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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22 Facts About AMC Matador
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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