22 Facts About AMC Matador

1.

Premium trim levels of the second generation AMC Matador coupe were marketed as the Barcelona and Oleg Cassini positioning the coupe in the personal luxury segment.

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2.

The AMC Matador shared a modified platform with the full-size Ambassador line.

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3.

AMC Matador received a redesign in 1974, in part to meet new safety and crash requirements.

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4.

The design of the AMC Matador coupe has been described as "polarizing" as well as being "an evocative, swoopy coupe that perfectly captured the design ethos of the era.

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5.

The AMC Matador coupe was a featured car and a scale model of it was used as a flying car in The Man with the Golden Gun, a James Bond film released in 1974.

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6.

The new AMC Matador was available in four-door sedan, two-door hardtop, and four-door station wagon body styles.

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7.

AMC Matador came with a straight-6 or one of several available V8 engines.

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8.

Transmissions for the AMC Matador included the Borg-Warner sourced "Shift-Command" three-speed automatic, a column-shifted three-speed manual, and a floor-shifted four-speed manual.

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9.

The strategy to redesign the Matador for the 1974 model year was an example of the changes that Gerald C Meyers, vice president of product development, wanted for AMC's mid-sized product range.

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10.

Changes for the 1975 model year were minor as AMC focused on the development and introduction of its innovative Pacer, but Matadors now included a standard "no maintenance" electronic ignition developed by Prestolite.

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11.

In 1978, sales of the Matador fell by two-thirds and AMC proceeded to drop the line by the end of the model year.

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12.

The AMC Matador coupe was the only all-new model in the popular mid-size car segment, specifically targeting the Chevrolet Chevelle Coupe, Ford Torino Coupe, and Plymouth Satellite Sebring.

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13.

Many were amazed that AMC came up with the fast, stylish Matador, considering the automaker's size and limited resources.

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14.

Sales of the coupe were brisk with 62, 629 AMC Matador coupes delivered for its introductory year, up sharply from the 7, 067 AMC Matador hardtops sold in 1973.

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15.

Special Oleg Cassini edition of the AMC Matador coupe was available for the 1974 and 1975 model years.

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16.

The AMC Matador was one of the first oval stock cars to use disc brakes.

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17.

American Motors was a sponsor of the TV show Wonder Woman in later seasons, and as a result, AMC cars were used by the main characters with Wonder Woman driving a 1978 Concord AMX, and Colonel Steve Trevor driving a 1978 Matador Barcelona sedan in some episodes.

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18.

The U S 1974 second-generation Matador was assembled in Australia from December 1975 to December 1976.

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19.

Australian AMC Matador came with unique "R" logo hub caps which were locally made.

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20.

The actual U S 1972 Matador was assembled by AMI from July 1972 with wagons assembled from November 1972.

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21.

The new AMC Matador was priced at $9, 810 for the sedan and $10, 951 for the station wagon.

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22.

The large-sized AMC Matador was no longer attractive to customers demanding more economical cars as fuel and money became increasingly worrisome problems after the 1973 oil crisis and the continuing double-digit domestic inflation.

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