Ladies and Gentlemen of the CC Commentariat, let me tell you a story–a nightcap, if you will. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful car called the Lincoln. About ninety years ago, she came into the world. Well made, aspirational, comfortable and imposing. The Lincoln was worthy of any man of taste’s attention, and if you treated her right, she would be a friend for life.
Things actually got off to a bumpy start. Her benefactor, Mr. Leland, did not skimp on her finery, but in so doing, ran into the rocks financially. So the Lincoln was sold off to a rich industrialist. He wasn’t actually all that interested in the Lincoln, but his son, Edsel, took a shine to her, and resulting Lincolns of the ’30s were remarkably beautiful, luxurious and worthy of your attention. While the Depression era was not particularly kind, Lincoln hung in there and the 1936-up Zephyrs and Lincoln-Continentals of 1940-48 were, again, remarkable cars.
Fast-forward to 1960. In 1958 a bigger (humongous, actually) line of Lincolns and Continental Mark IIIs debuted, intending to out-Cadillac Cadillac. But it didn’t work, and a squinty-eyed accountant who loved Velveeta sandwiches and frowning, used the 1958-60 Lincolns’ failure as a great excuse to kill off the marque. Fortunately, he was not entirely stupid, and upon viewing a proposed design for a new Thunderbird, decreed that it would be the next Lincoln Continental. What a save!
In a crash course, FoMoCo designers adapted the prototypical T-Bird into a four-door sedan, stretching the wheelbase to add an extra pair of doors and better room. The resultant pillared 1961 Lincoln Continental sedan was a design triumph, and as a bonus, an even more classically beautiful Continental four-door convertible was offered as well. Lincoln was back, baby!
That little window in the fender peak trim is the photocell for the automatic headlamp dimmer!
And to their credit, the Continental changed very little as the 1960s unfolded. The classic looks were hurriedly adapted by competing luxury makes, too. Witness the rapid decline of Cadillac fins, and their subsequent removal for model year 1965, and the 1964 Imperials.
This was the “in, with-it” look. Real with-it, baby! And while Cadillac still handily outsold the Lincoln during that time, the Continentals did do very well for themselves.
The biggest change was in 1966, when all the sheetmetal was changed. But the classic Continental look was still very much in evidence. The other big news that year was a very attractive coupe–the first two-door Lincoln since 1960.
Though Edsel Ford was long gone by the 1960s, Ford Motor Company did right by their acquired luxury make. My grandfather, Bob Klockau, was impressed enough with them that he did something rather unusual for the time: He traded in his circa-1962 Buick Electra 225 four-door for a brand-new 1966 Continental sedan, special-ordered in dark green with no vinyl roof and dark green leather interior.
Purchased at Bob Neal L-M in Rock Island, IL. Perhaps it was due to my grandmother’s purchase of a 1965 Thunderbird convertible that decided him on a Lincoln. That one was navy blue, with white interior, blue dash and carpet, and a white top. Grammy kept that T-Bird all the way to 1977, she liked it so much!
image: howstuffworks.com
Sure, today people change marques like they change clothes, but back then it was a bit unusual. Back then, you were a Buick Guy, or a Chrysler Guy, or a Pontiac Guy. That’s what you drove, that’s what you were. But the Lincoln Continentals inspired my Grandpa Bob to say goodbye to Buicks. The green Continental went on many family vacations that my then-teenaged Dad remembers fondly: Biloxi, MS, South Padre Island, TX, and other points of interest. Flying?! Bah!
My grandmother could get away with a convertible, but Grandpa Bob was a Midwestern attorney (Klockau, McCarthy, Ellison, Rinden and Hartsock–does anyone in the Quad Cities remember?) and insurance company executive (Illinois Casualty is still kicking, Dad retired as President in 2012), so a convertible just wouldn’t do!
Still, I wonder if he walked around a Continental convertible in the showroom when his own car was in for service, thinking about it. There’s no denying their appeal–and classic beauty!
But despite the appeal, by the mid-Sixties the Connie convertible just wasn’t selling all that great. I’m sure the new Coupe ushered in for 1966 also hurt convertible sales–here was a sporty Continental, for less than the drop-top, and no worries about drafts in colder months! And so, in 1967, that beautiful Lincoln Convertible, belle of the ball, the one that got ALL the attention made its last stand in Lincoln-Mercury showrooms.
And they were still beautiful. Lush, pleated leather, power you-name-it, a crazily amazing power top that retracted into the reverse-opening trunk–and no need for a top boot!–and room for you and five of your best friends. What a way to travel. But ’67 was your last chance for a new one; only 2,276 of the $6449 convertibles ($654 more than the sedan, $896 more than a coupe) were built, all with a 4BBL, 340-hp 462 CID V8. It was last call for living the Continental life–topless style! And what a way to travel!
And if you will indulge me a moment, time for my favorite pet peeve. Namely, color! Yes, you could get great, glorious color in your 1967 Continental. A virtual cornucopia of greens, golds, reds, blues and aquas. Classic black with red leather? Sure. Aqua with white leather and black vinyl roof? You bet! Triple navy blue? Why sure! But thanks to idiot lessors (BMW: The Ultimate Leasing Machine!), and cheapskate production managers, such a wealth of color is sadly lacking in today’s 2014-15 models. Though I am heartened by the reappearance of reds and off-whites in luxury makes. Now where was I?
Although the early-evening sunshine makes it look white, this lovely Connie convertible, seen at the LCOC National meet in Rockford, IL on 9/20/14, is actually Powder Blue, according to the brochure, with Black top and black leather. It was a beauty. This example, however, is a 1966 model. 1967s added vertical bars to the grille texture, a “flower pot” energy-absorbing steering wheel hub, and revised taillights, among other minor changes.
The ’60s were a really good time to live. And if you had the money, why, a Continental was just the thing. As my 1967 brochure states, clearly, and I can’t think of a better way to close this article.
“The Continental is a way of living. It may include a plane of your own. Vacations in Europe. Being the first to discover a new restaurant. It can mean knowing where to go when the trout season opens. A boat for your family. And a home that is distinctly yours. The Continental life is enjoyed by the kind of person who thinks for himself. The kind of person who is admired for what he is over what he has. It is because Lincoln Continental is so naturally a part of his way of living that we call this the Continental life. Continental reflects his individuality, his own good taste. It’s a good car. The very best we have to offer. We invite you to turn the page and examine the 1967 Lincoln Continental. And to add the ’67 Continental to the good things in your life this year.”
So picture #5 is the answer to the riddle. Automatic dimmers are back by the way.
Mr. Leland’s first car company was actually Mr. Ford’s to begin with and was in the process of liquidation when Mr. Leland resurrected it. I suspect that it amused Mr. Ford to take over the second company and to this day the two marques are in battle for top sales.
The dimmer hidden in the fender is so odd, I never knew that Lincoln offered it that way, its sort of a take off of the one year Cadillac did that in 1964, I find it strange because it always seemed that Lincoln “lagged” behind Cadillac in their auto-dimming light set ups, I used “lagged” in quotations because, as far as I know, they bought their automatic dimming equipment from GM’s Guide Division, which always seemed to refuse to sell them “the good stuff”, they still used that odd “War of the Worlds” style Guide dimmer in the early 70’s.
How long did Cadillac have the automatic dimmers? My 2002 Seville did not have them. My Edmunds price guides show it to be available into the 80’s.
My ATS does not have it, but my owners manual has a comment about it and it did become available on the 2014’s. Now called intellibeam headlights.
Off the top of my head, since 1953 or so, thats when the Guide dashtop dimmer was introduced, Guide-Matic remained a Cadillac option until about 1988-1989 or so, when it was dropped, it was even available on the downsized FWD E/K/C Cadillacs, but not on the Allante.
It did return as Intellibeam around 2005 or so on the new RWD STS.
Cadillac has a fairly good incentive on left over 2014 CTS’s. My Chevrolet dealer has one acceptable one which I am very tempted to see if they really want to sell it (like offer an additional $4-5000 off over the incentive). It would have the intelli lights and maybe slightly more comfortable seats (at least more adjustable). But I am really interested in the 8 speed automatic…
From my memory of that time Cadillac dropped auto dimming beginning in 1987, Lincoln in 1991. From the 1980 to the end Lincoln’s dimming system was far superior to Cadillac’s. I think it was all due to the sensor being inside the car on Lincolns where it was protected from the elements and at eye level. My family had both Cadillac’s and Lincoln’s during the 80’s. The dimmer system spent most of it’s time turned off on the Cadillac’s as they were the same system from the 60’s which Cadillac had not improved on.
Personally I really like auto dimming. Our 2010 Lexus works unbelievably well.
I know it was still available on 1987 Cadillacs, I’ve seen a few with it, and I’ve seen an 88 Brougham with it, it was moved to behind the mirror on the FWD cars if I recall, the only one that had it behind the grille still was the Brougham. I had an older Cadillac with it, and it was occasionally flaky, but it usually worked as intended. I’m pretty sure than Lincoln didn’t move it to the rearview mirror until the automatic dimming mirrors started coming out around 1985, I know that it was outside the car on our Mark VI.
Carmine, I had an 84 Continental with automatic dimmers behind the inside review mirror but no automatic dimming review mirror.
I went with a friend’s Mom to order a new Sedan Deville in 1987 and they told us she would not be able to order the automatic dimmers as they had been discontinued, but I remember they were in her sales brochure, which I am assuming was an 87 sales brochure. Do you have an 88 sales brochure to see if the option is listed?
I had a ’92 Town Car with auto dimming. It worked decently well when you were out in the sticks, so the only bright light would be oncoming traffic. In urban and suburban areas it was a lot less useful. And no device of this sort could dim your brights as you caught up to slower traffic in front of you, so it wasn’t like you could totally forget about the dimming issue.
1984 must have been when they moved it up there, I imagine that since the dimming mirror option appeared, the opportunity to move the dimmer up there to a better position was a given.
This 83 Mark IV doesn’t have it up there, ours was an 82, but I’ve seen early Fox Continentals without any dimmer by the mirror either, so 1983 must be the cut off year.
http://www.mcsmk8.com/83-MKVI/83-MARKVI.HTM
I’d have to look for a brochure, I know that I took in an 87 Seville in on trade, with the auto dimmer and I’ve seen a couple of 87 Eldorado Biarritz’ and FWD Fleetwoods with the auto dimmer too, I took in an 88 Brougham on trade once to and do distinctly recall that it still listed the “How to use the Guide-Matic functions” in the headlight section of the owners manual, I’ve seen a few for sale on ebay before, I’m sure if I search The Hartford Guy’s flickr page I’ll find one.
The Cadillac auto-dimmer was indeed a flaky, unreliable, temperamental POS. Just about every person I knew that had a Cadillac from the 1950’s and 1960’s turned it all the way off; as they quickly grew tired of oncoming cars blinking their high beam headlights at them.
This is what a Lincoln is supposed to be.
What they are making now, are Mercurys.
Well stated.
Not even Mercuries. Just another faceless Audi, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti wannabe..
I’m still mystified as to why Ford, having now waited a suitable amount of time since the last Continental rolled off the line, hasn’t brought back the nameplate for a top-of-the-line car, and doesn’t seem to even be considering it. No amount of alphabet-soup nomenclature will ever evoke the same history.
(You might say the same for Cadillac and Eldorado, but at least Cadillac makes some distinctive cars.)
That dark red two door is a beauty. I’d still rather have a ’64 T-Bird, though. 🙂
Are all the bland car colors these days a resale consideration?
I think so. Earlier this year I was reading an article by the cars guide editor where he said only to buy black white or silver as they have the best resale. They are three shades (non-colours) that I would never consider.
Too much focus on money these days rather than personal enjoyment.
In my humble opinion, the qunintessential Lincoln. While I slightly prefer the cleaner ’61-’65 styling, the whole ’61 to ’67 convertible run are at the top for me. I’m a sucker for a 4-door convertible in any form–just love the idea and the rarity–but these are in a league of their own.
Sad that Lincoln now is a shell of what it once was. The MKS has been neglected (and wasn’t impressive to start with), the Navigator has fallen out of favor, the MKT flopped, MKX is another design that’s showing its age, and now the odd little MKC is supposed to fix things? An Escape in drag? It’s not bad looking, but I fear a Cimarron-like situation. The MKZ has some potential, but really? Is that the best you have to offer? We’ll never see an equal to these convertible Continentals, from anyone, but Ford needs to take a hard look at the situation and decide to do better, or consign another illustrious name to the history books. It deserves better than it’s getting.
MKC has gotten a lot of buzz for its’ commercials, Saturday Night Live had a lot of fun with them this past week.
Question from a foreigner: is it “M-K-C” or Mark C”?
And how do you keep straight in your mind which MKWhatever is which?
I thought I was finished with alphabet soup when the kids grew out of it.
These are entirely reasonable questions. The answers:
1) Most people on this side of the ocean say “M-K-C” or “M-K-Z,” not “Mark [X].”
2) We mainly don’t. Even for a professional, keeping them straight is often tricky. I can generally remember that the MKZ is the Fusion/Mondeo-based car, but only because an earlier version of that model was called Zephyr before the unfortunate and confusing rebranding. Beyond that, I can’t keep them straight without looking it up or reading the badges.
Thanks. I hope sanity returns to the industry, and brings real names back with it.
Oh, yeah…the SNL spoof of the Matthew McConaughey Lincoln ads was good stuff.
+1
This will be the only (and prolly last) Lincoln in MY driveway. No tarted up Ford Fusion for me!
I feel the current MKZ a is at a comparable level to a ’82-’87 continental. A luxury vehicle with acceptable styling based on a mainstream platform with mainstream power train. But the MKS has a Taurus to start, which explains its overweight body, is inferior to MKZ overall.
But it is bigger with more room inside. I test drove an MKS the other day and rather liked it.
NYT just had a story yesterday about John Cashman, who travels around the country fixing old Lincoln convertibles.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/automobiles/collectibles/the-roof-doctor-will-see-your-lincoln-now-.html
Soon guys, you’ll be able to have any color you want as long as it’s white…
Appliance White.
Hope springs eternal though I doubt the result will be as
classic as the 1961-1969 Lincoln Continental:
Reuters: Ford to spend a ton saving Lincoln
USAToday
October 24, 2014
> Ford Motor is reversing course, planning to dump at least $5 billion
> into saving its foundering Lincoln luxury brand. It will replace or
> renew every Lincoln model in the next five years.
>
> That’s the heart of an exclusive report by the Reuters news agency
> detailing aggressive plans to resuscitate Lincoln…
>
> According to the exclusive Reuters report:
>
> •Ford namesake Chairman Bill Ford has renewed his backing for a
> revived Lincoln, approving a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar Lincoln
> overhaul outlined by Fields.
>
> The investment will include developing a big, new vehicle platform
> unique to Lincoln, meant to give the brand a chance to challenge the
> top BMW and Mercedes-Benz models…
>
> The flexible architecture of what’s called the D6 will provide the
> mechanical base for a wide variety of sedans and crossovers starting
> in 2019, all designed to give Lincoln more differentiation from its
> Ford-branded siblings…
Full story:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/10/24/ford-lincoln-investment-billions-china-long/17860227/
Hope springs eternal though I doubt the result will be as
classic as the 1961-1969 Lincoln Continental:
Ah, you beat me to it.
I doubt it will be “classic”. More likely, a garish monster priced so high that only people with net worth well over seven figures need apply.
The second coming of the broughams.
Keeping my fingers crossed… my job depends on the success of Lincoln.
Well, those that morn for an aspirational Lincoln will soon get what they want.
Ford to invest $5 billion in 5 years to revamp Lincoln
The $5-billion investment will include spending in a new platform that will underpin several future Lincoln vehicles, revamping the brand’s product portfolio and repositioning it as a real rival to global premium leaders like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, according to the sources.
http://www.4wheelsnews.com/ford-to-invest-5-billion-in-5-years-to-revamp-lincoln/
Sounds like a “me too” move after Cadillac announced a new model with a $100,000 pricetag.
I actually kind of like the looks of the current MKZ. Walk past one in the neighborhood frequently and give it a look. But I wouldn’t buy anything that big. I shudder to think what kind of overwrought, overcomplicated, oversized overpriced monstrosity Mark Fields has in mind….something about Fields rings that “80s predatory financial wheeler dealer” bell in the back of my mind. Gives me the creeps like Michael Milken did.
let me see: ummm, I have to go into a Ford dealership to buy a lincoln. if that is not enough, let’s count how many luxury brands Ford messed up in the last 30 years without producing one memorable car? unless you consider Jaguar X-type as one.
I don’t see it as a me-too so much as something that’s probably been on their to-do list for a while. Lincoln sort of got the short end for quite a while, first while Ford sank money into the PAG brands and then while Ford concentrated on revamping its mainstream products.
I can’t imagine Ford wanted to lose Lincoln entirely, particularly after selling off PAG, so they’ve marked time and tried to keep the lights on until they could justify the investment in some unique products. Of course, I assume there will always be at least some Ford-based models, which is the way of these things and not necessarily bad, but I tend to think of the current lineup as placeholders as much as anything else.
Whether the new platform will yield anything other than another rolling pile of electronic gimmicks and overwrought brand styling, of course, is a completely different question…
I tend to think of the current lineup as placeholders as much as anything else.
I think it’s more that the company is making a change in direction.
Consider what Cadillac has been doing. Moving their HQ to NYC, purely for the status of a Soho address. Look at their TV commercials. They’re arrogant. They’re appealing to snobs. I’d like to take that guy in the ice cream stand ad and smack him into next week. And what do the cars look like? If anything, with their slab sides and weird angles, they look like a Pontiac Aztek.
Like I said, I rather like the looks of the MKZ. A few years ago, Lincoln was projecting an image that appealed to me. Now, I want to use the people in the Lincoln comparison ads for punching bags as soon as I’m done with the Cadillac snob.
One of my favorite TV ads, highlights what interests me.
Here’s another good one. But then, Mulally was an aerospace engineer for decades at Boeing, before he went to Ford.
Please allow me to remind you that FORD MOTOR COMPANY, ranks behind Hyundai in terms of vehicle produced. I was shocked by the news but not surprised. Being cheap, conservative and unimaginative will do that to any good company.
May be Tata should take over Ford and inject some life into Henry’s ole factory like they did with Jaguar and Land Rover.
I always thought it was odd it took them so long to offer the Continental in a 2 door hardtop, which seemed like such a natural idea at the time. They also never made the sedan a true hardtop, which was also strange since the engineering was done on the convertibles.
Wikipedia indicates that the 4 door design simplified production (I think that means it was cheaper). Lincoln/Continental loss a pile of money in the late 50’s, so I think Ford wanted to get Lincoln out of the red ink before expanding choices much, and there was a lot of red ink.
That was a major consideration. The way I’ve often heard it recounted is that Lincoln-Mercury was concerned (probably for good reason) that while McNamara liked the Elwood Engel design enough to make it a Lincoln, he might change his mind in a hurry if the development or tooling costs got out of hand.
Still, they could have given the sedan the same demi-pillars as the convertible (which were mainly there as a mounting point for the door latches anyway) for a pillarless profile. I’m not entirely sure why they didn’t; my guess would be that connecting the demi-pillars to the roof provided better side window sealing and less wind noise without really changing the side profile much. (The upper part of the B-pillar isn’t really dramatically wider than the window frames.)
I guess that even with it selling well after the first year or two, they were still unwilling to spend money on it? I mean McNamara was at his new job f-ing things up in the DOD after 1961, so what were they scared of?
As much acclaim as the ’61 Continental got for its styling, it only sold around 25,000 units, rising to a little more than 30,000 a year in 1962–63. Lincoln didn’t top 40K until 1965 and I don’t think it was out of the red until sometime after that. On top of that, Mercury’s early-60s big cars were pretty much DOA. For a while, Lincoln-Mercury was hanging on mostly by virtue of the Comet, which did okay, but obviously didn’t have the fattest margins around. Not the sort of situation that puts corporate finance people in a check-signing mood, even without McNamara.
True, as “iconic” as these seem to be, Cadillac probably sold more blue Coupe deVilles in one year than total Continentals and Ford was especially risk averse after the Edsel. It’s funny that the coupe Continental doesn’t appear after the Mustang, almost like they were spreading some of the cash around to the other divisions.
Crud – you beat me to one of these, TK. Some time back, I got the final year Imp ragtop and a next-to-final year big Cad convert. I have been looking for a 66-67 Lincoln to complete the set. I have seen one on the move a time or two, but have not been where one has been parked. One of these times. I take some solace in the fact that you had to go to a LCOC event to do it. 🙂
I absolutely love these. I go back and forth over whether I prefer the 64 or the 66-67. I was crushed when my father got his first Lincoln in 1970 and it was not one of these big suicide door Connies. He told me if they had still been available, he would have gotten one, but he missed the final models by a few months.
An excellent job capturing the aura of these cars.
I always enjoy your write-ups, Tom.
What is up with the “pillowing” of the doors and fenders in the last three photos? It really detracts from a dignified looking car. Did someone load up the body panels with Bondo? Or is this something that happens with these cars as they age, even though I never noticed it before?
I think probably the former, plus if the panels were sanded separately they naturally get some ‘pillowing’ effect because the sanding board/block is not supported as it runs off the edge of the panel.
I can’t say it is surprising that the 4-door convertible was not replaced, or a 2-door for that matter. I suppose buyers would have been steered into a Mercury, as there wasn’t a convertible T-bird any longer either. I don’t think Lincolns would be as special again.
On another note, were Lincolns still used as presidential limos by this time? Why did Lincoln eventually lose out, was it a corporate decision or simply losing a tender?
Yes, Lincolns were still being used as Presidential Limos all the way through the Reagan and Bush I years. Reagan was shot early in his 1st term as he was getting into his 1972 Town Car Limo in 1981.
White House started using Cadillacs beginning with a 1983 model in the Reagan years.
I have a 67 Lincoln convertible. It is an interesting car with a dependable drivetrain. The top is an ongoing project with annual issues. I think the 61 was the most handsome of these convertibles and drives much better than mine as they are not as tail heavy.
I agree with Tom on the boring colors of today’s cars. Although the powder blue is one of my least favorites colors on these cars (I had a 66 that color) at least it is more imaginative that today’s convertible. Damn, why doesn’t someone break from the pack and make an all red interior today?
My ATS is not all red, but I do have red (cherry red) seats with black and red trim.
All red is still missing, but there are a couple bringing large swathes of red back. Besides the ATS, BMW has at times offered red seats in the 3-series. And the “100th Anniversary” edition of the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T offers seats that are a red/black two-tone with more red than black. It’s a stunning look, actually.
I’m pretty sure that you can get all red on the Corvette, but you always have been able to do that, its one of the cars that had actually held onto a red interior option all these years. I think Mercedes offers a red interior on the SL’s still too.
I don’t “think” the Mercedes interior is all red. I know the BMW M5 has an optional red interior but not completely red.
I want to see an ALL red interior from steering wheel to seat belts like in the old days.
I saw this one from the new S-class, true its not all red, but it does have a lot of red. I imagine that Porsche could probably do a real “all red” interior using it Exclusive custom option packages, and with any of the really high dollar manufacturers…well. Sky’s the limit.
Still though, I do miss the days when you could get an all red interior from any ol carmaker and in almost any car, like a Buick Somerset Regal……
I think monochrome interiors are less interesting than a two tone. I don’t really like an all black interior, and I don’t really want black seats, mainly because they can be hot sitting in the sun.
As far as two-tone, that’s almost by default what you’ll get nowadays if you order any color other than black. Some cars change the color of the seats and door panels but leave the dash/carpets black, presumably to save money, and even those that bother to make the dash and carpets a different color feature very liberal use of black accents. Personally I’m not a fan of all black interiors either though–my wife’s car has one now and I wouldn’t do that again (if it was the only color offered it might be reason enough to cross that car off my list). it’s just kind of dark and drab, plus black leather seats get extremly hot and black cloth seats show any dirt or imperfections.
Most of Cadillac’s interior options for the CTS and ATS have a black dash top. The exception is the cashmere interior which has light seats and darker accents. I have black all weather carpet savers.
I had a ’95 Grand Marquis with a red leather interior some years back and it was one of the reasons I bought the car. That interior was STUNNING!!! My current DD is a ’96 Crown Vic with a “willow” interior, a rather soothing shade of medium green, with cloth seats. Quite attractive compared to the current sea of greys and tans and beiges.
This is the write up I have been waiting for. The first (and last) Lincoln in the family after a series of new Cadillac’s was the Silver Mist with black vinyl top and black leather interior 2 door 67 Conti. Still have the marble base Continental ornament complete with my Dad’s (misspelled) name engraved in the base from Spike Lawrence Inc. in Portland Oregon. It was used in his traveling salesman days, and was equipped with a trailer hitch which he used to pull his also brand new 23ft Shasta trailer. One year later, the IRS would have the car, the beautiful house in the Mt.Tabor area of Southeast Portland and leave him with 2 kids, his paid for 66 VW (Mom’s) bug and almost flat broke. The story I got was he won the battle in court, but he lost the war. No college education, a U-Haul full of everything we had left (which lost a front recap and tore out wiring half way to Southern California) and sick parents moved us to an apartment in the LA suburbs and his next job was delivering chicken in the VW. By 1970 he had another house and a nice job working for Northrup operating a crane. He must have missed the Lincoln, he then bought a used 67 Mercury 4 door as a second car, although he by this time like driving the VW more, and it was mostly Mom’s car. Great story about a time when my life was going from Ozzy Nelson to Ozzy Osbourne entering junior high in LA after life for the first 13 years in Portland. I remember my lungs hurt for about 3 months until I got acclimated to breathing smog. Great write up Tom, almost a year since he passed. I really like the cleaner styling of the 66-67. My favorite luxury car.
These are my favorite Lincolns ever, and I would really love to own one someday. The front-end styling of the ’61s are my favorite, but I’d take any. These are without a doubt, some of the most glamorous cars of all time.
I’ve been a Lincoln man since even before I was able to afford one. I was in 9th grade when the 61s came out and I told my daddy he needed to get one. He never did but I have a 62 Convertible that I just bought and is next on my list for restoration.
I bought my first Lincoln in 1980 when I bought a 78 Town Car. I haven’t bought one since they killed the Town Car.
If Lincoln wants to survive they need to come up with something other than restyled FWD Fords.
When one grew up with and remembers these Lincolns, Lincolns as they were meant to be, then sees the current dolled-up Fords in Lincoln drag, it is to weep. For now, RIP Lincoln. Those of us who know, will keep those truly wonderful years in mind when we remember you.
Regarding why the pillared sedan rather than a four door hardtop: each convertible was fitted with additional switches etc. to retract the rear door window two inches when the rear door handle was activated. This was so the window seals wouldn’t bind on the front door windows. Typically, because the rear door was used less, the front door window sealed against the rear door window rubber molding.
In 1961, four ’61 Continental four door hardtops were built equipped with the convertible rear window apparatus. But the decision was made to concentrate efforts on the pillared sedan so the hardtop version was dropped. Apparently management couldn’t see much justification for offering both.
There are publicity photos of the ’61 four door hardtop, see page 89, Lincoln & Continental: The Postwar Years by Paul R. Woudenberg.
I knew about the window dropping mechanism, but I never knew that they actually made a hardtop sedan, I’m going to have to look those pics up!
I have that book! Now I’ll have to check it out. 🙂
Nice .
I had a ’67 four door in the mid 1970’s I think I paid $75 for it , glass pack mufflers and alloy wheels , it looked nice , ran great and sounded sweet .
Got $175. for it in two weeks , needed some tranny work .
-Nate
That dark red is just superb. Want, want, want!
Ollywhah!?
Really surprised it took almost 60 posts for someone to mention Green Acres. Well done Roger!
Cute recall. Funny that Oliver’s ’67 Continental carries a California license plate, if Green Acres was supposed to be somewhere in Appalachia. I never watched much of the program, I was in college in those years, but I mostly remember Oliver in a ’65 black Continental convertible, a stunning car.
One of the (many, many) wonders of the US car industry is how this model survived so many model years with so few styling changes. The Beetle of the US premiums.
This Continental was also the ride of choice of the ill-fated businessman that is murdered in 1967’s In the Heat of the Night, which asides from being an excellent movie, has a really detailed scene where Det.Tibbs examines the interior of the Continental for evidence, great shots of the top lowering, fun scene for Continental junkies.
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_106622-Lincoln-Continental-1967.html
For me, these convertibles always will be linked to LBJ. One of the last at the ranch, photo courtesy of the National Park Service.
Oh, I love suicide door Lincolns – would love to have a ragtop 4-door as a vintage dream car, though with all the electrical powered goodies and the soft top servo motors they’re probably a lot of trouble in terms of keeping operationally.
Explain to me again why the windshield wipers went in the opposite direction, as if the steering wheel was on the right-hand side?