C. L. Zinn II’s book, Javelin Photo Archive (2002), offered an anecdote that illustrated Vince Geraci’s enthusiasm for the Rambler Marlin. At the time Geraci managed American Motors’ Large Car Studio, which took the lead in developing the Marlin.
“He liked the car so much he predicted the car would sell 50,000 units the first year and wrote it on one of the beams in the studio,” according to Zinn.
“Years later when the studio was remodeled they had the beams boxed in. On the beam that Vince had written on they made a little door that could be opened up just to tease Vince because sales of the Marlin were so bad” (2002; p. 12).
For further discussion about the Marlin’s short and unhappy life, go here.
RE:SOURCES
- Zinn, C. L. II; 2002. Javelin Photo Archive: from Concept to Reality. Iconographix, Hudson, WI.
Marlin styling has grown on me over the years, but the front clip was so plain-Jane until 1967. It still should have been on the Tarpon platform, in my opinion. There is no way that the Marlin could have competed with the Thunderbird or the Riviera. Did anybody at A.M.C. have an idea where the market was for the Marlin ? What a waste of time, effort and money, which A.M.C. did not have.