The Hatch is Back

["Christopher Ziemnowicz" <chrisz@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Perhaps this item was mentioned on the AMC-list. However, it is worth repeating how the article below once again identifies that AMC was ahead of the curve. It developed various spin-off body styles from a single vehicle architecture - it started in model year1970 with the many Hornet, Gremlin, Sportabout, Concord, Spirit, and Eagle models and body designs!

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Ward's Auto World, ?Feb 1, 2005 ?by Tom Murphy

April 1, 1970, marks the birth of an infamous segment in the annals of automotive history.
It was on that day that American Motors Corp. introduced a quirky 2-door flatback coupe known as the Gremlin, which, according to historians, was penned by designer Richard Teague on the back of an air sickness bag 18 months before the car's unveiling.
With the 6-cyl. Gremlin, priced under $2,000, AMC beat out rivals General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in a race to introduce a subcompact car at a time when small imports were just surging into the U.S. Both the Ford Pinto and Chevy Vega came months later, in September.
Gremlin. Pinto. Vega. Hatchback. Few other words in the automotive lexicon instantly conjure up memories of bell-bottom jeans, purple peace signs and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
.... (snip)
Hatchbacks are everywhere - and not doing too shabbily, by the way - with GM as the key purveyor of the trend. The No.1 auto maker had a hand in at least seven that have arrived within the past four years, including the Pontiac Vibe, Chevy Malibu Maxx, Suzuki Reno and the Saab 9-2X. Malibu Maxx sales, in fact, are exceeding forecasts.
Yes, Saab, the keeper of Scandinavian style, proves that "luxury" and "hatchback" need not be mutually exclusive. This summer, Saab introduces a hatchback 9-3, called the SportCombi.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand has been selling the 5-door IS 300 SportCross in the U.S. since 2001, and Audi AG brings its similarly bodied A3 to the U.S. this summer, base priced under $25,000.
Like others, Audi steers clear of the "hatchback" name for the A3, preferring instead to label it a 4-door.
.... (snip)
Today's flexibility in vehicle assembly plants also contributes to the resurgence of hatchbacks, says David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, MI.
Years ago, auto makers could not cost effectively develop spinoff body styles from a vehicle architecture. "Now, plants are designed to be increasingly flexible, and they're lean so the cost is not as great," Cole says. "Tooling costs are going down dramatically, and mathematical simulations are becoming so good that physical prototypes are down 60%-80% across the industry."
In this new product-development environment, a hatchback variant from an existing platform can sell successfully in annual volumes below 30,000 units. "You don't have to embrace it in high volumes," Cole says.
.... (snip)

Source:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3165/is_2_41/ai_n11833824