Saturday AACA car show . . .
Read MoreThe name Riviera first appeared in 1949 and was used to identify Buick's pillarless hardtop models. But beginning in 1959, the Riviera name was only applied to Buick's 6-window pillarless hardtop, (a 4-window hardtop was available that didn't use the Riviera name).
Also in beginning in 1959, the Electra 225 name first appeared replacing the Series 700 Limited line from 1958. The Electra 225 became the top trim level of Buick's offerings.The Rambler Marlin (1965)/AMC Marlin (1966 - 67), could best be described as a great idea by the wrong company. The car was originally designed to appeal to a younger buyer who might be drawn to a Ford Mustang or Plymouth Barracuda, but with some differences. On the inside of the Marlin, emphasis was placed on offering more room and a greater level of comfort compared to its competition. On the outside, the popular fastback styling gave the car a sporty appearance not seen in other Rambler/AMC products. The ultimate goal was to take the car upscale toward the evolving personal luxury car segment.
The problem with this was that Rambler/AMC never really ventured into the world of sporty personal luxury cars before. Their customer base bought Ramblers and AMCs because they were smaller and more economical. Even so, 10,327 Rambler Marlins were sold in 1965.
For 1966, the Marlin now had to compete with the new Dodge Charger, a sporty personal luxury car from a manufacturer who was very good at sporty personal luxury. Dodge sold 37,344 Chargers that year while sales of the Marlin fell to 4,547.
Things only got worse for 1967. In addition to the Dodge Charger, the Marlin also had to compete against the new Mercury Cougar (150,893 sold), and the newly redesigned Ford Thunderbird (77,956 sold), as well as the higher-end all-new Cadillac Eldorado (17,930 sold). Sales fell to 2,545 for the model year. The Marlin was then discontinued.