(First Posted 1/2/2014 – includes revisions) Automobile nameplates with lengthy histories naturally see more changes over their storied lifetime. This 2000 Lincoln Continental may seem like the furthest thing possible from the 1960s car most commonly associated with the name “Continental”. But a closer look reveals that there are more similarities than meet the eye.
Beyond its appearance and drivetrain, the Continental’s image also saw some changes over the years — and not just in its physical appearance. Once reserved for the most exclusive and expensive cars produced by the Ford Motor Company, over time the Continental nameplate was diluted across multiple model lines, demoted from top billing as Lincoln’s flagship, and shuffled around among various segments in search of finding its niche before quietly fading away… though not permanently as we’ve found since the original publishing of this article.
Visually, its shape and form changed significantly throughout the years. Yet Continentals from every year shared this in common: they were big, comfortable, and luxurious. And while cost-cutting and additional models bearing the Continental name contributed to a less prestigious, less exclusive car, for most of its life the Continental still offered levels of luxury unrivaled by most other cars.
The 1980s would see the most drastic changes in Continental history. The big Continental sedan (’78 pictured above) and coupe were downsized, and after their introductory year, were simply known as “Town Car” and “Town Coupe”, respectively. The name wasn’t dead however, as Mark VIs still carried the Continental prefix. The all-new 1982 Lincoln Continental would now be a mid-sized sedan, embodying many Continental qualities of yore in a smaller package.
In all honesty, the idea of this car hadn’t really changed from that of the Versailles it replaced. It was still essentially a gussied-up version of a more modest Ford Granada. Although more was done to differentiate and upgrade it from the Granada, the “small” Continental didn’t break new ground in any particular area for Lincoln, save for its distinctive styling (which I personally find rather homely).
1988 would see the Continental name move to yet another type of vehicle, this time a front-wheel drive luxury sedan based on the economical Taurus. Wearing understated, aerodynamic sheet metal, the ’88 Lincoln Continental was a breath of fresh air compared to Continentals of recent memory. Despite its modern new clothes, the Continental was no E34 5-Series. It still offered traditional Continental virtues like a soft ride, roomy six-passenger seating, and formal roofline with opera windows.
While a notable entry in the mid-to-large luxury car segment in 1988, Lincoln left the Continental relatively unchanged for 7 years – a lengthy period that saw the introduction of both Lexus and Infiniti, as well as the redesigned and more competitive Acura Legend and Cadillac Seville. All of these cars would totally redefine the luxury segment in the nineties.
By the time a redesigned Continental arrived in 1995, it seemed like a fish out of water. Sure its new, swoopy sheet metal and “cockpit” interior were thoroughly modern. But it nonetheless still conveyed the stodgy, “old man’s” image that was largely associated with the Lincoln brand. And despite returning to brawny V8 power, the Continental’s short wheelbase, hefty curb weight, and 63/37 weight distribution limited its performance.
1998 proved the last restyling of the Continental in this life, largely in attempt to correct the 1995-1997’s sagging sales. Although not a full redesign, it was a rather extensive visual restyle of the front and rear fascias, bringing it in line with the new Town Car. With its sharper nose and more upright trunk, the Continental pulled off the shared design language off better.
The interior also received a mild makeover, simplifying electronics and adding real bird’s eye maple trim. Many cheap looking and feeling plastics, however, remained. In the end, it was a reasonably handsome and stately car, and the proudest design in recent years to wear the Continental name. It just wasn’t what luxury car buyers wanted.
The market had largely shifted away from soft-riding, FWD luxury cars. Those looking for a comfy, big-car ride were more likely to purchase a roomier Town Car for nearly the same price. Lincoln really missed an opportunity to build a trimmer, sportier, and more youthful luxury sedan. They would finally release the LS in 2000, but it was just too little, too late by that point.
In truth, the final Continental wasn’t a bad car for what it was – a big, roomy, and comfortable V8 luxury car – much the same as it was some 40 years earlier. While one may be quick to judge it as a far cry from earlier Continentals, in reality Lincoln’s inability to change it enough was ultimately what killed it. Consumers’ tastes had shifted to cars with more intercontinental flavor.
Postscript
In the time since the original publication of this article, Lincoln has revived the Continental name for its new flagship sedan. Once again based on a midsize Ford vehicle (the Fusion in this case), the new Continental aims to restore some of the prestige Lincoln has lost in recent years, while staying true to its roots offering unapologetically traditional American luxury. Realistically, however, this type of luxury is not what the majority of luxury car buyers are looking for, and it appears that most new Continentals are fulfilling the departed Town Car’s role as black car vehicles for livery services.
Photographed: Rockland, Massachusetts – December 2013
Lincoln still hasn’t learned from it’s past deadly sins. You can’t slap a “Lincoln” on a Ford and expect everyone to come running. I still hope that Lincoln will learn and come up with a “flagship” that Ford so desperately needs to stay relevant in today’s luxury market. Cadillac figured it out, why can’t Lincoln?
Lincoln MK-Fusion
To be fair, the new MKZ has sold reasonably well, and it is entirely possible that it will continue to become more popular as time goes on.
Regarding your re-skinned comment – while everyone would like to see a completely independent platform dedicated to Lincoln, it’s highly unlikely to happen in the near future. After all Toyota dresses up a Camry (or Avalon) in luxury clothes and calls it a Lexus, so why can’t Lincoln?
That’s not what I’m saying, we know that ’61 Continental was a T-Bird underneath so why not take the Mustang platform and build a flagship, fast, RWD/AWD Lincoln ? If they do it right they just might have another ’61 Continental on their hands
Here, take my money!
I see what you’re saying – I guess only time will tell.
Agreed, Lincoln needs a flagship. They should aspire to compete with the first and second tier luxury makes, not just Acura and the Lexus ES.
Ford tried that already, the Lincoln LS, Thunderbird, and Mustang used what was basically the same platform (or is this another instance where my memory is faulty?). The Lincoln and Thunderbird missed their sales targets because they weren’t very well assembled. They were also a bit porky (IIRC) for the size of the car, in both cases.
The Mustang didn’t seem to suffer all that much from using a version of the platform.
No, the LS share the underpinnings with the Thunderbird and the Jaguar S, not the Mustang. It was one of the better byproducts of the Ford experiment with the Luxury brands it owned.
The 1961 Continental was not a T-Bird underneath. The T-Bird and the far larger Lincolns were unit bodies starting in 1958. They had no doubt some bits in common but were on different platforms. Lincolns were downsized in 1961 and also a new T-Bird came out at the same time. They were closer in size, but did not share platforms or underlying body structure. The whole story about the 1961 Lincoln Continental being originally a T-Bird proposal is wrong. It was always a four door sedan update of the 1956-7 Continental Mark II style.
1961
I’m afraid you’re wrong. The 1961 Continental was a direct development of a losing proposal by Elwood Engel for the 1961 Thunderbird. And it did share a number of key structural aspects with the actual ’61 Thunderbird, to save costs.
But yes, there was some stylistic similarity to the Mark II and some other Continental concepts already under development.
My detailed story on the ’61 Continental’s development is here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1965-lincoln-continental-the-last-great-american-luxury-car/
I’ve been through both and my recollection is that the Tbird and Continental are basically identical from the cowl forward, there are more similarities between them structurally than the Falcon and Mustang.
Because Toyota is able to hide the Camry origins well. Take the Camry and the Lexus ES series. the ES is based on the Camry but the ES looks like its own car. Acura does it too with its cars but the TL looks nothing like the Accord it is based on. Even Acura’s version of the CRV looks like its own vehicle.
Lincoln should know better with the MKZ which looks like a chromed out Fusion. Don’t get me wrong, I have always liked the Fusion’s looks and the latest refresh with the Aston Martin style grill is breath taking to behold but since the Fusion is so loaded and stylish and at a good price point, there is no reason I would spend more on a Lincoln version. The same goes for the gussied up Taurus Lincoln calls the MKS.
The sad part is that Lincoln was able to offer cars on the same platforms as lesser Fords and have them look like separate cars. The Towncar was based on the Panther Platform just like the lesser Crwon Vic but there is no way to mistake a Towncar for a Crown Vic. The same goes with the last generation of the Lincoln Continental.
Even the Mark VII and VIII looked distinct enough to hide the T-Bird underpinnings.(hell the Mark VII looked better the the Bird in some ways)
Of course to me the 88-94 Continental looked like a stretched Ford Tempo
The Mk VII & VIII were the best looking Lincolns since the 56.I would love one,
The MKZ looks nothing like the Fusion. They don’t share any sheet metal.
The Acuras look like a Honda to me. Some Lexus models are obviously Camrys. Why they get a pass is beyond me.
My neighbor just bought a new MKZ….I think it’s beautiful. He still has his old 90 Town Car.
A car does not have to share sheet metal to look alike. They do share the same platform
Here is a 2006-2012 MKZ
Here is a 2006-2009 Fusion
Here is a 06-09 Mercury Milan
It seems they all look the same more or less. Why would anybody buy the Lincoln when they could get a Fusion or Milan?
Leon, I agree. But that’s the past. Yes the pre-2013 MKZ/Zephyr did share doors, top hat, etc. It was essentially the “gussied up” Ford we’ve heard about since the Versailles LOL.
But the new MKZ is more unique. Sure the platform is shared but not the sheet metal. Same with the MKC coming out soon.
True enough but the weirdness of the MKZ makes it a screaming deal at the stealership. I looked at a nicely equipped hybrid recently and with all the discounts and rebates, a $41k car was on for $33k. With such a nice interior, it’s a good deal for the money.
“Of course to me the 88-94 Continental looked like a stretched Ford Tempo”
Well, more like a stretched Mercury Topaz of the time. One of my most hated cars that I ever owned. Not because it was a Ford product, because it was a POS.
As much as people rag on GM for the N- and E-body miscues of the 1980’s, Ford was doing the same thing, albeit on a smaller scale. In the end, neither of them got it right.
You have to hand it to Japan, Inc., by 1989 they were definitely leading the way. Even the Germans had to stand back…
I beg to differ on that minor point. Ford, like others made their cars decent just before cancellation. V-6 Fiero, anyone? I owned a 1994 Tempo with the V-6 used in the larger Ford Taurus. Peppy little s.o.b. , and I drove it 240,000 miles. Fun fact about that Tempo. The Auto Transmission was a 3-Speed. Apparently the AOD would not fit.
The amusing thing is that when Toyota turned around and sold the ES in Japan as the Toyota Windom, they rather proudly announced that it was the car sold in the U.S. as the Lexus ES300. (Despite Toyota’s multitude of sales channels, they didn’t get Lexus as such until 2004–2005.) Not only was that relationship common knowledge in the Japanese magazine reviews I’ve seen, there’s actually a headline to that effect in the Windom brochure.
My own hunch is that Lincoln should build the ’60s Continental’s opposite – the flashiest cars in every category they compete in.
German-style “understated luxury” is being done by absolutely everyone else in this price range, there’s an underserved market for entry- to mid-luxury sedans that just shout $$$MONEY$$$ and anyone wanting a car that’s plush but quiet about it can be shown a Titanium trim level Ford.
Flashy might work….
I’m sold!
“German understated luxury”??? Has anyone noticed what has happened to Mercedes and BMW- apart from an S Class or 7 series, I wouldn’t consider any of their new designs understated. X6? E Class? I’d posit that we are beginning the era of the German Deadline Sins. Repeating the mistakes Detroit made decades ago. Mercedes current line up is as overstyled as any 1959 Cadillac. Model proliferation surely must be eating up profits. BMW GT anybody?
But back to the Continental. What galls me most about Detroit is perfectly evidenced by the rear seat photo. They couldn’t spend the few $ to continue the bird’s eye maple trim on the rear door? they thought consumers would be satisfied with a plastic filler panel- after all, who rides in the back seat? Other potential buyers riding home from the country club.
Lol, the Germans haven’t exactly been a study of restrength
Lamborghini Photoshop ?
No, BMW i8
I see, it’s the BMW I ate.
I’m sure some rich guy in a BRIC country wants one. After all, that’s where all Teutonic battlecruisers (certainly the ones with a V12) go to.
Beamer fan, I take it 😉
I own a ’98 Continentall, and the lack of wood trim on the back doors stood out for me too. The Continental was over $38k in 1998, and they couldn’t have spent another $20 on two more trim pieces for the back seat? It’s one of the biggest interior oversights they made.
I have a ’98 Continental and an ’07 MKZ. I was always annoyed that Lincoln failed to include the wood trim on the rear door panels. They didn’t make the same mistake with the MKZ, even though it was a much cheaper model.
I agree with you nlpnt. I feel that there is a market for a big, brash, powerful and styled American sedan that does not try to copy other makes. We have enough “German sports sedans” and copycats of same on the road right now. Time to bring back Lincoln to it’s glory days and get rid of the oddly styled cars they are selling right now.
Current Chrysler 300?
Lincoln MK Mondeo/Fusion in reality.
Sorry, no slight intended 😉
GM has spent Billions on Cadillac in recent years. Nobody even knows how profitable they are, or what the return is on the investment is. This being the same GM that went bankrupt….where Ford didn’t. Ford is more cautious and slow with Lincoln. But now they are putting the plan in action. They are going with the meat of the market: entry luxury (MKZ) and CUV (MKC) first. Maybe, hopefully, something with a Halo around it eventually! The MKC styling has gotten good feedback from the press. Time will tell, but Lincoln can be back in it. In the late 90s they outsold Cadillac…..they can again.
Oh, ok…so NOW is when they are putting that plan in action, not the last 7 times they said they were putting a plan in action, Got it, I guess all those other times are a dry run.
Wow, GM went bankrupt? When? I didn’t know that….Welcome to 2008.
Carmine – Overall I understand what Tim is saying. Ford was prudent as concerted their efforts on avoiding BK. They sold assets way back in 2005 to fund the rough ride they saw approaching. They funded development of the future chassis’. They hired Mulally. It was all a crap shoot, and they pulled it off.
GM fiddled into the fire, denying the possibility of BK until even months before the event.
That said, I agree with you that for goodness sake Ford, pick a wise plan and stick to it. Lincoln has become the Mercury of 20-30 years ago. A family friend traded in his TC for a MK-S, and still whines about the lousy ride. He is the next generation ahead of me..not a core clientele Lincoln can afford to lose even if it is the customer’s last auto purchase.
Finally, shockingly, Lincoln hasn’t developed the Mustang chassis into a proper RWD Lincoln. WTF.
Of course Ford has a much more successful business model than GM, unless going belly-up and stiffing creditors for billions is what one sees as a good business model.
The real money in the car biz is volume, volume and volume. Ford makes loads on their mainline brands, which are very competitive. I would wager the reason they don’t spend a lot of time and money on Lincoln is there is not enough volume to justify it. You see, there is a huge difference between Gear Heads screaming for something and people actually plunking their money down for it.
Had the Great Financial Crisis occurred a couple of years earlier, we would only be talking about FoMoCo in the past tense. If you recall, they mortgaged everything including the trade dress (the blue oval) in order to secure enough financing to stay in business. Fortunately, they were able to negotiate the times, but it could have been Ford begging for money, too. And a lot earlier.
It would appear that with even Hyundai and Kia playing the luxury market in North America, this is a space that Ford needs to compete in. It’s not just gearheads that castigate Ford’s efforts in this arena, it’s the public at large. They have been losing marketshare for some time now and it appears that most recent efforts are still not warmly received.
I saw a new MKx (not MKX, but I don’t know what the Fusion sized Lincoln is called these days, they’re all MK something…) yesterday in a drive through line. At first glance, it looks like a over-inflated new Fusion, which looks like an over-inflated Aston Martin. Between the confusing model hierarchy and the simultaneously bland and odd styling, I’m not quite sure what to make of Ford’s luxury offerings.
It’s the eternal dilemma: If a brand is not selling well and shuffling its existing wares doesn’t help, it can be very difficult to justify the substantial investment involved in coming up with new models that will actually sell, which becomes a sort of downward spiral.
In this case, the dilemma is especially pronounced because, as Ford is undoubtedly aware, the amount of money involved in giving Lincoln dedicated platforms and real flagship models would be vast — probably running well into the billions of dollars.
Ford is unlikely to want to make that kind of investment unless it’s on something they can sell in respectable numbers worldwide. To do that, the product would need to be something that can be taken seriously when compared to the high-end Germans, which is daunting. Lexus, Infiniti, and Volvo are all struggling with that problem in Europe and Lincoln’s heritage is no great help. (Even if Lincoln flagship had a brilliant chassis and an engine whose power and sound makes Maserati owners cry, a lot of people would reflexively dismiss it as a yank tank.)
So, it would be a hugely expensive gamble at long odds that would take money away from keeping Ford’s existing products competitive in a climate where stumbling or slacking off even briefly is likely to mean handing over market share to Kia and Hyundai.
Yeah, I probably wouldn’t want to chance it now, either…
…but the Mustang platform is already here, why doesn’t Lincoln use it?
Well, if they wanted to use the Mustang platform to give Lincoln a roughly MKZ-sized RWD car as a Cadillac ATS rival, they certainly could, but that’s not the new Continental/Lincoln flagship that people are talking about. (And since total ATS sales haven’t yet crossed the 50,000 mark, I don’t know that Lincoln would fare too well in that arena.)
I don’t know how flexible the Mustang platform architecture is, but trying to turn it into a big luxury sedan sounds like a stretch. At this point, the likelihood of successfully challenging the Germans — even without trying to do it on their terms — without a bespoke platform is pretty much nil, which would put it back in Lincoln’s current position of trying to vie with Lexus, Buick, Acura, Infiniti, and Volvo instead.
Ford probably knows that (one hopes they haven’t forgotten the missteps of the PAG years despite having sold Jaguar, Volvo, and Land Rover), which I assume is why they’ve taken the approach they have. (Other than the confusingly similar MK nomenclature, which allegedly even some Ford and Lincoln executives don’t like but are powerless to change.)
At this point, taking the fight directly to the Germans is a very risky proposition for Ford. The ATS has a tough job ahead of it, given that the BMW 3-Series offers more body styles and engine options, and the BMW name carries much more prestige than “Cadillac” does with the target audience.
Ford needs to take a page from its past – in particular, the 1958 model year. The Edsel, aimed directly at GM’s medium-price marques, flopped spectacularly. The four-seat Thunderbird, selling in the medium price market, but offering really unique style for the time, was a hit and started the process by which Ford undermined the old Sloan brand ladder.
I think that a vividly styled Lincoln sedan based on the Mustang platform – priced slightly above the Chrysler 300, and with a more luxurious interior and top-notch workmanship – would spark some desperately needed life into Lincoln. Just don’t pitch it as a Mercedes or BMW competitor.
Everything you say makes sense except, There is no way Ford developed the S550 platform for just the relatively low volume Mustang. That would not make sense.
Tim, it’s cool… I feel the same way when they call my beloved Seville a (shudder) Nova, but I’ve learned that perceptions count. If people think the MKZ is a Fusion, then it’s a Fusion. That new MKC shares very little with the Escape, but people are already labeling it as such, too bad, because it looks like it’s going to be a great CUV. I’d buy one
BTW GM did go bankrupt. The GM of today is a completely different company
It is so easy to call an MKZ a Fusion. I’ve looked at both and there are marked differences. The Fusion is a really nice car, but the Lincoln has a much nicer interior, and more quality materials to boot. For instance, both the grille and window trim are stainless steel. A nice touch, and completely in line with the Lincoln’s greater prestige over a Ford.
And as much as everyone piles on the “MKFusion”, keep in mind it is the entry level Lincoln–like the Lexus ES. The MKS was introduced in 2009. Why not wait until the new-gen comes out before beating poor Lincoln up with the “Cimarron” stick?
Actually, the MKZ shares much less in common with the Fusion than you think. I can tell that you obviously haven’t seen pictures of its beautiful interior.
To update this old post, the CT6 is a flop, so no Cadillac hasn’t “figured it out”.
Their real flagship is the Escalade, period.
Agreed. Sales have been stuck around 150K for years, about half of the total back in Cadillac’s salad days. And as far as their flagship, visit any pro sports team players parking lot on game day and the only Caddy you will ever see is an Escalade.
I remember driving one of the ’88 generation Contis that had an early version of electronically adjustable steering and suspension. Changing the suspension setting to “Sport” (or whatever they called it) made the ride harsh without actually improving the handling, while doing the same to the steering made it seem as if there was a gremlin in the front of the car trying to tug the front wheels into the straight ahead position. Both most unpleasant. I suspect actual owners just put both settings on full soft and left them there.
I don’t want to denigrate the 90’s Continental in any way, but there is a pretty funny tidbit in Mary Walton’s Car regarding the development of the 1996 Taurus and the nip/tuck of the 1995 Continental.
Basically, when the executives came to test drive a prototype of the bull, they commented to project manager Dick Landgraff that he had created a car that outperformed the Continental. They were actually somewhat upset at him for doing so, but there were no repercussions or anything.
Think Ford Tempo Limo when looking at a 88-94 Continental
Are you the only one who thinks they look similar??? I’ve never heard anyone else say this, besides you, twice.
I have a unique insight to this as I worked for a company that had a few of that generation Continental and several Topaz and Tempo’s that never moved. If you come out and sit at the picnic bench that is under the trees next to where these sat like I did for 4 months and stopped and looked at them in depth you will see that they look very much alike. Supposedly this gen of the Lincoln was on the same platform as the Taurus but the only thing they shared was the unreliable 3.8l V6 and the trans
Leon, I understand what you’re saying, but I think it was more of a styling legacy in that the Mercury was always kind of a down-sized Lincoln
My father’s last car was a 96 or 97 Conti. He loved that car and considered it a top tier luxury car. I didn’t argue, as he was just so happy with it. My Uncle Bob still owns a twin to the feature car. He has kept it longer and devoted more attention to it than to any other car in his life. He was a GM guy for decades, but loves his Lincoln.
I never understood why FoMoCo never did more with that 32v dohc version of the 4.6.
I was in high school when the ’88 came out, and I was really into it. Had the same image that Brendan used, from a magazine ad, and hung it on my geeky little wall of fame. The ’95, by comparison, seemed too design-by-committee.
If we’re playing time machine thought-experiment…how about an MN12 Connie sedan? As the market for big “personal luxury coupes” was fading, why not put a four-door on that rwd/irs platform? Instead of just the Mk VIII?
Agreed on the MN12 platform. This was a very good platform that was woefully underutilized.
2+ The MN12 didn’t have the best rear seat room, so the platform would probably have to have been stretched to make a Continental Sedan, but it seems silly so have spent all that time and energy on a two door, and not get more out of it.
Of course, the Lincoln LS was probably the true successor.
The roofline on the 1998 looks a bit 97-05 Park Avenue-esque
Definitely agreed. Despite not being a Cadillac, the Park Avenue was also probably a common cross-shopped car with this Continental.
The 1988 model Continental always felt to me like Lincoln’s interpretation of a Buick LeSabre so Park Avenue would be an improvement. lol
I always had the theory that the 1987-88 FWD Continental may have been the only offspring to survive a “FWD Large Car” program that probably originally included intended replacements for the LTD and Grand Marquis.
It’s a D186 Taurus platform with a 4″ stretch, not exactly a bastard child
Never called it a bastard, but it’s easy to imagine that a Ford and Mercury version could have potentially been on the table at one point.
I call that the “Riviera Effect” The final iteration of the Riviera, launched as a 1995 model, influenced not only Buick siblings, but the shape of cars from other manufacturers.
Riv influenced the four-door PA, which might have spread across Detroit into the Lincoln design dept.
The original Riviera also influenced automotive design well into the early ’70s.
I had a 1997 Continental in college, and it was a great car for what it was. I paid $7000 for it, with less than 70k miles, and it looked brand new. All the luxury and electric gadgets, plus a 275 hp DOHC all aluminum V8 was nothing to sneer at. This was in the day of $1.99 a gallon gas, so 14city/20 hwy wasn’t TOO bad. I took it on a 6k mile road trip from OK to Quebec, Boston, NYC, DC and back with some buddies. A great car for a long trip. Comfortable like a couch, and the FWD combined with the active steering/suspension meant it wasn’t nearly as frightening on curvy and slick roads as a Town Car would have been. The structure on the car was amazing, I’ve never had a car as solid and quiet over rough roads, it’s a cliche in reviews, but it really felt like it was carved out of a solid chunk of billet. I still miss it on long trips some times, just not that fuel bill.
(Below: A pic of her parked just off 5th Ave in NYC)
99% sure CC effect strikes again I’ve just been watching the Snuff video by Slipknot and I’m sure Corey Taylor in drag stepped out of one.Sorry not my cup of tea,the last Lincoln sedan I liked was the recently featured Touring Sedan.
The Continental you describe as being Granada based (7th generation Continental,1982-1987) was actually “Fox” based. The Versailles (1977- 1980) which immediately predated this generation Continental was based on the Granada.
I’ll add, that the Granada was also Fox-based starting in 1981.
What I meant by the Continental being Granada based, is that the 1982 Continental was based on the 1981 (2nd generation) Granada. The Versailles was based on the first generation Granada. Different cars but both Granadas.
Some really large cars wear their size well. I wouldn’t say this is the case here. From a styling perspective, I sense lots of caution and lack of confidence. Beyond the grille, not much adventure. In fact, remove that Lincoln grille, and I find it looks generic and GM-like. Buick for sure. I see a chubby second generation Lumina, in some lines. Purely on exterior style, I think the similar vintage Chrysler LHS, showed more confidence to push the style envelope. It looks more like an integrated overall form. I find not filling out the wheelwells with tire/wheels, is a no-no, if you’re ultimately aiming for great modern styling.
Interesting opinion. I actually always found the 2nd generation LHS, Concorde, and Intrepid to look awkwardly large, blobby, and floaty looking. Definitely eye-catching, and I did like them when they first came out, but not very attractive. Just my opinion though 🙂
The 300M on the other hand, I’ve always found attractive and with its shorter overhangs and higher trunk, think it looked much sportier. Too bad the interior materials were so pitiful.
I could have used the first generation LH as a better example. The current Tesla Model S is an excellent example… They key is, I find, they appear integrated as one form. Like they look to have been sculpted from one block. The full body looks as one piece. Not lumpy. Smooth and integrated, down the sides as well. The roof on the first generation LHS, didn’t really suit the body… it looked from another car. The side trim on this Lincoln, gives it a bumper car appearance. Plus the tire/wheels not filling the wheelwells, makes it look more bloated. The LHs, filled their wheelwells better. The second generation LH cars are ‘blobby’ looking, especially amongst today’s more chiseled designs. But they flow as one piece. An Audi A4 is another good example of a modern car that looks like it was chiseled from one form. The whole body looks as one. A key styling element, are the sides need to flow relatively well from the hood and roof. Not straight down like GM used to do with Saturns, for example. Especially, with such a sharply curved hood. It doesn’t look integrated in the overall design. I know there’s design/engineering limitations. But Saturns would have looked much better if their sides curved out a bit more naturally. Like the Pontiac Trans Sport Dustbuster van prototype… a perfect example of a great overall integrated shape. The production models had their sides go straight down.
A car with lines that appear natural to the whole design, not simply curved to look modern. The current Cadillac CTS is close to this ‘one form’ look. The Jaguar E-Type is a classic example. The Chrysler 300c, definitely looks like one form. It can be rounded or chiseled… but great styled cars often look integrated.
I see what you mean. Certainly agree with you.
A classic example would be the one form appearance of the 1968 Dodge Charger… every line works as one form. Whereas the 1971 restyle doesn’t have that timelessness. It’s far more gimmicky.
I’m not saying this Lincoln is ugly. But IMO, it lacks classic styling, people talk about 10 years later. It’s pretty generic.
I agree: the LHS and 300M flow much more gracefully than this Continental. The Chryslers end up having a presence that this Conti falls short of exuding.
Edit: just noticed your later comment; those are all great examples as well.
One certainly doesn’t want to fall short of exuding.
I just exuded into the cushions of my living room couch! ?
CC effect hard at work: One of these was parked in front of my apartment last night and my first thought was “We really need to do a proper CC on this soon.” Ha!
I’ve driven a lot of Continentals and I’ve loved them all.
I hunted for a good survivor for more than a few years, but it seems that the ones available had been worn out. I just saw a powder blue 1977 Continental this weekend and it is a remarkable vehicle riding out among the disposable Japanistas surrounding it. It looked like a beautiful whale being groomed by silly little nursery fish. It is an eyeful and hard to not stare at admiringly.
Yeah – I like these cars. A lot.
Vanilla: First we had the Sandinistas in Central America. Then Starbucks coined their servers “baristas”. The tv talk shows soon had resident “fashionistas”.
“Japanistas” – seriously? Please don’t feed the lowest denominator that sticks “ISTA” on the end of everything.
I have to think that with the introduction of the new Mustang that the platform may trickle up to Lincoln in the form of unique, RWD cars. Certainly they’re looking at the success of the CTS, 3-series, etc. I hope to god that Lincoln doesn’t keep making the same rebodied crap. Unless they’re doing it Lido-style. A Mark or true Conti would simply be fabulous.
I had one nearly identical to the espresso-colored ’97 pictured above. It was a really nice-looking and riding car. I enjoyed the supple leather, JBL sound (and CD-changer–hey it was the ’90s!). The interior design was nice, I liked the light-up gauges also; it felt like a luxury sedan. It was nicer than Cadillacs of the time. I like the restyling of ’98s+ even better. The power was lacking on the highway, however. As soon as I got a sign of Ford electronic gremlins starting, I sold it! I wanted better than 20 MPG, so went back to Buick V6’s (power, reliability, efficiency).
I really liked the look of the ’88-’94s. It was a (somewhat) youthful, modern, classy style. I knew of two of them that would constantly have some sort of beeping indicating some (perceived?) problem. Both had head gaskets go out also. The owners steered me clear of that model.
I don’t necessarily think Continental drivers went to foreign makes–the ones I knew went to American SUVs.
Averaged 20 mpg? I had a 96 Mark VIII that consistently got 27 on the freeway. It was essentially the same motor, slightly detuned for FWD applications (torque steer?) in the Continental. Around town it was EPA 18 mpgs.
Yes 20. It’s rated 15 city and 23 highway. I always got 19.7-20.9 mix.
With my ’98 Continental I averaged 24 – 25mpg. I saw 30mpg a few times on long highway trips.
When I moved from CT to NYC my first job was with a smaller law firm. The senior partner, a (still hard working) octogenarian, repeatedly extolled the virtues of this car. He was quite upset that they had stopped producing it and his next two cars were a Sable and a Milan. (He leased). Sounds much like JPC Sr. in that respect.
With apologies to him, and to JPC Sr., I never got the reason for this car’s existence long-term. You have the last big Continental in 1979. You have the little-big Panther Continental in 1980. Following Buick’s example with the Electra-Park Avenue, you rename it the Town Car in 1981. The Versailles goes bye bye. Now your lineup is a Town Car, a Continental Mark VI, and a…Continental that is not a Town Car but a jazzed up Fox Body Marquis that becomes a jazzed up Taurus.
Initially, you can understand this car on the assumption that the Panther is going away c. 1983 or 1984. Like the FWD DeVille and Fleetwood 60 introduced for MY 1985, the Continental makes sense in that context for a new age of energy austerity.
Except that the Panther doesn’t go away and Lincoln Town Cars start selling like hotcakes in MY 1985. Meanwhile, Ford redesigns the Mark and has a semi-performance car in the lineup. What function does the Continental serve after that? When people think of the Continental they probably think of the Town Car. The regular Continental is in some no-man’s land halfway between the Townie and the Mark VII. The Town Car is clearly no longer going away since it’s outselling the Cadillac. The Mark VII is far better competition to any European sports sedan.
In short I can think of no reason why this car continued beyond that moment in the mid 1980s when Ford decided not to axe the Panther. I think what I really mean by that is that I cannot understand why someone would prefer this either to a Town Car or the Mark VII. A person who wants a big, comfortable cruiser picks the Town Car, the closest thing still available to the old Continentals and Mark Vs he used to buy in the 70s. A person who wants contemporary American car that handles somewhat like a Benz or Bimmer buys the Mark VII. That leaves the FWD Continental, I guess, for people who want a big four-door Lincoln but despite those elements of taste, somehow also hate the Panther Town Car so much that they’d rather drive a bland, blinged out Taurus. That just seems really strange to me. Not least because they would also have to prefer that blinged-out Taurus to a) the RWD Fleetwood Brougham b) The FWD DeVille and Fleetwood c) the New Yorker-Fifth Avenue. If you were a die-hard FoMoCo man, you’d go for the Town Car. If you weren’t, wouldn’t any of those other options (or a large Mercedes) have greater appeal than the Continental?
It was Lincolns Seville, which is what it became when it replaced the Versailles. The Fox based Continental didn’t come out until 1982, there was a 2 year or so gap between the end of the Versailles in 1980 and the Continental in 1982. The Continental was a curious in between.
Lincoln tried to do the DeVille/Fleetwood match up in 1980, when they moved to the Panther, there was the Town Car-DeVille and the MarkVI which had a sedan and a coupe now, which aimed it more at the Fleetwood, even though the Mark had been an Eldorado competitor before, but those models was ALL Lincoln had to cover the bases between 1981-1982.
Lincoln still wanted a Seville fighter, hence the 1982 Continental, which apes the 1980-1985 Seville, a lot. Then in 1988 the Continental fell into another niche, between FWD DeVille competitor, and Seville competitor.
What the Continental ideally should have become was a sedan version of the Mark VII LSC, a RWD performance oriented 4 door with the 5.0 litre, but instead it became a Taurus based FWD DeVille fighter that never sold in big numbers.
Absolutely! That’s why I always push for Lincoln to do a Mustang based car. V8, RWD win/win
I happen to agree with you, which was the main reason I chose not to buy my Dad’s Connie from his estate when he passed away. I would have been all over a Town Car, but I was looking for size and simplicity/durability. To my father, the Town Car had become an old man’s car. But in his early 60s, Dad was not ready to concede that he was an old man. To him, the Continental was a youthful high-tech car with that DOHC 32V V8, front wheel drive and all of the bells and whistles (including the electronic instruments that lit the needles first, then the numbers behind them – gotta admit, startup was cool). I think he understood that there was a Taurus down there somewhere (he had previously owned two or three of those) but this Continental had less Taurus than a Town Car had Crown Vic inside of it. So, while I don’t agree with the old guys who fell for these, I think I at least understand it.
The Continental, from what I’ve experienced and observed, (’88+) was more of a younger professional’s family car (late 30s-40s-year olds). Someone who needed FWD and 4 doors. Neither the Mark nor the Town Car (old old man’s car) offered that. Easy.
Really? I never once saw anyone without grey hair driving one. And I always wondered: why aren’t you driving a Town Car?
JPC: I think I get it. A fairly small percentage of the Greatest and Silent Generations wanted to keep up with trends and considered the Town Car to be old hat even though they had once coveted and enjoyed them. They didn’t reject that idea of luxury (unlike their children who sought Benzes and BMWs), but wanted to transpose it into something that looked more modern. And I will grant that the Fox and Taurus Continentals certainly look more modern than the FWD DeVille did, even than the Touring Sedan. Still, I have to wonder if they wouldn’t have done better with the Marks VII and VIII, but then those didn’t have the 4 doors.
Carmine: So, a mishmash attempt to cover all the bases, kind of caught between Seville fighting and FWD DeVille fighting due to timing. I agree that a RWD 4 door version of the Mark VII would’ve been MUCH more appropriate (and would have in a way continued the idea they tried to start with the Mark VI Sedan). It might have been a true competitor to both the Seville and FWD DeVille at that point and maybe outsold them.
How well did these sell? The plan is clearer now, but was it really justified by the numbers to keep it up until 2002?
I used to work with a guy who had one of these Connies, just the type you described: Young-ish (at the time), three little girls, needed the space. Also was a relatively successful sales person, needed a nice car to impress clients, etc. Bought a 88 or 89 (not sure, didn’t know him then) Connie. Had all of the bells and whistles, air suspension, etc…
I think he genuinely liked the car and the FWD for our (Michigan) winters, but he relayed that the car always had little issues during the ownership period, that were punctuated by major issues, like the whole air suspension dying, repeated attempts to keep head gaskets on the motor and others I’ve forgotten. He was so disappointed with the car, he replaced it with a 1994 (I think) Buick Roadmaster. He drove the Roadie up until 2006 or 2007 and a relative still drives it, last I caught up with him.
It was a relatively common sight to see that generation of Connie dragging it’s tail on the ground around here. They were probably on their third or fourth owners who couldn’t afford (or wanted) to fix the suspension, so they just let it go. At least with the generation of the feature car, they got the suspension worked out.
The feature car doesn’t really say “Lincoln” to me, it really doesn’t say any car to me. It looks generic and anonymous, rather reminding me of Hyundai’s first efforts in the near luxury segment, the XG350. Kind of bland and blobby, not a fitting recipient of the Continental heritage.
Someone further up in the string relayed that most owners and drivers of these probably migrated to SUVs, I think that’s correct. My friend who owned the Connie and the Roadie now has a Navigator. But the reality is, for folks who are getting arthritic, most sedans are too low to enter easily. The high seating position makes it easier to maneuver and these folks can afford the fuel bill. Win-win.
So many wish that Ford would poop out a real successor to the Engel Connies, but I don’t see that happening unless there’s a big change inside of Ford’s management. But, there are rumors about Mulally leaving Ford for Microsoft and possibly there may be a “car guy” successor in the wings. I’m not too crazy about the “One Ford” strategy, it looks like before long, that’s all there will be…
Well it was I who said they went to SUVs 🙂 (unless someone else also did).
After I posted my comment about the head gasket problems, I realized I had totally forgotten about those awful air suspensions! And yes, they were all over for a period of years there, sagging. I can’t remember the last one I’ve seen; the awful low-riding bounce must have forced the 3rd-4th owners to junk them. I remember my father’s Mark VII’s went bad one night coming home, it was an unpleasant ride.
I remember Consumer Reports recommending this generation of Continental as a great used car buy in the mid-2000s, probably because there were so many low-mileage examples out there and it was simply a lot of car for the money after depreciation. A few years later, I seem to recall them saying that they made good Cash for Clunkers trades!
I remmember when that FWD Continental came out in ’88 and what a sensation it caused. Lincoln couldn’t build enough of them. That must have been the first time in 20 years L-M dealers got to charge a mark up on anything. By the time I got to sample one in 1990, demand and supply had passed each other in the night and the Budget Rental Car office at Newark Airport had a $20/day special on them. I recall it being a pretty good car…relative to what was available at the time. It was floaty and front-heavy but with 160hp from the 3.8L V6, at least you could get the front tires to chirp. And an NBA center could stretch out in that back seat! It’s too bad Lincoln didn’t follow through on that early success. I guess the got caught up in the SUV craze. They put their R&D resources into the ‘Aters – Navi and Avi – insted of proper automobiles.
I liked these when they were new, but I wouldn’t touch one now. I REALLY wouldn’t want the ’88 bodystyle; those 3.8 Fords blew head gaskets regularly, had little power, and got subpar fuel mileage to boot (I had one in a ’94 T-Bird). Plus, with the Lincoln, it had (if I remember correctly) the air suspension and a bunch of potential problems with chassis electrics. I do remember that one of my Dad’s coworkers bought one new and loved it, but I’m betting time hasn’t been kind to them maintenance-wise. Regarding the MK-Whatever, why wouldn’t you just buy the (IMO) better-looking Fusion and save thousands?
They’re all dogs compared to the ’63 pictured in the article…it is timeless.
I believe Ford was trying to work both sides of the fence here. The Town Car was marketed as the “traditional” Lincoln, the Mark as the style leader, and the Continental as the “right sized” technology leader. Thus, you’d get cars with air suspension, electronic dash, adjustable “driver select” modes affecting steering and suspension, etc.
By the time the refreshed generation came out, the car appeared to have been a victim of rampant cost cutting–the adjustable suspension/steering became optional (and air suspension only on the rear springs), and various standard features had been removed. One particular feature drove me nuts as an example of this–the front doors had the birds-eye maple trim–but Ford only provided molded lines where the wood trim SHOULD have appeared in the rear doors. And, a buddy who had one swore that the leather trim used in the back was of different quality than the front.
My boss had an 89 or 90 model. Loved it, and seemed to be trouble free. It also felt far roomier than the revised version.
Glad the lack of wood trim on the rear doors drives you crazy too! I was going to include that in the post, but couldn’t make it flow well. It drives me insane every time I see one of these cars.
As for the leather difference, I’m not sure but it would make sense for cost cutting. I know a lot of car companies (including Ford) used vinyl in their 3rd row seats on leather-equipped minivans and SUVs. If you look at Taurus/Sable wagons with leather, the rear seats do look like they could be of a different material than the front. The leather in many cars is mostly vinyl anyway, only the lower back portion and center of the seat bottom is genuine leather.
Wasn’t the 82-87 available with a “LSC” trim? Everytime I see one with this I think ‘lectric spark control.”
There was no “sport package” option for the ’82 – ’87 Continentals. They got designer editions: Givenchy, Valentino, and a Signature Series. Only the Mark VII got an LSC version. That was a cool car for its day.
1988 Lincoln Mark VII LSC: (wallpaper)
I never liked these blob by fwd cars. Never understood why anyone would rather have this over a town car. The styling was blah. Still would take one over a mk whatever they have now.
The ’82 – ’87 Continentals will always be dear to my heart as my first car was an ’84 Valentino Edition like the one pictured above from the 1984 Lincoln brochure.
And like a commenter above, I really liked the ’88 restyle even though its tech specs may have been lacking. I thought it looked very modern and elegant.
Until Ford get serious and build a series of new Lincoln dealership network. I refuse to pay Lexus $$ for a Lincoln when I need to get service at some Ford dealership.
There has been a lot of discussion regarding styling and marketing strategies but what about the mechanical/functional aspects. I am really interested in the V8 DOHC cars not the early V6s. I know the mod motor’s reputation but what about the rest of the drivetrain?
I actually owned a 2001 Continental for about a year as a second car, back when I was looking for a replacement for my 95 Thunderbird (comfortable cruiser type). The good things: I loved the power that the 32 valve 4.6 made, and the traction that a V8 over the front wheels gives you in the snow. I also liked the look and features. Mine had the 6 CD changer hidden in the armrest, the dual programmable memory keys. The down side was the air suspension, which needed constant repairs (the car had over 100,000 miles on it), and the seats which wore out quickly and became uncomfortable. It’s previous owner had to have the trans rebuilt, so I avoided that issue. I also hated working on anything under the hood, as it’s Taurus platform origins became apparent whenever you had to do something like change a belt. It seriously had maybe a 1/2 inch of clearance between the pulleys and the frame rail. After I spent the better half of one weekend replacing an idler pulley, and fixing air suspension level sensors, I decided that I didn’t want to own this car as it got any older and sold it off to it’s next owner for $1,800.
This car always struck me as the wrong car for the times. This is the V8 front driver that Lincoln should have had to compete with Cadillac in the 80’s, and early 90’s, in addition to the Town Car. By the late 90’s, this market was moving on. I liked it’s looks, and it had some cool features, but ultimately, this is the car that broke my need for having a luxury car.
I actually kinda liked these and thought they looked better than the concurrent (’98-’02) Town Car. Look at the profile shot up above – I do still wish I could move the front wheels 1.5-2 inches forward, but I think this is one of the few big, FWD cars that hid the fact that it was a big, FWD car really well, especially when you consider that they shared a showroom with the protruding snout Mark VIII. Sure, you can still tell, but it doesn’t look embarrassing from that angle, unlike many similar cars. I’ve never been inside one but it looks like they probably suffered from Ford’s use of cheaper interior materials in the late 90s, despite the interior and dashboard design looking good.
Because it was the last Continental ever made, I can only assume these were a (relative) failure, which undoubtedly reflected changing tastes in the luxury car market, as well as the increasing popularity of leasing, more than any shortcomings of the Continental itself. Aside from not being RWD, this is pretty much exactly what people always say American luxury cars should be: big, comfortable, powerful V8, relatively traditional styling, lots of shiny (fake) chrome, etc. I doubt most people had any idea it shared a platform with the Taurus, and many have no clue that some cars drive the front wheels and others drive the rear. But outside of the avowed foreign car hating populace, is there anyone who would really rather have had one of these over the slightly smaller BMW or Audi you could have gotten for the same lease payment? Not me, that’s for sure.
I liked these, but I liked the Town Car more. During my stint at Dahl Ford in 2011 we got an immaculate 1996 Continental in on trade. It was beautiful, pearl yellow with light yellow leather (totally igniting my triple-yellow Cadillac jones) and no fake chrome add-ons, vinyl top, etc. I drove it around the lot several times, and sat in it, taking it all in, several times as well, so much did I like that car! I considered buying it, but it didn’t seem prudent at the time.
I think the Town Car I own now is a much nicer ride though. Why go FWD when you can get a real V8, RWD, body-on-frame Lincoln?
The now non-running Continental across the street from my house just got towed away.
I’m lookin’ for a set of those 2000 Continental 16″x7″ wheels for my 2001 Taurus wagon with the 16″X6″‘s.
I think the “Right-Sized Lincoln” idea went off the rails with the Fox Continental. Not that it was a bad car, but because it was too traditionally/backward-lookingly styled (the brief must’ve been “copy the Seville but dial it back a bit”), too Broughamy and that market wanted a Town Car. It should’ve been a Mark VII LSC with two extra doors. Want a non-LSC Mark in sedan form? That’ll be the Town Car…
The Taurus-based Connie made things better stylewise but was still too costed-out.
Has anyone ever built a Continental wagon, either Fox or Taurus based, by swapping around body panels?
Behold the all-new ’88-’89 Plyncoln Concclaim. Don’t just squint at the thumbnail; click to embiggen and take note of the extreme similarity in virtually every line, curve, and detail.
I look at that pic and I still ask myself how can people say that cars from 2010 onwards look the same. For me the ’80s and ’90s were worse.
On those decades there were three main types of sedan: Generic German, Generic Japanese and Generic American.
It’s not either/or, it’s both/and.
The original.
Looks like my brothers “Aclaim”. His was an “89”.
I think we’re dodging the biggest question on luxury car sales, and the relative success/failure of the Continental. I’m a numbers guy, so I looked up the top selling luxury car models, YTD through November, 2017. Of the top 20 selling luxury models, exactly FIVE of them are actually passenger cars- the rest are CUV’s/SUV’s. The Mercedes C-class is #2 behind the Lexus RX… with a three year lease advertised @ $295 down/$295/mo, it’s no wonder (Heck, that’s Camry money!). Even with those numbers, they couldn’t beat the Lexus.The Cadillac XT5 bests the BMW 3-Series in #3 and #4 spot respectively (surprised?), and nowhere on that list will you find higher end offerings from any of the European or Japanese brands. The only really expensive vehicle on the list (which I define as over $70K) is the Cadillac Escalade.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2017/12/top-20-best-selling-luxury-vehicles-america-november-2017/
Which brings us to the real question- where is the luxury passenger car market? My contention, as far as Lincoln is concerned, that the new Nautilus is Lincoln’s most important new product in the pipeline. Large luxury passenger cars, as a segment, are in a significant decline- at least in the US. Which begs the question, why would any manufacturer throw a boatload of money on a new model that adresses an entire segment in decline?
This is what the rear of a Y2K Continental looks like in a country where real turn signals are required.
LED tail lights may be even better than amber.
It’s not either/or.
It’s not either/or, it’s both-and. Saying LED tail lights are better than amber turn signals is like saying seatbelts are better than airbags, or safety glass is better than sideview mirrors…no. Each of these things has its own job to do; they’re not fungible.
Also, there’s not (yet?) data supporting the seemingly obvious notion that LED brake lights reduce crashes compared to incandescent ones—see this.
There is, however, evidence that LED brake lights are satan’s beacons from hell, at least in the alleged “mind” of one parent (unfortunately); see here. The lights this delusional cow was dementedly yawping about are these Weldon items.
I already saw “this”. I also saw a Honda with amber turn signals that were not visible until I was a car length behind, so what good is that?
I don’t doubt it, but that’s a non-sequitur. Anything can be done well or poorly, including turn signals. There are certainly turn signals (of either colour) and brake lights that seem too small and/or too dim or too bright. Some headlamps feel useless at night. Leaving aside important questions about what you saw (were they original-equipment lights with correct bulbs, or had the owner installed cheesy aftermarket trinkets or “LED bulbs”, covered the lights with black paint or film, etc), those are all subjective impressions not useful for judging the value of amber turn signals, LED brake lights, or anything else; the implication, regardless of what colour they are or how they produce their light, isn’t “Here’s a turn signal I consider inadequately conspicuous, therefore turn signal colour isn’t important”, it’s “Here’s a turn signal that suggests the applicable regulation might not do a good enough job of guaranteeing at least minimally adequate safety performance”.
It’s a valid question, but the answer comes not by tallying up subjective votes on how visible or invisible you or I might consider the turn signals on any particular car, they’re measured objectively in terms of crash involvement.
I think it was a Honda HR-V, and the tail lights looked standard. The amber blinker was not covered over with black paint.
What I think is that a well designed tail light, even one that uses the brake lights for a turn signal, is better than a poorly designed tail light that uses an amber turn signal. My impression is that you think any amber turn signal is better.
No, definitely not. A thing done well is better than a thing done poorly; no matter the colour, a more-conspicuous signal light (or one without unnecessary glare, one that doesn’t admit water or colour-fade or burn out early, etc) is better than a less-conspicuous signal light (or one with unnecessary glare, one that admits water or colour-fades or burns out early, etc).
My position is it’s bad enough that the regs have too much room for bad car lights in general; we shouldn’t also have to choose between something done relatively well the wrong way versus done relatively poorly the right way—the rest of the world doesn’t have to make that choice in the instance of turn signal colour.
(Honda have stumbled in this area before; the brake lights on a particular generation of CR-V, I think ’02-’06 or thereabouts, are too small and dim even with the right bulbs. But the lack of blackout tint on the vehicle you saw doesn’t exclude the possibility the owner made a dumb choice of aftermarket “upgrade” bulbs; it’s increasingly common to see signal lights’ output severely degraded by “LED bulbs”)
“… where is the luxury passenger car market?”
Agree, where are the import brand car flagships? Are they selling well? Lexus #1 seller is RX, more and more Beemers are CUV’s, not “ultimate driving” sedans.
I drive through Chicago’s rich North Suburbs, and 90% of late model vehicles are a black or white SUV from a lux make. Includes some Buick and GMC utes.
So, all the hand wringing about “Why can’t Cadillac/Lincoln bring back a large RWD car?” is moot. Escalade and Navigator are their flagships, nowadays.
CT6 and Conti are niche cars and many are Livery service.
Only if there is a new generation of buyers who are willing to pay new car prices [instead of waiting for used] for ‘real cars’, will there by any ‘comeback’.
I exaggerated with the “90% of late model…” #, should just say “most of … are SUV/CUV’s”
Especially China loves high-end flagship sedans, preferably the long wheelbase models.
According to the German Wikipedia-site about the current generation of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 2014 (that’s not that long ago) was the flagship’s best year -almost 104,000 of them were sold- since the introduction of the W116 S-Class in 1972.
And yet, the Tesla Model S has outsold the S-Class in the USA, by a margin of almost 2:1. The Escalade outsells the S-Class by a margin of almost 3:1… which is astounding, considering they sell for approximately the same money (six figures in either case). This loops us back around to the conversation of “where’s the American competitor to the European high end luxury cars?”
It’s out there…. and it’s outselling them by a comfortable margin. Truth be told, it outsells the S-Class, 7-Series, Audi A8, and Lexus LS COMBINED by a comfortable margin.
The Tesla Model S is a Benz E-Class competitor, it’s not considered as an S-Class alternative. That is, where I am.
Neither the Tesla Model S nor the Cadillac Escalade are seen as “high end luxury cars”, the absolute top segment of automobiles. YMMV, of course.
Hence the segmentation of cars (Tesla Model S in the E-segment, S-Class in the F-segment), to compare apples to apples.
I didn’t see any Cadillac CT6 as livery vehicles as Cadillac XTS is far better suited for that role. Looks like CT6 has the similar ideology as the SeVille in the past, as a showcase of technology in a European size.
In Chicago proper you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a Tesla S. There’s your modern big American luxury car.
Looks like Lincoln made a conscious effort to ape some styling cues from Ford-owned Jaguar in 1998. Not only was the Continental restyled with a Jag-like grille and taillights that year, the Town Car was changed from the boxy-but-handsome ’97 model to the fat ’98 car – looking like a bloated caricature of a Jaguar Mark X.
I liked this design a lot, love those tail lights. Was interested in buying one, but they are rare and over priced. Bought a Olds Aurora instead, never looked back.
“Realistically, however, this type of luxury is not what the majority of luxury car buyers are looking for?”
Time to take a look at the neighborhood like Grosse Pointe.
Well, right in Ford’s back yard of course there’s probably a lot of ’em.
Just like how when I was in Munich, at least 50% of the cars I saw on the road were BMWs.
Actually, the New conti is an excellent example of the old Yogi Berraism: hit them whey they ain’t.
Sure, it’s not a huge market segment. But… 100% of a smaller market segment is not always bad. Personally, if I was looking to spend $50k or so on a luxury sedan, this would probably be where I’d be at.
Being based upon Ford’s mid size FWD platform, the new Continental is more of a successor to the 1988 Continental than it is to the 1961 through 1980 big Continentals. I wouldn’t mind a used one someday for $20,000 to $25,000, but I sure wouldn’t pay $45,000 and more for one
The 61 Continental was basically a four door Thunderbird. They even looked alike from the front. They were built in the same factory. I think the new Continental is a nice car. If no one pointed out that it was based on a Ford, no one would know.
The new Continental is a very nicely styled Lincoln. It just seemed to me that it was aged before they actually offered it for sale, since it seemed they were showing it for years at the car shows. If they jumped on it a few years earlier perhaps it would have been a great seller. At this point it would be ready for some restyling. The first year I saw it at the Javits Center I fell in love. By the time it hit the street it seemed it had been around for years and I basically lost interest by then.
I very much agree in that the current Continental’s design has seemed to age both very rapidly AND before it even went on sale. The year-and-a-half between the concept’s unveiling and the production model’s debut didn’t help.
However, I think much more of this can be attributed to the fact that the lesser MKZ gained the Continental face right around the same time (possibly even a few months before) the Continental’s debut. Not that I see many of either, but I can’t tell them apart from a quick glance at the front view unless side by side.
I don’t think the new Continental is a bad looking car, apart from the droopy tail. But the overall styling itself comes across as rather bland and uninspired. Sure there are a few unique styling elements to it, but as a whole, it suffers from the same slab-sidedness, high beltlines, and short, tall hood as many modern front-wheel drive sedans, including the donor Fusion. The proportions just aren’t right for a flagship automobile.
The MKZ facelift really watered it down, I have corrected a few people thinking they were looking at a Continental and not the 90% unchanged MKZ. I think the styling is alright but no where near 61 levels of good, or even more prestigious looking than these 90s ones. The taillights REALLY remind me of an old Hyundai Azera.
I think the new Conti is a damn nice car and if I was in the market for something that big it’d be on my list. Sadly at least here in Chicago it seems 99.9% of sales are to livery drivers. If I bought one it wouldn’t be in black, only because I wouldn’t want people trying to flag me down for a ride.
If they had just made the doors center opening (suicide), I’m sure they would be flying out the door. People these days would love the unique feature and probably associate it with (clearing throat) Rolls-Royce Ghost. Just my opinion-
“largely in attempt to correct the 1995-1997’s sagging sales.”
Sales were not the only thing sagging, it seems that everytime I see one of these Contis on the road or parked, they all are sagging in the rear thanks to the poorly designed airbag suspension. Even when these were new they had issues. I worked at a Ford/Lincoln dealership during the last 2 years they sold this car and they would come off the truck with busted air suspensions. Clearly a poor design.
All I remember is having a 2000 as a rental, and it had the worst driver’s seat I have ever sat in.
What I think Ford should do is take the current line of Lincolns – give them a waterfall grille, call them Mercurys – except for the new Continental.
Then take a Ford F-150, and turn it into a giant sedan that looks like a Rolls Royce Wraith. Call it a Town Car and price it at $100k.
Take a Shelby Mustang, and turn it into a Lincoln Capri. Sell them as a convertible and as a coupe.
Sell the Mercury line and the Continental, the new giant 150-based Town Car and the Mustang-based Capri at the current Lincoln dealerships.
Claiming that this was just a Granada isn’t correct. First off, it is a Fox body as mentioned earlier, a second generation Granada, which was a great improvement over the first generation Granada and Versailles. Secondly, the interiors were different – the Continental used the dash from the Cougar XRT/Thunderbird, not the Fox Granada/Cougar. The style was also Lincoln, and not Ford/Mercury.
I am very familiar with this car and I had the Fox body Cougar sedan. So, you really didn’t give this generation Continental the credit it deserved by the backhanded comment that it was based upon the “Granada”. Unfair, dude.
Once again based on a midsize Ford vehicle (the Fusion in this case), the new Continental aims to restore some of the prestige Lincoln has lost in recent years, while staying true to its roots offering unapologetically traditional American luxury.
Not quite. The last Continental was based upon the CD4.3 body, same as the Taurus available in China. It is a stretched version for full sized cars.
The Fusion/Mondeo/MKZ used the CD4.1.
The Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX/Nautilus/S-Max and Ford Galaxy (CD390) used the CD4.2
“…a Tesla S. There’s your modern big American luxury car”. Prescient comment from 2017. Tesla is now the top selling car in the luxury segment. An American luxury car. Musk has made the offer to GM and Ford to merge with Tesla. GM and Ford would continue to sell their very profitable (and tariff protected) ICE trucks into the foreseeable future. Tesla would design and build their EVs- under the Tesla umbrella name. BMW looses almost all of its cache without the internal combustion engine. We are now operating on a level playing field with our foreign competitors, and its advantage USA. Tesla is synonymous with EV, something its competitors will have to struggle with as we move into an all- EV future.
Have had 78 Town Coupe, 89 Town Car Signature Series and current 2007 Signature Limited. LINCOLN, what a Luxury car should be! Unfortunately now LINCOLN (like others) has abandoned Luxury CARS in favor of SUVS and crossovers which to me are glorified trucks.