The Lincoln Continental

Author : John McCall
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 107 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (93 download)

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Download or read book High Marks: the Lincoln Continental Mark VI: a Designer's Perspective written by John McCall and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-24 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the week of March, 1939 when Edsel Ford motored to Palm Beach, Florida for his winter vacation, The Lincoln Continental has continued to be an icon of American style and grace; it is a concept, not just a car. It is a statement and not just a form of luxurious transportation. Although this first example, based on the chassis and proprietary body of the Lincoln Zephyr of 1938-9 was named Mark I by the public, it actually never carried that moniker through its initial production in 1942, interrupted by World War II, and resurrected in 1945-8. But by 1956 the Ford Motor Company essentially acknowledged the public's assignment when the Continental Mark II appeared in the late fall of 1955 for model year 1956. The Mark II, which had a production run of only two years and put little or no money back in Ford's treasury, nevertheless set a standard from the family of Lincoln which was to prevail to the present day. After the Mark II, more Marks appeared in succession, with some later admitted jumbling by Ford of the logical descendency of numbers, until the government became proactive in dictating what manufacturer's total fleet must meet in terms of miles per gallon (CAFE). It was at this time that the Mark VI entered the market as a new from-the-ground Lincoln--every inch a Continental, even more luxurious than its predecessor, and coming down the fashion runway after a diet of over 800 pounds. The fact that Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division was able to effect this change without losing any of the Mark's styling cues is a story that has often been overlooked--and one that rarely has been mentioned in print. This book is conceived to bring a new understanding of this remarkable series which ran from the 1980 to the 1983 model year and in the guise of the Town Car (which took on more and more of the Mark VI's equipage) through 1989. Here is the story, presented pictorially, in researched text and intended as a framework which will allow the intriguing history of the Lincoln Continental Mark VI to be told with increasing detail, data and photographic evidence. The author, an interior designer for over forty-years, presents this book from his perspective deeply rooted in color, shape and form--important elements of both interior and automotive design.