The sleek fastback shape of the Rambler Marlin was quite striking when introduced in 1965, a year before the 1966–67 Dodge Charger and three years before the 1968–69 Ford Torino fastback. It would have been even more attractive had American Motors’ CEO, Roy Abernethy, not intervened. A tall, large man, Abernathy felt cramped in the rear seat and demanded his designers raise the roof over the rear seat by 6 inches. Stylists sweat fractions of inches to get the right profile, imagine what 6 inches did to Bob Nixon’s design! Still, it’s a great automobile with a beautiful instrument panel and interior. Most Marlins were V8 powered, this one is a rare 232 six-cylinder car. Look for it in The Complete Book of AMC Cars published by Quarto/Motorbooks next year.

The 1964 Rambler American was a critically important product for American Motors. As their low-price leader, it would carry on the Rambler legacy in a throughly modern compact. The 1964 Rambler American 440 Convertible we just photographed for The Complete Book of AMC Cars is proof an inexpensive car can also be very stylish — designer Bob Nixon made sure of that. This the second AMC we’ve have photographed that was purchased by a grandparent and is now in the hands of a 20-something grandson dedicated to its preservation.

Since I was in Grade School I’ve had an interest in Formula 1 racing. Back then I had to read about these events two months after they happened in Road & Track magazine, but those stories transported me to exotic places like Monaco and Monza, and my heros Jim Clark, Jack Brabham, and our all-American driver and team, Dan Gurney. Over the years I lost interest until I could watch the races live on ESPN in the 1990s, following the exploits of the great Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari rebirth. Then it all became boring again, and the once beautiful machines becoming hideous, skate-wheeled monstrosities. That changed last year with the new ground-effects rules, plus the addition of Formula 1 races in Miami and later this year in Las Vegas.

The next issue of ⎘Linkage magazine (#014) features my cover story on the rebirth of Formula 1 in the United States and previews the Las Vegas event this coming November. You can find in newsstands later in September.