AMC Matador
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| AMC Matador | |
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| Manufacturer | American Motors Corporation |
| Production | 1971–1978 |
| Assembly | Kenosha, Wisconsin |
| Predecessor | AMC Rebel |
| Class | Mid-size |
| Body style | 2-door coupe 2-door hardtop 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon |
| Engine | 232 in³ I6 258 in³ I6 304 in³ V8 360 in³ V8 401 in³ V8 |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual 4-speed manual 3-speed automatic |
| Wheelbase | 114.0 in (2896 mm) (coupe) 118.0 in (2997 mm) (sedan/wagon) |
| Length | 209.3 in (5316 mm) (coupe) 206.1 in (5234 mm) (sedan) 205.0 in (5207 mm) (wagon) |
| Height | 51.8 in (1316 mm) (coupe) 53.8 in (1367 mm) (sedan) 56.4 in (1432 mm) (wagon) |
| Fuel capacity | 19.5 US gal (70 L) |
| Related | AMC Ambassador |
| Similar | Chevrolet Chevelle Ford Torino Plymouth Satellite Dodge Charger |
| Designer | Richard A. Teague |
The AMC Matador was an intermediate car built and sold by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1971 to 1978.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Matador replaced the AMC Rebel, which had been marketed since 1967. Like the Rebel, the Matador was based on the full-size AMC Ambassador.
AMC advertising assured that the Matador was not just a name change and facelift, but in reality, it was the 1970 Rebel restyled with a longer front clip and a new interior. From the firewall back, the Matador shared its body with the Ambassador, which had a longer wheelbase and front end sheetmetal, a formal grille and luxurious trim, as well as more standard equipment that included air conditioning. While "Matador" may have been a move away from connotations of the Confederacy inspired by the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, it did not help solve the obscurity problem, as AMC adopted a "What's a Matador" advertising campaign [1]
The Matador came with straight-6 or a number of V8 engines and it was available with 2-door hardtop, 4-door sedan and station wagon body styles. The wagon design was essentially unchanged from the Rebel. A rear facing third row bench seat was available. All wagons included a roof rack and a two-way tailgate that opened down or to the side when the rear window was down.
A major design change was introduced with the 1974 models for both the sedan and wagon, while the two-door became a separate and radically styled coupe. These could be considered the "second generation" Matadors.
However, the automobile market was moving to smaller cars. Lacking the financial resources for a full redesign (partly because of the expensive tooling costs of the coupe), AMC dropped the large Ambassador after 1974, while the Matador was discontinued after 1978, around the same time as Ford moved their full-size nameplates to a smaller platform. The downsized 1977 Chevrolet Impala also spelled doom for large intermediates from AMC and Chrysler. AMC would be left with Jeep, Hornet derivatives, and Renault cars. American Motors did not have another large car until the Eagle Premier that was developed with Renault's partnership and introduced right after AMC was purchased by Chrysler.
While well-restored examples of Matador sedans can still be purchased well under $3,000, ads have been published asking over $100,000 for restored coupes.
[edit] Police
Though the Ambassador was also offered as a police car, the Matador would prove to be very popular. The largest user of Matador patrol cars was the Los Angeles Police Department from 1972 to 1974 It was also used by other agencies, including the Los Angeles Sheriff Department and military police units.
While V8 power was down for many domestic sedans, AMC used a 401 in³ V8 engine that outpowered most other police vehicles. Zero to 60 mph times were within 7 seconds, comparable to a 2006 Hemi Charger police car[2]. Top speed was about 125 mph, which took only 43 seconds, much faster than the previous Plymouth Satellite. 1974 would be the last year for the LAPD's use of the Matador. The longer-nosed restyle added weight which affected handling and performance, and was less reliable. The model would soon fade in police fleets as downsized Chevrolets and Dodge Diplomat-based cars became adopted in the late 1970s. Matador police cars would appear in many television shows and movies during the 1970s.
[edit] Matador Machine
The Matador still participated in the muscle car trend. The Machine trim package was carried forward from the Rebel to the Matador as an option on 1971 model two-door hardtops. Far lesser known than its 1970 predecessor, less than 50 Matador Machines were produced. The package featured a set of dual exhaust pipes, a heavy-duty handling package, and a choice of either a 360 in³ (5.9 L) or 401 in³ (6.6 L) V8 engine. Notably absent was the bold red-white-blue striping of the Rebel Machine. Only one Matador Machine is known to still exist.
[edit] Matador coupe
The 1974 model year introduced an aerodynamically styled fastback coupe with pronounced "tunneled" headlight surrounds. The Matador coupe was the only all-new model in the popular mid-size car segment. The coupe was designed by AMC's Vice President of Styling, Richard A. Teague, with input from Mark Donohue, the famous race car driver.
The coupe's wind-shaped look was enhanced by a very long hood and a short rear deck. The four-door and station wagon models did not share the complete redesign of the coupe. The requirements for five-mile an hour impact protection meant they received a facelift with massive bumpers (Matadors with this front fascia are sometimes nicknamed "coffin noses"). The coupe stands out as one of the more distinctive and controversial designs of the 1970s after the AMC Pacer. The Matador coupe was named "Best Styled Car of 1974" by the editors of Car and Driver magazine.
Sales of the coupe were brisk, but dropped as intermediate coupes declined in popularity with the 1973 oil crisis. Design plans for a sedan and wagon based on the coupe's styling themes did not reach production.
[edit] Oleg Cassini
A special Oleg Cassini edition of the Matador coupe was available for the 1974 and 1975 model years. American Motors had the famous American fashion designer develop a more elegant luxury oriented model for the new Coupe. Cassini was renowned in Hollywood and high-society for making elegant ready-to-wear dresses, including those worn by Jacqueline Kennedy.
The Cassini Coupe was unlike all the other personal luxury cars. The new Matador did not have the typical vintage styling cues of formal upright grille and squared-off roof with opera windows. The Cassini version was only available on the Brougham two-door models that included standard features such as individually adjustable reclining seats. Cassini Coupes could be had in only black, copper, or white, and all came with a vinyl covered roof. It also featured copper-colored trim in the grille, headlamp bezels, in turbine-type full wheel covers, and within the rear license plate recess.
The interior was a Cassini hallmark featuring a comfortable and plush environment. A special black fabric with copper metal buttons on the seats and door panels was set off by extra thick copper carpeting. Additional copper accents were on the steering wheel, door pulls, and on the instrument panel. Embroidered Cassini medallions were featured on the headrests. The glove compartment door, trunklid, front fender, and hood featured Cassini's signature.
[edit] Barcelona
In 1976, a "Barcelona" option offered an alternative to the Chrysler Cordoba and Chevrolet Monte Carlo. For 1977 and 1978, the Barcelona coupe featured a padded Landau roof and opera windows, styling cues that were required at that time by buyers in the highly popular two-door "personal luxury" market segment.
[edit] NASCAR racing
Penske prepared factory-backed Matador hardtops and coupes that were used in NASCAR stock car racing by Indy winner Mark Donohue and Bobby Allison, and won a number of races. The new coupe replaced the previous "flying brick" two-door hardtop design; Penske was quoted as saying that they did what they could with the old hardtop, and it did better on tracks with more curves and fewer straight ways. Donohue did not survive to drive the new aerodynamically designed fastback coupe, that many believe was aimed at NASCAR racing.
[edit] In pop culture
- Michael Teutul from the TV series American Chopper owns a Matador Barcelona that was given to him by his father as a gift.
- In the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun, the villain Francisco Scaramanga drives a Matador coupe that could transform into an aircraft. In that movie, various American Motors vehicles were used despite the fact that the movie was set in Thailand, where AMC cars were never sold; this was a pioneering use of product placement.
- The television series Adam-12 adopted the Matador along with the LAPD from 1972-1975 [3]
- California Highway Patrol Matador police cars appear in the movie The Wall.
- Various Matador police cars were used in the first Police Academy movie
- A Matador police car can be seen in the Pink Floyd movie The Wall.
- The Michael Jackson music video Black or White (the 11 minute version) featured a 1971-73 Matador sedan - in the music video, Jackson bashes the door glass and windshield. The Matador is also used as a stage prop in some of Jackson's concerts.
[edit] References
- ^ Amazing AMC Muscle book
- ^ KUOW broadcast, August 2006
- ^ National AMC Police Car Registry
- Foster, Patrick (2004). AMC Cars: 1954-1987, An Illustrated History. Motorbooks International. ISBN 1-58388-112-3.
- Foster, Patrick (1993). The Last Independent. Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-87341-240-0.
- Montgomery, Andrew (2002). The Great Book of American Automobiles. Motorbooks International. ISBN 1-84065-478-3.
- Marquez, Edrie J. (1988). Amazing AMC Muscle: Complete Development and Racing History of the Cars from American Motors. Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-87938-300-3.
[edit] External links
- A brief history of the Matador
- Norbert Vance's Matador Photo Sampler
- Arcticboy's Matador page, from which some this page's pictures were taken
- The Coupe Coop, a page dedicated entirely to the Matador coupe
- A page dedicated to the Cassini Matador coupe
- A page dedicated to the Barcelona Matadors
- 1972 AMC Matador station wagon specifications
- 1974 AMC Matador X coupe specifications
- Archived MatadorSedan.com
- Vintage LAPD Matador
- IMCDB movie car database
| American Motors Corporation | |
| 1954-1987
Historic: |
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| Rambler: | Ambassador by Rambler | American | Classic | Marlin | Rambler Six | Rambler Rebel |
| AMC: | Ambassador | AMX | Concord | Eagle | Gremlin | Hornet | Javelin | Marlin | Matador | Mighty Mite | Metropolitan | Pacer | Rebel | Spirit |
| Renault: | LeCar | Alliance | Encore | Fuego | Medallion | Premier |
| AMC & Rambler Concept Cars: | Rambler Tarpon | AMC Cavalier | AMC AMX-GT | Amitron | Electron |
| Affiliated with: | American Motors Corporation | AM General | Chrysler | Hudson | Jeep | Kelvinator | Nash Motors | Nash-Kelvinator | Rambler | Renault | Australian Motor Industries | Vehiculos Automotores Mexicanos |
| People | Roy Abernethy | A.E. Barit | Roy D. Chapin Jr. | George W. Romney | Richard A. Teague | George W. Mason | Gerald C. Meyers | Edmund E. Anderson | François Castaing | Robert B. Evans | Richard E. Cross |
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