1971 AMC Hornet SC/360
You’ve got to give AMC credit for trying. But the cars that AMC was bringing to the market were just not connecting with consumers in a meaningful way. The Hornet was another example of a great design that just wasn’t perfected. There was a market for a lightweight and fuel-efficient muscle car, but the engine and reliability of the Horner SC/360 were pitiful and the car got a bad reputation (via Hemmings).
The build quality of AMC vehicles was never that great, but the Hornet plummeted that reputation even further. The Hornet could have been a great model if there was more in-depth research and development that went into the car. But the AMC company didn’t have the resources to put the kind of research and development into the car that it would need to be a successful model. The Hornet was not as popular as the company hoped for.