Vintage Ad/QOTD: 1965 Lincoln Continental Limousine – “What Does Your Car Say About You?”
– Posted on February 12, 2023
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Nothing could be finer.
Except maybe an Imperial. 😉
Their stretch limo was handbuilt in Italy by Ghia in 1965.
I might have thought that after November of 1963 there would have been a negative association with a stretched Continental, but apparently that was not an issue for railroad presidents.
Evan, I clicked on this post to make that exact comment.
I can only surmise that photos of the motorcade were not all that common in the years immediately following the assassination; for example, the Zapruder film wasn’t something the public saw until the 1970s.
Of course not. It wasn’t the Lincoln’s fault.
Ford had a business to run. Getting a reset on the Lincoln brand, to any degree that it was even necessary, would have been Job One.
On the other hand, this is all strangely timely. Lincoln has begun running an ad that is actually rather good, except for what appears to be a questionable reference to the Kennedy assassination. Part of the narrative states: ” Lincoln’s witnessed a good bit of history, even made some themselves,” as the camera pans across the front of a black 1961 Continental with fender flags. The image is sufficiently iconic that even my wife popped up with “did I see what I thought I saw.”
Wow – that’s really odd.
I’m not normally one who gets offended by poor taste but even I yelled “WTF” when that ad aired. Why not show Kim Jong-il’s Continentals while they’re at it!
That ad also irritates me that it’s implied that apparently no notable Lincoln’s were made between 1963 and 2019. At the very least there should be a Mark III coupe and a 80s or 90s Town Car in there.
To be fair, the Lincoln with the fender flags is a 1964 steel roof sedan, not a stretched 1961 convertible limousine wearing a 1962 nose. It’s not wearing presidential flags either. Any association with the Kennedy limousine is in the mind of the viewer, maybe deceptively so. Lincoln was once known as the car of presidents.
I like limousines and LWB sedans, and have had dozens of them over the years, from a 1940 Packard Custom Super 8 series 1808 limousine, to a 1985 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur Centennial edition.
Around 1985 I found a 1965 Continental L-P limousine sitting in the driveway of a small [and a bit run-down] house just north of Washington, DC. I ended up buying the limo fairly cheap as it didn’t run, and at that point I began to learn all about the electrical systems on these complicated cars, because the electrical wiring installed by L-P was a nightmare. I ended up selling the car to a hotel chain in Denmark, and I don’t regret selling it.
When I owned the L-P limo, I had a copy of this very ad framed and hanging up in my office. I had written to the Santa Fe railroad to enquire if they might know what the VIN was on the car, in the hopes it might be my car. A few wonths later I received a letter back from them, indicating they had no record of the company or Mr. Marsh ever owning one. That was when I noticed the caption under the photo. It doesn’t indicate who owned that limo in the picture.
While not a ’65, I did have a 1967 Cadillac limousine, it ran well and didn’t have a lot of electrical issues like the Conti. It was a lot quieter than the Conti, but the Caddy was, in a word . . . boring. When I sold it, once again there were no regrets.
A few years later I found a beautiful 1965 Imperial LeBaron with a limo body by Ghia, one of only 10 built. Unlike the Continental limo that rattled and wiggled when going over bumps, the Imperial just felt solid. No rattles or shaking. The Imperial was noticeably more powerful, and the interior soooo quiet. In a subjective measure of total luxury while riding in the rear living room, The Imperial was my top choice.
I sold the Ghia limo to a serious car collector in Chicago. He flew down to Maryland, drove the car back to Chicago, and had no problems on the trip home. As I watched the Imperial drive down my long driveway, I found myself regretting it’s sale, and I still do.
Too bad you also didn’t own a Mercedes Benz 600 to assess as well. I heard they were solidly built like the Imperial, but when things went wrong in them, they really went wrong, including the belt driven hydraulic accessories pump and its associated parts, which makes a 600 frighteningly expensive to repair.
Something that’s interesting to me is how corporations were (and perhaps are now too) able to have a VIP stand up to their product. Perhaps this gentleman shared commercial interests with the Fords? I mean, he wasn’t a Hollywood star…
Ego.
Sometimes the most complex questions have simple answers 🙂
Naah, no egomania here, this is purely physics and modesty.
If you want a comfortable ride, you need wheelbase of a train.
In other words this guy is absolutely right. If I coulda I woulda have easily voted for him as Trumpident of America for at least 50 years to come.
In 1965 the sight of a stretched limo turned heads and people wondered what important person was being driven. Fast forward to today and the sight of a stretched limo gets eye rolls because everyone knows that it’s been rented for a wedding or prom.
This series had a few other ads as well – I think this limo ad debuted first (in late 1964), followed by at least two others, which featured sedans:
As noted above, neither of these other ads indicate that the “men of accomplishment” actually own or operate those Lincolns. Interesting. I suspect that we were all a bit less critical of what we saw in advertising back in 1964.
This photo says “Chicago” to me. Lehmann-Peterson was a Chicago company and this car was built there. Santa Fe was headquartered in Chicago. The Electro-Motive headquarters was at adjacent LaGrange; this F-7 with “warbonnet” scheme was built there.
I am taken with those locomotives. The only thing better would be a color photo of them. As a young child, riding the Santa Fe up the California coast and back was a real treat. In San Diego, you crossed the tracks to enter the coach. To a little guy, the locos and coaches were unimaginably huge, and the brightwork sparkled from constant washing. The guttural sound of the engines idling at rest is something I have never forgotten.
Is there a car in that picture? I only see an A-B-B-A set of A.T. & S.F. F-7’s. Probably on point of the Super Chief.
I agree, likely Chicago.
I agree, who cares about some stretch limo, fire up that EDM, open the throttles of those mighty 2-strokes and lets roll!
And parked beside it appears to be a rare GE U-25.
Looking up its number it seems to be an EMD GP20, the picture must make the nose look stubbier like a GE U boat because that was my thought as well
I believe you are right. The one piece windshield also threw me off, but the GP window is not as tall.
I love the ads with the conventional sedans. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that these men owned and drove these cars proudly. Why wouldn’t they? I drove my dad’s ’63 with pride even though it was eight years old. Back in the late 1960’s Oldsmobile ran a series of ads with the pride of ownership theme. My favorite was of the ’70 Toronado: Escape machine! I hope that I never drive anything that I’m not proud of.
Is that a GM locomotive? Interesting product placement for a Ford ad.
Maybe this will work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_S._Marsh
At least the CEO of Middle Atlanic Transporation bought at least one Ford H series truck! I wonder how long he lasted as CEO after that purchase. Should have waited a couple of years for the W series….
Today, these guys would be riding in an armor plated Navigator with a security detail in pursuit…especially the chemical executive.
How things have changed!!
Around 1965, if you wanted a limousine, besides this Continental, you could consider Cadillac 75, or Imperial Crown or RR Silver Cloud, or Mercedes 600 W100. Other more opulent models were Zil 111, Nissan Prince Royal anfd Hongqi CA770. Although this Conti was and is beautiful, it was more suitable for business executives rather than head of state
https://automotivemileposts.com/lincoln/lincolnexecutivelimousine.html
Executive Limousine owners read like a Who’s Who of society and business, with the new Lincoln becoming the motorcar of choice with government officials and business executives. Celebrities also snapped them up, including the previously mentioned Jerry Lewis (1963), Jackie Gleason (1968), Sophia Loren (1966), Spencer Tracy, Ronald Reagan (1965), Robert Vaughn (1965), Victor Borge, Senator Robert Kennedy (1968 – assassinated before delivery), President Lyndon B. Johnson (1965), Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Hugh Hefner, and Aristotle Onassis. Musical groups The Rolling Stones and The Supremes also purchased them, as did Elvis Presley (1967 – gift from Colonel Tom Parker). Even the Soviet Union purchased on for foreign minister Andrei A. Gromyko (1965). During the seven years they were in production, Lehmann-Peterson built a total of 567 Executive Limousines.
They built Rambler Ambassador stretch presidential limousines in Argentina.
https://youtu.be/Ttf2ODyY2Cg?t=57