Curbside Find: 1973 AMC Matador Sedan – How Come You’re Still Around?

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– Posted on November 7, 2024

Photos from the CC Cohort by canadiancatgreen.

Here we have an unusual survivor, none other than a 1973 American Motors Matador. In its current state, a fairly well-preserved beater going a bit over the half-century right now. Yet, when it comes to survivors such as these semi-forgotten models, my mind ponders: How did it make it to our age? How come you’re still around?

I mean, when it comes to such old specimens, they usually come from easily imaginable scenarios. First, the models that have been loved, with efforts to keep them alive since day one; the Mustangs, and Camaros for example. Sporty models, quirky ones, and luxury rides tend to fall into that category. And then, those that were built in such quantities that survival is just but assured. The Falcons and Chevy IIs, the never-dying Caprices of the ’80s…

But an average mid-’70s mid-size from an independent, rather anodyne, in 4-door sedan form, that sold mostly to fleets and few bothered to keep? How does it make it to our days?

This proves that random events in this universe are the norm and not the exception. By all logic, any mid-’70s Matador that hadn’t found a devoted fan should have ceased to exist about 10 years ago or so.

And yet, here’s this one. Not quite well preserved, but still around.

The young out there may be wondering, What’s a Matador? Well, the new nameplate that took over the Rebel, which had been AMC’s mid-size offering since ’67. Despite unique styling and an array of versions –some even rather hot— sales hadn’t gone too great for the model.  Moniker aside, turned out the Rebel wasn’t rebellious enough for those youthful ’60s.

Not giving up on the field, AMC’s mid-sizers arrived in ’71 with a new face, updated trims, and the meant-to-be-exciting Matador name. What’s a Matador? Became a sales line, the way the new name was promoted in period TV ads (link HERE):

“Introducing one of the best secrets of Detroit… the Matador.

Wait, What’s a Matador?”

Indeed, AMC was in the intermediate-size business. Better let folks know, just in case.

A slight restyling arrived for ’71 that would remain until ’73, with minor revisions in trim and detailing. Bodies remained the same throughout, and the company boasted of having more interior space and hip room than competitors in the segment. Sensible traits American Motors’ products had been associated with since their Rambler era.

Intermediates were a “hot” thing in the early ’70s, along with the Brougham phenomenon. An era when fashion was highly favored over sensible traits.

So, despite an early uptick, the Matador didn’t do much of a killing in the marketplace, with a good number of units sold to fleets—the way most seem to remember them. A questionable restyle arrived in ’74, again debuting to good numbers and dropping quickly after.

Overall, these mid-sizers were part of AMC’s long ongoing struggle to be accepted beyond the compact segment, something that, as told elsewhere on this site, never quite gelled.

We know that AMC had spread itself too thin since the mid-’60s in its pursuit of matching the Big Three toe to toe. By the early ’70s, the company’s lineup was a most curious thing, thanks to the designs created under VP of styling Dick Teague’s unsteady guidance. The products were either clean and tasteful, like the Hornet. Occasionally exciting, like the early Javelin and AMX. Or oddly quirky, like the Gremlin.

One last tendency was evident in the Matador due to constrained finances and the company’s preference for sensible packaging. In ’71, the year the model was first launched to the market bullring, the car arrived sporting the contradicting hallmarks of any non-compact AMC product: oddly generic and familiar, and yet with tiny detailing bits that seemed desperate to make an impression.

In all, between the 2-door hardtop, 4-door sedan, and wagon, the Matador moved about 46K units in its debut year. Most, of the 6-cyl. variety, in keeping with AMC’s fame as a provider of fuel-saving rides.

So, nope, no Burt Reynolds types were roaming AMC’s dealers for these Matadors.

Let’s check out a bit closer this surviving Matador in civilian guise. This being an AMC product, there are a few elements of alienness that we must address. Like the pieces of aluminum trim, the opening door levers, and the vertically-arranged radio.

Elements that say: “Look, I’m Kenosha different!”

Here’s the back seat. And how does that interior strike you? It does look roomy, especially for a 1970s mid-size offering. And talk about mustard-lovin’ ’70s!

Now, I’ve put quite a few words into this old Matador and have little idea as to how it has survived to these days. If I were to take a guess, I would assume it had an early pampered life that fell on rougher hands in later days.

Not having any way to know for sure, I’ll leave you with what’s perhaps the car’s most distinctive angle. That fuselage-inspired face that evokes a Plymouth Satellite, and that grille pattern that’s working way too hard to make an impression.

A face that’s far from the company’s most memorable product, and yet so AMC.

 

Related CC reading:

Curbside Classic: 1973 AMC Matador Sedan – The Stench Of Death

Cohort Classic: 1973 AMC Matador Wagon – Green On Green