Caught in the middle, but far from homeless, are the Marlin from AMC and Dodge's Charger. Neither has the compactness of the basic sportspersonal archtypes such as Mustang and Camaro, nor the posh elegance to social climb their way into the company of the luxury-personals: Eldorado, Riviera, et al. Nor, it should be added, do they attempt to.
Each is looking for its own home in this fast-growing market. Most likely competition (in philosophy rather than sales volume) comes from Cougar and Firebird, both upgraded variations of smaller cars but with more of a performance image. Both aim at the driver who wants a sporty-type car, but who doesn't want to give up room and comfort and isn't ready to move into the more expensive category.
Charger assumes that the man interested in such a car also wants performance and will spring for bigger engines. American Motors takes a more conservative view of Marlin's prospective buyer, believing him more interested in the sporty look rather than the sporty reality. Both are large cars which fill all of the average marked parking space but neither drives like a monster, so they have some justification in claiming the sporty image.
The Charger, which had a late introduction in 1966, makes no external changes for 1967. The Marlin has been with us since 1965, when it received a rather chilly reception from the buying public. To offset this and to restore the sense of freshness it has an all-new frontend treatment but still retains the tapering fasback so reminiscent of the Tucker.
Seeking a corner of this market untouched by the competition, AMC emphasizes Marlin as a sports-personal car for the entire family. This isn't quite the contradiction in terms that it seems, for the head of the family spends a fair part of the day alone in the car. It is the only sports/ personal car capable of transporting six adults, so a family with several children does not have to be a 2-car family, though it probably will be anyway.
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