(first posted 11/10/2014) Today, we’re going to touch on some of the forgotten Lincolns. Sure, everyone remembers the Continentals, the $10,000 1956-57 Continental Mark II and the 1961 Continental, but how about the 1952-54 Lincolns? If anyone remembers them at all, it is usually to their success in the Carrera Panamericana. And while not having near the sheer luxury and exclusivity of a prewar Model K or 1941 Continental convertible, they were still fine cars in their own right.
Yes, the Lincoln of this era was a fierce competitor in the famous Mexican road race, finishing 1-2-3-4 in not only 1952 but also 1953, but other than that, how many modern collectors or car enthusiasts really know these cars?
For all their prowess in racing, these were still Lincolns at the end of the day, and promoted as such. Comfort, elegance, quietness, and plenty of power assists were still heavily promoted in sales literature and advertising.
First appearing in 1952, these not only replaced the “bathtub” 1949-51 models, but also featured the very first Lincoln hardtop, in your choice of Cosmopolitan or fancier Capri models.
Despite the options and 123-inch wheelbase, however, there was still a marked family resemblance between lesser Fords and Mercurys. But if you could overlook that, the overall design was very attractive, and the more powerful 317.5 CID V8 with four-barrel Holley provided ample power for the mid Fifties, at 205-hp. That was certainly an improvement over the ’52 Lincoln engine, which had only 160-hp with two-barrel carburetion.
Despite the common corporate look, the Lincoln distinguished itself with the most mature version of the theme, and had lots of chrome jewelry, such as this elegant Capri script on the rear quarter panel. I think this detail is my favorite feature!
While the 1952-53 Lincolns were virtually identical, the 1954 model received more moderate changes, gaining an inch in both length and width, more substantial bumpers, a full-length side molding instead of the earlier one starting behind the front wheel, new wheel covers and other assorted trim bits.
Inside, it was clear that you were not in a Ford Customline. Lots of chrome bits, two-tone upholstery and elegant door panels made it clear this was a premium automobile. And what a nice place to spend time! As a Capri, this was the nicest interior you could get from FoMoCo at the time.
Indeed, the 1954 Capri two-door hardtop was the most popular Lincoln of the year, with 14,003 of the $3869 coupes being made. The rarest model, not unexpectedly, was the Capri convertible–the sole drop-top on offer. Only 1,951 found buyers.
1954 was the last year of the Carrera Panamericana, and during this event, Lincolns “only” finished in first and second place, rather than the 1-2-3-4 sweep of 1952-53. So while the 1955 Lincoln would still use the 1952 body shell (albeit with a substantial facelift), there would be no more road racing victories. Just as well, as the remarkable 1956 Lincoln was waiting in the wings to take over. It would be even more elegant and luxurious than the 1952-55 model, and worth the wait.
If you haven’t already guessed, this mint black over blue Capri hardtop was another specimen from the LCOC Rockford meet last September. I was especially drawn to the color, with all the chrome trim bits shown off to maximum effect. What a car!
Very nice! Lincolns of this era aren’t frequently featured here or discussed in general. It’s easy to forget that Lincoln has a sporting past.
Nice looking car. The dash is very interesting. I like the way it turns the corners and terminates in the door panels and the continuity trough the instrument panel.
Tom, you have hit the mark for me once again. My aunt and uncle had a ’54 Capri four door sedan, It was such a luxurious car in my little kidlet eyes. It was white over a dark green with matching green/white leather upholstery. It had power windows, unlike this particular model, a first in our extended family. How I loved playing with those. I recall they had a lot of trouble with their car, though, and they finally dumped it in 1958 after a catastrophic transmission failure. These are largely forgotten today, unfortunately. The ’55 was an even more interesting tweak of this series, presaging some of the ’56 design cues. The mother of one of my elementary school classmates had a ’55 Capri, it was that butterscotch/white color combo that was so popular that year. I, too, loved that old Lincoln logo, the knight head and the colorful shield, which disappeared after 1956, I believe. Great memories.
My first introduction to this body style of Lincoln was as a back-seat passenger in the new medium blue 1952 Cosmopolitan sedan that belonged to a friend of my father. I too was fascinated with the power window.
Many years later I looked at a black on dark green 1954 convertible. That was a nice car that wouldn’t have needed much sorting out, and the price of $700 was reasonable. This was just before the prices of these cars started soaring….
they finally dumped it in 1958 after a catastrophic transmission failure.
Wonder how early a 54 it was. Lincoln was still using the Hydramatic, and Hydramatic was in panic restart mode after their plant in Livonia burned to the ground in August 53. They moved production into a handful of leased facilities around Detroit, until they could get moved into Kaiser’s Willow Run plant. Much of the equipment they used was salvaged from the fire. Hydramatic said it was a customer loyalty move to ship the first transmissions off the line to their non-GM customers. One wonders if they were making Lincoln and Nash customers the beta testers for their new line.
I love these. Before I started writing for CC, there was a turquoise 55 sedan that I would see parked on a downtown street.
These are notable as the first application of the Y block design (the Lincoln Y block) that ended up as the 368 in 1957. This was FoMoCo’s first OHV V8, coming after a lifetime of flatheads. This car was also the first to use ball joint front suspensions instead of the kingpin design that had been the standard up to then.
These remind me a bit of newer Lincolns. These looked so much like Fords and Mercuries, and were priced a little lower than Cadillacs. This high end Capri cost about the same as a bottom-end Cadillac 62 hardtop. The Coupe deVille was over $4200. The lower level Cosmopolitan series was probably more in Buick territory. I do know that this wheelbase of 123 inches was still a fraction of an inch under the 51-52 Dodge, which came in at 123.5. This car probably had a pretty good power to weight ratio. That and the improved handling from the ball joints probably explains this car’s road racing pedigree.
I’m still getting used to new multifocals. Instead of “the kingpin design” I misread it as “the Klingon design.”
I misread it as “the Klingon design.”
I read stuff sideways all the time. I think it makes life more interesting because the way I read it is usually funnier.
Love these Lincolns, post war style improvement before things got much larger. Nice tail light treatment and detail. But overall I like the tight good look.
Definitely a good-looking car but I don’t think they did a very good job of differentiating it from the Ford and Mercury designs of 1952-54. A bit too much family resemblance, perhaps? Nonetheless the details are very nice and they do have that competition heritage that’s so rare in a postwar luxury car. Nice find.
+1 on that analysis. As a kid when they were new, I don’t remember these cars standing out in a crowd – I always thought of them as a fancy Mercury. I like and appreciate the car more today. Lincoln was such a confusing brand at the time, going from the bathtub Cosmo to this conservative iteration and on to the more chic 56-57 and radically restyled 58-60. It was such a pleasant surprise when Lincoln totally found its footing with the beautiful, elegant, and more timeless design of the 61.
I “discovered” these cars several years ago, and also really like them. A great collector car today as they offer something unique, but as a Ford product that sold in some numbers, they won’t be impossible to keep running.
I’m not a Lincoln expert, but IIRC, they came into the early post war years stumbling. They were slow with getting their own automatic, engines were spotty, they had some classic pre-war designs that were old when the war started, and were tarted up a bit for the post war. When new designs finally came out, they went with bathtub styling shared with Mercurys.
These cars seemed to finally straighten out the post war issues. But, getting the basics right did seem to lead these cars to a Fancy Ford look.
I think they were sitting on a good base to grow from, but ’57 started another rough patch. Lincolns were sort of, weird, and suddenly Imperial was a contender. Imperial and Packard were kind enough to fade / die a year later, but Lincoln introduced an expensive new line up that fell on its face until the Hail Mary ’61s came out.
It took Lincoln 16 years after the war to find some mojo that made them a contender through about ’96. They are now in another very long period of adjustment.
“Yes, the Lincoln of this era was a fierce competitor in the famous Mexican road race, finishing 1-2-3-4 in not only 1952 but also 1953,”
What happened to you, Lincoln? You used to be cool, man.
Cool in retrospect, only.
Back when new, they were chewed up and spit out by Cadillac for not being distinctive enough; and (I believe) outsold by Packard which had a heck of a lot more status, even in its dying days.
When new, these weren’t luxury cars, they were gussied-up Mercury’s. Which were nothing more than gussied-up Fords.
Their accomplishments were to be proud of, but completely flew over the head of the American luxury car buyer of the day. Cadillac had tail fins, which were more important than Carrera Panamerica trophies.
Yes. In the 1954 Lucille Ball movie The Long, Long Trailer, Lucy and Desi pulled the trailer with a yellow 54 Mercury convertible. But during some of the mountain scenes, the filmmakers substituted a Lincoln and nobody noticed.
Like here. Note the disguised taillights on the Lincoln.
I had forgotten about that movie now I want to see it again. The TV show had some great car scenes, even though it was supposed to be in non-car New York City. One of my favorites was when the girls where on that trip with the hatchet murderer and tried jacking up the Plymouth while she slept. The jack went through the fender’s sheetmetal and they tried patching it with spit.
Great pics and story about the car and as usual I learned from the commentary. I’d love to drive one of these Lincolns, have always loved them and also the Mercurys.
With regard to the windshield I was not alive when it went from curved to wrap-around and therefore do not remember what must have been a pretty important change. It sure was on the ’73 Super Beetle. I think the non wrap-around one on the early 50s Lincolns contribute to their sportiness. Sometimes with technology just because you can doesn’t mean you should. I really hated those flat roof GM sedans with the wrap-around rear window, just awful.
I’ve seen that movie several times, and always look for the Lincoln substitution. It was subtle, no doubt, but to a car spotter, so obvious. The Lincoln had the more powerful engine for the uphill grade mountain road scenes. The cars were ’53s, though.
Packard outsold Lincoln in 1952 and 1953, but Lincoln moved ahead for 1954. Packard moved ahead for 1955, before its sales completely collapsed for 1956.
But, if I recall correctly, most of Packard’s sales during these years were not in the true luxury class. Packard’s sales were concentrated in the medium-price field.
Packard sold more cars, but Lincoln sold more luxury cars. I remember reading that James Nance said, in 1953 or so, that he wouldn’t have Packard finishing “third in a three-way race” when it came to sales in the luxury field. One of his goals for the 1955 models was to have the Caribbean and Patrician outsell Lincoln, thus putting Packard in second place for luxury-car sales.
As far as these Lincolns being “gussied up” Fords – these cars had unique bodies not shared with Fords or Mercurys of that generation. GM bought examples of the new 1952 Fords, Mercurys and Lincolns soon after they debuted, to check up on what the competition was doing. GM’s engineers were surprised to find that the doors of the Lincoln would not fit the bodies of the Fords or Mercurys. (The Ford and Mercury did share a body shell.) Ford had gone to the expense of giving the Lincoln a unique body shell, but most people could not see the difference!
Agreed on the different body, etc. Unfortunately, they still looked with gussied-up Mercury’s. And the effort was completely lost on the buying public.
The ’52-’55 Lincoln (was the ’55 a different body or just a refreshed ’54?) are probably the most criminally underrated car of the 50’s.
The 1955 Lincolns were restyled 1954 models. The main change was the extended rear fender design, which hurts the overall balance of the car.
Lincoln was one of the few 1955 cars that didn’t have a wraparound windshield, which was a serious omission in those days.
Lincoln’s sales actually FELL in 1955 while the rest of the industry was enjoying a record year. Even poor old Studebaker managed to eke out an increase in 1955 while using a face-lifted 1953 body.
I saw a story on Collectible Automobile then Ford originally thought of not using wraparound windshield for 1955 for all Ford, Mercury and Lincoln but seeing the success of Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Buick with wraparound windshield they have to fix the situation for Ford and Mercury.
Also, the 1955 Lincoln menaged to be ahead of Imperial in sales who beginned its first year as a separate division. It didn’t help then folks still referred it as “Chrysler Imperial”.
One of my uncles had a dark red 1954 Lincoln Capri. Interest in performance cars ran in their family; his three brothers bought the first-year Chrysler Imperial Hemi and massaged it; a Chrysler 300; and a DeSoto Fireflite. But he was a Ford man.
I always thought the Lincoln had too much of the tarted-up Ford look to it. I also thought it looked kind of bug-eyed. But when the 1956 appeared I appreciated the 1954’s trim look…the 1956 was too bloated, I thought.
Love the 52-54’s. Here’s a shot of the one I had a few years ago.
Always liked these, even though they look like a Ford on steroids in profile view. There’s a taughtness to the design that’s very much in Ford’s prewar ethos, neither as florid as current GM designs nor as stodgy as Chrysler’s.
My favorite example is Eleanor (widow of Edsel) Ford’s custom built ’52 town car. Or maybe re-built is the better term. I’ve seen it live, at the Ford estate in Grosse Pointe Shores, and it sure looks like they refitted one of the prewar Brunn town car bodies to the newer – and much lower – body.
The 1952-54 Ford Motor Company products are interesting and attractive cars. The 1949-51 cars had been rushed to market because the company was gushing red ink after World War II ended. The 1949 Fords, Lincolns and Mercurys were thus riddled with quality problems, although, interestingly enough, Ford doesn’t seem to have suffered much for that lapse. Chrysler Corporation wouldn’t be nearly that lucky in 1957.
Ford worked hard to improve the 1950-51 Fords, but, from what I’ve read, was reluctant to make the same level of investment for the Lincolns, even though the Lincoln, as the corporation’s luxury offering, probably needed it more. Then, as now, the Ford Division got top priority.
I believe that it was Ernie Breech who said that the company was just going to have to “live in sin until we can get the 1952 body out.” All of the 1952 models from Ford Motor Company were dramatically improved from the prior generation. As jpcavanaugh noted, Ford introduced ball-joint front suspension on the 1952 Lincoln (which spread to Ford and Mercury for 1954). Another major advance was suspended foot pedals, which were featured on all Ford Motor Company cars. It was this generation of vehicles that helped Ford Motor Company permanently knock Chrysler Corporation back to third place.
These cars look sleeker and more modern than contemporary Cadillacs (the same with the Ford from these years as compared to contemporary Chevrolets). With the ball-joint front suspension and more manageable size they were also probably nicer to drive. The buying public, however, didn’t see it that way, as a Cadillac looked like a Cadillac, while the kinship of the Lincoln to the Ford was too apparent (even though they used different bodies). Victories in Mexican road races couldn’t overcome that handicap.
“Long, Long Trailer”: I never knew about that substitution–I’ll keep an eye out for it next time I watch it.
FWIW, the results of the (Nov.) 1952 race:
Initially, L-M management developed the overall package benchmarked on the Olds 98. Wheelbase, overall length, engine size, horsepower, etc were targeted to effectively compete against it. Fortunately, upper management came to their senses, decided that abdicating the luxury segment would be a long-term mistake.
What to do? Find a way to promote the new Lincoln as if was sized purposely and designed to appeal to the luxury buyer. Advertisements emphasized the new Lincolns eschewed “excessive bulk and size which no longer fit the modern mode of life for that new era” and were “designed for modern living”. And no one did a finer job of that promotion than Ed Sullivan’s co-host, Lincoln spokeswoman Julia Mead!
Steve
Great looking car. I remember one of the writers for a British Classic Car magazine had a Lincoln beautifully kitted out (and used) for road-racing during the 90s in honour of these Carrera Panamerica cars. He thought it was a Capri until someone told him it was a Cosmopolitan.
There was a great turnout of Lincolns for the grand opening of the Gilmore’s Lincoln gallery last summer, including several of this generation. I didn’t bring the camera that day, but I found a pic on the Lincoln owner’s web site of the 54 that is inside the gallery.
I think everyone who grew up in the 1950’s had a cousin like Robert – the cool, well traveled twenty-something who epitomized elegant with impeccable taste in women and cars. He drove a dark green, almost black Lincoln like this. With a minor modification called glass packs. Too cool.
The Road Race Lincoln Register still exists. We welcome Lincolns 1959 – 1957, the sometime orphans forgotten in the limelight of the Continental. Drop a line here if you have an interest in joining.
Beautiful car! A neighbor I did yard work for back in the 1970’s had a ’53 Capri convertible. By then it was significantly rusty and was his back-up car to a ’65 Olds 88 beater and a by-then rusting Porsche 912. I only got to ride in a time or two and it eventually drove off to the crusher. No matter it’s deteriorated condition, it helped generate my appreciation for Lincolns of this vintage. The neighbor once commented that the reasons he bought it was it fit his well-over-6-foot height and still allowed him to wear his hat with the top up.
For those who enjoy auto-related reading, including fiction, The Lincolns in the Carrera Panamericana were covered in BS Levy’s “Montezuma’s Ferrari”.
Gaz M21 (Volga) 3 Series looks almost identical to this Lincoln, except it is probably 3/4 size Look like Soviet designer liked the shape of this car. Both are nice looking, but the Russian one is terrible car to drive I was told by several people who had driven one.
The third edition of the GAZ M21 was a second facelift model. The basic design owes a lot to 1952-4 Fords and other American cars like Studebakers, but not really so much specifically to Lincolns. The first edition model had a center grille bar spinner much like a 1952 Ford.
We had bought a ’52 Mercury Meteor up here in Canada back in the late 80’s that we planned to fix up but never did. It was a cool, stylish car with a fairly bold grille and front end. It was in need of a bit of TLC, but I could still see the magic that someone felt when buying it new back then.
I remember thinking that I couldn’t distinguish it much between a Ford or Lincoln of that era. It was a fairly well optioned Mercury, so it had a luxury/ high end thing going for it. In hindsight, I can see that FoMoCo was likely amortizing tooling and manufacturing costs with their post-war designs until they could design better engines and, I suppose, gauge where the competition was headed with their overall designs. The downside of the similarities in styling is that the difference between the divisions was marginal if you were going upscale, but the upside of it is that you had got the overall appeal and cachet of a higher price point but at a lower actual cost.
This era of cars still has a classic, clean look to them that I love. Overall, I’d have to give Ford the edge for the most consistent design for that time period from the big three. Dodge/ Chrysler/ Plymouth were too conservative, and some of GM’s offerings could be undistinguished and unfocused (Pontiac).
Another of my uncles had a dark red 1954 Lincoln Capri 2-door hardtop. On the streets of San Francisco, he would race his older brother in a 1951 Chrysler Imperial, with its Hemihead V8. It’s one of the family’s “secrets.”
Another pleasing entry from Tom.
If there ever were a car that I regretted ceasing to own, it was my 1953 Lincoln four-door sedan that I had bought in 1967. It drove beautifully, had plenty of power and was comfortable. I added six sets of seatbelts and even found a six-volt traffic hazard switch for it. It had a dash-mounted instant heat heater for the driver mounted to the left of the steering wheel, a whale of a strong AM radio with beaucoup tubes that pulled in signals that other radios would not. Starting was always momentous as the six-volt started struggled to crank that heavy piece of iron that Lincoln called “engine.” The read doors, when opened, actuated interior lights on the “B” pillars. Mine had a cloth and leather interior. Miss the car.