Lincoln Mark Series Cars, Feel the Continental (Part VII)

The Continental division was in a very difficult position when it designed an all-new Mark III as a replacement (sedan only) for the slow-selling and very expensive Continental Mark II coupe. As we learned last time, the mainland division has come to an end soon after the Mark II hit the market. After Ford’s huge initial investment, it continued to lose money and was doomed to shut down quickly.

As a result, the 1956 and 1957 Mark IIs were the only products of the Continental division, and the only signs that were hand-assembled in the factory, especially for Continental. After Continental shut down, Lewis Crusoe, Ford’s new vice president of passenger cars, quickly disbanded the division and merged its employees into Lincoln. The Continental factory became the Edsel factory, and the three existing Mark III prototypes became a burden.

A stand-alone Mark III model in the Lincoln lineup was completely out of the question, as Crusoe and senior management focused on saving money, reducing construction costs, and making the Lincoln brand profitable as quickly as possible. Although the Mark III was complete from a design standpoint, the prototype was disassembled and thrown into the trash.

However, neither the Continental company name nor the cross-shaped emblem were used, both of which were introduced in 1958. The Continental division logo became the Lincoln logo in 1958. The company used greyhound hood trim in the 1920s and 30s, before switching to knight helmets in the early 1940s. At this point, Lincoln followed the “luxury” lead of other domestic manufacturers and added a heraldic badge with a red cross.

After World War II, Lincoln switched to rocket hood trim. After the four-pointed star replaced the rocket in 1958, it slowly evolved and gradually evolved into the vertically oriented crosshair style that Lincoln buyers had loved since 1980. lightWhen we go back to 1978 taste levels.

The 1958 Mark III received the Continental name and the model was marketed as the Continental Mark III. Lincoln public relations officials are trying to sell the Premier’s interior redesign as the rightful successor to the Mark II coupe. Inside each new Mark III, the branding is lighter, as “Mark III Continental by Lincoln” is written on the dash.

The Mark III gave Lincoln the opportunity to offer a “rival” to the ultra-expensive four-door Cadillac Eldorado Brougham in 1958 and added a third product to Lincoln’s compact lineup. Other 1958 Lincolns introduced new styling and continued their lineup of base Capri and premium Premiere models. Since the Mark III is unrelated to the Mark II it replaces, we’ll discuss the former’s differences at this point.

The premiere debuted in 1956 as a full-size replacement for the Lincoln Metropolitan. Unlike the coupe-exclusive Mark II from the same year, it was offered in three different body styles. It has two doors and is offered as a hardtop or convertible, and four doors as a sedan. Although sold as a separate model, the Premiere is the top-of-the-line version of the Lincoln Capri, very similar to its affordable sibling, the Mercury Montclair.

The 1956 and 1957 premieres were notable for their stacked quad headlights, which protruded from the sloping front fenders. The lights are chromed, as is the horizontal grille, which is split in two by the bumper. Large running lights take up most of the horizontal space in the upper part of the bumper.

Externally, the Premiere is a true ’50s American sedan, with straight A-pillars and a roofline that slopes down to the wraparound rear window. Chrome adorns the sides of the body as a strip that splits up in a boomerang at the rear doors and runs to the rear, curving in the mud behind the guard’s V8 badge. The rear features its own horizontal grille above the bumper, and a set of sharp taillights are tucked into very aggressive fins.

The aggressive winglets and chrome fittings of 1957 look very understated compared to the new 1958 Premiere. 1958 wasn’t a great year for American car styling, and the Lincoln had the worst year of its kind.

The old Premiere stacked headlights are still there, but the top pair tries to escape and move out. The overall effect is to make the 1958 Lincolns look pissed off. The lights emerge from the chrome ovals at the ends of the more rounded fenders. Between the two lights is a larger grille in a slim egg crate design that’s fully chrome.

The bumper, which contained half of the grille, was revised in the arrangement with the two Dagmars, as Americans wanted sharp bishops on the front of their cars back then. The protrusion in front of the grille is supported by large chrome spears flanking the bumper. Said spears form the “end cap” look of the new square wheel arches, which gain their own rounded rectangular styling extensions that protrude from the bodywork in a very noticeable way.

While the A-pillar of the first model in 1958 was straight, it no longer slopes forward like it did in 1957. The 1958 roofline was more formal, and the C-pillars were thicker and higher than before. The size of the pillars means less glass area at the rear, but the shape of the roof means more headroom for rear passengers.

The character line was a retraction rather than an extension in 1958, and created a crease in the metal on the side of the body. The crease runs right through the door handles (lower than before) and continues to the rear, forming the lower edge of the revised rear spoiler. The Continental’s new Lincoln Cross logo is placed on the front doors, in front of the widened chrome spears at the rear. It also appears as a hood trim and fuel door.

Said spear goes over the rear wheel, and the general shape of the front wheel arch trim is repeated but does not extend beyond the body. At the back, the spears extend down to form a rear bumper that points towards its lower corners and a large chrome hoop up around the decklid. In addition to the chrome dots on either side of the bumper, there are additional chrome pointed caps at the end of the rear wing. Compared to 1957, the fins are straighter and less pointed.

The chrome arch formed by the trim and bumper contains a horizontal chrome grille made up of several slats, with spear-shaped brake lights on each side. There’s also a central fuel door, hidden by a fake grille at the rear.

As a halo car, the new “Continental Mark III” is very slightly Different from the first one. Customers of the 1958 Mark III loved its grille, which was a compact egg crate rather than a horizontal section of the Premiere, and the special grille was repeated in the rear fascia. Marking its high-end good taste, the Mark III omits the Premiere’s chrome side spears. The exterior badges read “Continental” on the grille and “Continental III” on the front fenders. The Premiere’s namesake badge is located on the rear fender.

As for the interior, the Mark III and Premiere differ only in color choices and options, as well as the aforementioned dashboard. The Mark III has the same instrumentation, steering wheel and grille trim up front on the passenger side of the dashboard. The gauges were retrofitted for a 1958 Lincoln and placed in silver panels with white lettering. Letters are printed on the glass of the dash rather than the surface of the gauge itself, giving the text and numbers a floating appearance.

All controls are centralized in the driver module, including the radio, clock and HVAC. Unusually, HVAC uses circular gauges to communicate information about the temperature setting of the air conditioner. It looks like a thermometer.

What customers may notice is that all body panels are identical between the Capri, Premiere and Mark III. Only the filling is slightly different.In order to give Mark III customers a sense of continental division, it retains the Lincoln character just for them: Breeze window. In case you didn’t know, Breezeway is Ford’s name for the rear window that rolls down when the car is stationary and lets a lot of exhaust into the cabin. That’s it, that’s what makes the Mark III different.

After they had done the least work, Lincoln sold the ridiculous Capri, Premiere and Mark III for a completely different price. Next time we’ll be back to see how it goes, and review the mechanics of the 1958 Lincoln lineup.

[Images: Ford]

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