LDeren’s previous Helsinki street-side shot was at night; this one is in the sunshine, and what better way to celebrate it than in a ’63 Lincoln Continental convertible? Just one minor nit to pick…
I must have spent too much time looking at old Continental convertibles when I was writing my ’65 Conti CC, and now when I see a bunch of contemporary big guys in tee shirts with arms spilling out of it instead of a well-dressed and elegant couple nicely ensconsed, it’s a bit jarring.
Maybe folks who own these should be required to dress up in the style that these cars were designed for?
Suit, tie and leather shoes required to operate this car with top down. And an elegantly dressed woman to match.
Like this one. Dream on….
More:Â 1965 Lincoln Continental: The Last Great American Luxury Car
Unfortunately Paul these cars have gone from Camelot to gansta chic. Just slap on 22’s and roll. But I agree, stock condition the passengers should have restraint.
I agree. I thought those who drove Lincolns dressed more conservatively, or at least business casual, with a hat and suit, and some comfortable slacks. And the woman dressed more fashionable for the era.
Why not? Most men in the early 60s dressed like that.
Is it just me, or are the modern people a lot bigger than their Sixties counterparts? Those Chunky Charlies in the first photo are spilling out of the car. I mean, I’m no shrimp either, but gosh…
No, the average person today is much bigger (read fatter) than the average person of 50 years ago. That is probably the most striking thing I notice when looking at photos from that era, or earlier. People then were thinner; I don’t know whether this was the result of diet, or more physical activity, or what. I see pictures of myself from 30-40 years ago and wonder, what happened?
High Fructose Corn Syrup. They even put that crap in sausages now.
Yes, I’m sure that’s the only culprit.
Really, a lot of it stems from the fact that much of the older generation was part of or at least remembers a time when food could be consumed without abandon, regardless of your occupation, because the chances were good that you’d end up working it off and come out even. Farmers, truck drivers, county workers, any type of manual laborer might ingest thousands of calories a meal, and work it off in the 5 hours or so before the next one.
With modern conveniences a lot of that labor has been lost. I myself just baled 700 bales of straw today in 85-degree weather…and probably touched about 30 of them thanks to a futuristic bale accumulator. Expended maybe 500 calories sitting in an A/C cab and getting out every 20 bales or so to check the tension. I’m sure the same situation could be applied to other occupations that previously depended on the strength of a man’s arm and the steadfastness of his will.
I see it a lot in many of the 65+ farmers or retired farmers at auctions, farm shows, seed-plot field days, antique/vintage tractor pulls…way too many guys on scooters, wolfing down mashed potatoes and pulled-pork sandwiches on white buns like they were 16 and had the metabolism of a shrew.
But yes, sausage isn’t something you’d want to know the contents of. My relationship with processed meats is one of denial: I won’t ask what’s in them, and in return, they remain utterly tasty.
In another thread about brochure photos, someone said that small human models were used, to make cars look bigger.
At least those Finns aren’t “Walmart Grunge,” as far as I can tell.
I was thinking the same thing those guys look huge in that poor car. Part of it might be that the Continental, being based on the smaller T-bird platform, was smaller than it looks. I like these Lincolns with larger rims and lowered, one of the few classic luxury cars I can say that about. They just look right. The Mark III can pull it off too.
As a young girl in the 60s I always imagined myself with my hair up and wearing gloves when at the wheel of an American car.By the time I got my Mercury Comet I had a long dyed black spiral perm and wore stretch jeans and a black T shirt.
Yes, a shame. After all, we KNOW how we should dress in a luxury convertible, now don’t we? The world went straight to hell when men stopped wearing hats. 🙂
Nice counterpoint with the ’62 Imperial Crown convertible. One of the best lines was when Ethel Merman complains, “WE’RE the ones in the Imperial and WE’RE running last!”.
With that said, nothing says the Kennedy Era like an Engel-styled, suicide-door Continental convertible.
My dad who is doin’ well in his late 70’s thank God, he’s wearing classic hats and suits till nowdays! I also have an english style classic cylinder hat and tailored suits BUT maybe I’d be the one and only person in the town who’s willing to wear it!? Neither on special occassions men and women aren’t wearing classic suits with hats. Maybe oneperson in a quarter million. Style isn’t in fashion in daily matters.
I agree. And I don’t mean baseball caps. They’re fine for going to the ballpark to play baseball. I mean something nicer, more appropriate for the occasion. The women on the passenger side doesn’t look like she wants to be there. Nor does the driver.
No different than a bunch of twenty-somethings cruising around in a Minivan sipping road sodas and wearing Salvation Army clothes instead of a new clothes wearing suburban family heading off to LaCrosse practice which is the stereotypical demographic of Minivan buyers. Not going to lie though, being well dressed and well groomed whether driving, riding, or walking around sure does feel nice.
Anyway, the Continental in the lead photo has cartoonish proportions and the body lean is kind of funny. Regardless of that 1960s Continentals sure are lovely looking.
I got over anticipating elegantly dressed people to appear in JFK-era Lincolns when LBJ became president and was shown roaring around the ranch in his convertible. Decades later HBO’s Entourage further destroyed the image.
The lady in the fur hat – I recall that page in the 1961 brochure I picked up at the auto show in fall of 1960. It had a parchment type cover and all the pictures made me swoon for the car and the lifestyle.
In Scandinavian countries like Finland (but there is Sweden, Norway, Denmark) american vehicles are quite popular in euro terms. Just take a look at some local used cars sales ads you’ll find various kinds and well maintained American cars, vans, trucks in such numbers from different eras. I’d rather see Them cruising than a chery or a ceo for example…
My father always dressed up every time he drove his ’73 T-Bird. Heck, he even dressed up every time he went to the supermarket, let alone church. Was your father like that too, Paul? (I ask since our family emigrated from Poland around the same time yours emigrated from Austria)
I’ve been very tempted to find an old man’s hat and thin black tie to wear when I’m out raking hay on my 1950 Ford 8N tractor…
How about this driver’s attire from the Bathurst 500, 1963 or so? It was part of a promo stunt for their sponsor (when signage on cars was not allowed).
It looks like these guys have collars on their shirts at least
I recently watched the famous mid-60’s surf movie, The Endless Summer, on Netflix. The two California surf dudes wore dark suits and ties when travelling by plane. I’m assuming the stewardesses wore gloves as well.
Yes!! He finally started wearing jeans when he went hiking in later years. Before that, he wore older dress wool pants.
In hot weather, I would go with a nice thin short sleeve shirt and some light slacks and sandals, sort of what like Connery wore when he drove a blue Continental convertible in Thunderball.
Like this….
Don’t wear socks with your sandals like 99% of British men!
Hell no.
The first time that I recognized this era’s Lincoln Continental had been in my early childhood when “Hair” the musical movie was a hit. Later when I recognized that this Lincoln was also a Presidential Limousine too was a bit confusing as hippies and rich had been driven by the same type of V8 luxury car.
That Conti in the top photo is leaning and low. Needs a set of Sears booster shocks!
What the Conti Needs is four handsome gentleman off of their latest Summer Smash Hit. “Baby I Need Your Continental” By The Four Tops.
That is styling.
Or perhaps Mame herself, Rosalind Russell.
For me only cars up to 1956 are cars to dress up to drive. I often think of dressing up in a nice suit and cruising with a 55 convertible Cadillac to the tune of Billie Holliday’s “Gloomy Sunday”. Driving anything past ’56 is no longer an event.
But it is still an awe-inspiring thing. Be it restored or not. Even more so if not, because such a car has survived all this time and all those owners to become veritable “four god damn wheels and a seat.” A car with faded paint and interior, a car of which all that has remained is the driving. A car that is priceless when driving and worthless if not.
The CC of my dreams is a 69 deville convertible with black faded paint and slightly leaky or nonworking convertible top. Or a 58-60 deville 4 or 6 window with faded interior, paint, chrome and slight surface rust. Cosmetics are irrelevant if it’s mechanically sound. A slightly post-apocalyptic daily driver and not a near perfectly restored museum piece.
These cars creep me out. Maybe because my only exposure to them has been the Zapruder film…I don’t think I’ve ever seen this generation in a convertible form out in the wild.
What’s really disturbing is that the building in the background is the Helsinki School Book Depository. (Sorry, Paul and Perry. I had to.)
Back and to the left….
I don’t know for the Lincoln but ride in this 1964 Cadillac Deville you need an Armani suit jacket with jeans, pastel colored t-shirt and slip on boat shoes.
Armani who? 😉
Found this article interesting. I think the way this type of car is perceived is very different in Europe vs USA.
Well, don’t take this one too seriously 🙂
It’s just that I find these cars so beautiful, it kind of ruins it for me when people are actually in them, unless they can do them justice. But I don’t begrudge these guys their ride, which they’re obviously enjoying.
I’m hardly a stickler for dressing up myself. But then I don’t drive a Conti convertible. My work clothes suit my ’66 F-100 quite well.
They look like they paid the guy driving to give them a tour.
I once had tickets to a movie premiere, so I paid a cabby to drive me 50 yards to the door of the theatre so I could be seen getting out of a vehicle by the crowds behind the barriers, rather than be arriving on foot.
I could hear them going “ooh, now who’s that?”
I think luxury cars are best driven while dressed up-at with a jacket. It always blew my mind seeing people getting out of a really fancy luxury car or SUV looking like any other barbarians who can’t be bothered to wear something better than sweats or ratty jeans.
Outside of emergencies or sheer necessity, I won’t take my nice cars out (or go out in public, for that matter) dressed less than how I described above. You’d be suprised how many doors are swung wide open to you when you look like you have some healthy self-respect. After doing so, you’d also be suprised how much of a difference it makes if you dress down, unless the only sorts of public places you go to are quickie marts.
Agreed. I started “dressing up” (although now I don’t even think of it as such) about two years ago, developing my own style based on my taste and financial resources (or lack thereof).
One of the unfortunate side-effects of the “opening” of college to those who might have previously thought it out of their reach, financially speaking, is that acceptable wear for a class is now apparently a T-shirt, a hoodie with the university logo, and sweatpants with either moccasins or UGG boots (if there’s a pun there, it’s certainly intended).
I don’t know if I’ve taken it too far by wearing a 60’s vintage tweed jacket (or maybe 70’s–it’s got really wide lapels), corduroy pants, the occasional tie, and a pair of artfully-scuffed leather walking shoes, but I know for a fact it gets me more positive attention from the professors than my compatriots. And I am literally no less comfortable in all that than I would be in what’s essentially pajamas. The perception that a jacket and tie are constricting is one that needs to die. Well, okay, the jacket is a little restricting, but I’m just walking around in it, not doing gymnastics! If I needed it off, it would come off. Men who complain about discomfort in a suit probably only ever wore one for prom, off-the-rack with no tailoring or other adjustments.
I could go on and on about how a shirt should always have a collar (T-shirts were originally only acceptable as underwear, and should have stayed that way) and should be tucked in (if you do it right, you shouldn’t look like an old grandpa constantly pulling his belt up to his armpits), or about how my hat-wearing, included the infamous (gasp!) fedora, has brought me more compliments than snickers, but I’ve already said more than necessary, so I’ll end with this:
Being that I’m only 5’8″, I know it can be difficult for people to see me as any older than 17 or so unless I take steps to bend their perceptions a little. Growing out sideburns and a mustache, and keeping them trimmed so I don’t look like I’m a teen who’s never shaved, helps. So does good posture, holding one’s head up, and looking people in the eye (or in their general direction, for us Minnesotans).
“Don’t judge a book by its cover”? Well, maybe not entirely. But the truth of the matter is that humans are one of the most visually attentive species, and putting some effort into one’s appearance doesn’t just show that you’re aware of this fact; it shows everyone you meet that you think highly enough of them that you put more than the minimum amount of effort into whatever you’re doing when it comes to being around them. That’s all I really have to say.
Oh, and a good flat cap is one of the most versatile pieces of clothing any man can own. Not very expensive either.
Uhhh…no. The “dressing down” of college students began with the social changes of the late 1960’s. Look up a college picture from 1964, for example, and then look one up from 1968 on up, and you’ll see what I mean.
I think the robot that picks Google Ads agrees with you, Paul.
Check out those streets in Helsingfors.
Those big guys sure make the passenger compartment look small compared to the long hood and trunk lid. It makes the people in the ad’s look like munchkins. It’s riding like there’s a stiff in the trunk.
Boy that car is stupid looking. It looks like a guppy. Sorry, give me a Cadillac for class.
However, The Old Man can pull this off, in black though.
[Here he is with a Cadillac, can’t find him in the Continental].
No, sixties Caddies are gauche. Continentals are internationally clean and cool.
looks like they trimmed the nature strips for that second photo. But only part way. And no I am not trying to be crude.
P.S. Helsinki is a great place
Yes, I know. Mother’s side of the family are Finns. Lönnrotsgatan 40 A 12. (Lönnrotinkatu) is where my grandmother lived.
Tell us why the streets in Helsingfors are paved as they are.
they’re old?
I’ve loved these cars since they were nearly new .
I had a ’63 , ’64 & a ’65 (! disc brakes !) , all sedans in the early 1970’s , they were HUGE barges , I was 6’1″ back then and I didn’t hardly fill them up , my 4’10” Russian girlfriend looked comical if cute in the ’65 and she drove it like a race car (& dented all four doors dammit) .
As much as I’m a Generous Motors fanboi , these were sterling Automobiles in every way .
-Nate