Street-Spotted: AMC Concord

A compact station wagon won't surprise anyone these days, but when it debuted the AMC Concord ticked a lot of the right boxes.

Released at the height of the Malaise era, the Concord lineup certainly had variety, offering a four-door sedan, four-door station wagon, as well as a two-door hatchback, coupe, or convertible. It helped that big cars were becoming difficult to feed in the late 1970s, and AMC took advantage of this trend earlier in the decade.

"America wants an affordable compact wagon with plenty of room and a good ride," AMC ad copy of the time observed.

To be sure, there were other small station wagons at the time offered by the likes of Subaru, Datsun, Toyota, Volkswagen, as well as the Big Three. But geographic dealer coverage for some of these brands was still somewhat spotty, making them popular choices on the West Coast, but somewhat rarer elsewhere. Especially in the upper Midwest, which was still AMC's stronghold.

Most of the choices in this segment were still marketed as economy cars, and the product of downsizing that kicked off earlier in the decade. Ads of the time for most of the Concord's competitors played up frugality, at times glossing over some desperate cost-cutting measures covered up by wood trim.

Despite being a compact car, the Concord could still be ordered with a V8. In fact, the Concord lineup served up a variety of engines that's still difficult to process today.