3000 MILES IN A MARLIN

For the longest time, the American automobile has suffered the unique distinction of being relegated to the workhorse category, a necessary evil in the machinery of society.

- Eric Dahlquist

AMC CROSS COUNTRY

From the Archives: That time we took a 3,000-mile road trip in an AMC Marlin.

Imagine being able to transport yourself back to early 1965 with the task of getting to take a new car, any new car, on a cross-country journey. Would an AMC Marlin be top of mind? Would the Marlin even be in your Top 20 list of cars to take a road trip in? Well, it was for HOT ROD, when staffer Eric Dahlquist hit the road in the brand-new, swoopy coupe from Kenosha. Starting in Milwaukee, he logged more than 3,000 miles on a combination of freeways and two-lane roads, including iconic Route 66, on his journey from Wisconsin to Los Angeles. He loved the car, too, raving about the experience. Among the praise lavished upon the Marlin, Eric particularly liked the seating position and the overall comfort and high feature content of the cabin. This story has it all: road trip narrative, new car review, some maintenance and performance tuning, and more than a few fish puns for good measure!

Numerous factors have contributed to this situation but just lately there has been a shift in the winds of attitude and the concept of motoring is gaining back much of the flavor of pre-depression years when driving was fun. Although we will never be able to return to those bygone days of uncrowded highways, a whole body of quick-pulsed machines have come along to erase much of the drudgery of the modern traffic condition.