Abernethy said repeatedly that AMC's "main problem was its image lag — the fact that too many people still thought of American Motors as the builder of plain jane compacts." He also started to move the Ambassador upscale to compete with other manufacturers' full-size cars. Moreover, larger models typically return bigger profits. Offering larger, and often more prestigious or "halo cars", can also help make the firm's smaller models look more attractive to consumers. Thus, as part of this vision, Abernethy put into motion a total remake of AMC's corporate identity and its marketing mix that would divorce its larger car lines from its Rambler brand and his perceived "negative" compact car image.