(first posted 5/18/2012) Lincoln really had a hard time finding its way in the 1950s. Known for some of the finest custom bodied luxury cars in the 1930s, the mid-priced Lincoln Zephyr in the late ’30s and early ’40s, and of course, the beautiful Lincoln Continental coupes and convertibles, you would think Lincoln would have had it made in the Fifties. Not exactly…
That is not to say they did not have some very nice cars. The 1952-55 Lincolns may have been more comparable to Oldsmobiles and Buicks than contemporary Cadillacs, but they went on to great fame as high performance road cars in the Carrera Panamericana.
The 1956 Lincoln was all new, and beautiful, but it unfortunately still did not approach Cadillac’s sales. Cadillac was the 600 pound gorilla in the luxury car market, and Lincoln and Imperial, despite being worthy competitors, never approached the popularity of GM’s prestige make. But Lincoln had a plan. The next Lincoln was to be bigger than current Cadillacs and loaded with new and advanced features.
The 1958 Lincolns were all new, which was obvious. It bore no resemblance to the 1956-57 models. They were bigger in every way, with an overall length of 229 inches and a 131″ wheelbase. These new Lincolns were produced in a brand new factory in Wixom, Michigan, along with the equally new 1958 Thunderbird.
While the Capri and Premiere lines carried on, the Continental was something else. Replacing the elegant, ultra expensive Continental Mark II was the the Mark III. As shown above, they were little more than a rebadge of the standard Lincoln, albeit with a reverse slanted roofline with retracting backlight, special wheel covers, grille and tail lamps, and Bridge of Weir leather interiors.
Lincolns and Continentals were also now unibodied. In fact, this was the largest unit body car made. Another new feature was air suspension, but much like the GM version, it was problematic; only two percent of ’58 Lincolns had it. So how did this Cadillac fighter do? Not well, not well. While it looks fairly tame compared to some other 1958 models, people just didn’t take to it very well. Production was down by over 10,000 units from 1957.
Lincoln didn’t waste any time in making the car look more conventional. For 1959, the wild flared front bumper and fenders were toned down. Funny that that same year, Cadillac introduced its wildest, most flamboyant car ever. The Lincoln looked positively normal next to a ’59 Coupe de Ville.
The 1960 Lincolns, despite being in the last model year for this body type, were extensively updated. While the Continental Mark Vs retained the reverse slant “Breezeway” window, standard Lincolns and Premieres received an attractive new roof with Thunderbird style C-pillars. Other revisions included a chrome full-length body spear, an even more conventional front bumper, plus a new grille and rear panel.
The interior was redone as well, with an extremely attractive instrument panel, replacing the “TV” style 1958-59 version. Each instrument was set into its own pod, with an engine-turned trim panel below. It reminds me of a 1950s-1960s Century Coronado or Chris Craft speedboat.
As befitting a luxury car, all Lincolns had a number of standard features, including power brakes, power steering, a heater with defroster, undercoating, whitewall tires, clock, radio and dual exhaust. All Lincolns were powered by a 430 CID V8 with a 2 BBL Carter carburetor. It produced 315 hp at 4100 rpm. It needed it, as these cars had a 4,900-5,200 pound curb weight, depending on the model. That was mostly due to the unit construction, which was heavily overbuilt to prevent flexing.
While the lineup consisted of Capri, Premiere and Continental for 1958-59, in 1960 the Capri name was nowhere to be seen. For some reason, the least expensive Lincoln was simply called a Lincoln. Our featured CC is thus a Lincoln Sedan. It was the second least expensive Lincoln at $5441 (approx. $42,300 adjusted).
The Lincoln four door hardtop, seen here in a vintage ad, interestingly sold for the exact same price as the sedan, $5441. The two door Lincoln hardtop was a bit less, retailing for $5253.
Premieres were the next step up, running about $500 higher than plain Lincolns. They were virtually identical outside, save for a small fender emblem. It was available in the same bodystyles as the Lincoln: four door sedan, four door hardtop and two door hardtop.
Premiere interiors were a bit fancier, and additional standard features included power windows, reading lamps in the rear compartment, and a four-way power seat.
Of course, the Continental Mark V was about $1000-1200 above the Premieres and retained its unique reverse-slant roof and “Breezeway” rear window. It also was the only way to get a convertible.
Our featured CC is currently in the collection of my friend and former boss, K. V. Dahl. As related in the Old Car Home piece, I had a brief career as a Ford salesman in 2011. K. V. and his dad, Vinje, are real car nuts and have quite a few cool old cars. One neat thing they do is rotate their collector cars in the showroom so people can see them. While I worked there, there was a ’61 Falcon, ’32 Ford street rod, ’38 LaSalle and a ’48 Willys Jeepster. When I stopped in a couple months ago and first saw this Lincoln, I was very impressed. 1958-60 Lincolns are seldom seen today.
While this one-of-1,093 Lincoln four door sedan is the entry-level Lincoln for 1960, you’d never know it. The rich black paint, heavy chrome trim and wide whitewalls do not suggest a cheapskate special. Just look at that door panel. Cloth, vinyl, chrome trim and a rear air conditioning/heating duct. And check out that ashtray with Lincoln script. Cool!
The silver interior is in nice shape, as is the rest of this car. It has so much room, I think you could seat four people apiece in the front and the back. We don’t need no SUV here, pardner! And that upholstery pattern looks like little planets or UFOs to me. Very jet set.
As far as I can tell, the instrument panel was the same regardless of model. All the major controls are clustered in front of the driver, while the passenger side sweeps away for a greater sense of space. This is clearly not a fleet special Custom 500 we have here. I’m not a huge fan of silver-painted cars, but it looks pretty good as an interior color. Hey, it was the late ’50s and early ’60s – why not have a “chrome” interior color?
While most of the interior is very American, the gauges themselves look very European, like something you’d see on a Lancia Fulvia or Alfa Berlina. I wonder if it was intentional?
Lincoln really played on the star theme for its logo. Just check out those stylized wheel covers. The black paint, chrome and wide whitewalls make for a very sharp car.
While they were not popular when new, and depreciated rapidly, these Lincolns are collectible today, especially the Continental Mark III, IV and V convertibles. While they may be a love it or hate it design, I think they are pretty cool. If you feel the same, this unit body land yacht is currently for sale. If nothing else, you’d definitely stand out at the cruise in, among the sea of Mustangs, Camaros and Corvettes.
The 1959 and 1960 Lincoln’s styling became much less wild than the ’58, but it didn’t help sales. Production dropped each year between 1957 and 1960. Starting with relatively healthy production of 41,567 in 1957, it dropped to 28,684 in ’58, 26,906 in ’59 and 24,820 in 1960. Lincoln lost over $60 million with their bigger-than-a-Cadillac unit bodied boats.
Robert MacNamara, the non-car guy president of Ford at the time, wanted to kill Lincoln after 1960. Apparently he saw it as a wasted effort, much like the recently-departed Edsel. The only thing that saved Lincoln was a chance viewing of a proposed Thunderbird. The Ford styling staff hurriedly turned it into a four door sedan, and Lincoln was saved. From 1961 on, Lincoln would do very well.
I’m gonna git it fer this: The 1956-1960 Lincolns were Lincolns. The 49-55s were Bada$$ Mercurys, But EVERYONE loves the 61, Ok, Yes, a beautiful design, But no better than (actually inferior to…) the 1963 Buick Riviera, and was actually a 4 door competitor to that class of “personal” car, (it was intended to be a Thunderbird) The “unloved” 58-60 Lincolns may be “dated” by modern eyes, but in fact closer to it’s Cadillac and Imperial (Technically, the best of the lot in 1960..) competition.
I’ve read most of the 120 some odd comments, and can add maybe a couple of original thoughts.
1960 was the final year for a true pillar less four door hardtop Lincoln. Ever. While the ’61-’69 standard Lincoln was a truly classy machine, the ’60s were a full decade of hardtops as prestige cars, and Lincoln was missing in action in a major market segment. Not to mention a lack of two door hardtops until 1965. Interesting decisions where they struggled to sell a quarter of Cadillac’s volume in a good year. When Lincoln’s body style offerings became more mainstream in the 1970s, their volume shot up like a rocket.
The ’58-’60 Lincoln really put the “low” in “longer, lower, and wider.” I saw one of these in a museum last year, and despite its tremendous size, from a straight on front view, the car came off almost diminutive.
Nice to see this generation of Lincoln featured. Massive cars ignored for years as desirable to collect. Restoration would be quite an undertaking and you would need deep pockets.
In grade one my friend’s parents bought one and I had a chance to sit in the back seat. It made quite an impression on me as our family was yet to purchase a car. A few years ago i appraised a 60 Continental and was reminded of the craftsmanship and attention to detail these cars received.
The word got around fast that the 58 lincs were LEMONS when that happens
there go your sales and there goes the resale the dealers shit bricks
because they cant sell them and when they do sell one they know it will be
back to the dealer with problems and the customer will dump it
and buy a olds 98 or a caddy.
I never heard about these being lemons. The main complaints (then, and later among collectors.) seemed to be that they weren’t “real” “Continentals”, and that they were too big, (although I’ve never driven one, I understand they actually handled well for thier size…) Understand that I’m a GM guy, and If I were a potential Lincoln prospect in 1960, I’d have likely went for an Electra 225 or a DeVille, based on preferences, and In 1960 the Imperial was perhaps the best US luxury car, but the market went to Cadillac. With all that, Plus all of the attention payed to the “Squarebird” and Edsel, both “born” in ’58 These Lincolns, IMHO have been underrated then and now. I’ve never been a “Ford guy”, but I would not toss one of these unibody beasts out of my garage.
Hey let’s take our new 58 Lincoln to California We’ll drive this honey in the desert at
95 mph After all we got our 14 in wheels and crapo cheapo rayon tires on our
new 5000 lb honey whoops. no cell phones at hand in 1958.
Huge, overwrought, garish, all true. But I love these things in their baroque glory. The separate headlight pods on the ’58 were a touch too weird, but a ’59 or ’60 would suit me just fine.
Back in ’96 or ’97 I saw one of these Lincolns in a junkyard, either a ’59 or a ’60 Premiere. It looked to be 100% complete, all the glass was intact, hood and trunk shut, doors locked. It had been stacked on top of a 1st-gen Corvair in a little-traveled, somewhat overgrown section of the yard. I always wondered if it was put there for safekeeping in sort of a “too good to crush” scenario. This was a small, family-owned yard that turned their newer inventory regularly but had some older stuff that had obviously been there for years. Registration sticker showed it was last on the road in ’79.
I was a broke high-school kid with no mechanical know-how so I didn’t even bother to ask about it, but I’ve always hoped maybe it was saved. Probably not but you never know.
OK. I feel qualified to comment here, specifically comparing Lincolns (& Continentals), vs. Cadillacs, vs. Imperials…. having previously owned 4 or 5 old Lincolns (including a ’62 for 29 years), 3 or 4 Cadillacs, and 5 or 6 Imperials.
I agree with Tom Klockau here.. that the Lincolns of ’61 – ’69 had the greatest, pure quality… though the ’63 & ’64 Cadillacs did come close. Lincolns shined with quality components; Cadillacs shined in great execution of workmanship; and Imperials were of great DESIGN quality… though often lacked in execution thereof. The 60s Imperials often developed aggravating water leaks into the body, particularly around the rear window, just forward of the trunk lid. Post-’64 Cads did also, though not quite as often (due to Cad no longer installing real rubber gaskets for the windshield and rear windows). The problem for the Lincoln owner is excessive complexity (esp. electrical and exhaust) and pricey parts all these years later. Ball joints for Lincolns are pricey, most especially for the ’58 through ’60 models: we’re talking hundreds of dollars… apiece! To rebuild the front end on one of these late 50s Lincs.. is almost a thousand dollars for parts alone! Lincoln parts are harder to find, too. Cad and Imp parts are not nearly as expensive, though Imps do have a few “Imp-only” parts.
One BIG ‘plus’ for Cadillac is that they came with dual-master-cylinders.. starting in ’62: five years ahead of all other makes.. but Rambler. Ever blow a brake line or a brake hose in one of these heavyweights.. as you’re motoring down the highway…. and it fails without warning?? You might need a new pair of shorts afterwards!
I want your Lincoln. Beautiful. This post basically answered all of my concerns about Lincoln vs continental & if their was ever just a Lincoln. I love you. Owner of a 1968 Lincoln continental.
At first glance, that roofline sure resembles that of a 1959 Ford. One would have thought they might have differentiated it a wee bit more.
Great story about the owner also.
I remember the Swap your Ride promo that Ford ran for a couple of years, 2010-11 or so. They paid out not bad money then for used car trade-ins.
It does say something about how the public thought of these that Lincoln sales only declined slightly for ’61 despite the radically pared-down lineup.
I’ve pointed out before that the ’61 Continental sedan’s prices started halfway between the Cadillac Sedan de Ville and Fleetwood 60 Special, while the convertible was priced alongside the Fleetwood Eldorado. There was no longer an attempt to compete with Caddy’s then still strong-selling Series 62 and no 2-doors at a time when the hardtop Coupe de Ville was the best-selling single model in the Caddy lineup, so Lincoln was going for profit-per-unit not market share and the fact they weren’t as often seen meant exclusivity, not unpopularity.
But getting back to the ’58-60s it’s surprising to learn the convertible only came in Continental trim; Cadillac offered a ragtop in Series 62 and CdV form, both of which outsold the Eldorado Biarritz.
Lincoln did such a nice job up to 1958, but with little market success at the time. You add in the superb Continental Mark, and you can understand that Lincoln by 1955 went crazy. Chrysler did the same thing at the same time – went crazy. These are fashion monsters unleashed at a time when the fashion for them ended.
Who bought these? Had to be folks born 50 years earlier – around 1900-1910, and were kids during the Great War of 1918. Then they fought in WWII and Korea. They went through the Great Depression, the Holocaust, the birth of the Atomic Age. Learned to drive with Model T Fords, Willys Overlands, Studebakers, Nashes and Hudsons. They built Post War USA, Levittown, Argonne National Lab, the TVA, Grand Coulee, and Hoover dams. They worked six days a week, raised six kids, stayed married to the same spouse. Smoked and drank Schlitz, Pabst and Budweiser, regardless of income. They thought sliced bread, men’s Jockeys, and nylon hosiery the latest miracles. Women wore furs without fretting about the animals draped over their shoulders.
This is the car for them. These weren’t designed for Boomer kids. They was designed for their grandparents. These Lincolns, Cadillacs and Imperials were a natural progression that they had witnessed since Unconditional Japanese Surrender thirteen years earlier.
Lincoln had an ad campaign in ’59 showing “typical owners” which gives you some idea of the kind of people Lincoln was appealing to.
Our image of the ’50s was distorted by pop culture–Happy Days, American Graffiti, etc. It was not James Dean and teeny-bopper girls in poodle skirts listening to rock ‘n roll, driving around in hot rods. That was a minority–not mainstream. Upper- and upper-middle class adults in their 40s-60s were really running the show. They had a distinct culture of their own, which is not celebrated in ’50s “nostalgia” events and movies.
Our neighbors in small town Indiana who bought a new 1960 Lincoln Continental were a prosperous young couple in their early 30s who owned an excavating business. At the same time they built an incredibly large and luxurious mid-century modern house. It would be interesting to know the demographics of the owners of these cars. Based on photos I’ve seen in various books and journals (I’m an architectural docent at a Frank Lloyd Wright house) I suspect that a fair number were mid-century modern architects.
Any time I see one of these Lincolns, I’m reminded of Eva Marie Saint escaping in a Lincoln converitble after shooting Cary Grant at Mount Rushmore via “North by Northwest”.