluster, Caliber-based Compass. Either one of those, with just a little ingenuity, could have been a new retro-Sportabout. It really is too good a name to waste, not to mention that the car it was attached to was pretty good, as well.
I feel your feelings. Maybe not quite so much for this particular car, but I fall for others all the time. My way of dealing with my crushes is to shoot them and write them up, after which I’m usually more ready to move on….to the next crush. Like that ’59 Lark hardtop I found at Home Depot….
Always thought this was a handsome body. I even liked the two-door sedan; something basic but well proportioned about them. I see everyone seems to agree about the wheel covers, though. They look like oversize buttons on a child’s coat.
The interiors were a bit strange though. Those plaids didn’t make it, and the seats were thin, but the oddness hit its heights in the design of the dash. I briefly owned an Eagle wagon and it had a full length parcel shelf, the ends of which bisected a/c outlets in a Jetson-esque way.
Jeeze, I just remembered, I still have a set of alloys for it…
It was a progenitor of my current Outback, for sure.
Nice looking Hornet. I used to see these a lot when I was a boy. I would’ve liked this over the Matador of the same year. The Matador 4 door sedan and wagon was nicer looking than the coupe. But the Hornet would’ve been more my size.
Wow, Aaron…you have a helluva way of telling a story! Thats a compliment, of course! Entertaining read, as always. I have a soft spot for AMCs too and while that usually means Kenosha muscle, Hornet wagons have unescapable appeal. Like most nerdy but pretty girls, i wonder if she’s naughty too? As in a tweaked 360 hiding under that hood? Maybe not…but if she were mine…Id corrupt her!
a brunette with glasses? where? where?
seriously, nice write up and yes i’m with you lemming-like all the way. great design cues from curves to the small touches i.e. hood emblem and stinger hubcaps. i mean who does those design cues anymore? on a lacrosse? or a passat?
I too, will walk right past the ‘seen one, seen them all’ red ’69 Camaro* for any uncommon vintage car at a show. Even a Pacer.
* I did like the I6 powered, unmolested ’69 posted here once.
I’m with you on that!
Nice lookin car and not one I’m ever likely to see here, Hornets of any kind are quite thin on the ground at least AMC ones are Ive seen a couple of the Wolseley variety recently but none of the US species.
That was fun read. 🙂 The Hornet’s hubcaps look pretty neat. They remind me of circular saw blades for masonry. The white stripe looks like it should continue up the D-pillar.
Very entertaining! These were certainly attractive wagons. It’s a shame Chevy dumped the Nova wagon before the 70s rolled around as I always thought the Chevy II wagon was handsome. Until the Volaré/Aspen wagons arrived, AMC had this domestic compact wagon segment to itself. And it was quite an enduring design because it didn’t look half bad in Eagle guise a decade later.
A green hatch I’ve seen around
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2914/14499647688_b0db2e808e_b.jpg
Mini-Javelin. There is nothing I don’t love about the first-year ’73 Hornet hatchbacks.
At the last Car show I was at in the UK, there was an AMC Pacer, with an oddball 2-tone paint scheme.
Strangely it kept drawing me back……
The Pacer is quite the interesting contrast to the Thunderbird parked next to it.
This may be the very first Pacer I’ve seen that doesn’t appear to have ungainly proportions; I’m thinking the contrast paint goes a long way toward achieving that.
+100 million. Love this shape. And your purdy prose.
Loved this post. I was an AMC junkie for years, starting at around age 13. I’ve studied the curves of the Sportabout many times – definitely one of Dick Teagues best efforts. When other AMC cars may have had a loser image, even the 80’s Eagle wagon seemed to project upper middle-class success as a first-choice car.
Very nice ! .
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I don’t want one but nevertheless .
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-Nate
I understand the love for this car, in that wonderful copper color: not pilsner, nor root beer, caramel, or toffee of any kind, but maybe bock or, if we must, doppelbock.
That this Sportabout is the surprising nymphet of the Hornet line is further confirmed by the fact that her near-twin sister managed to clothe herself in fashion-house finery: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1972-amc-hornet-gucci-sportabout-the-first-fashion-designer-mobile/
OK, now how many people on this board were at the Motor Muster this year?
We need T shirts so we can recognize eachother.
I spoke with the guy who owns the Sportabout. He also owns the green Matador wagon. He also has a 66 American at home. As I grew up with a 64 Classic and a 70 Ambassador wagon, and spent a lot of windshield time in the 74 Ambassador wagon when I worked at the foundry, we had a lot to discuss.
He didn’t know who owned the other Matador wagon. Had not seem him around.
The other Matador had the fancier interior.
The other wagon owner did eventually show.
I came up from SC. I enjoyed it despite the rain. That being said, I prefer the Old Car Festival they have in September because the truly old cars are so neat to see and hear running around.
My favorite of the show was the blue 59 or 60 Buick 2 door with a manual transmission – I didn’t know there was such a thing.
The Old Car Festival is September 12th & 13th. Perhaps an unofficial CC meet? Heck, maybe Paul would make the trip for an official meet up.
More than the usual amount of AMC love this year
Wonderful upholstery.
That’s one term for it 😉
Found this beauty for sale in Wisconsin. Supposedly original, 48,000 miles. 290/automatic
Reality check. I have a one car garage and will not boot the 1 year old Jetta out in the weather.
Rented garage for the Rebel would cost nearly $2,000/yr. End of fantasy.
My grandfather and three uncles all retired from “Nash Motors” as it was known
at home. A cousin and I did time there, he was down to a few years when the
plant closed. I only lasted a half of a year.
These Hornets were some of the cars I built. Did the first Gremlin too.
Thanks for this post, back to those thrilling days of yesteryear!
Hmmmm, I may be getting old, eh?
OMG, what a post! I laughed, I cried (kinda), but mostly I appreciated the excellent writing that took me somewhere I never thought to go, to a place of appreciation for this funny car. Thanks Aaron!
AMC lover here! Had a number of Concords in the early 90s. The Hornet has lovely lines and that tailgate design is to die for. But I still think the Concord/Eagle wagons were nicer, as well as much better finished inside. The Hornet still had a lot of bare metal showing inside, and seats that left much to be desired. The Concord of ’80-’83 is what AMC should have been building in 1975, just after the gas crisis and when they still had a chokehold on the compact wagon market. Imagine how much they could have raked in, while still building the basic Hornet as the price-leader model. If Chrysler could do the Aspen/Volare at the same time as the LeBaron/Diplomat then why not AMC?
Just a right-sized wagon. For a family of four you don’t really need anything bigger. I would have loved a ’72 with a 304 V8.
Very nice article. As i mentioned in other posts, as a 14 year old in 1970, my tastes ran to Cobra Jet Mustangs and Torinos – I rarely paid attention to anything with 4 or more doors, but I can remember clearly seeing a Sportabout for the first time and thinking, darn, that’s a really nice looking wagon………
This is a beautiful example – big kudo to the owner.
As to knobs falling off, that was a final checkoff item at everything coming out of Kenosha or Toledo in the 60s/70s – back off nut or loosen glue so things fall off after a few months……
While the Sportabout had good styling all around (thanks largely to the decent original Hornet basis), the thing that sets the Sportabout apart from typical wagons is the slanted hatch. Yeah, it cuts down on usable cargo space, but it’s a worthwhile trade-off in how it turns a typical, yawn-inducing station wagon into something quite a bit sportier, yet still eminently practical. The smaller, compact proportions makes everything ‘just right’.
In fact, the Sportabout is the car that I can see lending credence to the theory that, back in the sixties, AMC should have stuck with what they knew (i.e., small cars) rather than trying to compete, mano-a-mano, with the Big 3’s complete product lines. If the Hornet and Sportabout had arrived, say, five years sooner, maybe AMC would have been able to last just a bit longer.
…the thing that sets the Sportabout apart from typical wagons is the slanted hatch.
What happens when you put the Sportabout hatch on the Gremlin platform?
Wow, that’s a cool looking car, and much nicer than the Gremlin. Why didn’t AMC build this instead? It wasn’t until the ’79 model year that AMC did anything remotely similar, with the Spirit hatchback, and they finally opened up the quarter windows for the Spirit sedan.
Why didn’t AMC build this instead?
They probably didn’t think of the Hornet GT until after the Gremlin was in production. The Sportabout didn’t come out until 71, while the Gremlin came out in 70.
Speaking of the Spirit, did you ever see the Spirit/Concord mashup that VAM, AMC’s Mexican operation produced?
The reason the Gremlin got the greenlight, and the concept didn’t, was almost certainly that the concept would have taken the Gremlin out of the ‘subcompact’ class, making it much more obviously just a hatchback Hornet. AMC needed something to compete directly with the Beetle, Vega, and Pinto, so the abbreviated Gremlin got the nod.
What makes me weak-kneed for any Hornet is that I gave my late love-of-my-life wife our first kiss in her shitty beige 1974 4-door sedan Hornet. She took me for a ride and I kissed her for the first time on April 21, 1979 when we got back and I continued kissing her until death did us part on February 14, 2015.
The sight of any Hornet chokes me up.
That’s a great find and a fantastic write up!
Hornets are so extremely rare these days. My parents owned a 73 hatchback, similar color to the example with the big stripe down the side, 258 and a floor shift automatic.
Dad had a look at this fine wagon and compared it to his car, he mentioned it rusted through on the tops of the front fenders within a few years of ownership (they owned it from 73-78).
Got me thinking about a friend’s 79 Spirit which also rusted through on the tops of the front fenders. Was this a fairly common issue with these cars?
Got me thinking about a friend’s 79 Spirit which also rusted through on the tops of the front fenders. Was this a fairly common issue with these cars?
I didn’t live with a Hornet, so not sure about it. Did live with a 64 Classic for 8 years and yes, the 63-64 Classic had a spring mount or bracket in the fender that acted as a rust trap because I used to see a lot of Classics rusted through on the top of the fender.
Do not recall the 70 Ambassador rusting on the tops of the fenders. It’s rust was more normal: rust through on the side of the front fenders behind the wheels, and bottoms of the doors.
On the other hand, I remember seeing Mavericks with no front fenders at all.
Proud former Concord owner here. 258/auto. Love the wagon. Don’t spend much time reliving the past anymore but you could get me to DD one of these.
Handsome, and one of the few AMC cars of the ’70s that looked like it could compete on styling. A sort of friendly look that was enhanced by its nickname. Hobbled in the market by its not so handsome two and four door sedan sisters, by being a Hornet, and by being an AMC.
The Hornet was noted as being the crudest of the American compacts pretty much the day it came on the market. Having spent some wheel time in a ’74 Hornet sedan, it would be hard not to agree. Granted, my sample was a bottom line stripper, but I have to wonder how much the trim packages would have helped. The example I drove was an ex fleet car – rubber floor mats, dog dishes, and zero trim. But, decently ticked off on the options list – Automatic, Power Steering and Brakes, AC and AM radio. It drove slow and crude and was deafening with apparently a complete lack of sound insulation. The AC and tinny AM radio just added to the noise level.
The week after my Hornet experience, I spent a week in a ’77 Plymouth Volare coupe. Actually a pretty decent experience, and it was a lot closer to my ’76 Cutlass in terms of refinement. If not for its reputation, the Volare at face value was kind of appealing. The Hornet, not so much.
Only slightly dorky. The king of the Dorkmobiles in 1974 was the AMC Matador 2 door. Those giant, empty wheelwells and general awkwardness of the design took it to the top of the dork heap. The Pacer would eventually take it’s place, but until then, the Matador was the king. The Oleg Cassini version was the dorkiest of them all:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/74MatadorBrochure.jpg
Great name and a great looker. The “fast” angle to the D-pillar always seems to do wonders for a wagon’s looks, even if it cuts into cargo space–consider the Audi 5000 (100) Avant, Lexus IS300 Sportcross, late 80’s Nissan Sentra wagon…
Love the paint color and the white stripe too. Long gone on the ground by the time I was old enough to notice, though I never saw all that many AMC’s period (other than Eagle wagons) in North Carolina anyway.
FWIW ;
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The goofy looking Gremlin wasn’t in fact a bad car .
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Yes it was slow and had the typical terrible AMC lack of decent handling and takes forever to turn into or out of , any corner unless you drove well below the speed limit however , they were roomy and reasonably reliable , The City Of Los Angeles bought a whole fleet of them for City Hall cars and we kept them in service well into the late 1980’s ~ the only serious problem they ever had was cracking the front suspension cross member ~ that was an easy if time consuming part to change .
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The gas filler caps (not photo please someone find and post) were often stolen and I made a point of always getting the correct replacements .
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-Nate
Mama had one of these she bought off a friend or was it was given to her by a friend. The tranny blew a few hundred feet downhill of the turn she needed to make to get home. I think she was able to limp it around the turn then roll downhill towards home.
You think you’ll ever buy a 1974 AMC Hornet? That’s a hell of a car. My father had a ’76 Gremlin, and this car reminds me of his. He sold it when I was still a youngster, but I’m still nostalgic for the car of my childhood.
Viewed from the era in which this car was conceived, this was a real big deal.
Until the late 1960’s, you could actually buy a “compact” station wagon.
That all changed when the Chevy II, the Falcon, and Chrysler whatever they called them ditched the bodystyle on their versions going into the 1970’s.
I remember my folks wanting something “compact’ but didn’t want anything Japanese. They ended up with a used Falcon wagon for years; across the street the neighbor had a new Sportabout – dark green as I recall. It was sharp compared to the boxy Falcon.
I wouldn’t mind one of these now – fix it up like this orange showroom piece and enjoy it on a Sunday drive.
Does anyone now just do the Sunday drive thing anymore?
In the history of the company that started out as Rambler, they didn’t exactly have ‘hits’ (although there was that one year they managed to sell enough cars to be the number three automaker). More like minor successes, just enough to keep the tiny company limping along, and that’s where the Sportabout comes in. Definitely an old-tech drivetrain, but solid enough for the nicely styled (and practical enough) sheetmetal. And I wonder how much the good name contributed to sales. Would they have sold as many if they had called it a Hornet station wagon?
I might even go so far as to suggest a nice Sportabout survivor might be a better AMC car show choice than some other products that are generally considered more desirable (like the 1969 SC/Rambler or 1970 Rebel ‘Machine’).
Wow, that’s really pretty. I wouldnt change a thing. Except make a space in my driveway for it.
Strangely, AMC did not refer to the Sportabout as a WAGON. They called it a 4 dr hatchback. To me, if there is a window in the rear quarter, behind the back door, it’s a wagon. But AMC didn’t call it that.
This is still a very handsome car, particularly for a station wagon. Even the 5-mph bumper treatments don’t look bad. If only the build and materials quality, and chassis tuning, had been as good as the styling.
Oh my gosh – this brings back such memories! My father bought a ’74 Hornet wagon brand new, his first new car in years and the first car I drove on public roads. It was the car in which I took my driving test. His car was the same exact color as this car & that’s where the similarities end – his was an absolute stripper w/poverty hubcaps, the 232-6 cylinder, no decals, no A/C. I think the automatic transmission was the only option, if it was an option. Rust started forming on the tops of both fenders within two years of ownership, getting progressively worse over time. It was also towed at least a dozen times. I remember the hard plastic steering wheel, the lack of power, zero handling, and lumpy seats as if it were yesterday.
After six memorable years of ownership, my dad had enough and decided to trade it in. He was torn between a Honda Accord and the brand-new (at the time) GM X-car, the Oldsmobile Omega version. He did ask me which I would buy, and my 17-year old self said “Accord”! Needless to say, a lemon-yellow Omega appeared in the driveway, and also appeared also many, many times at the dealership……..!!
We had a 1973 AMC Gremlin, and rust formed in the exact same place, although it didn’t appear until the car was about six years old.
1973 AMC Sportabout had a D7 Trans-Am Red
Never had Fire engine Red.
AMC used that color 1973-1975.