Cars - Lincoln Continental

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	Cars - Lincoln Continental

Lincoln Continental is a model name that has been used several times by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company for a line of luxury cars. For most of its lifetime, the Continental nameplate referred to the four-door Lincoln flagship. In 1981 the Continental's reign as the Lincoln flagship ended when the Town Car, a trim-level up to then, took over as the new flagship. The Continental continued as a midsize model, competing mainly with the Cadillac Seville and Deville until production ceased.

1939

The first Lincoln Continental was developed initially as Edsel Ford's one-off personal vehicle, though it is believed he planned all along to put the model into production if it was successful. In 1938, he commissioned a custom design from the chief stylist, Bob Gregorie, ready for Edsel's March 1939 vacation. The design, allegedly sketched out in an hour by Gregorie working from the Lincoln Zephyr blueprints and making changes, was an elegant convertible with a long hood covering the Lincoln V12 and long front fenders, and a short trunk with what became the Continental series' trademark, the externally-mounted covered spare tire.

The car could be considered a channeled and sectioned Zephyr that did not even have the bulge that in the Zephyr (and in some other cars) replaced the running-board at the bottom of the doors. This decrease in height meant that the height of the hood was much closer to that of the fenders. There was hardly any trim on it at all, making its lines superb. This car is often rated as one of the most beautiful in the world.

The custom car for the boss was duly produced on time, and Edsel had it delivered to Florida for his spring vacation. Interest from well-off friends was high, and Edsel sent a telegram back that he could sell a thousand of them. Lincoln craftsmen immediately began making production examples, both convertible and sedan. They were extensively hand-built; the two dozen 1939 models and 400 1940-built examples even had hand-hammered body panels, since dies for machine-pressing were not constructed until 1941.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Continental production was suspended, to be re-started in 1946 to 1948. Like the other post-war Lincolns, however, the Continental had similar bits of trim added to make it look improved. The 1939–1948 Continental is recognised as a Full Classic by the Classic Car Club of America, one of the last-built cars to be so recognised.

1956

The Continental name was revived in 1955 as a separate Ford brand, with its sole model being the Continental Mark II, a high-class luxury vehicle that if anything was even more exclusive than the original Continental, being one of the most expensive cars available at the time. The Continental Mark II was sold for two model years, and about 3,000 were built. They sold to a selection of the world's richest men, but the Ford Motor Company lost money on each one sold. some of the original owners were Elvis, Shaha of Iran, Nelson Rockfeler and Kinsinger among others.

The Continental Mark II was design of its own with the highest quality control ever seen in automobile industry

1958–1960 Mark III, IV, and V

The Continental division was dissolved after 1957, but in an attempt to retain some of the cachet of the Mark II, Lincoln named its top-of-the-line 1958 model the Continental Mark III. This differed from the lower-model full-size Lincolns only in trim level and in its roof treatment, featuring a reverse-angle power rear "breezeway" window that retracted down behind the back seat. That year's full-size Lincoln sold poorly in all models; 1958 was a recession year in the United States. The new Lincoln was one of the largest cars ever made, larger than that year's Cadillac, and had styling considered by many to be excessive even in that decade of styling excess. 1959's range contained a Continental Mark IV model, and the 1960 range had a Continental Mark V, with more restrained styling than the 1958.

1961

In 1961, the Continental was completely redesigned. The design was originally intended to be the new 1961 Ford Thunderbird, but it was enlarged for Lincoln by the command of Robert McNamara to give Lincoln a distinctive, signature style. The new Continental's most recognized trademark, though, was a purely practical decision. To simplify production, all cars were to be four-door models, even the convertible. The new Continental was a unibody design, and there simply was not the structural strength to front-hang the heavy rear doors in the convertible model. Therefore, the rear doors were hung from the rear and opened from the front. This suicide door style was to become the best-known feature of 1960s Lincolns. Harold W. Johnson was head of Lincoln Continental division at the time. Efforts to find a new longer-life tire were conducted by Jacques Bajer at his asking.

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Cars - Lincoln Continental

1939

1956

1958–1960 Mark III, IV, and V

1961

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