Modernist Masterpiece: 1961 Lincoln Continental

foreign [Music] Motor Company was in a bit of a hot mess in the closing years of the 1950s the recession of 58 didn't do total sales any favors the edso program was a disaster the ultra luxurious Continental division wasn't going nowhere certain individuals in upper management had strong conflicting beliefs on where the company should go and the competition was more Fierce than ever and after years of losing money Ford's luxury division Lincoln was on The Chopping Block the company had one last chance to set things right welcome everyone to episode 51 of the automotive history series we're going to take a deep dive into the development of a car that saved Lincoln a modernist masterpiece Continental for 1961. The Lincoln Motor Company Ford's luxury division always suffered from an identity crisis throughout his lifetime it switched many times between being a top of the line Prestige brand with remarkable models truly sending itself apart from the rest end times where Lincoln was downgraded to be uh an upper middle class ish or entry-level luxury car maker that looked nothing more than like a fancier Fort and by the early 50s Lincoln looked like Adventure Ford although sales were strong in the early 50s partly thanks to the immediate post-war economic boom sales were dropping especially compared to Lincoln's arch rival Cadillac which was a rising star with its ever more fleshy Chrome bigger fins and pointy bumpers Lincoln tried to get in onto the styling Trends with the 56 and 57 model years and I love these cars they look so long and low with their hooded headlights and stretched look in fact I know someone that owns a 56 and I never get tired looking at it and yet these cars weren't the game changers Lincoln and Ford had hoped for in the meantime Cadillac would still dominate the American luxury car market and although independent luxury brand Packard had to pack it in it was replaced with Chrysler corporation's entry and the Ultra Luxury Car field by launching the Imperial division along with a new signing program called the forward look this culminated into the era I have talked about countless times on my channel before the all-out designers Finn War of the late 1950s with overstocked cars as a result by 1959 in 1960 both Imperial and Cadillac look like outer space rocket ships but where was Lincoln in all this well first of all Fort launched a new divisional structure you had Ford and more or less a luxury sub-label the Thunderbird then you had the new Edsel division then you had Mercury then you had Lincoln and also an entirely new brand Continental an ultra luxurious sub-label to Lincoln and much like the Thunderbird was to Fort after the release of the Continental Mark II in 1956 The Grand Tour was despite being a beautiful and extremely well-built car also a very expensive car and a costly adventure for Ford after a couple years management decided to scrap the single model and bring it on the Lincoln as a sub-label by upgrading regular Lincoln models but confusingly keep on naming them Continentals what are the differences between the continental and the Lincoln differences I can point out to my prospects in an effort to once and for all out Cadillac Cadillac Lincoln decided to step it up a notch for 1958 and come in heavy literally the new Lincoln and Continental models were entirely new for instance they were unibody instead of body on frame which was fairly new at the time but whereas Cadillac and Imperial expressed luxury through outlandish design Lincoln expressed luxury through sheer size and presence these late 50s Lincolns are absolutely gargantuan and massive in every possible measurement we're talking about the largest post-war American cars made at that point five meters and 80 centimeters or 230 inches in length over 2 meters or 80 inches in width and weighing as much as two compact sized sedans along with the fuel consumption that is thirstier than my drunk uncle which I never really see anymore if bigger is always better than the late 50s Lincolns were the absolute King and yet what the cars made up in size they lacked in styling foot never really was all that card up in the futuristic fin craze and so the Lincolns looked fairly conservative compared to the rest but the styling of these cars is just as bizarre but in other ways for instance I'm not a huge fan of diagonal dual headlights to begin with and certainly not how they completely disappear in these canted shell-like holes it almost looks like big bunny ears also the bumpers stick out too much and the side features a lot of lines that seem to go nowhere and never match in the rear the small round tail lights disappear in the same surrounding massive chrome trim and bumpers overall it looks space age but more in an aliens from Mars kind of way not a space rocket kind of way the late 50s Lincolns are the typical love it or hated type of car it's pure excess but poorly executed and I'm not the only one that doesn't like the styling the buying public also wasn't convinced they found the styling too much and the car even by late 50s American Standards too big what was another attempt to save Lincoln turned out to be an unsuccessful move and if it wasn't for me or the buying public that didn't like it then it was someone else that also didn't like it and so we circled back to my initial intro around 1964 had so many headaches it had to take care of the Edsel division was a fiasco the Continental division was confusing and the latest Lincoln models were too big too thirsty and stunning wasn't well received and then there was this man Robert McNamara I'm Bob McNamara group vice president in charge of the car and truck divisions of the company and had some strong opinions about where the company should go in order to survive his personal beliefs were that cars were nothing more than an appliance a device to go from point A to point B a number on a spreadsheet he loved the fort Falcon a simple and straightforward economy car that was basically his own creation and he didn't believe in such marketing crap like premium and style and luxury Etc he didn't believe in the EDSA program and had it scrapped he didn't believe in the Super Deluxe Continental Division and had it scrapped and for all he cared for 4. Lincoln was next some heated discussions were held about the future of the Lincoln brand that McNamara stubbornly held onto the belief getting rid of the brand entirely some other Executives found it a shame to Simply get rid of a brand with a rich history and was a completely abandoning the luxury car market with all the nice potential profit margins that came along with it they also pointed out that Robert might want to get rid of Lincoln but the Ford family wouldn't McNamara was eventually convinced that Lincoln should stay but on one very big condition the company should rapidly reinvent itself in order to remain competitive and also in a way that wouldn't squander money as with the 1958 facelifts the brand had one more body cycle as a last chance hmm [Music] McNamara envisioned a deluxe Falcon a card that was understated simple and a bit smaller than the current Lincolns and so upper management greenlit the development of a new Lincoln and a group of designers got together to start working on this humongous task but before they look at the future they first looked at the Past after a little research they figured that besides the largest size and unattractive styling Lincoln also didn't have a distinct design language like Cadillac hat for instance for example Cadillac stuck to the fin theme all throughout the 1950s and Lincoln just tried to chase every Trent with no success one of the designers came up with a spicy suggestion the new Lincolns would have a nine-year body cycle so sticking nine years to the same basic body shell this was quite radical considering the industry standard at a time was a three or four year body cycle with annual phase lifts but this could be a way to build up a distinctive style and stay true to it and then there were some designers that agreed with their big buzz nicknamera the current Lincolns were too big and over styled if they designed a car in a more conservative way stunning would most likely last longer but here is where it all gets a bit complicated and I deliberately messed up the timeline to bring you this sensationalized story because by the time the designers would even think about working on designs and clay models for the new Lincolns the fort Thunderbird was subject of a redesign this was also a tough nut to crack as it was a successful series until that point how would they continue the success stunning wise two design groups went to work to make their own design proposals for the new Fort Thunderbirds ready for the 1960s one group was led by designer Joe auras and the other one was led by Elwood angle after angle wasn't happy with the styling Direction the designers took he split up and decided to design his own proposal various styling proposals were tested including this one with a split Grill design theme and what I think is one of the most tasteful ways to incorporate the turning signals in the front fenders but this one didn't make it nor did this one with the headlights placed in the grill and counted front fenders but after much trying and testing Elwood and his team found a good looking design after the time was up both groups presented their design proposals for the new thunderbird to the product planning committee and here is where the magic happened a momentous decision was made ultimately the committee chose aura's design for the Thunderbirds but the design proposal made the engelsteam was by many chosen as a very good candidate for the upcoming Lincoln models According to some the design proposal was deemed to be too beautiful for a Thunderbird quite a compliment Elwood angle was in no way disappointed that his design wasn't chosen for the T-bird but was chosen to become the new Lincoln and so the work began to further finalize the design and make the car production ready during this process it was Big Boss McNamara that ordered the car should be a four-door to increase popularity the mistake of making an exclusive two-door was made in the past with the Continental Mark II but there was a slight problem the car was smaller than previous Lincolns and rode on a shorter wheelbase but still had to seat six passengers in comfort and fit four doors like the current Lincolns and when a four-door test model was created one of the executives found that entering and leaving the rear bench seat to be a bit of a hassle because of narrow space and so in a genius move two birds were killed with one stone because Ford has a better idea one of the designers suggested to flip the rear doors so they opened from the front these suicide doors would make it easier to get in and out of and would also prove to be unique styling gimmick at the same time nothing oozes luxury when the door opens in the same way luxurious royal coaches used to do and that Cadillac feature rear hinge doors huh enso more styling revisions and final touches were made and soon the all-new Lincoln would be released for the 1961 model year a very important moment as this car would make or break Lincoln symbol Hallmark of A New Concept in Fine Cars Lincoln Continental for 1961. can Continental classic Beauty in a smart new size Continental size I hereby claim that the 1961 Lincoln Continental introduced the automotive world to modernism look at it have you ever seen such a simple formal mature and well-proportioned design no Single Fin inside no single rocket motive inside no bullet shaped bumper guards inside no bubble tops or after Burnet tail lights the rear fenders mimic the front fenders simple logical lines that shape the rear tail lines a booty line Streeter than my own sexual orientation yet broken up by a ever so subtle Beltline this is where the true American Business sedan that takes itself serious should look like in a world of gaudy futurism this was a refreshing future and so it's time for a quick history lesson open your books I call this Lincoln a modernist Masterpiece modernism is a stunning movement rose up during the start of the 20th century but can really into effect after the second world war in industrial design and architecture modernism was a counter-reaction to eclecticism which led to richly decorated buildings and appliances eclecticism and Art Nouveau with its many ornamentations Frills and corals took its inspiration from nature modernism took its inspiration from the machine and stood for simple and understated lines bringing the design back to its Bare Essence in architecture this led to skyscrapers built with new materials like concrete steel and glass and put a huge emphasis on formality and verticality getting rid of unnecessary ornamentation now does that sound familiar such is this Lincoln it's modern in a way that it's understated if this is eclectic criticism then this is modernism the differences are all too obvious the card just belongs in front of an international style office building and is driven by a man that takes himself serious but who is his man even [Music] as a proud dealership owner an excellent salesman you meet a lot of potential customers this film is here to help you distinguish whether you're meeting a Lincoln buyer or Cadillac buyer whether you're meeting a Lincoln man or Cadillac Man how do you recognize one of these two types look for the following traits Cadillac man speaks Lincoln ma'am listens leg man dresses loud Lincoln man dresses modest [Music] grand entrance of the Country Club Lincoln man Works quietly in the far corner of the Country Club's parking lot Cadillac Man owns a beautiful home of first in Maine Lincoln owns a gorgeous home tucked behind the bushes and a well-kept hedge Cadillac Man owns an 80 feet yacht proudly displayed in the city's Premier Marina Lincoln man owns nothing but a humble motorboat that takes him to his 100 feet yacht in the Cove next door Cadillac Man is the Rock Star Lincoln man is manager use this information next time a prospective buyer approaches you and determine whether he is worthy of enjoying the Finer Things in life such as the 1961 Lincoln Continental or has to resort to The Superficial such as the 1961 Cadillac and others this film has been brought to you by the American Lincoln dealer Association now I'd love to tell you that the Continental for 61 is the car that revived Lincoln and crushed all its competitors but it's simply not true the total sales after a release wasn't all that higher than the disastrous late 50s Lincolns and yet Lincoln managed to increase its market share and minimize losses and the car suddenly paved Lincoln's way to a better position by the late 1960s but the best of all is its massive influence on car styling for the coming decade the car styling was given Award of Excellence in design from the industrial designers Institute and rightfully so the Institute rarely gave Awards to cars if ever so that says a lot parked the 1961 Lincoln next to a Cadillac in Imperial from the same year and the difference is as clear as day both cars look like they belong in the 1950s but the Lincoln looks like it belongs in the 1970s and as soon as the competitors got wind of Lincoln's new design they hurried to make their cars look like Lincoln it took Cadillac another four years or so to do that and in the meantime it gradually lost its fins by 1965 Cadillac also was as straight as an arrow Imperial had a more difficult time to find a modernist Groove the next few years Chrysler designed their cars in the most bizarre ways as I have told you before but by the mid 60s the Imperials looked clean and simple almost like a continental copy and that's no surprise because the designer that created the mid-60s Imperials was Elwood Engel the man that brought you to the 61 Lincoln but not only its direct competitors practically every American and some European cars embraced the modernist look but it may 60s many cars featured the boxy and straight line design and then there were some stunning themes explored during the development that found their way in some other car sometimes completely unrelated in later years for instance the front end design of one of the design proposals they didn't make it eventually found their way in the rear end of a Thunderbird and a 1972 Plymouth I like how Lincoln took this attitude of like we're better than the rest driving a rocket ship is so 1959 driving Continental hmm that's 1970. we have ascended past the Finns we've grown up we have invented good taste in fact our car is designed in such a Timeless way we'll stick to it for another nine years and Truth to be told is that with only some minor styling revisions after nine years the car still looked very much contemporary albeit a bit generic it's kind of like the luxury version of the Volkswagen approach Volkswagen conquered American car market by presenting the beetle as the absolute anti-hero year in year out it looked exactly the same only to be updated when it actually improved the car and not to change anything just for the sake of change an absolute symbol of everything the American industry with its dramatic year-to-year design changes wasn't and so I like to see the early 60s Lincoln's in the same way it stood Above the Rest by not following the trend it sued Above the Rest by not offering countless body styles but two a four-door sedan and a photo convertible which also happens to be the only one at the market at the time but as much as The Styling dictated the industry trend for over 10 years the actual influence was very short because after two years just two years in 1963 another car would take the lead in Advanced Styling and no it was not made by Ford or Lincoln it was from GM the Buick LeSabre introduced the American car industry to the so-called Coke bottle styling and so by the late 60s and 70s a couple years after the modernist era Carr started to lose the straight lines and swap them for subtle and swoopy belt lines Lincoln eventually also featured some more pronounced lines with cars like the Continental Mark III essentially giving in on the late stunning Trends they also rejected before the Continental however retain their formal styling all throughout the 60s and the 70s eventually becoming classical and conservative by the 1980s and the 1990s Lincoln finally dared to step away from the lasting influence of the county and yet much of the original design themes have found their way in other Lincoln cars the Lincoln MKX Grille pattern for instance is very much reminiscent of the early 60s and it's a bit hard to explain but today's link can still have that air of vintage luxury in them by featuring traditional Chrome wood and leather and interior colors that are almost a throwback to the 60s and the 70s and the point still stands Cadillac still likes to chase the trends like making a wannabe German Sports sedan and trying to be the new Tesla Lincoln refrains from pulling these tricks and stays true to its image of being a reserved American luxury car maker with a strong focus on traditional comfort whether this is a good or bad strategy is yet to be seen But much of its design isn't Ode to its grandfather the 1961 Lincoln Continental a modernist Masterpiece the car that saved Lincoln [Music] foreign

Channel: Ed's Auto Reviews

Views: 213,685

Keywords: Ed's Auto Reviews, Automotive, History, Lincoln, Continental, Modernist, Masterpiece

Id: BlJk9p2YSrA

Length: 22min 23sec (1343 seconds)

Published: Thu May 18 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/detroit_testarossa]

Great video. I have a ‘64 Lincoln Hardtop and it’s really a fun car. Have put 40,000 miles on it.

[u/3dmontdant3s]

I see a lot of 1955 Lancia Florida in there

[u/NSA7]

Lincoln should take a lesson from their history, they’ve lost their way again