AMC Concord

The AMC Concord was introduced in 1978 as a replacement for the outgoing Hornet compact. While the Concord sported a different nose and tail treatment than the Hornet, it still had the Hornet's same body, chassis and running gear that was introduced in 1970. The Concord, however, was more nicely appointed than the Hornet was and ended up being a much better seller. The Concord would be offered with little change through the 1983 model year.

1978-1983
The 1978 Concord inherited all of the old Hornet's bodystyles, namely a 2-door coupe, 3-door hatchback, 4-door sedan and a 5-door wagon. Trim levels were base, DL and DL Limited versions. Standard engine was the 3.8L 232 cid I6, with the 4.2L 258 cid I6 (the most popular drivetrain) and the 5.0L 304 cid V8 as options. An interesting limited-edition AMX stripe-and-decal package was available on the hatchback that had its own distinctive styling cues and the 304 V8 engine. This is perhaps the only Concord model that would attract any type of minor collector interest. 1979 Concords got a new, more elegant-looking nose that had quad headlights with the parking lights directly underneath. Now that the Matador was gone, the Concord was now AMC's largest car. The Concord hatchback model lasted only one year and was dropped for 1979, as was the AMX package. All drivetrains carried over into this year. 1980 Concords recieved new larger taillights that wrapped around to the sides. The 2-door models had new larger square quarter windows while the 4-doors got a third side window (or "opera" window). Major shuffling occured in the drivetrain department as well; the 232 I6 and the 304 V8 were no longer available, the base engine was now a Pontiac-produced 2.5L 151 cid I4 (yes, the "Iron Duke" engine). The 258 cid I6 was now the top engine option. Both engines were available with a 4-speed manual or a 3-speed automatic transmission. 1980 was also the premier year of the Eagle, which was basically a 4-wheel-drive Concord (a car that actually proved to be way ahead of its time).

1981 models received revised grilles, and a 5-speed manual transmission became an option on both engines, but were otherwise unchanged. 1982 models had no appreciable changes either, and the final 1983 models were left pretty much untouched as well. The Concord would die after 1983, but the 4WD Eagle would nonetheless live on until the beginning of the 1988 model year. The Concord was based on a 13-year-old design, and by this time, AMC had partnered up with the French-made Renault and the Concord no longer fit into AMC's plans. There was no direct successor to the Concord, but one could argue that the new Renault Alliance, which debuted in 1983, could be considered at least a spiritual successor.

Competitors

 * Buick Skylark
 * Chevrolet Nova/Citation
 * Dodge Aspen/Aries
 * Ford Fairmont
 * Mercury Zephyr
 * Oldsmobile Omega
 * Plymouth Volare/Reliant
 * Pontiac Phoenix