Presidential Cars

Lincoln has a long history of providing official state limousines for the U.S. President. The first car specially built for Presidential use was the 1939 Lincoln V12 convertible called the "Sunshine Special" used by Franklin D. Roosevelt. It remained in use until 1948. A 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan called the "Bubble Top" was used by Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and once by Johnson. It was retired in 1965. The Lincoln limousine made famous in Dallas was a 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, custom built by Hess and Eisenhart of Cincinnati, and known as the SS-100-X. The Secret Service had the car fitted with a 1962 grill for aesthetic reasons. It was in use from 1961 to 1977, having undergone extensive alterations which made it an armor-plated sedan after Kennedy's assassination. A 1969 Lincoln was used by Nixon and a 1972 Lincoln used by Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush. A 1989 Lincoln was the last Presidential Lincoln as of 2004. Cadillac supplied Presidential limousines in 1983, 1993, 2001, and 2004. The John F. Kennedy limousine also included a "Plexiglas" bubble top to be used in the event of inclement weather. The 1961 vehicle was notorious for its inadequate cooling of the rear of the passenger cabin while the bubble top was in place, particularly in sunshine. In order to prevent excessive heat and discomfort to the passengers, the top was often removed prior to parades, as was the case in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Though it was always assumed that President Lyndon Baines Johnson had the car destroyed after the assassination of President Kennedy, the 100-X was turned over to the Secret Service, Army Materials Research Center, Hess & Eisenhart, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, and Ford Motor Company for retrofitting of armor plating, permanent sedan roof, new interior, improved air-conditioning system, electronic communications equipment, bulletproof glass, a new paint treatment, as well as cosmetic alterations to remove damage incurred during the assassination, among other changes. The car is also on display at the Henry Ford Museum. Lincoln L series Limousine used by President Calvin Coolidge, c. 1927-28 The Johnson Administration also used three 1965 Lincoln Continental Executive Limousines. Two limousines for the President and one for Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, as well as a 1968 "stretch" Lincoln to be used in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas. This vehicle is on display at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. The 100-X was modified again in 1967. Later, under President Richard Nixon, the large one-piece glass roof was replaced with a smaller glass area and a hinged roof panel. It remained in service until 1977 and resides in its final configuration at the Henry Ford Museum. President Nixon ordered a 1969 model limousine, through Lehman-Peterson of Chicago. This vehicle also had an added sunroof so that Nixon could stand upright when appearing before parade-goers if desired. This vehicle was equipped with several features, such as retractable hand grips and running boards, options later copied by Hess and Eisenhart. This car is now located at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California. In 1974, Ford supplied a 1972 Continental model which was stretched to 22 feet (7 m), outfitted with armor plating, bullet resistant glass and powered by a 460 cu in (7.5 L) V8 engine. This limousine was used by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, and is on display at the Henry Ford Museum. This model was also altered a number of times during its history, including a full body redesign in 1979. This was the limousine that Reagan was about to enter during his assassination attempt in 1981. Source: Internet

A Picture Review Of Older Lincoln's And Ford's

1927 Lincoln Cabriolet Click Here to check out this blog site and there pictures of Fords and Lincolns. Source: Internet

Edsel Ford

BEREA, Feb 12, 2010 (The Lexington Herald-Leader – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) From TradingMarkets.com/ Edsel Ford died here last Saturday. He used to know a lot about cars — under the hood, that is. He drove a bus for a living for a long time in Dayton, Ohio. He couldn’t afford the 1950's-era Ford Motor Co. car that bore his name, his wife said, but he laughed at the idea that they shared the moniker. Edsel was a pretty rare name even in 1927, when Ford was born to a big family in La Follette, Tenn. He was the seventh son of Ulysses S. and Hattie Ford. In later years, after the car came out that bore his first name and made all those infamous headlines, nobody in the family ever got around to asking Hattie how her last blond-headed boy was named. They kind of wish they had now, says Edsel’s son, Paul. Ulysses and Hattie’s other boys got names like Benjamin and Theodore and Truman and Dennis. Edsel was just not that ordinary a name. In fact, some folks took to calling him, oddly enough, Jim. But not his wife, Frances. She always called him Edsel. Not Ed, not Eddie. Edsel. Frances says Edsel’s boyhood friends liked to call him "Model T." They must have admired the intriguing black machines that poured out of Ford plants in Detroit from 1908 to 1927 and that revolutionized the world. Frances figures that Grace, Edsel’s aunt, might have known that Henry Ford’s only child was named Edsel. That it might have been Grace who suggested the name to Hattie. The names of American industrial royalty would have been known to those who paid attention even if they were just poor farm people in Tennessee. When Edsel of La Follette was born in 1927, Edsel of Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., was 34 and had already succeeded his father as president of Ford Motor Co. Their shared name might not have lingered much in the popular mind had it not been for commercial misfortune, which had nothing to do with Edsel the younger or, for that matter, Edsel the elder. It had to do with a badly designed, over-hyped, hideously built vehicle that was named the Edsel against the wishes of the Ford family. It was a fact that probably bothered neither man very much. The most it did for Edsel of La Follette was make him laugh when he filled in applications and people reading them looked askance. Edsel of La Follette met Frances on a school bus when she was in eighth grade and he was in ninth grade. She remembers him as shy that day. She also remembers that he was drafted out of high school in 1945 to go to China and that when he returned from the war, he was no longer shy. They married in 1948. She remembers that she was thrilled to trade her last name, Hovater, for the lovely and simple last name of Ford, like "the ones in Michigan but without the money." He was, all his life, a kind man with a quick retort and an easy smile, a man who never shied from work or from helping a neighbor who might, say, need a roof or a transmission repaired. The ill-fated car named the Edsel first rolled off the assembly line in 1958; Edsel Ford, son of Henry, had died of cancer in 1943 at age 49. Edsel, son of Ulysses, was not about to buy a car that expensive no matter what you called it and no matter the tribute intended. "My parents were very practical people," Paul Ford says. "They would have bought based on condition and price. The name would never have gotten in the way." Frances says Edsel never said a bad thing about the car; instead, he liked to say "it was ahead of its time." Perhaps. It also was an unqualified failure for Ford Motor Co. By November 1959, when the decision was made to cease the limited production of the car, it had lost, in 1959 dollars, $250 million. In the ensuing 50 years, an unkind popular culture hasn’t let the failed association go. Webster’s Dictionary now includes the definition of Edsel as "a product, project, etc. that fails to gain public acceptance despite high expectations, costly promotional efforts, etc." None of that seemed to have had an adverse impact on Edsel Ford, who seemed only to have been impressed when recently told that the current value of one in good condition was better than $100,000. Of the 110,000 Edsel’s ever produced, only 5,000 remain. Each is cherished. None more than Edsel Ford of Berea. He was 82.

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Lincoln's Over The Years

Lincoln Continentals 1938 Lincoln-Zephyr 1937 Lincoln-Zephyr 1962 Lincoln Continental 1957 Lincoln Source: Internet

Awesome Rare 1955 Lincoln

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Advertisement for Lincoln Automobiles (1941)

Interior and exterior views of Lincoln models for 1941; demonstrations of electrically controlled convertible top, push button doors and windows; people walking around and getting in and out of automobiles. Source: Youtube

First Lincoln Hybrid Delivers Efficient Luxury

The first and the most: the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid delivers more than a comfortable ride and luxury. This is the first hybrid for the Lincoln brand, and it is now officially the most fuel-efficient luxury sedan in America with an EPA-certified 41 mpg rating in city driving and 36 mpg on the highway. Building on Ford Motor Company’s reputation as a world leader in electrified technology, the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid uses the company’s second-generation hybrid technology – the 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle I-4 hybrid engine – named one of Ward’s 2010 “10 Best Engines.” The system combines the best attributes of the gasoline engine and electric battery-driven motors to deliver optimal performance and fuel economy. The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid tops its nearest competitor – the 2010 Lexus HS 250h – by 6 mpg. It also trumps the Lexus HS 250h with room for one more passenger and more standard luxury and segment-exclusive safety features. Industry-leading fuel economy comes without sacrificing power. The combined gasoline engine and electric motor provide 191 net horsepower. Plus, the pure electric mode on the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid extends to 47 mph – compared with the Lexus HS 250h battery-only mode, which reaches just 25 mph. The SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide cluster in the instrument planel of the MKZ Hybrid coaches drivers to optimum fuel economy and lower emissions with growing leaves and apple blossoms as rewards for efficient driving. Within one year, efficient drivers are expected to save nearly 200 gallons of gas and reduce their carbon footprint by almost two tons of CO2. “The 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid provides a real choice in the marketplace for customers looking for a vehicle that not only makes a statement about who they are but also reflects their ideals,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president, Global Product Development. “It offers the best fuel economy in its segment, a host of advanced safety features, and all the amenities and modern design of a true luxury sedan.” The 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid comes standard with features and technologies that are either not offered on the Lexus HS 250h or are available only at an extra cost. Source: Ford