1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III. July 08
If you have, congratulations, you share a common bond with Lee Iacocca, father of the Ford Mustang, and saviour (well, pretty much) of the entire Chrysler marque.
Iacocca's vision, however, concerns neither Mustang nor Chrysler, but Lincoln, via Thunderbird and Rolls-Royce. Confused? Allow me to explain.
Ever since the 1936 Zephyr and the first Continental that followed three years later, design had been a key consideration in Lincoln's development. For a brief period in the late 1950s, the 'Continental' was even split off into its own marque. That venture sank along with the Edsel, but the commitment to fresh, distinctive design remained.
The styling of that 'first' Continental Mark II from 1956 foreshadowed what was to come with the famous 1961 Lincoln Continental - bold shapes, individual styling, and a minimum of superfluous chrome and decoration.
The '61 design was a great success, barely changing for the rest of the decade, but the reintroduction of the luxury "Mark" series in 1969 required fresh design elements to help distinguish it from a standard Continental - cue Iacocca's vision.
The story goes that Iacocca, having a sleepless night in a Canadian hotel room, phoned one of his chief designers, L. David Ash, with a directive to put a "Rolls-Royce grille and a continental (spare tyre) rear on a Thunderbird".
After the Edsel disaster, the US auto industry had avoided the upright grille like the plague, so it was a pretty gutsy move - particularly by Ford! - to bring it back. While it eventually appeared on a Thunderbird as per Iacocca's vision, the 'Rolls' grille first appeared on the 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III.
While undoubtedly inspired by Rolls Royce, the design didn't ape the British luxury saloon too closely. The grille, rear end and overall design really worked, and was considered successful enough to continue, virtually unchanged, for 1970, the year of our feature car.
Originally part of a Lincoln collection out of North Carolina, our feature Mark III presents very well, thanks to a repaint and light restoration before it was brought out here.
The 460ci V8 runs smoothly, and I'd doubt the car's ever been really pushed for all of its 29,000 indicated miles. Similarly, the 3 speed SelectShift auto presents no problems.
'Sure-Track' braking - a forerunner of ABS - debuted with this year's Continental, too. There's power assist on virtually everything, lots of driver comforts, and a touch of bling in the form of a Cartier electronic clock, the first of its kind to appear in an American car. The light aqua leather interior is as-new, extremely soft and very comfortable. The wood grain on the dash and door trims is genuine walnut veneer, too.
Vinyl roofs became standard on Mark III Continentals from 1970, with black being the popular choice, so the original owner's selection of white-on-white would have been unusual for the time. The sparkling condition of this ensemble just screams "wedding car", so there's potential there to make this Mark III pay for itself, if you were so inclined.
If you can live with the parking and fuel mileage issues a car like this presents, our feature Continental Mark III is an attractive choice.
Actually, in compiling this piece, I had a vision of my own - this Continental Mark III is a way to buy into luxury motoring without paying the increased luxury car tax. Iacocca would be proud of that one, I reckon!
Mike Ryan
