I owned a 1975 AMC Matador Coupe from December 1980 until May 1984, paid only $825 for it and sold it for the same price three and a half years later. Except for a dead battery, a rusted out muffler that dropped, and a few flat tires the car was very reliable and I got my money's worth out of it. I feel that AMC would still be in business today if only they didn't invest money into the Pacer which became a flop and didn't get involved with Renault.😢😊
When I was 16 we had a Matador station wagon with the 258 six. It was 6 years old and my parents bought another car and us kids drove the Matador. That thing really spoiled me cause it turned on a spindle and I could parallel park it with literally a sheet of paper between my bumper and the bumper on the car in front of me. I have never found another car with a zero turning radius like the Matador since.
Thank you for the effort on this video. The thing that held AMC back was not having the funding or budget or marketing to be successful. They always did it on a budget. Just imagine if they had the investment. Thank you for this video this week.
the ones i had were very dependable cars. as a teen, i had a gremlin, then in my 20's i bought an eagle sx4 loved them both. wish i still had both. liked the eagle much more, it really was a jeep with a car body. only sold it because i needed a pickup. couldn't really haul any lumber or tools in the eagle.
There cars never sold in the numbers to give them the funds for development and styling costs. So they had to reuse and do the best they could with the money they had. You always heard the argument that they lost so much in resale value so that is the reason for low sales. But that was the problem with all of the independents. Sad thing is they had some wonderful engineers, and so often they would come up with brilliant designs or features and the big three would copy it and more often than not get the credit for it. Case in point AMC's Weather Eye heating and AC system. They were the first ones to have all AC components under the hood at a time when the big three's system had much of the components in the trunk and heaters in some cars were under the front seat.
I know someone who bought a Matador brand new in the 1970's. They chose the Barcelona edition, and still have it to this day. It is barely driven, and still looks like it just rolled off the assrmbly line. They do not want to sell it either.
My late father was a salesman at a local Caddii, Olds, AMC dealership all through the 70s. My first car was a gently used, '74 Hornet 2 door coupe. I learned to love that car and it was very stylish and dependable for the times. Had the bulletproof 258cid inline 6 cyl engine. When the Matadors came out dad sold several, but the Hornets, Gremlins and Javelins were his best sellers from the AMC line. I (wanted) a Z28 Camero, but the price point insurance premiums were too high for my budget. We loved AMC and he was sad to see the brand demise.
My first car was a 1964 AMC Rambler Classic 660 sedan. It had a Ford 289 V8 and automatic transmission. It also had AC and a split front bench seat. It run great but I didn't realize what I had until I sold it.
I was a teenager when the swoopy looking Matador Coupe came out. Having the credibility of being alive and young when this car was new gives me the right to say people, in the era, thought this car a real beauty! A member of my church managed a Deca Station well outside my home town and always depended on AMC to get him through snow storms in winter. I can witness that AMC built great lasting cars. If you think the Matador coupe ugly I will take a mint one off your hands any time, any day.
I always thought the Matador coupe was a good-looking car, but I never could figure out why. It's actually kind of odd looking. Every time I see one, I find myself walking around it to look at it from different angles.
In 1980's, there was a customer on my postal route, who owned a Matador coupe. I believe that it's aerodynamic body shape was a result of AMC using this model in NASCAR stock racing.
When I met my wife, her father owned a 1972 Dark brown four door. 304 engine. About five years later as a married couple, we bought a 1977 coffin nose as they were known four door. Ginger brown metallic with a brown vinyl top. We owned it for a number of years. Such a great travel car. It was smooth on the interstate with fabulous AC.
The Matador was a much better product than it ever got credit for, especially the 4 doors and wagons. An interesting fact you left out is the similarity in architecture between the Matador 4 doors and wagon, and the downsized GM line up for 1977. That was no accident, as the Matador was the car GM benchmarked and largely copied. Given the importance of the GM line, the Matador roots are even more complimentary to the AMC design team.
Hey Eric, Consumer's Reports May 1972 issue top-rated intermediate station wagon was the Matador. So, my parents ordered a 1972 Matador wagon in Canary Yellow because of that with a 304V8, power disc brakes and essentially nothing else. It was a solid car including the AMC (by Chrysler) transmission. Lasted 11 years until my younger brother wrecked it by crashing into a boulder when driving his GF through a dark winding subdivision. Dad was NOT happy!
I think the 1973 sedan looked pretty good. But they totally messed up the design of the 1974 with their take on the 5MPH bumper. The coupe always looked a bit strange to me
Didn't own a Matador, but I did order a brand new Javelin AMX in March of 73. 401 with go pac and 4 speed. I still own it today as it has 95,000 miles on it. It. The engine has never been apart except for a timing chain and the engine oil pump issue that is common with AMC V 8's. Both have been changed two times, once at 35,000 miles and the second time at 70,000 miles. AMC built good quality cars but some had rust issues in the northern states, mine is a northern car, but never driven during the fall and winter months. It's a shame AMC is not with us today, they were good cars.
That was absurd styling. (1974 and beyond) Did you guys' re-upload this?? Pretty sure it feels like a repeat...My best friend and I beat the Gremlin into the ground as young teenagers, and it never died other than a flat tire. I would buy another today!!!!~
I have often thought about things that hurt this wonderful company, and I think cars such as the Matador coup, the Pacer, and the Marlin did more damage than they were able to overcome. They spent so much in development costs and the fact that they did not sell in the required numbers to recoup those costs just killed them. These days when I watch AMC videos there are so many comments about what a wonderful company they were, I miss them, or wow what a fabulous car that is. Shame more people did not step up at the time, we may still have them.
@@scrambler69-xk3kv When I look at the back end of the modern day Tesla, I see a resemblance of the AMC Marlin from the rear window to the tail lights. When I look at the round tail lights on the 2000 through 2005 Chevy Impala I see a resemblance from the AMC Matador. Why are these modern day car makers copying the design ques from what AMC had? AMC must have had something good but they were short on funds.
AMC was guilty of creating too many niche vehicles, cars that had polarizing styling that alienated many car buyers. People that wanted a niche vehicle like a Matador bought them in the first year or two of production, and after that they had no takers---no one else wanted them. The Pacer was also guilty of this
I see a lot of AMC designs like timed tests in school. It's announced time is up, put down your pencil and turn in whatever you have. The Pacer, like a few others, as originally envisioned was a good concept. The finished version that they came out with, not as much. But because they needed something and had spent so much time and money at that point they just went with what they had and hoped for the best.
Mines was blue 💙 and rode like a coushon of air _ I loved it * had a 304 CID _ just like the one used on one of the 007 movies 🍿🥤 beautiful and very roomy _ will always be an icon for history 🎉 thanks for the awesome video 📸
The 74 Matador coupe I always saw as the 5th GM colonnade coupe! It needed a 4 door and wagon and maybe a drop top to accompany it. Sheer lack of $ saw a one body style line. As the 4 door of '74 and on was the old one. AMC peaked in '71 and then seemed on the way further up but alas it was the peak
I was in college when the Matador came out. I thought it was a decent looking car. A bit off beat in the front end but overall not that bad. A college friend and his wife owned a Gremlin, I thought the gas cap with the gremlin on it was kinda cool.
@@alanolson6913 The AMC Hornet had a gas cap that had a Hornet on it. We thought that was cool. I remember the AMC Hornet was everywhere, and popular. What was really bad ass was the AMX with a big V-8.
Don’t be dissing this fine machine. I endured two weeks of Driver’s Ed in the coupe and four door. Learned to parallel park between two live oaks in Audubon Park. DLS - 1974
I grew up in the 1960s and to me the styling on 70s cars tended to be a bit blobby. To me the styling on the 1974 two door Matador looked bloated. The AMC I knew built vehicles for practical mid-westerners. The company didn't have the budget, nor the reputation for being a " style leader”.
I remember in the 60's when Ramblers were everywhere. When the Hornet came out it was quite successful. The Gremlin was so new and quirky people bought them because they were simple and cheap to buy. There wasn't much to choose from in smaller cars, so they picked up some of the slack.
American Motors Corporation. Made in America. Sad that we found it desirable to buy foreign cars and laid off and shuddered all these factory towns. Talk about turning your back on your customers. Money is king. I don't even have a photo of my Yellow Gremlin, which was fun as hell. A little too top heavy for the corners, but still a gas. Easy to maintain, changed a starter in the liquor store parking lot. Two bolts. Imagine doing that now. Cars today have no soul, just designs drawn up on computers. Long live the whacky designs of AMC, Mitt Romney's dads' company. Can't forget my Ford Ranger built in Saint Paul. Smooth ride. Built at first job I applied for, Ford Motor Saint Paul.
I believe that my father had a Matador of the same vintage as this. Maybe not the exact same year but he took pictures of it and it looks similar color-wise to what I remember seeing.
I never understood why AMC didn't give the Matador coupe a different name than the sedan and wagon, which had the coffin-nose styling and seemed to be completely different cars. We had a 76 Matador station wagon, which was pretty good, other than being a gas guzzler. My famiy were die-hard AMC buyers. We had an Ambassador wagon before the Matador, and we bought a Renault Alliance for my mom in the early eighties. That last car put my mom off AMC for good. She bought a Toyota Camry after that and still drives one today, as do I.
My Dad had 2 Matadors, 1971 sedan and then a 1976 coupe, at my insistence. (I wanted him to get an Olds Cutlass but he was AMC through and through.) The first Matador came with a paper tag on the key ring that some joker between Kenosha and the local dealer had written "Matador backwards is Doormat". Not far from the truth really....
My aunt bought herself the "Starsky & Hutch" *inspired* red and white painted Matador you featured at the beginning of this video. Like my Mama's Gremlin (she hated that car with a passion, named it "Piss Pot" and almost ended my Dad when he came home with it for her), the Matador had ridiculously cramped rear quarters for passengers, and the transmission hump was so hot you had to literally put a baseball "home base" on it if you needed to sit on it. That bad. The car had abysmal fuel economy and suffered a lot of electrical gremlins (pardon the pun). By 1979, she sent that bitch packing (her words). Her biggest regret? She traded her 1967 Dodge Monaco in to buy this car; hoping it was going to be more economical. One day, driving home from her job, she saw what she swore was her Monaco in the opposing lane while trying to steer this car's manual steering around winter potholes (Ma said she never needed weights if she wanted arms like a dude, all she needed to do was take Piss Pot to the grocery store and back) and grieved the loss of that car. It still looked as good as it did when she traded it, and it clearly was still driving. Ma got rid of Piss Pot the easy way. Back then, there were no computers around, so when that car punked out on some highway on a trip to New Brunswick, Ma ordered Dad to pull the VIN tags, pull the plates, and leave it where it was. You could do that in rural Canada once upon a time as the provincial police departments had better things to do that chase down people who abandoned their derelict cars. The replacement for that P.O.S Gremlin? A Chevette (which Ma called Chovitte). From the frying pan and into the fire I'm afraid. My aunt...she bought a Chrysler Cordoba (and lamented about how expensive it was to own...aaaah, the Malaise Era...how we all loved thee...NOT!
When I was in the middle school in 1980 my math teacher have a 76' Matador red with white stripes and interior. I remember she always complaining about the fuel consumption. She always mention in sarcastic way how the car sips 1/4 of the fuel tank every time she start the engine 😂. That car looks impresive for the time but also looks too heavy when you compared it with a torino or a chevelle.
When I was in Jr High back in the 70s I had a teacher that owned a dark green /white stripe Matador Coupe. I thought it was the ugliest car I had ever seen. Little did I know how much more cars would get uglier through the years. Im still not a fan of the style but I have seen worse now.
I Loved the Rebel, early years of Matador 2-4 doors, Javelins, Gremlins and Hornets didn't look bad with Extra Trim packages but they messed up when they Bloated the Matador I remember seeing Lee Majors driving one in the Six Million Dollar Man and He Couldn't even make it look Cool Lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The Matador coupes' biggest problem was it had no market in the time it was being sold. Sports cars were on the way out and personal luxury was the new deal. The Matador was too big and bulky to be considered Sporty; and it's options list and build quality were too lacking to be considered Luxury. Throw in it's odd styling (that head of styling; Dick Teague) himself abhorred. In his own words, he called it "an abortion". His original proposal was a smooth, classy, modern adaptation of the then out-going Matador 2-door hardtop. His new design was evolutionary. However, management quipped "We're not building Torinos here at American, Dick." Ironic when you consider that the Torino was arguably one of the BEST selling cars of the 1970's.... AMC *SHOULD* have been building Torinos.
They always looked great on the NASCAR circuit in there RED WHITE, & BLUE paint schemes, & where very competitive. IMHO they just needed to fill the wheel wells with wider tires for a better stance, & it gave them the look they needed.
I believe AMC would've been a huge success to compete with the Big 3 had both Studebaker and Packard merge together with Hudson and Nash along with Kaiser and Jeep to form AMC in 1954, heres the AMC divisions. AMC Divisions Kaiser=Cheap budget brand (compete with Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth) Studebaker=Mid-level/Performance brand (to compete with Edsel, Pontiac, and Dodge) Nash=Mid-level luxury brand (to compete with Mercury, Oldsmobile, and Desoto) Hudson=Upscale Mid-level luxury brand (to compete with Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler) Packard=High-end expensive luxury brand (to compete with Continental, Cadillac, and Imperial) Jeep=Ultimate Truck brand (to compete with Mercury, GMC, and Fargo).
I had a friend who m’s father had one. Red, with white striping. Still a beautiful car. The demise of AMC was definitely sad. [ I still keep wondering if the Full merger between Studebaker, Packard,Hudson and Nash, would have succeeded, ……]. 🚗🙂
In 1974 my Army buddy had one of the new Matador coupes. We were Privates so he couldn't afford to buy it, it was a gift from his parents. He wasn't proud of it. During the Arab oil embargo people were shamed for driving gas guzzlers. And it's build quality was terrible. Exterior and interior panels didn't line up. Even the glove box door wouldn't stay closed on a brand new car. It rattled going down the road. It looked and felt cheap.
My parents had a Matador station wagon from before that ugly 1974 redesign. The big V-8 hauled my brothers and I everywhere for over 100K miles, I even passed my initial driver's test in it. Two reasons my parents didn't buy the new one was it was ugly as f$&k and gasoline prices went sky-high. They ended up buying a newly introduced car, a Honda Civic station wagon, to save on gasoline
Also the little AMC Renault Alliance, Renault 9 / 11 was not good for compete with a simple Chrysler Plymouth Horizon (French Simca Horizon) and the VW Golf
That photo you claim as a Pierre Cardin Matador, is, in fact, a "JAVELIN", not a Matador. Pierre Cardin worked on the Javelin. Oleg Cassini did the Matador, not Pierre Cardin. Is this just a SNAFU or did you really think that Javelin was a Matador????? Just wondering.
WHO in their right mind thought THIS 'Thing' was stylish? The first time I ever saw one of these cars was when it appeared in the 1974 James Bond film 'The man with the golden gun' and I thought it was some jokey made up car for the film, but no, it really did exist and some Americans actually bought them. It was a travesty to the eyes in '74 and time has not improved its looks. It's HIDEOUS! As for the Renault Alliance you call a pile of crap, it was a pile of crap in America because it was butchered and fiddled about with and stuffed with poor quality American garbage components so that could be sold in the US. The original European Renault 9 was a very reliable car with a production life from 1981-2000. manufactured in France: Douai Spain: Valladolid Taiwan: Taichung (Sanfu Motors) United States: Kenosha (AMC) Colombia: Envigado Argentina: Santa Isabel (Renault Argentina) Chile: Los Andes, Chile Turkey: Bursa (Oyak-Renault) Mexico: Vallejo Yugoslavia: Novo Mesto My family bought a 2 year old one in 1990 and was used constantly until last year when it was scrapped due to it no longer meeting emission standards, but it was still going strong when it went to the breakers, it was THAT reliable. Still I shouldn't complain, I got two grand for scrapping it.
A lot of cars are like that now. I think the Edsel is a beaut. Back then, car makers had a specific look. There was certainly no mistaking the AMC Pacer or Gremlin from anything else on the road. These days, you can barely tell a Ford from a Toyota.
@@whoami7721The tail lights on the 2000 through 2005 Chevy Impala look similar to the ones on the Matador. Looks like Chevy took the styling ques from the Matador and used them on the Impala.
I was 12 in 74. Even then I knew it was the ugliest car ever made. I could never understand how the same company that built the gorgeous Javelin, could also build the 74 Matador.
I owned and loved '72 Javelin AMX 401 for 14 years and 175k miles without any driveline issues. But loving my Javelin AMX didnt change my disdain at what l saw in the AMC Pacer and Matador, the two ugliest cars since the Gremlin. Sorry.
I definitely prefer the older model to the new one. The new you couldn't tell if it was coming or going. It was an ugly looking car, what were they thinking when that was approved. Start of there downfall. I liked AMC cars too.
UA-cam removed my first video becaus I had 4 seconds of a Mator (bull fighter) in front of a bull. No blood, no guts, just standing there. Some Russian channel has a video on an AMC Matador with the same 4 seconds and they have had that video up with over 200,00 views for over a year! I'm pissed so I thought I'd include the bull. I should have added blood and guts!
It's the worst car at the worst time, the opposite of the nice Cadillac Seville of the same years the right car at the right time also with a Chevrolet Nova chassis and very high price the Cadillac Seville beat BMWs and Mercedes in sales...
I really enjoyed my 1971 Matador with the 304. Many trips to our local mountains to Banff and Canmore. Great old car memories.
I owned a 1975 AMC Matador Coupe from December 1980 until May 1984, paid only $825 for it and sold it for the same price three and a half years later. Except for a dead battery, a rusted out muffler that dropped, and a few flat tires the car was very reliable and I got my money's worth out of it. I feel that AMC would still be in business today if only they didn't invest money into the Pacer which became a flop and didn't get involved with Renault.😢😊
When I was 16 we had a Matador station wagon with the 258 six. It was 6 years old and my parents bought another car and us kids drove the Matador. That thing really spoiled me cause it turned on a spindle and I could parallel park it with literally a sheet of paper between my bumper and the bumper on the car in front of me. I have never found another car with a zero turning radius like the Matador since.
It was mitt Romneys fathers company
Thank you for the effort on this video. The thing that held AMC back was not having the funding or budget or marketing to be successful. They always did it on a budget. Just imagine if they had the investment. Thank you for this video this week.
the ones i had were very dependable cars. as a teen, i had a gremlin, then in my 20's i bought an eagle sx4 loved them both. wish i still had both. liked the eagle much more, it really was a jeep with a car body. only sold it because i needed a pickup. couldn't really haul any lumber or tools in the eagle.
There cars never sold in the numbers to give them the funds for development and styling costs. So they had to reuse and do the best they could with the money they had. You always heard the argument that they lost so much in resale value so that is the reason for low sales. But that was the problem with all of the independents. Sad thing is they had some wonderful engineers, and so often they would come up with brilliant designs or features and the big three would copy it and more often than not get the credit for it. Case in point AMC's Weather Eye heating and AC system. They were the first ones to have all AC components under the hood at a time when the big three's system had much of the components in the trunk and heaters in some cars were under the front seat.
I know someone who bought a Matador brand new in the 1970's. They chose the Barcelona edition, and still have it to this day. It is barely driven, and still looks like it just rolled off the assrmbly line. They do not want to sell it either.
My late father was a salesman at a local Caddii, Olds, AMC dealership all through the 70s. My first car was a gently used, '74 Hornet 2 door coupe. I learned to love that car and it was very stylish and dependable for the times. Had the bulletproof 258cid inline 6 cyl engine. When the Matadors came out dad sold several, but the Hornets, Gremlins and Javelins were his best sellers from the AMC line. I (wanted) a Z28 Camero, but the price point insurance premiums were too high for my budget. We loved AMC and he was sad to see the brand demise.
@@shocktrooper8443 The straight 6 have me just over 500k miles no bs
My Grandfather had one in the mid-70’s when he was in his late 50’s. It was unusual for him to buy an AMC since he was a GM guy.
My first car was a 1964 AMC Rambler Classic 660 sedan. It had a Ford 289 V8 and automatic transmission. It also had AC and a split front bench seat. It run great but I didn't realize what I had until I sold it.
@@13BGunBunny The Rambler Typhoon was a rare car, and the AMC Matador Barcelona Edition is rare too. Not too many of them were made.
@@ericknoblauch9195
Obviously. So what's your point?
I was a teenager when the swoopy looking Matador Coupe came out. Having the credibility of being alive and young when this car was new gives me the right to say people, in the era, thought this car a real beauty! A member of my church managed a Deca Station well outside my home town and always depended on AMC to get him through snow storms in winter. I can witness that AMC built great lasting cars. If you think the Matador coupe ugly I will take a mint one off your hands any time, any day.
I always thought the Matador coupe was a good-looking car, but I never could figure out why. It's actually kind of odd looking. Every time I see one, I find myself walking around it to look at it from different angles.
I don't know about that. I am 71 now and I remember it being a love it or hate it no middle ground here.
In 1980's, there was a customer on my postal route, who owned a Matador coupe. I believe that it's aerodynamic body shape was a result of AMC using this model in NASCAR stock racing.
When Christopher Lee drove and flew the Matador , in a Bond Movie.
And of course who can forget the hornet live and let die
SCARAMONGA!
We had a 4 door Matador, I basically learned how to drive and get my license in that car, i actually liked that car.
When I met my wife, her father owned a 1972 Dark brown four door. 304 engine. About five years later as a married couple, we bought a 1977 coffin nose as they were known four door. Ginger brown metallic with a brown vinyl top. We owned it for a number of years. Such a great travel car. It was smooth on the interstate with fabulous AC.
The Matador was a much better product than it ever got credit for, especially the 4 doors and wagons. An interesting fact you left out is the similarity in architecture between the Matador 4 doors and wagon, and the downsized GM line up for 1977. That was no accident, as the Matador was the car GM benchmarked and largely copied. Given the importance of the GM line, the Matador roots are even more complimentary to the AMC design team.
And even more so since it’s origin goes back to 1967.
Hey Eric, Consumer's Reports May 1972 issue top-rated intermediate station wagon was the Matador. So, my parents ordered a 1972 Matador wagon in Canary Yellow because of that with a 304V8, power disc brakes and essentially nothing else. It was a solid car including the AMC (by Chrysler) transmission. Lasted 11 years until my younger brother wrecked it by crashing into a boulder when driving his GF through a dark winding subdivision. Dad was NOT happy!
I think the 1973 sedan looked pretty good. But they totally messed up the design of the 1974 with their take on the 5MPH bumper. The coupe always looked a bit strange to me
Just realized that was Kevin McCarthy from UHF as AMC’s spokesman.
Didn't own a Matador, but I did order a brand new Javelin AMX in March of 73. 401 with go pac and 4 speed. I still own it today as it has 95,000 miles on it. It. The engine has never been apart except for a timing chain and the engine oil pump issue that is common with AMC V 8's. Both have been changed two times, once at 35,000 miles and the second time at 70,000 miles. AMC built good quality cars but some had rust issues in the northern states, mine is a northern car, but never driven during the fall and winter months. It's a shame AMC is not with us today, they were good cars.
That was absurd styling. (1974 and beyond) Did you guys' re-upload this?? Pretty sure it feels like a repeat...My best friend and I beat the Gremlin into the ground as young teenagers, and it never died other than a flat tire. I would buy another today!!!!~
I have often thought about things that hurt this wonderful company, and I think cars such as the Matador coup, the Pacer, and the Marlin did more damage than they were able to overcome. They spent so much in development costs and the fact that they did not sell in the required numbers to recoup those costs just killed them. These days when I watch AMC videos there are so many comments about what a wonderful company they were, I miss them, or wow what a fabulous car that is. Shame more people did not step up at the time, we may still have them.
@@scrambler69-xk3kv When I look at the back end of the modern day Tesla, I see a resemblance of the AMC Marlin from the rear window to the tail lights.
When I look at the round tail lights on the 2000 through 2005 Chevy Impala I see a resemblance from the AMC Matador.
Why are these modern day car makers copying the design ques from what AMC had? AMC must have had something good but they were short on funds.
AMC was guilty of creating too many niche vehicles, cars that had polarizing styling that alienated many car buyers. People that wanted a niche vehicle like a Matador bought them in the first year or two of production, and after that they had no takers---no one else wanted them. The Pacer was also guilty of this
I see a lot of AMC designs like timed tests in school. It's announced time is up, put down your pencil and turn in whatever you have.
The Pacer, like a few others, as originally envisioned was a good concept. The finished version that they came out with, not as much. But because they needed something and had spent so much time and money at that point they just went with what they had and hoped for the best.
72 Matador wasn't too bad . Style wise .
Mines was blue 💙 and rode like a coushon of air _ I loved it * had a 304 CID _ just like the one used on one of the 007 movies 🍿🥤 beautiful and very roomy _ will always be an icon for history 🎉 thanks for the awesome video 📸
The 74 Matador coupe I always saw as the 5th GM colonnade coupe! It needed a 4 door and wagon and maybe a drop top to accompany it. Sheer lack of $ saw a one body style line. As the 4 door of '74 and on was the old one. AMC peaked in '71 and then seemed on the way further up but alas it was the peak
I was in college when the Matador came out. I thought it was a decent looking car. A bit off beat in the front end but overall not that bad. A college friend and his wife owned a Gremlin, I thought the gas cap with the gremlin on it was kinda cool.
@@alanolson6913 The AMC Hornet had a gas cap that had a Hornet on it. We thought that was cool. I remember the AMC Hornet was everywhere, and popular. What was really bad ass was the AMX with a big V-8.
@@ericknoblauch9195 I was at a huge car show this past weekend. What should I see but an AMX , V8 and all.
I ❤ The Styling 74,75 ,76 77 😊
Don’t be dissing this fine machine. I endured two weeks of Driver’s Ed in the coupe and four door. Learned to parallel park between two live oaks in Audubon Park. DLS - 1974
It looked cool! man!
I learned to drive in a 1971 Matador sedan; 258 ci in 6, auto, but manual steering and brakes....
The Madator coupe was also raced in NASCAR 1972-75 by Penske Racing, winning 5 races.
I remember seeing a nice example for sale in my town of Waukegan, cheap in the late 90's.
I grew up in the 1960s and to me the styling on 70s cars tended to be a bit blobby. To me the styling on the 1974 two door Matador looked bloated.
The AMC I knew built vehicles for practical mid-westerners. The company didn't have the budget, nor the reputation for being a " style leader”.
I remember in the 60's when Ramblers were everywhere. When the Hornet came out it was quite successful. The Gremlin was so new and quirky people bought them because they were simple and cheap to buy. There wasn't much to choose from in smaller cars, so they picked up some of the slack.
This car came out when cars were going from looking fast to the personal luxury era
It should have come out in 1967 or 68 the coke bottle era
Pierre Cardin "MATADOR"?? Thats a JAVELIN at 6:03.
American Motors Corporation. Made in America. Sad that we found it desirable to buy foreign cars and laid off and shuddered all these factory towns. Talk about turning your back on your customers. Money is king. I don't even have a photo of my Yellow Gremlin, which was fun as hell. A little too top heavy for the corners, but still a gas. Easy to maintain, changed a starter in the liquor store parking lot. Two bolts. Imagine doing that now. Cars today have no soul, just designs drawn up on computers. Long live the whacky designs of AMC, Mitt Romney's dads' company. Can't forget my Ford Ranger built in Saint Paul. Smooth ride. Built at first job I applied for, Ford Motor Saint Paul.
Never thought the Matador coupe was stylish. Thought it was ugly
sounds like you need your glasses checked.
They look great, just take the bumpers off.
That front end of the '74 coupe killed it, too sweet instead of mean looking
I believe that my father had a Matador of the same vintage as this. Maybe not the exact same year but he took pictures of it and it looks similar color-wise to what I remember seeing.
I never understood why AMC didn't give the Matador coupe a different name than the sedan and wagon, which had the coffin-nose styling and seemed to be completely different cars. We had a 76 Matador station wagon, which was pretty good, other than being a gas guzzler.
My famiy were die-hard AMC buyers. We had an Ambassador wagon before the Matador, and we bought a Renault Alliance for my mom in the early eighties. That last car put my mom off AMC for good. She bought a Toyota Camry after that and still drives one today, as do I.
Take a drink with every "mmmmatador" reference.
The Matador design/styling should have never been allowed to leave the paper.
The Matador coupe borrowed too many styling elements from disparate models. Simple is often best.
My Dad had 2 Matadors, 1971 sedan and then a 1976 coupe, at my insistence. (I wanted him to get an Olds Cutlass but he was AMC through and through.) The first Matador came with a paper tag on the key ring that some joker between Kenosha and the local dealer had written "Matador backwards is Doormat". Not far from the truth really....
My aunt bought herself the "Starsky & Hutch" *inspired* red and white painted Matador you featured at the beginning of this video. Like my Mama's Gremlin (she hated that car with a passion, named it "Piss Pot" and almost ended my Dad when he came home with it for her), the Matador had ridiculously cramped rear quarters for passengers, and the transmission hump was so hot you had to literally put a baseball "home base" on it if you needed to sit on it. That bad. The car had abysmal fuel economy and suffered a lot of electrical gremlins (pardon the pun). By 1979, she sent that bitch packing (her words). Her biggest regret? She traded her 1967 Dodge Monaco in to buy this car; hoping it was going to be more economical. One day, driving home from her job, she saw what she swore was her Monaco in the opposing lane while trying to steer this car's manual steering around winter potholes (Ma said she never needed weights if she wanted arms like a dude, all she needed to do was take Piss Pot to the grocery store and back) and grieved the loss of that car. It still looked as good as it did when she traded it, and it clearly was still driving. Ma got rid of Piss Pot the easy way. Back then, there were no computers around, so when that car punked out on some highway on a trip to New Brunswick, Ma ordered Dad to pull the VIN tags, pull the plates, and leave it where it was. You could do that in rural Canada once upon a time as the provincial police departments had better things to do that chase down people who abandoned their derelict cars. The replacement for that P.O.S Gremlin? A Chevette (which Ma called Chovitte). From the frying pan and into the fire I'm afraid. My aunt...she bought a Chrysler Cordoba (and lamented about how expensive it was to own...aaaah, the Malaise Era...how we all loved thee...NOT!
I remember the Boston Police had the 1st gen Matador in their fleet.
When I was in the middle school in 1980 my math teacher have a 76' Matador red with white stripes and interior. I remember she always complaining about the fuel consumption. She always mention in sarcastic way how the car sips 1/4 of the fuel tank every time she start the engine 😂. That car looks impresive for the time but also looks too heavy when you compared it with a torino or a chevelle.
“Bond, James Bond”……The Man withe Golden Gun ……The Matador takes flight !
When I was in Jr High back in the 70s I had a teacher that owned a dark green /white stripe Matador Coupe. I thought it was the ugliest car I had ever seen. Little did I know how much more cars would get uglier through the years. Im still not a fan of the style but I have seen worse now.
I Loved the Rebel, early years of Matador 2-4 doors, Javelins, Gremlins and Hornets didn't look bad with Extra Trim packages but they messed up when they Bloated the Matador I remember seeing Lee Majors driving one in the Six Million Dollar Man and He Couldn't even make it look Cool Lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The Matador coupes' biggest problem was it had no market in the time it was being sold. Sports cars were on the way out and personal luxury was the new deal. The Matador was too big and bulky to be considered Sporty; and it's options list and build quality were too lacking to be considered Luxury. Throw in it's odd styling (that head of styling; Dick Teague) himself abhorred. In his own words, he called it "an abortion". His original proposal was a smooth, classy, modern adaptation of the then out-going Matador 2-door hardtop. His new design was evolutionary. However, management quipped "We're not building Torinos here at American, Dick." Ironic when you consider that the Torino was arguably one of the BEST selling cars of the 1970's.... AMC *SHOULD* have been building Torinos.
They always looked great on the NASCAR circuit in there RED WHITE, & BLUE paint schemes, & where very competitive. IMHO they just needed to fill the wheel wells with wider tires for a better stance, & it gave them the look they needed.
Back then I thought they were a not appealing looking car, however, the high test AMX did turn my crank.
The vocal AI really loves to pause before car names and key words.
Please submit your voice audition as a channel narrator to bocabrothertwins@gmail.com.
Pierre Cardin Matador.... That's a Jevlein 2...
Sorry. Yes. I did not edit that post production. Thank you!
Better than it looked. ;-)
I would have bought that Pierre Cardin Matador very easily since it looks just like a Javelin!
In the 1970’s AMC Matador Police Cars were fast and reliable, with 360 or 401 V8’s.
Pull over!
I believe AMC would've been a huge success to compete with the Big 3 had both Studebaker and Packard merge together with Hudson and Nash along with Kaiser and Jeep to form AMC in 1954, heres the AMC divisions.
AMC Divisions
Kaiser=Cheap budget brand (compete with Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth)
Studebaker=Mid-level/Performance brand (to compete with Edsel, Pontiac, and Dodge)
Nash=Mid-level luxury brand (to compete with Mercury, Oldsmobile, and Desoto)
Hudson=Upscale Mid-level luxury brand (to compete with Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler)
Packard=High-end expensive luxury brand (to compete with Continental, Cadillac, and Imperial)
Jeep=Ultimate Truck brand (to compete with Mercury, GMC, and Fargo).
I had a friend who m’s father had one. Red, with white striping.
Still a beautiful car.
The demise of AMC was definitely sad.
[ I still keep wondering if the Full merger between Studebaker, Packard,Hudson and Nash, would have succeeded, ……].
🚗🙂
Such a junk I would love to have one. It was good enough for Malloy!
I test-drove a Pacer when introduced. It was crude.
In 1974 my Army buddy had one of the new Matador coupes. We were Privates so he couldn't afford to buy it, it was a gift from his parents. He wasn't proud of it. During the Arab oil embargo people were shamed for driving gas guzzlers. And it's build quality was terrible. Exterior and interior panels didn't line up. Even the glove box door wouldn't stay closed on a brand new car. It rattled going down the road. It looked and felt cheap.
That lady got stuck in the boot on James Bond in one.
My parents had a Matador station wagon from before that ugly 1974 redesign. The big V-8 hauled my brothers and I everywhere for over 100K miles, I even passed my initial driver's test in it. Two reasons my parents didn't buy the new one was it was ugly as f$&k and gasoline prices went sky-high. They ended up buying a newly introduced car, a Honda Civic station wagon, to save on gasoline
renault casually catching strays
Renault = Ren-no
Not Ren-Alt
A gallery of monsters
Also the little AMC Renault Alliance, Renault 9 / 11 was not good for compete with a simple Chrysler Plymouth Horizon (French Simca Horizon) and the VW Golf
Y’all played this video yesterday too.
That's is ok! Repetition helps
@@hipopotamus2625 Another UA-cam channel did the same thing yesterday.
Must be a glitch in the system.
The killer "Matador" got killed by the Bull.
I bought a Matador Oleg Cassini a few years ago. I wanted something different.
It was different alright, but I just didn’t like it, so off it went. 👋🏻
That photo you claim as a Pierre Cardin Matador, is, in fact, a "JAVELIN", not a Matador. Pierre Cardin worked on the Javelin. Oleg Cassini did the Matador, not Pierre Cardin. Is this just a SNAFU or did you really think that Javelin was a Matador????? Just wondering.
I want a Gucci wagon.
WHO in their right mind thought THIS 'Thing' was stylish?
The first time I ever saw one of these cars was when it appeared in the 1974 James Bond film 'The man with the golden gun' and I thought it was some jokey made up car for the film, but no, it really did exist and some Americans actually bought them.
It was a travesty to the eyes in '74 and time has not improved its looks.
It's HIDEOUS!
As for the Renault Alliance you call a pile of crap, it was a pile of crap in America because it was butchered and fiddled about with and stuffed with poor quality American garbage components so that could be sold in the US.
The original European Renault 9 was a very reliable car with a production life from 1981-2000.
manufactured in
France: Douai
Spain: Valladolid
Taiwan: Taichung (Sanfu Motors)
United States: Kenosha (AMC)
Colombia: Envigado
Argentina: Santa Isabel (Renault Argentina)
Chile: Los Andes, Chile
Turkey: Bursa (Oyak-Renault)
Mexico: Vallejo
Yugoslavia: Novo Mesto
My family bought a 2 year old one in 1990 and was used constantly until last year when it was scrapped due to it no longer meeting emission standards, but it was still going strong when it went to the breakers, it was THAT reliable.
Still I shouldn't complain, I got two grand for scrapping it.
So that’s a Matador.
A car so ugly it looks good today
A lot of cars are like that now. I think the Edsel is a beaut. Back then, car makers had a specific look. There was certainly no mistaking the AMC Pacer or Gremlin from anything else on the road. These days, you can barely tell a Ford from a Toyota.
@@whoami7721The tail lights on the 2000 through 2005 Chevy Impala look similar to the ones on the Matador. Looks like Chevy took the styling ques from the Matador and used them on the Impala.
I was 12 in 74. Even then I knew it was the ugliest car ever made. I could never understand how the same company that built the gorgeous Javelin, could also build the 74 Matador.
I owned and loved '72 Javelin AMX 401 for 14 years and 175k miles without any driveline issues. But loving my Javelin AMX didnt change my disdain at what l saw in the AMC Pacer and Matador, the two ugliest cars since the Gremlin. Sorry.
I definitely prefer the older model to the new one. The new you couldn't tell if it was coming or going. It was an ugly looking car, what were they thinking when that was approved. Start of there downfall. I liked AMC cars too.
AMC design was old from new
Why the weird AI car in the title?
UA-cam removed my first video becaus I had 4 seconds of a Mator (bull fighter) in front of a bull. No blood, no guts, just standing there. Some Russian channel has a video on an AMC Matador with the same 4 seconds and they have had that video up with over 200,00 views for over a year! I'm pissed so I thought I'd include the bull. I should have added blood and guts!
I remember when this car was the ugliest thing on the road. An oversized Pinto.
"reh-NO," not "ruh-NALT". :)
all your pausing is slowing the videos down.
AMC, failed because it was a mix mosh of parts...
Also they all looked like a coffin on wheels
Kinda like the ambassador
The Problem with AMC was that it was not multi National conglomerate like the other 3 car makers. Car sales was just one source of income for them.
the name matador didn't help. it means killer.
I owned AMC hornet two-door hatchback kind of ugly green green interior three-speed. What a piece of crap
It failed because it is hideous😮
To be fair if it wasn't for tax payer funded bailouts none of the big 3 would be around today. To bad AMC didn't last long enough for the free cash.
It's the worst car at the worst time, the opposite of the nice Cadillac Seville of the same years the right car at the right time also with a Chevrolet Nova chassis and very high price the Cadillac Seville beat BMWs and Mercedes in sales...
It was ugly back in the 70s and ugly today.
It wasn't ugly at all😊
Simple: it was stupid looking and nobody wanted a Rambler.
Ugly car, just like every 1973 GM car built that year, except firebird or Camaro