For its final year of production, American Motors moved its fastback Marlin up to the full-sized Ambassador platform. Let’s see how that worked out for Detroit’s smallest automaker.
In the automotive community, the American Motors Marlin has always been a polarizing design. Some folks like the radical roofline while others despise it, with very little in-between. Even among the admirers there’s a difference of opinion. Many enthusiasts say the original 1964 Tarpon concept, based as it was on the compact Rambler American, created the best package. But among professional auto stylists, the opinion is that the final Marlin of 1967, built on the full-sized Ambassador chassis, produced the best result. In their view, the longer platform stretched out the profile and smoothed the lines.
According to automotive historian and former AMC executive John A. Conde, the decision was made to cancel the Marlin even before the 1967 models were introduced, in part to make room for the Javelin pony car arriving in 1968. The closely related AMC intermediate and full-size platforms were totally redesigned for ’67, making it easy enough to shift the Marlin up to the longer 118-in wheelbase platform for the final hurrah. Vice president of design Richard A. Teague, who reportedly chose the names Tarpon and Marlin, backed the decision. The ’67 was “the best-looking Marlin we built,” he asserted.
Both Car Life and Motor Trend magazines tested the lame-duck ’67 Marlin and were unimpressed. Car Life found that the fastback greenhouse compromised its utility and ergonomics, and they didn’t much care for the nylon brocade upholstery. Meanwhile, Motor Trend found the performance lacking compared to the Dodge Charger, the Marlin’s obvious fastback competitor. Not surprising, as the most powerful engine AMC could offer was the new 343 cubic-inch V8 with 280 hp, while the Charger was available with 383 and 440 CID V8s and even the 426 Street Hemi.
Buyers didn’t take a shine to the newly upsized Marlin, either. WIth its unusual slope-roof, swoop-window styling, the market was limited from the start. Sales fell from 10,000-plus in 1965 to 4,547 in 1966, and in the final year only 2,545 cars found buyers. However, the Marlin’s lack of popularity when new doesn’t bother present-day AMC collectors at all. On the vintage car scene, strangeness and rarity may be considered attributes.
Dodge Charger styling on the outside and Matador interiors on the inside. But if the 343 engine was available, why wasn’t the 390? Not like the engine compartment space was constrained.
390 was 1968 intro.`
The original Marlin, and its show car version, came out just before the Dodge Charger, which also had a large fastback. People liked the Charger fastback, but not the Marlin’s. I’ve always wondered why, until I saw a Marlin in person. What doesn’t show up very well in these photographs is the ‘kink’ in the roof just above the rear seat which gives its silhouette a strange bump. The Dodge Charger doesn’t have that because Dodge was willing to sacrifice some rear seat headroom to have a cleaner looking side view. This may explain why most images of the Marlin are at 3/4 front or rear views, or from above.
I have always really liked this, but then I am a big AMC fan. My fathers 1967 Rebel 770 had that same brocade fabric interior only in burgundy and as a 14 year old, I thought it was pretty snazzy!
Ugly car. Slightly better looking than the 1st 2 years, but still a styling disaster with different lines, curves & angles going this way & that. There was nothing that tied all the disparate styling cues together, so they all essentially clashed or wandered off without any resolution. But, AMC were “experts” at designing cars that usually looked awkward at best, & often downright ugly at worst. For every Javelin, AMX, Hornet or Rebel that was at least modestly attractive, there was a Marlin, Pacer, Gremlin, et al, that was simply hopeless.
With my hometown Milwaukee, naturally we thought Rambler/AMC was simply the best. I had neighbors that worked at AMC, and were mighty proud. Many would help build their own cars, and like Johnny Cash, I’m sure added an extra lock washer or 2. The Marlin was a joke and even we never warmed up to them. I don’t recall many driving around, and certainly none far from Wisconsin. They did sell in other areas, and you older guys will get a kick out of this story. Many years ago, we apparently had a Rambler dealer in my little Colorado town. At a recent car show, 2 sisters had a ’66 Marlin, in perfect shape, they said their mother bought the car new in town. Naturally, it drew quite a crowd. When I asked if I could see the motor, the only one to do so, the sisters looked at each other in amazement, nobody knew where the hood latch was. They were all looking inside, when I said, no, it’s right here( pointing to grill opening) they never opened the hood. So, that’s who is out there, folks. Marlins were good cars, but sorely needed a hatchback.