(first posted 8/28/2014) The decline of the two-door sedan is related to many factors, but it was a long, drawn-out process. While “personal luxury” began popularizing the more-differentiated coupe at the top of the market, mini-muscle cars were doing the same at the bottom end, and as the dowdy Falcon was replaced by the Maverick, it seemed even conservative Ford tossed the formal look aside for its compact at the dawn of the ’70s. Space efficiency, it would seem, was for squares.
But ever practical and poor, AMC was loath to follow this approach with its new Hornet, where packaging and production efficiencies were especially important. So not only would the Hornet two-door be a practical sedan, it would even share its roof stamping with its four-door brother. In upholding this most orthodox interpretation of the two-door while still looking good, AMC’s compact is a perfect ambassador (pun intended) for the concept. When sedans look this good, who needs a coupe?
Faced with a limited ability to add flair to the design, it was far better to make the car look sleek but conservative–something few others did as successfully in this market segment. It’s a unique look; Chevy and Ford went for the coke bottle, while Chrysler stuck with a classy, lean and upright ’60s bodystyle. The Hornet did neither, and in some ways looks like a car designed at the end of the ’70s; almost international in spirit. In other words, a proper successor for the Rambler American’s plain, effective design, but chunkier, with enough hippiness for a substantial look.
As friendly as mainstream tastes were to minimalism and faired-in hardware in the ’80s and early ’90s, Dick Teague’s design has aged quite well. Good thing, too, because its dynamics let it down and its basic shape would last seventeen years after its 1970 intro. Later versions would be gussied up further and even now, many pictures of Hornets feature them with vinyl tops. Not so this car, photographed by CC-er Laurence Jones; it’s good enough to show off naked, its contemporaries looking cold and sterile by comparison.
By this end of the Hornet’s run, the two-door sedan in its strictest sense was beginning a slow fade from the American compact scene. It would take the Fairmont to briefly revive it in 1978 for a brief fling through the early ’80s, when two-door K-cars and imported subcompacts would keep the flame burning a while longer.
But the trend toward more differentiated “coupes” continued unabated. Personal luxury was slowly replaced by the sporty coupe and hold-outs like the dour Sentra and Jetta (offered with a diesel, but never a sixteen-valve) defined the two-door as basic transportation only. Even three-door hatches were seemingly cooler.
AMC certainly wasn’t unaware, having introduced a three-door “hatchback coupe” to go along with the two-door in 1973, both of which continued as Concords post ’78. Oddly enough, once the Eagle came around, the two-door stuck around while buyers of the hatchback coupe were presumably redirected toward the Gremlin’s jazzed-up Spirit replacement. Sales of the Hornet and its derivatives, with a few exceptions, followed a downward trend through 1987, when they finally went out of production.
But in the meantime, AMC had a short-lived hit on its hands; one which sold relatively well in two-door form, despite the by-then inescapable unpopularity of the bodystyle. This is likely related to the sort of old-fashioned skinflint the company is famous for having attracted, but it seems Kenosha had a rare talent for producing likable, no-nonsense two-door sedans. If nothing else, it’s something to add to the list of American Motors strong suits.
Related reading:
Curbside Classic: 1976 Hornet Hatchback – AMC’s High Water Mark
Curbside Classic: 1970 AMC Hornet – Today Is The First Day of the Rest Of Your Life
The Hornet wasn’t as jazzy as the Maverick, but was a much better car. Counter-balanced hood, seat belt retractors, V-8 and 4 door availability from introduction, glove compartment, wind down rear quarter windows, and eventually, a hatchback and wagon. My sister’s Maverick Grabber was cute as a button, but so cheap inside–the seats felt like lawn chairs.
I beg to differ: Hornets never had roll-down rear glass that I have seen – always fixed, or in the case of the hatchback, flip-open glass.
The Rambler American, I think, had fixed glass by 1970, at least in stripped form.
I think the 2door sedan also had the flip outs (as an option I believe). In the above picture of the ’74 brochure you can just see the little chrome button on the side glass. If you look at other images they either have the button or they don’t. I assume the ones without the button had fixed glass, but could be wrong on that.
The AMC Hornet/Concord/Eagle all body styles and the Ford Maverick/Mercury Comet 2 Door Coupes were actually a size smaller than the Chevrolet Nova, Ford Granada, Plymouth Valiant and Volare’ so both were just barely larger than subcompact cars from that era. Here is the 1978 AMC Concord Ad which shows how its measures up with its direct competitors which BTW were far larger than the Hornet/Concord.
With a 108″ wheelbase, the Hornet was solidly in what had traditionally been the compact segment. These other cars (Nova, Granada, Volare), had all grown out of the traditional compact segment, and were closer to mid-size cars. I would not agree with the statement that the Hornet “was barely larger than subcompact cars from that era”. Subcompacts would have been the Vega, Pinto, and later the Chevette and such. The Hornet was well above them in size and interior room.
Due to GM’s Downsizing of their RWD A later becoming G Bodies and the Ford Fairmont replacing the Maverick here at least in North America, YES its true that the Nova, Granada and Volare’ would have been considered Intermediates in size but prior to the Malibu and Monte Carlo being Downsized, the three oversized Compacts were categorized “Compacts” which I actually don’t agree on because a Compact of any era should at least be below 192.0″ although today’s FWD Malibu (the RWD Nova’s spiritual successor niche’) is considered a Mid-Size at 191.3″. The Nova, Granada and Volare’ coupes were at least 197.0″ give or take about an inch were true Mid-Size Cars.
Always thought the Hornet had good lines.
A car that kept the 2-door sedan alive for longer than most, by the way, is the Honda Accord. While the 1st and 2nd gen cars were only available as 4-door or hatchback models, the 2-door sedan was introduced a year or two into the 3rd generation, I think for 1988. It quickly supplanted the hatchback and continued for the 4th and 5th generation cars. For all three of those generations, as best I can tell, the 2-door and 4-door sedans used the same roof stamping. Though the 5th-gen car did a pretty good job of disguising it with subtle differences in the quarter windows Finally, with the release of the 6th-gen cars in 1998 was the Accord given a proper coupe. But it kept the flame burning until 1997. Have there been any since or was that the last of the Mohicans?
Accords have rooflines lower than their sedan counterparts and less room in rear, so we’re not counting them or other cars like them (think 626 coupe or 88-92 MX-6). I’m not trying to be pedantic, mind you; today is about the two-door sedan in the most orthodox sense (so those barely-coupes will not count as sedans).
I also have a grudge against the Accord coupe for helping kill off the Prelude.
The *new* ones have lower rooflines. Maybe even the 5th-gen, hard to tell. But the 3rd-gen (1986 to 1989) and 4th-gen (1990 to 1993) use the *exact* same roofline. If there is any less room in rear, it’s only a function of the door hardware. It’s the most clear on the 4th-gen; just look at the 4-door and then the 2-door. No difference. Even if we throw out the debatable 5th gen, it was still a traditional 2-door sedan until 1993.
I’ll agree that it helped spell the Prelude’s eventual demise, though the overall drop in demand for sporty coupes put in the final nail.
Actually, the 3rd and 4th gen coupes were lower; it’s so minute, especially with the 4th gen, that it’s hard to know why they bothered, but they’re not the same roofline. Surprising, I know.
Seriously? Wow. (Also curious where you found that info, as I looked for numbers quite in vain.)
I really don’t know why they bothered with the 4th gen as it’s completely invisible. If they were going to lower the roofline you’d think they could have done something different with the C-pillar also, as (in my opinion) the 4th gen is the least successful Accord coupe. Comes off as looking almost frumpy, despite it working quite well in 4-door format.
One of the last 2-door sedans on the market in the US may have been the Ford Panther, of all things. When they came out for 1979, the 2-doors were every bit as upright and boxy as the 4-doors. They’re both rated exactly the same in interior volume, according to the EPA.
I forget what year Ford dropped the Panther 2-doors. 1988, perhaps?
The Chevy Celebrity and other A-body 2-doors may have been sedans, rather than coupes as well. Eventually, the Cutlass Ciera and Century 2-doors did adopt a more rakish C-pillar, but I wonder if they still kept the same doors and windshield/A-pillar as earlier models?
’87 was the last year for the Crown Victoria coupe. The “rounded corner” refresh of the box Panthers happened for ’88 and the coupes were, sadly, not carried over.
Don’t know it the 2-door Grand Marquis even made it that long, and the Town Coupe expired after ’81.
The pumpkin-orange Hornet in the pics is the same color as the ’75 Gremlin my dad bought new…awful car, so bad that he replaced it with a new ’76 Olds Cutlass S less than a year later. That Gremlin spent more time at Wullenweber AMC than in our driveway.
When the radiator fell out of its mounts and laid back against the cooling fan, that was the last straw. He let the dealer fix it, then traded it in the same day.
These were cleanly styled for the first few years. I lusted for an SC360 when they came out.
Pity us in Australia. We only got the big six, automatic and four door body. Sure, that would have been the most popular combo IF we’d had a choice, but….
Yeah, I would’ve liked an SC/360 too.
I’d drive that strippo silver Rambler…beautiful little car, makes me think of a Studebaker Lark.
Love that picture of the orange Hornet with a sea of white cars in the background – that would have been a perfect advertising photo back when these were new.
Always liked the Hornet, but hated the wheelcovers on this car. One of the oddest designs ever.
Rallyes and exposed steelies are where it’s at. I think those weirdo wheelcovers look good on this Hornet NOW, though. It helps that the car is orange, clean and pristine.
I thought the Hornet was stodgy when it was new. I’ve never warmed up to the two-door hatchback, but today I think that the two-door and four-door have stood the test of time. And I’ve liked the Sportabout from almost the beginning.
The sportabout was indeed a lovely design. With its fast D-pillar, kind of the precursor of later “hatchback wagons” like the Audi 100 Avant, B12 Nissan Sentra Wagon, Dodge Magnum, etc.
Another Sportabout fan here, especially in “X” trim with the Road Wheels and white letter tires. Or a woodie with whitewalls. Just as long as they didn’t have those stupid perforated dunce cap wheelcovers.
It’s the spare, well-integrated decoration and wraparound taillights which have helped the car. Details matter, in this case.
+1 Sportabout
+ another.
I guessed that the picture was from Laurence. I like his work.
Both Ford Europe and Opel built their midsize and big sedan models as 2 doors, into the eighties.
Ford Taunus:
I love that shape, Johannes. The Taunus of that generation I find to be one of the most attractive Ford’s, in all bodystyles. It looks really good in red as well. It’ss nice to see the other colored cars (Yellow Golf, Orange Ascona, green something or other) in the background from when cars still came in colors.
Ford Granada:
Opel Ascona:
Opel Rekord:
I think if I had to choose a car and stick with it for a couple decades I might have to go with a Rambler American. Prefer a wagon but the Americans seemed to age better than most including it’s replacement. I dunno. Probably think something different tomorrow but American Motors (the smaller models) seems to stick no matter what else grabs the attention for a couple days. I think I remember the availability of one with a 258 in 66 called a rebel or rogue.
A neat looking car,in 1974 the GM F bodies were the only American cars to interest me.I’d lost interest in AMC after the bloated 71 Javelin.
This article is good in that it highlights something that surely depresses most auto enthusiasts, and that’s the decline and fall of the two-door automobile, in general. Whether it be an upright, pillared sedan or swoopy coupe, two-door cars have been taking a steady hit for decades now, leaving affordable two-doors relegated almost exclusively to niche pony/sporty cars with everything else being two-seaters, or pricey, upmarket luxury marques. In fact, it looks as if the number of cheap 2-door coupes left is pretty much about the same total number of manufacturers as everyone seems to have just one left in their lineup (except for Honda which has both a Civic and Accord coupe).
It’s a shame that the selection of affordable 2 door coupes and hatchbacks is dwindling. The Civic killed off the Integra/RSX as well. And with the questionable detailing of the Accord and Civic coupes, how long will those sell? Hyundai is bailing on the Elantra coupe. Soon it will be just humongous trucks, SUV/CUVs, and bland look-alike sedans, all in grey or black. Limited offerings means less to stock, the retailer’s dream.
On the positive, I thought the 1970 Hornet was great looking the way the 1971 Chrysler intermediates were, a clean, proportionate design that didn’t need any make-up to look good.
The Hornet came out in 1970, and it needed to have been updated by 1975. Instead AMC put out a two door Matador which didn’t replace the Javelin with sporty looks, nor compete with the formal look popular with the Monte Carlo, Cordoba or Cougar. Instead of putting out a replacement for the 1970 Hornet, AMC put out the Pacer.
The Hornet is a good car because it was what AMC did best – cars that seated five and weren’t too big. What AMC failed to do is continue to defend the Hornet from competition by refreshing and launching new versions of the Hornet.
Imagine how AMC could have continued to refine their compact Hornet and gotten rid of the other lines which sucked precious assets down a black hole. When Abernathy expanded AMC into offering large cars, he messed everything up.
AMC should have refreshed the Hornet into the Concord, complete with all the trimmings and power options, for the 1975 model year. And continued selling the Hornet alongside it as a stripped-down 2 and 4-door offering with maybe just power brakes and steering as the only options – Hornet America maybe, a price leader. All the while working feverishly on replacements for it and Gremlin. Instead they wasted precious development money on the Matador coupe, and the Pacer. While I do like the Pacer, it was ultimately a dead end and burned up precious cash.
AMC had the compact domestic wagon market pretty much all to themselves from 1971-75 until Volare/Aspen came out, but did nothing much with it. But, hindsight is 100%.
I think what the ’70 Hornet originally successfully captured was the spirit of the 1st gen Mustang… cheap sporty economical little car that you could strip or equip depending on your budget. I had a ’72 with the 258, and it was down right quick for a straight six. What ruined the car was the girder sized 5mph bumpers. AMC, like most car designers, never saw ’em coming when the Hornet was first drafted in ’67 (as the then-named Cavalier), and some cars styling were just wrecked by that requirement. All that said, Hornet still had a few AMC’esque short comings. Medieval suspension, dated engines, an awkwardly low seating position coupled with a high and poorly designed dashboard (the AMX dash was fantastic, Hornet & Gremlin’s seemed like an afterthought). but in the end, the Hornet was screwed together fairly well, reasonably reliable, and that long hood with the thick c-pillar just looked awesome when some decent wheels and tires were applied to the car.
And as another poster mentioned, AMC lost it’s way when it got away from cheap & cheerful cars and tried to get adventurous with the Pacer, Matador coupe, and even the coffin nosed Matador sedan (which looked great from every angle except head-on). Then trying to go against the Granada with the Concord at a time when sales were horrifically low…not a decision i would have approved. AMC dealers had to give those cars away. By the time the newer Spirit & Eagle (which should have been the mid-70’s replacements for the Hornet) came out, it was already to late for AMC. Good thing they had the Jeep brand to keep people coming thru the showroom doors. The XJ was revolutionary, the CJ an American classic, and even the big Wagoneer was still selling after 20 years. Partnering with Renault was the final straw though. A bit of money to keep things alive for the interim, but too little, way too late. (like the Dodge Monaco/Eagle Premier design that was on AMC’s drawing board). Chrysler got the best end of the deal when they picked up Jeep and jettisoned the rest.
Somebody mentioned the AMC Spirit upthread, here’s a chance to own probably the nicest one still in existence. If I was an AMC fan I would go downtown to check it out:
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/4627113895.html
I always liked the Hornet, and its stylish Sportabout wagon was the only compact wagon made from 1970 until the Volare/Aspen arrived in ’76, which gets extra points from me.
This is arguably Dick Teague’s best design for AMC – great proportions, clean lines, those flush door handles, and one of the nicest C-Pillars ever put on a car.
I agree, and I think the later Concord wagon versions looked even better. Too bad AMC didn’t have Concord with all the trimmings about 1975.
I believe the very first photo tells one of the stories of the decline of the two-doors — to wit, look at the sag where the trim at the rear of the door meets the trim under the rear window. As the cars grew in size, so too did the doors grow in length, until it became a common sight to see older models with doors that literally had to be lifted as they were closed to latch properly.
You are right that Chevy dropped their full size 2 door sedans after 1969, but Plymouth kept theirs until 1971, through the life of the first-gen fuselage body.
A number of police departments used 2 door sedans as patrol and especially pursuit cars, particularly highway patrolling state police forces, but that practice was rapidly changing by the end of the 60s. But there were still a few using 2 door sedans into the early 70s, which is probably why Plymouth – the police fleet leader – kept making them.
In 1976, I bought a 1974 Hornet 2 dr sedan at a auction. Beautiful car, dark green with green interior. Unfortunately I didn’t realize until after I bought it that the trunk was very small. Not good with our first child on the way. What I really needed (and wanted) was a Hornet hatchback or Sportabout. I didn’t keep it long & moved on.
I bought a 1974 Hornet in 1981, a four door, from a pal who was leaving town. $100. I drove it home in second gear of the three on the tree, I figured out the engine mount was gonzo and the oil drip was from the filter holding up the engine. The shifter started working once the engine was in the right place. I sold it to my brother for $200, he paid me half and after driving it for a month refused to pay the other hundred. That thing was line bored wrong, or something, went through clutches like a fat girl goes through bon bons. The heater put out about a half a therm, that car was never warm. The seat was not just uncomfortable, it was a torture rack. The Hornacruiser, we laugh about it now, but I think the hundred bucks is lost.
My car for most of college was a ’73 red hatchback; it was cheap to buy used and cheap to run. Great looking car with nice, Italianesque lines (232, power nothing). It got totaled right before college ended; after a handful of quick cash throw downs I bought another ’73 hatchback (ac! PB+PS!) that lasted a few years.
Ah, college cars…
I have a 1973 coupe with 70k original and I tried to find one to price it and it is non existent. I found the four door. I guess I better restore it.
The Photoshop work of Laurence Jones was/is a craft. A great talent for giving all of his pics a contemporary look and feel. Not sure why, but I always noticed AMC products as a kid. Might have been their rarity. Plus, their abundance of character. The Hornet’s styling has aged better than any of its concurrent domestic compacts. One of my favourite touches was the C pillar window added to the Concord and Eagle 4-door sedans.
The problem with that window is that they never figured out how to do it without a vinyl top, which they made standard on Concord sedans. Only a few fleet-spec cars escaped without a pleather toupee, and those had the old four-light roofline.
However chunky it would’ve had to be, a black plastic window surround for it replacing the vinyl and paired with blacked-out B pillar and door window frames would’ve carried the design into the mid ’80s for not much tooling outlay and at a lower cost-per-unit.
Excellent points. At the time, I didn’t mind whatsoever the exterior luxury touches on the Concord and Eagle, including the padded vinyl roof. It was refreshing to see how attractive the former Hornet was in faux luxury trim. After stripper Hornets where the norm for years. Though a steel-roofed Concord or Eagle would have aged better stylistically.
I think the 2010 Ford Focus was the last time a true 2 door sedan made in by a US company?
Excluding the retro-ponycars, maybe the 2019 Cadillac ATS?
Close, but I’m using the definitions of “coupe” and “2 door sedan” used in this writeup – a 2 door sedan using the same roofline as the 4 door sedan of the same model, and thus sharing the same height, length, and other dimensions as the 4 door. The ATS coupe appears to be about an inch lower and the rear window a bit more sloped than the corresponding 4 door sedan. And obviously the pony cars don’t have sedan versions. The Hornet, and the Focus, have identical rooflines, heights, lengths, and rear seat headroom and legroom figures.
I think so; and it was possibly the most recent for the US market after the demise of the 2-door Toyota Echo in 2005.
That Jetta 2 door sedan looks real good to me. But then I’ve always liked the AMC Hornets, particularly the 70-72 2 door sedans and sport wagons!
The Sportabout wagon was a breakout hit for AMC, the only domestic compact wagon for most of its’ run which just started as midsize wagons got huge, and the biggest-selling Hornet body style every year it was offered. In its’ first year, 1971, half of all Hornets sold were wagons so there was some pent-up demand.
I’m a confirmed hatchback fan (have owned nothing but since 1981) but I do like the style of the 2 door Hornets…the small trunk space probably would have been an issue for me but otherwise…not much a fan of the interior, liked the Concord’s much better (but not so much the body).
Those 2 door Jettas are pretty rare; there were more of them in the A1 body style, but at some point you didn’t see A2 2 door sedans. Hatchback buyer that I am, I had an A1 Scirocco, an A2 GTi, and now have an A4 Golf (bought new in 2000). If I could leave my practical side behind, I might have gotten a 2 door Hornet…especially without the front trunions….in my old age, with column mount automatic and bench seat, but would like cloth upholstery…and A/C since I live in the south.
‘Space efficiency, it would seem, was for squares.’
Perry has a way with words!
Bought a used 1971 Hornet 2dr at a local car dealer near home in 1977 for basic transportation.
Paid a total of $630. tax included. It only had 23,000 miles with the 232 cu. 6cyl engine. It had an auto. trans and a radio, pretty basic but drove ok for 3 years of ownership with no problems. My thought was that It was a cheaply made car back then. A couple of years after ownership a girl ran into the back and did some minor damage that I was able to repair with a hydraulic jack and $35.00 re-chrome bumper. Her insurance co. gave me a check for $600.00 and later I sold the car for $300.
One of the only cars that I ever made money on.