Top Luxury for 1970: The New Lincoln Continental vs. the (Chrysler) Imperial LeBaron

Lincoln's Continental was all new for the 1970 model year and Lincoln tried a different more traditional approach with this 1970 model than the 1961 to 69 cars that preceded it well the 61 to 69 cars were exceedingly handsome especially in the early years they did have strange suicide doors where the rear door was hinged to the back as opposed to the front in a more traditional location and the car was also unibody similar to the 1958 to 1960 models for 1970 Lincoln went back to tradition with the Continental being yet again on a full-frame chassis and while still riding atop 126 inch wheelbase it was an all-new design the rear doors were also hinged at the front like a typical vehicle and the car received notably different exterior styling although in the same vein as the car that preceded it one of the major competitors for the 1970 Continental was the 1970 Imperial LeBaron and Chrysler made this video for its dealers to train them on specific features of the Imperial versus the continental and why they felt the Imperial was the better choice let's go through this dealership training video now it is quite humorous and I'll provide some commentary on my thoughts regarding which of these points the Chrysler makes is really true and which are let's say more marketing speak than anything I haven't owned a 1970 Imperial Continental but I do a 1972 versions of both and they're effectively the same car albeit slightly different styling for the Imperial as well as the Continental so I can at least come at this from a perspective of experience let's sit back and enjoy this Chrysler training video and I'll interject some commentary of my own as we go through this is Jeffrey Jeffrey is 42 and he's unhappy for like many who owned the Continentals of 1964 65 66 Etc the new generation of Continentals for 1970 just doesn't have it for Jeffrey which means Jeffries looking for a new car and so are lots of other folks who liked the original Continentals Jeffrey's interested in only one other car Imperial I was curious that they don't mention any of The Cadillacs here as those would have been competitors as well but that was probably a separate Chrysler training video versus this one that focused on the Imperial versus the Continental [Music] and distinction don't know why I didn't look into it years ago the new continental is still a sedan not a pillarless four-door hardtop like Imperial the overall effect here is imperial's massive distinction feeling a look that to me Continental doesn't have anymore [Music] the massive Imperial grill with Loop bumper giving a circle of protection continental's nose sticks out it's sure to get smashed at the club parking lot anyone can open the Continental Hood from here and goodbye battery my insurance would cover it sure but how do I get home in the meantime imperial's hood release is inside the car where it belongs something else Fender mounted turn signal indicators you can see the road and the indicators at the same time on Continental you have to drop your eyes to the instrument panel to check the indicators these so-called lamp monitors in the not too distant future would become quite popular on competitive makes including Cadillacs where it was taken a bit to the extreme where there are lamp monitors not only for the turn signals but also for the headlights and the bright lights as well as the tail lights on Cadillacs for many years to come subsequently Imperials radio antenna is practically invisible hidden in the windshield Continental sticks to the old way out in the open where it's easily damaged or stolen this vinyl top in six colors is standard on LeBaron 152-20 extra cost on Continental now there's an extra you don't expect look at continental's old fender-filled gas tank I've had enough of the Overflow down the fender and dragging the hose across the deck when I get on the wrong side of the pump this can't happen with Imperial centerfill fuel tank so this is a curious one while the center fill fuel tank can be beneficial because you can refuel easily from either side it's also a bit challenging sometimes and on some cars you have to stoop relatively low to get to it particularly on the mark IV it's even more challenging than on the Imperial for 1970 but this Continental position and that of many Fords of the era being up high and on the driver's side I thought actually was a pretty good feature in fact so it's interesting the Chrysler turns that negative into a positive here here's a curiosity if you measure the Imperial front door opening you'll find it three inches wider than Continental the Continental looks inviting enough but let's try using people instead of the tape measure it's a lot easier to get out of the new continental now that they finally hung the rear doors to the center post but you see the contrast see how my friends have less difficulty getting out of the Imperial with its larger door openings [Music] here's another Imperial convenience for passengers who positioned door checks on each door continental's rear doors are only checked in the wide open position meaning if the rear door isn't fully open you have to hold it otherwise it'll shut of its own weight and your mouse trapped makes it very awkward getting out of the rear seat when there's a car parked next to you now I have to say that having owned both of these vehicles that this is a legitimate gripe that Chrysler has about the Lincoln Chrysler always had great Headroom and wide doors on these cars where you could easily get in or out and the cabins felt significantly roomy on the inside due to the high roof line and glass area and that's just not the same on the Lincoln it's got a pretty low roof line and it doesn't feel as spacious on the inside and the door check on the rear door as was mentioned in the video it's just one position that was true for Fords for a number of years into kind of the early to mid 70s so that is a fair gripe in my mind on the inside look at the finish and trim of the Imperial door with assist handle easy to grip paddle door release and the private storage compartment for the driver Continental just doesn't have it let me remind you that Imperial has four of these compartments one in each door for sunglasses cigarettes road maps traveling chess set you name it Continental isn't planned with as much passenger convenience in mind so this definitely was a cool feature of the Imperial although I will say Chrysler talks about the door panel being much richer than the Lincoln I don't think that's really true the door panel on the Imperial does have quite a bit of hard plastic even on the Continental that middle piece of the door is hard plastic and frankly I think the Mercury door panels are everything with soft touch was better than the Lincolns but interestingly Lincoln would later steal that map pocket in the door and even use it on some of the late Panther platform cars here's the beginning of imperial's roominess Story five inches greater width between the windshield posts it means more space and comfort for Imperial passengers Imperial has more hip room front and rear more shoulder room front and rear and more Headroom in the rear if Imperial passengers look more comfortable more relaxed than Continental passengers because they are for real hotel luxury built-in pillows in LeBaron four-door hardtop give rear seat passengers the opportunity to nap in Comfort you don't see the new continental with this kind of luxury upfront Imperial has many advantages and benefits for the driver and front seat passengers consider Imperial has three-speed windshield wipers Continental only two-speed Imperial has warning buzzer on steering column ignition lock not Continental Imperial instruments and controls are floodlighted only Continental instruments are lighted and the old-fashioned backlighting at that Imperial gives the driver Sentry signal standard it's like a watchdog that watches the gauges and instruments Continental doesn't offer this even as an extra the Sentry signal really was handy in the Imperials the Continentals do have full gauges but they're a bit out of the field of vision of the driver and they don't have any warning lights you just have to pay attention to the gauges to see if anything is really happening that is not good for the engine or the car overall so this was definitely a benefit of the Imperial notice the neat Imperial seat belt retractors they're small and out of the way in Continental it's another story here's what can happen Continental seat belt retractors stick up high enough to be a danger a passenger could actually sit on it or get her coat caught on it a bad scene both Imperial and Continental offer tilt Wheels but what a difference the Imperial wheel has two more positions plus nearly three inches in and out adjustment continental's wheel has only five positions and no telescopic action in other words imperial's tiltoscope wheel is one of the greatest relaxers there is on a long drive you can move the wheel into just about any position imaginable not Continental another front seat feature glove boxes Imperial puts this where it's handy for the driver as well as the passenger now look at Continental when you open it bam right on the kneecaps of your favorite passenger is that any way to treat a lady give Continental Credit though their glove box is narrower and lower than Imperials it is deep which is okay unless your sunglasses are on the bottom when you want them and Continental has no other storage remember like Imperials for individual door compartments there's a convenient hand assist right on the Imperial instrument panel makes it easy for the front seat passenger to get in and out this is one more feature that you just can't get on Continental air conditioning is another major Imperial Advantage it's offered with either manual or automatic temperature control so is the Continental System but dual units for both front and rear compartment cooling are another Imperial option giving rear seat passengers front seat comfort not on Continental though Imperial offers a separate rear seat heater and rear window defroster it warms up the whole car 20 percent faster and keeps the rear window clear continental's rear window de-icer has no blower and there is no rear seat heater option available the rear seat air conditioner as well as Heater were great options the Chrysler offered not just on the Imperials but other vehicles like their station wagons as well and we're a Chrysler exclusive they did indeed help with climate control you could hang meat in one of those dual AC power cars and you also got some extra heat as it mentions that kept you toasty warm in the winter a great option that Cadillac and Lincoln didn't offer one new continental feature is flow through ventilation what annoys me about it is this when you turn it on it automatically turns on a blower and you get more noise from the outside Imperial offers ventless Side Glass on two doors convenient vent Wings on four doors the buyer has a choice and fresh air comes into the Imperial without a blower behind the wheel that's where Imperial comes into its own here's where I learned Continental is no longer my kind of car this is something I should have done years ago first there's superb visibility something you more or less take for granted until you find you can't get into the garage or back into a parking lot if you wear glasses especially bifocals Continentals heater and air conditioning controls on the bottom of the instrument panel are almost impossible to read on the road any road Imperial rides and Corners level and smooth that's the result of imperial's torsion bar front suspension with big leaf rear springs and there's no nose diving on stops or rear end squat on acceleration on the road the 1970 Continental is a real disappointment to those of us with older models the new all-coil spring suspension is super soft on smooth roads but on the side streets and anything rougher than a Thruway Continental may give an annoying bouncy ride the more miles you drive the more you want Imperial with its stable controlled ride and superb handling now I definitely disagree with some of this commentary it is true that the imperial indeed cornered better and handled better than the continental by a pretty wide margin the Imperial does not lean in turns as the narrator says the Continental definitely does but when it comes to ride over rough or broken pavement my personal preference would be to drive a continental especially on long trips it is a very soft suspension that is somewhat wallowy but it does absorb the bumps beautifully well especially with the four coil suspension the Imperial doesn't do as good of a job albeit it's not bad if you want the handling car get the Imperial if you want the ride car get the Continental two demonstrations of imperial's maneuvering Advantage first remember that the wheelbase is the same and that Imperial is almost five inches longer in turning diameter Imperial although bigger turns in a smaller Circle than Continental [Music] Mansions have meaning when you're trying to snake into the garage or a parking lot the Imperial is plainly more maneuverable than the continental in braking both cars have front disc brakes standard total swept area of braking surface however Imperial has 427.8 square inches Continental 390.6 square inches that's more brake surface for Imperial for Less fade longer brake life and less brake maintenance [Music] Imperials all welded unibody construction for Lifetime security and silence Continentals used to be built that way but now they've reverted to body frame a real gripe is the Continental warranty I can understand Ford cutting back to a 12-month warranty on the little cars like the Maverick but the same warranty on the Continental with a 15 extra charge for the 550 powertrain coverage doesn't show much faith in the car Imperial is covered by the famous 550 powertrain warranty that the corporation introduced years ago no extra cost for full protection with Imperial when you're sold on Imperial and disappointed in the new continental there is only one way to go I'll call that Imperial dealer and put my money where my mouth is yes that's right now let me ask you if I order three Imperials do I qualify as a fleet buyer [Music] hope you enjoyed that comparison of the 1970 Lincoln Continental versus the Imperial if you did be sure to let me know and comment and like the video and until next time check out the video thumbnails about them left and right for some suggestions for you

Channel: Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History

Views: 87,997

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Id: E1jDwXyFbcg

Length: 16min 40sec (1000 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 20 2022