Both took command of a financially strong company (working capital increased from a low of $46 million in 1957, to $103 million, and the firm eliminated all long-term debt), with sales increasing from $362 million (91,469 automobiles) in 1957, to more than $1 billion (422,273 total units) in 1960. Abernethy predicted a total of 450,000 Ramblers to be delivered for the 1962 year, despite increasing competition from the new domestic-made compact cars offered by the Big Three. However, Abernethy "was more or less given an anchor and told to swim" after taking over the automaker from Romney. He "may lack some of the eloquence of his predecessor, George Romney, who revived the company in the late 1950s, but he makes up for it with vocal volume." One of the first tasks for the small automaker was to make its capital work harder in the face of competition with the automotive giants.