Although the Ambassador rode the same platform as its 1963 and 1964 forebears, the 1965 models looked all-new. American Motors' designer Dick Teague styled the 1965 Ambassador with panache and gave the car an overall integrated look.[48] Motor Trend magazine agreed, calling it a "strikingly handsome automobile".[49] The overall linear design look could be described as "chunky" or "chiseled". All Ambassadors were built on a 116-inch (2,946 mm) wheelbase, or four inches (100 mm) longer than the Classic models. Teague extended the beltline level from the stacked quad headlights to the vertical taillamps to stretch the cars visually. The Ambassador featured longer, squared-off rear fenders with vertical wrap-around taillights, taller trunk lid, squared-off rear bumper-mounted low, and squarer rear wheel arches. At the front, the Ambassador again sparked minor controversy with its new vertically stacked quad headlights, slightly recessed in their bezels, as they flanked an all-new horizontal bar grille. This new wall-to-wall grille projected horizontally in the center to create an effect somewhat opposite to the 1963's grille treatment.