trim package – based on the world-famous jeans manufacturer – was added. The Levi's trim package was popular and was available for several years. The Hornet station wagon version was offered for two model years with a luxury trim package designed by Italian fashion designer Dr. Aldo Gucci. It is notable for being one of the first American cars to offer an upscale fashion "designer" trim level. The AMC Hornet was also the first U.S.-made automobile to feature guardrail beam doors to protect occupants in the event of a side impact. The Hornet was phased out after 1977 and transformed into a new "luxury compact" line of automobiles, the AMC Concord. The Hornet's rear-wheel drive platform also served as the basis of the innovative "crossover" all-wheel drive line of models, the AMC Eagle that was introduced in 1979. Year-by-year changes 1970 Introduced in September 1969, the first-year Hornets came in "base" and higher trim SST models, and in 2 and 4-door sedans. The straight-6 engine was standard on the base models with the standard on the SST. The V8 engine was optional. The annual new car issue of Popular Science introduced the 1970 model by entitling its article: "Rambler is dead – long live the Hornet!" The authors not only compared the new Hornet with the outgoing Rambler American, but also with its primary competition, the Ford Maverick and finding the Hornet better to Ford's new model in several factors that are significant to consumers, as well as "certainly superior among economy cars" in ride-and-handling and "way ahead" in performance. Popular Mechanics magazine road tested an SST trim version with the V8 engine and automatic transmission and summarized the findings in the article's sub-title: "it has a lot of good things in a not-too-small package." Popular Science magazine conducted a comparison road test of four of the lowest-priced U.S. cars (AMC Hornet, Ford Maverick, Plymouth Duster, and Chevrolet Nova) describing the 1970 Hornet offering more interior and trunk room, excellent visibility in all directions, achieved the highest fuel economy, needed the optional disk brakes, and the authors concluded that it was the "practical family car ... better value than any of the others". 1970 production: 2-door base: 43,610 4-door base: 17,948 2-door SST: 19,748 4-door SST: 19,786 1971 The 1971 model year was the introduction of the Sportabout, a 4-door wagon using a steeply sloped back design with a single