In 1975, The Ford Motor Company's Lincoln division updated the Continental's they introduced in 1970 with these even more so slab-sided monsters. The 1970 Continentals replaced Elwood Engle's legendary 1961 to 1969 models with their famed rear-hinged, "suicide doors". I found this 1979 Continental Town Car "Collector's Series" while at an open house with my wife recently just west of downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
Seems the only thing longer than the car itself is its name; "Lincoln Continental Town Car Collectors Series". Sheesh. That's a mouthful. That's saying something too given at 233-inches long, this was not only the longest car you could buy in this country in 1979, but it was also the longest car Lincoln ever sold.
Lincoln charged about twice the sticker price for these "Collector's Series" that commemorated the last year for this version of the Continental before the old shrink-ray got 'em. These cars couldn't hit federally mandated fuel economy standards for 1980, so Lincoln had no choice but to significantly downsize the Continental Town Car, Town Coupe and Continental Mark. With just 3,900 "Collectors" sold out of roughly 77,000 Town Cars sold in 1979 though, seems we're rubbing bumpers here with some pretty rare company.
Buyers who ponied up the extra cabbage for one of these got exclusive paint schemes with a color-keyed vinyl roof, gold-colored trim (note the subtle gold hue of the front grille), turbine-style cast-aluminum wheels, and every optional piece of doo-daddery available, including a CB radio and an electronic AM/FM four-speaker stereo system with a Quad-8 tape player. Breaker-breaker, who's got a Tony Bennett 8-track they can loan me?
Underneath, the Collector Series was the same softly sprung, impossible to maneuver, underpowered bomb "lesser" models were. There was no engine or suspension upgrade available; just as well as nobody bought these for their ability to pull Gs or their quarter-mile prowess. Nor did they care these were little more than tarted up Ford LTD's.
This car definitely has a "prescence" about it, though, plebian LTD's, which had been already downsized for 1979, don't. Whatever that means in this context is anyone's guess and whether that's a good thing or not a matter of opinion. When I was a kid growing up on Long Island's "South Shaw", I was impressed by people who drove cars like this because they meant, "money".
Up on the tonier, haughtier "North Shaw", and you say that with your jaw clenched tight, by the end of the 1970's, a Mercedes-Benz denoted money although there's no guarantee that someone up there had any more money in the bank than us poor slobs down on the South Shaw did. Although, their "money" could go around corners with at least some degree of aplomb.
As a kid who grew up wanting for everything, still comes as surprise to me that many people I know that appear to have money have significant money problems. Additionally, having money, doesn't mean you don't have problems. As they say, "Mo money, Mo problems".
While I'm not a fan of these big Lincolns, most big old Ford's too, it is nice to see one in this kind of shape outside of some car show. No doubt there's some story here as to how this big old "Townie" has 47 years; I think it had temp tags I'd guess it's a southern car. The current owner taking advantage of the two, maybe three weeks up here we call summer.
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