Story and photos by Brian Earnest
American Motors Corp. was clearly looking for bigger oceans to swim in back in 1965 when the company unveiled its mid-size Marlin hardtop coupe. At the time, the company had rarely strayed from its blueprint for small, practical, inexpensive — and some would say boring — compact cars.For three years, the Marlin lived as a curvy, handsome hybrid — a cross between a family car and the sports and muscle cars of the era. It was impossible not to compare it to the Charger. Both cars had the calling card fastback roofline. Where the Charger quickly became associated with performance and muscle, however, the Marlin never truly found its own identity. It was a little bit of everything, but maybe not distinct enough to make a serious statement of its own.In the end, only 17,419 Marlins rolled off the assembly line of the AMC plant in Kenosha, Wis., including just 2,545 of the 1967 versions