OK you guys, I have tried, with little effect, to educate you on the merits of the 1980-83 Continental Mark VI. For instance, it is based upon the 1980-89 Town Car that everyone loves, that it got better than the 10-12 mpg of the lusher, larger Continental Mark V, that there were some snazzy Designer Editions, and so on. But it all comes down to its awkward proportions, doesn’t it. Okay! Okay, how about this: I took a couple brochure pictures, chopped the top, and…voila!
While I agree the VI wasn’t quite so unabashedly bold as the Mark IV or V, it was still a nice car, and comfortable. CAFE changed everything, and the VI was the result.
But I still like them a lot, even though they are the Mustang II of Lincoln Land. Like Rodney Dangerfield, no respect, no respect at all! And there you have it. A sleeker VI with more pleasing lines. There. Happy?! What’s that? Headroom? Bah! Just lower your Twin Comfort Lounge Seat and you’ll be fine…
Looks like a Volvo 780 to me…not that looking like a Volvo is necessarily a bad thing.
Lipstick on a pig….
The chopped top does help, but it makes the butt look really large.
I looks like a Mark V that someone pressed the “reduce” button, the chopped roof does make it look better, but it also emphasizes how they just took all of the identical styling cues from the V to the VI without really trying anything new, which is why, I imagine, that many are disappointed with the looks. I imagine that the 1977 Cadillacs would have looked awkward if they would just come out looking like shrunken 1976’s too.
To me, the oval window never worked on the Mark VI sedan either, just too many windows on the side, they probably should have gone with blank “formal” style limo rear quarters on the sedans.
+1 re an 7/8ths scale Mark V.
How about losing that silly B-pillar that gave up all pretense of the Mark being a hardtop? The Mark V wasn’t a true hardtop anyway, the rear windows were fixed but at least it looked like a hardtop.
It doesn’t make that much of a difference to me. While I’ll never like the Mark VI coupe, I’ve always found the Mark VI sedan intriguing. Sort of like a Town Car plus, with throwback styling details. A few years ago I saw an ’87 Town Car with the Mark VI’s front clip – hidden headlights! It looked pretty classy.
The TC with the Mark clip would be odd, someone must have really wanted the hidden headlight set up. The 2 and 4 door Mark’s are interesting, paralleling what was going on at Cadillac at the same time, but in reverse, in 1980 Cadillac introduced a Fleetwood Brougham coupe, which was something that they never really had offered in modern history.
Come to think of it, it’s rather interesting that Cadillac never applied the hidden headlight treatment to its “regular” car lines (I’m excluding the ’67-’68 Eldorado, as it was more of a halo model during that time), like Lincoln and Imperial/Chrysler did.
In fact, except for the ’68-’69 Caprice, in which they were optional, GM never really jumped on the hidden headlight bandwagon except for sports cars.
Don’t forget the Toronado.
The Riviera too and the Grand Prix had it for 2 years.
Huge improvement! I like it!
The Mark VI sedan looked pretty good with the blank quarter. This is an ’83 Pucci Designer Edition.
Not good, not then, not now…
I feel like this makes it look too much like a Town Car with a similar roof treatment. The oval windows are certainly polarizing, but to me they make a Mark a Mark.
Exactly. I think the Mk VI sedan is about as Broughamtastic as you can get, what, with the hidden head lights, the side vents the Continental hump and then all the usual bits. Deleting the oval opera window makes you loose Brougham points-big time.
It’s a Town Car with hidden headlights, fancier interior and Mark rear deck. What’s not to like?
Freakin beautiful, I don’t care what yall say……………..
The chopped-top does help the overall proportions, but I imagine that anyone much over 5’6″ would bang their heads getting in and out of this thing. So in my book it’s still a fail.
I remember seeing in the Lincoln brochure (don’t remember what year) that the 2 door Mark VI was shown with a different style Landau roof. The stationary back windows were more rectangular is style and the landau molding was at the same angle as the b pillar. I don’t recall it having the oval port windows. It gave the car a totally different look.
I remember actually seeing one of the Mark VI coupes at my local Lincoln Mercury dealer with this roof treatment, and it was very nice indeed
I’ll have to check out the oldcarbrochures website and see if I can find it.
Does anyone recall it ? Has any one ever seen it?
That was in the ’83 brochure. Here’s the picture.
Strange, I forgot they offered such a thing, its almost an Eldorado style quarter.
Sorry, the sedan is tolerable for what it is, but the coupe will always be to me one of the most tasteless baroque monstrosities of Detroit in the seventies. The Herb Tarlek of cars, for anyone who remembers WKRP.
Nooooooo, come one, if you really remember WKRP, there is only ONE car that can be the Herb Tarlek of cars…..
suk a coach lamp buddy………………
The Mark VIs could also get these ugly coach lamp things
I must have one of those one day for the WTF factor…its terrible beyond words
“Excuse me good sir, I seem to have lost my spectacles…”
I used to think these were ugly aftermarket-dealer add ons, I was horrified later to learn that they were factory…..
WHY didn’t they just give it single round 8″ sealed beams with bodycolor blanking panels on either side if that was the look they were after!?!
Not sure what the marketing strategy was behind the coach lamps. Let’s see, we’ll get people to pay extra for the Mark VI because for 1980 it’s the only one with covered headlamps. Then we’ll get some of those people to pay extra on top of the premium for the Mark VI to expose the headlamps again. Well, only 2 of them.
Didn’t Ford’s product planning department have enough fires to put out in the early 80’s without dreaming up such frippery as coach lamps?
Of course in 2004 Lincoln was trying to gauge interest in a new Mark Series by showing a Lincoln Mark X concept at the auto shows that year. It was based upon the 2002-2005 T-Bird
I forgot to post this picture during T-Bird week
I remember that show car. I suppose if the T-Bird hadn’t flopped so badly, they might have actually offered this.
I always liked that Mark X concept. Wasn’t perfect–the windshield header was too curvy for the rest of the design, and I never understood why the bodyside molding didn’t carry across the doors–but it would have made a fine continuation of the Mark series. Also would have been the first convertible Lincoln since the ’67 Continental and the first convertible Mark since the original (not counting the non-canonical ’58-’60 “Mark III/IV/V”).
(Though why was it the X and not the IX?)
An improvement for the coupe it is but I think the windshields need more rake to them, that’ll pretty much be a full blown Mark V profile at that point. The angle shots still show the awkwardness regardless, the panthers appear to be significantly narrower.
The chopped sedan looks great though, always hated the uprightness of the real deal(and all box panthers). I might actually like that more than the 90
If you hadn’t told me I would never known they were chopped; looks pretty good.
Good first step, much improved! Now try it with the front axle moved forward so the front overhang is reduced.
The only thing the VI is good for is taking up slot #6, so the nice VII is applied to the great Mark VII.
Great work Tom. Being unfamiliar with post MkV Lincolns, I would never have suspected retouching.
It definitely looks better chopped but unfortunately they didn’t build it that way. It’s a hall of shamer along with the 80 T-bird and Cougar. All hit with the same awkward stick.
Once Ford saw how GM morphed the land yacht 78 Eldorado into the sleek 79 they should have thrown this design away and gone back to the drawing board.
Thats sort of what they did with the 1984 Mark VII after they realized these had bombed.
Give up, Tom. No amount of lipstick will make this pig attractive. I know you see something in these cars. But I like you anyway. 🙂
Love these cars! Thanks..
Why is everyone so pissed off at this car….jesus christ
I think these cars are exactly what they were intended to be – luxurious, comfortable, smooth riding and for their day, prestigious. I wish everyone would stop being so critical of them and let them be! It is 2014, not 1980!
+1!
Great job Tom. I live how the chopped Mark looks.