No doubt James, and I'm sure you know that you're not alone feeling that way.
My curiosity finally got the better of me and I actually wrote to the "Creator" (Eric Stoddard) and asked him if the Marlin was indeed his inspiration for the Crossfires roofline.
He wrote back and told me he never thought about the Marlin while creating the Crossfire.
That the main inspiration for the Crossfire design were cars like the Auburn boattail Speedster, and later the 63 Corvette and 68
Mustang fastback.
Even though he doesn't realize it, I still think there had to be a "subliminal" "Marlin" image floating around in that very talented mind of his.