An AMC Hornet that was pricier and more exclusive than a equivalently-specified Ford, GM or Chrysler product, sold in a market where what would be an American compact was the default size of large car? It must be a Rambler Hornet.
The Hornet was assembled by Australian Motor Industries (AMI), a company which had assembled vehicles for the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Triumph. It had taken on Rambler in 1960 and assembled models like the Rebel, Ambassador and Javelin from knock-down kits.
As in the US, the Hornet went up against the Valiant. Our Valiant had become a decidedly different beast, however, particularly after the entirely Australian-developed 1971 VH redesign.
In 1971, a Rambler Hornet cost A$4079.
Similarly-priced vehicles that year included the top-spec Toyota Crown Deluxe auto ($4047), Triumph 2000 ($3638), Volvo 142S ($4050), Holden Brougham ($4069) and Lancia Fulvia sedan ($4200).
That price made it more expensive than any regular-wheelbase Holden or Ford Falcon without the letters ‘GT’ somewhere in their name, plus any Chrysler Valiant bar the luxury VIP with the optional V8. In fact, it was around $1500 more than a nicely-equipped Holden Premier or Ford Fairmont.
In addition to the standard automatic transmission, the Hornet had front bucket seats upholstered in ‘Chamoiskin’, plus a console-mounted shifter. There were electric wipers and washers, an illuminated parcel tray, a variable speed heater/demister, a radio and a padded dashboard. This was a pretty robust equipment list for the day in Australia at this price point. AMI also borrowed the larger 11.2-inch disc brakes from the Javelin it also assembled, while the only options were air-conditioning and radial tyres.
Sadly, I was unable to get a decent shot of the interior. Here’s an illustration from the brochure instead.
The Rambler Hornet came with just one powertrain: a 232 cubic-inch six-cylinder with an advertised 155 hp and 240 ft-lbs, mated to a Borg-Warner three-speed automatic transmission. That was good for a 0-60mph time of 11.3 seconds – nothing earth-shattering, especially considering you could get a V8-powered Big 3 model for the same price. This engine was replaced in 1972 with a 258 cubic-inch six, though a V8 was never offered – AMI left that for the larger Rebel and later Matador sedans. The ‘4.2-litre’ badge on the featured car’s C-pillar indicates this is a 1972 or later Hornet.
Contemporary reviews from Wheels weren’t overly impressed with the steering but found the handling and roadholding to be ‘excellent’, with little body roll and a firm but comfortable ride. The Hornet was also praised for its quiet cabin and lazy six-cylinder engine. The “essentially cheap interior” was well dressed up with carpets, nicer interior trim also used in locally-assembled Triumphs, and attractive, if not overly comfortable, seats.
Perhaps the greatest compliment came from veteran journalist Peter Robinson, who said the Hornet was “easily the prettiest American car in a decade”, citing in particular its low height and short overhangs. If only the handsome Sportabout had come here…
AMI only made around 40 Hornets a month, making it a considerably lower-volume car than the likes of a Falcon or Valiant. That meant the Hornet’s best year was miles off the best year for any of its Big 3 rivals. AMI sold a total of 1825 vehicles over six years, with 407 cars sold in 1970, 597 in 1971, and then 355, 212, 118 and 136 in the following four years.
I’ve seen a tiny handful of Hornets in Brisbane over the years, always eluding my camera until I found this one parked by the side of the road. While the name won’t be familiar to many people, those Hornets still remaining appear to all be lovingly looked after by their owners. I saw this Hornet driving down the road later that day and gave the owner a thumbs up and he looked surprised.
He shouldn’t have been. In photos it comes across a little bland but in person this is a handsome, well-proportioned vehicle. That explains how AMC was able to keep producing this same basic body for almost two decades as a Hornet and then later a Concord and Eagle. My only grievance is with the rather under-detailed front end. The Concord and Eagle faces were more appealing to me, however the sedan variants of those adopted fussy roof treatments.
To buy a Rambler Hornet then was a rather left-field choice, as it is to keep or restore one now. Even if you wanted something with an American flavour, the Valiant was there and could be had for cheaper. Nevertheless, while AMI might have stung you a bit with the price, the Hornet was a good car.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1970-72 Rambler Hornet – No That Is Not A Typo!
Back door’s a bit too short…
This is just a guess, but I’m going to suggest that the two- and four-door Hornets used the same, longer front doors, which is why the rear doors on the sedans are so short.
Poor old AMC had to cut costs wherever they could.
No, the 2- and 4-door sedans had different length doors. They just put the B-pillar a bit too far back.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-cohort/cohort-capsule-amc-hornet-who-needs-a-coupe/
They just put the B-pillar a bit too far back.
Really?
Please don’t guess when 20 seconds with Google would give you a much better result.
It does look like it could do with a few more inches of wheelbase, or am I trying to impose 21st century aesthetics on the poor thing?
Some years half of all Hornets sold were Sportabouts, because it really had the American compact wagon market to itself until 1976 having come to market just as midsize models ballooned in size without gaining a lot of load space (those long hoods again).
It was compromised as a wagon, though, with its’ sloping hatch and the same above-the-taillights liftover as the sedans so I wonder how it would’ve done in Australia compared to the long-wheelbase Holden, Falcon and Valiant wagons which were similar in useful space and only slightly smaller in overall size than the first-generation midsize wagons that had killed off the compacts in America in the first place.
It looks better on the aftermarket wide wheels than it did on the factory razor blades
Most cars do, but this one especially. Pretty silly putting pram wheels under those huge wheel arch flares.
May I suggest that all posts begin with a location as a dateline? With posts coming from and cars going all over the world, new readers can get lost, though the “Australian” in the second paragraph was a good clue.
If I had ever known there was an Aussie version of the Hornet, I had long forgotten it. Great find!!
I see I have company in considering the original Hornet one of the best looking cars of its era. It is unfortunate that the interiors and the overall “thin” feel of the bodies never lived up to the exteriors on these, and the longer the production run went the more cluttered the details got on the design.
A friend in high school drove a white 1970 Hornet sedan with blue interior and the V8/automatic combo. It was not slow.
Very neat – glad you were able to document this one.
At the price you mentioned, it seems that the Australian Hornet was comparatively much more expensive than its American counterpart (I know it’s hard to make a direct comparison, especially given the difference in equipment levels, but regardless, I find the price point to be interesting).
I found a Rambler Hornet ad (below), and I like the slogan of “A New Breed of American Car.” I guess its American origins were a selling point, and aside from the styling (which I like), I can see the attributes that Wheels praised – the quiet cabin and lazy six-cylinder engine – as being quintessentially American traits.
Anyway, it’s great to see this car featured here, and especially in that classically ’70s color!
I’m having difficulty reconciling this:
…with this:
It was? The Valiant had electric wipers from the start many years before; did Holdens and Fords (at all, let alone the high-spec ones you mention) still have vacuum wipers in 1972-’75? And did the Toyota Crown Deluxe, Volvo 142S, Holden Brougham, and Lancia Fulvia come without radios?
(Not trying to be snarky—I don’t know much about standard equipment levels at that time in Australia).
I can’t speak to the standard equipment on the Australian market Volvo, but my dad drove a 142S here in the states. That car had an aftermarket AM-FM radio which I believe came from Sears.
…and our ’80 242 had an aftermarket Jensen stereo. Until sometime in the 80s, it was common to find cars (imports) without radios.
No, we had electric wipers Daniel, can’t think why they needed to highlight that. Holden got them in ’61, Ford some time between ’62 and ’66. Sorry, I don’t know about local Valiants, and I won’t guess; I have too much respect for your encyclopedic Valiant knowledge to try that.
Radios were an option on the local Big 3, even though the equipment levels of Japanese cars (both imports and locally assembled) were beginning to impact on buyers’ expectations. Usually at this time you had a choice of manual-tune, push-button, or push button stereo with cassette, but they were all extra. Any radio was special. Possibly the Holden Brougham might have had one.
The Hornet was incredibly expensive for a car that on paper looked to compete with the local Big 3, equipment levels notwithstanding. You had to be dead set on getting an American car, or really like the look to come up with the extra cash for one. I can’t imagine anybody cross-shopping this with a Fulvia!
What I find interesting is the electric wipers being standard equipment on the Rambler Hornet, when the American versions still had the old Trico vacuum wiper motor. I don’t remember ever seeing a USA-made Hornet with electric wipers.
I doubt vacuum wiper motors were still available from local suppliers. Nobody else used them by then.
Last I checked, Vacuum wiper motors were still available from the local NAPA dealer warehouse, and Dave Ficken’s Trico repair company rebuilds almost all types of Trico vacuum wiper motors.
In the U.S. AMC adopted standard electric wipers across the board for 1972, only the first two years of Hornet production came with vacuum wipers.
It’s odd to me that the Hornet was a premium car in Australia since in the US they were most commonly seen in government motor pools as the low bidder until they were replaced by Dodge K cars.
My grandfather’s last car was a Hornet, after he retried and downsized from an Ambassador. one thing that sticks was the “Weather Eye” logo on the HVAC panel which was a carryover from the 50s Nash’s early flow through ventilation system
It all comes down to exchange rates, I guess.
I remember New Zealand was intended to get these from AMI, but I’m unsure whether any were actually imported. There are 5 registered here, from 1970-74, but no details on whether they were NZ-new or imported from AMI. Rebels and Ambassadors were assembled here by CMI (I wonder if there’s a BMI somewhere!), still the odd one around, but the only Hornetesque AMC I’ve ever seen in the metal was a Spirit. The Hornet sedan is certainly interesting looking, not sure I’d agree with Robbo that it was pretty though. The too-short rear door makes it look a tad unbalanced to my eyes. Mind you the prototype Cavalier’s rear door was too long…
The Cavalier prototype:
Looks O.K. but I remember Hornets having stiff and slow steering .
A R.H.D. one in the U.S.A. would be quite the thing for any AMC Enthusiast ! .
AMC used vacuum wipers long after the big three dropped them, I assume that’s why it was mentioned .
-Nate
Did Australia get the “Sportabout” Hornet wagon?
Among US made cars they were a unique proposition, being neither tiny like the Pinto and Vega wagons nor huge like everything else, at least until the Aspen and Volare came along.
No, just the four door sedan in one spec – loaded.
It’s nice to see you back William. It has been a while since we had a fresh cc from you.
You have been missed.
The other William
+1
Basically an American Mk3 Cortina….
They had me with “Chamoiskin”. 🙂
Always thought these were nice looking cars,
William wrote ” My only grievance is with the rather under detailed front end.” I like the front, its simplicity and originality is part of its its appeal to me.
The wheels this one wears were everywhere on modified cars back in the late 70s through the 80s, using the Ford 12 slot center on a widened rim and then chromed.
usually with the small center cap. I soon got tired of seeing them on so many cars, it made me appreciate the original painted Ford rim on Ford products all the more.
Terrific find and writeup. I really like the idea of the Rambler Hornet in Australia being a more upscale, expensive car. I’m sold on its looks – this is a really nice-looking car, especially for 1970. No complaints from me about its butterscotch-colored finish, either.
If I recall correctly, another cost cutting measure of this model was to use the exact same bumper on the front and rear of the car. I always thought the Hornet was a decent looking design, especially the original SC360 two door muscle car variant offered here in the USA. As nice looking as I think it is, it’s unfortunate they had to add on the chintzy looking rear amber turn signal lamps on the tail…lol. I’m guessing that was an Australian mandate.