Oakland Street Sighting - 1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V

Today marks the seventh day of the fabled countdown to Christmas.

On the seventh day of Christmas my archive gave to thee:
Seventy-seven Lincoln,
Suede Studebaker,
Fine Nomad bling,
Ford Thunderbird,
Beige French shed,
Tuned Chevy LUV,
and a Park Lane down on the street.

I have such an irrational love for Malaise-era big cars. By today's standards, many see them as horrible slow oversized barges that suck down gas and pollute like no tomorrow, fit only for demolition derbies. What are you, some kind of communist? How can you hate a personal luxury coupe with a big V8, plush couch seats, a big proud grille and err... hidden headlights, opera windows, a fake spare tire hump and fake fender vents? So what if it has less than 160 horsepower and has to be smogged in perpetuity? It has presence!

Los Angeles Street Sighting - 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V

Okay, full disclosure. This car belongs to my friend, who purchased it in L.A. a few years ago for $600 to save it from being crushed. These photos were taken the first time I ever laid eyes on it. This is also perhaps the only street sighting to date which I've actually ridden in.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible

We've already looked at a few 1960s Lincoln Continentals here, but nearly all have been sedans and thus far, only two years have been represented: 1963 and 1968. This is yet another '63, but it's our first Continental convertible.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1973 Lincoln Continental

Lincoln is known for its traditional American approach to luxury. Lincolns typically are big, softly sprung cars with thick, overstuffed couch seats and convenience options that appeal to old people. The package may include a padded vinyl top, hood ornament, whitewall tires and full hubcaps. And in the 1970s, it seems Lincoln's running gimmick was hideaway headlamps. Virtually every Lincoln had the vacuum-operated headlight doors, as did many fullsize Ford LTDs and Mercury Marquis. It added a little uniqueness to an otherwise slab-sided car whose only curves were the wheel arches and the little kick up in the beltline at the C-pillar.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III

For years now, Mercedes-Benz has been running holiday season commercials depicting Santa Claus driving a red Mercedes as his Christmas sleigh. An SL roadster? How pedestrian. Santa's too pimp for that. A fat man who dresses in red and white fur and gets little people and animals to help him do his work needs something big and classy. And in proper pimp car fashion, the car should match Santa's favorite wardrobe. The jolly old elf also has to make his rounds delivering toys to millions of kids in one night, so he needs something powerful and fast, with a large trunk for the bag of gifts.

Enter the 1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1963 Lincoln Continental

This isn't the first time I've stumbled upon a 1963 Lincoln Continental sedan. In fact, this is the second one I've found in San Francisco. What surprised me, is where in the city it lives. This giant boat parks on a very narrow, winding street on a steep hill - not its natural habitat by a long shot. This is why parking laws tell drivers to curb their wheels. You don't want an out-of-control, unmanned '63 Continental barreling down your street.

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1968 Lincoln Continental coupe

Over the years on California Streets I've featured multiple Lincoln Continentals and a couple of Mark series coupes. Most have been sedans, but the regular Continental was also available as a coupe for part of its production run. This practice continued from 1966 until the early 1980s when the Town Car was also offered as a Town Coupe. I almost never see Continental coupes like this, which made this one that much more special.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV

One of my friends owns a 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V. That, to me, is just about the epitome of 1970s luxury. Gargantuan proportions, absurd levels of comfort, and a ride like the Queen Mary. Or at least that was the idea when it was new (his is a bit crusty). This is not a Mark V. It's a Mark IV, and I'm really starting to like these. In fact, this was one of my favorite shoots I've done so far. Whereas the IV's precessessor, the Mark III, was a bit bland for my taste, the IV pushes almost all the right buttons. It's ridiculously long, but at a glance the roofline appears lower and sleeker than the 1960s-era Mark III. The Continental design touches are all there: the tall, Rolls-Royce style grille with Lincoln hood ornament, the fake spare tire hump, and of course the luxurious padded vinyl roof - but with a twist! The IV now had an oval opera window available.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1978 Lincoln Continental Town Car

Not many people seem to care about Ford's Lincoln luxury division anymore, because it has nearly lapsed into irrelevance. Lincoln builds only a small range of models, most of which are thinly disguised Fords that are gradually being upstaged by the redesigned versions of the cars on which they were originally based. Ford is shedding luxury and near-luxury divisions like crazy. They sold off their stakes in Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, and phased out the mid-range Mercury brand completely. Suddenly the "One Ford" policy (combining American and European product lines) is starting to sound like "Only Ford". Even today, some people have a hard time making a case for Lincoln's continued existence.
People have long lamented the decline of American luxury. Some bemoan the death of the large, rear-wheel-drive sedan with floaty suspension and couch-like seats. Others pin the blame on those same cars as being short-sighted, ill-handling, gas-guzzling barges, symbols of wretched excess that seemed to parody themselves and increase our dependence on foreign oil. Along with Cadillac, Lincoln carried the torch for the traditional American RWD luxury formula well into the 1990s. Both were popular with the aging population, but not many other buyers. Both brands dabbled in front-wheel-drive and smaller powerplants, but as Cadillac transitioned primarily to FWD, the last true American RWD luxury car was the Lincoln Town Car. Today the Town Car, much loved by octogenarians, limo and livery cab drivers everywhere, is dead. Chrysler fields a revitalized 300C, and Cadillac's CTS takes on BMW instead of Lincoln. To a degree, Chrysler and Cadillac have been embraced by the hip-hop scene, courting younger buyers. And of course, the luxury market is dominated by brands from Europe and Japan, many of which didn't exist when this car rolled off the assembly line.
Lincoln is trying so hard to market itself as a thinking man's car, the sort of car driven by slick ad executives with thin-rimmed glasses and trendy suits who, if the ads are to be believed, would actually buy an MKZ Hybrid or MKS instead of the latest Audi.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1968 Lincoln Continental

Nowadays one might refer to an AMG Mercedes or BMW M sedan as "Bad-Ass Class". What is Bad-Ass Class? It's a luxury car that looks bad-ass, usually one that's crazy fast. Well, this isn't crazy fast, but it is classy, and it. Is. Bad. Ass.
It's a 1968 Lincoln Continental.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1963 Lincoln Continental

Old Fords and Chevys are everywhere in this state, and recently this blog featured its first Cadillac, but until now there have been no examples of Ford's luxury division and Cadillac competitor, Lincoln. Okay, to be fair, I did feature a 1956 Continental Mark II here a few months ago. The Mark II wasn't officially a Lincoln, though. This, however, is a legit Lincoln. And boy, what a Lincoln it is. It's a 1963 Continental sedan.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1956 Continental Mark II

The hands of fate have not been kind to all of the old iron on California's streets. Contrary to popular belief, cars do rust here when not taken care of. Case in point: this rare 1956 Continental Mark II. Only about 3000 of these European-inspired boulevard cruisers were built between 1956 and 1957, and they were exclusive to the rich and famous -- because only the rich and famous could afford the $10,000 asking price.