1957 Lincoln Premiere Hardtop

 

1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible - John F. Kennedy

This 1963 Lincoln was presented to President Kennedy for his private use and was one of three Lincolns furnished to the President shortly after his inauguration by J.J. Saunders, administratvie manager of the Ford Motor Company in Natic, Massachusetts. The cars, delivered in the fall of 1962, were to be used not for presidential touring, but for JFK and his staff when he visited in Hyannisport.

The two snapshots shown here show the dashing young president at its wheel on seperate occasions ferrying Jackie, John Jr., Caroline, and other family members around. Such was JFK's love of the car and for living recklessly, that he would jump in it whenever he got the chance and drive off in a cloud of dust and, on at least one occasion, leaving behind the Secret Service who actually lost contact with him.

This car is now owned by the William J. Clinton Foundation.

Large photos by Douglas Wilkinson.

1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible - John F. Kennedy Additional Pictures

Source: remarkablecars.com

1937 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe

Lincoln MKZ Hybrid — You’re Weathering The Recession

You’ve decided to buy a luxury car. Nothing too over-the-top. You don’t want to shout to the neighborhood you’re the only one in your zip code that did more than just “weather” the recession.

So you decide Lincoln’s midsize, discreetly styled 2011 MKZ sedan might fit the bill. But Lincoln’s presented you with a mighty intriguing option: you can have the hybrid version — combined 39 mile-per-gallon combined fuel-economy — for exactly the same price as the “standard” MKZ with a V-6.

Now, part of the fun of buying a luxury car is getting the “luxury” of more power than most people get with their workaday conveyances. You should get something special under the hood for the extra dough you dish out, right?

In either case, you do. Opt for the 2011 MKZ Hybrid, and forgoing the standard car’s 263-horsepower V-6, brings a 156-horse 4-cylinder and an electric motor combo that don’t make as much power — but do combine to deliver a fat 18-mpg leap in the car’s combined fuel economy rating.

Yep, the 2011 MKZ Hybrid is rated at 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway. The standard MKZ: 18 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.

As Donald Trump likes to say, “That’s Huuuge.” The EPA reckons it will cost almost twice as much to fuel a standard MKZ for a year of driving (15,000 miles): $2,206 to the MKZ Hybrid’s piddly $1,187. Drive 15,000 miles a year and the MKZ Hybrid will cost you less than $100 a month in gasoline.

You know the best part? Lincoln charges the same for either version of the front-wheel-drive MKZ ($34,330, plus $850 destination), but you give up almost nothing with the MKZ Hybrid for the advantage of sailing by the gas pumps.

Oh, all right, the MKZ Hybrid’s Continuously Variable Transmission — the mediator that helps dole out the right combination of power from the efficiency-enhanced 4-cylinder engine and electric motor — groans in a fashion unbecoming a luxury car when you demand full power. But that’s it. In almost any other situation, the MKZ Hybrid is the better, more interesting and vastly more efficient car.

More interesting because you get the coolest of liquid-crystal display screens flanking the analog speedometer, this “SmartGauge” cluster configurable to deliver all manner of efficiency metrics and even economy-driving “coaching” if you want.
More interesting because Lincoln’s hybrid technology makes it, according to the company, the most fuel-efficient luxury car you can buy. And more interesting because, well, conventional V-6 premium cars are just so — common.

Lincoln certainly holds up its end of the bargain with the goodies, too: standard stuff for the 2011 MKZ Hybrid includes the Sync voice-activation system to control onboard infotainment functions, heated and cooled front seats, wood trim and an acoustic laminated windshield (this car is stupid quiet. Except when you boot that CVT, anyway).

Do you care that the bones underneath Lincoln’s midsize luxury sedan are shared with the Ford Fusion or that it’s all getting a little long in the tooth? We wouldn’t. The MKZ Hybrid has an oozy luxury-car ride but the suspension always seems to have things under control, the steering is the most responsive and cooperative you’ll find short of an all-out sport sedan and the interior doesn’t have many downmarket plastic pieces, a matter not always assured at this luxury make’s reasonable price point.

So Lincoln’s leaving it up to you with the 2011 MKZ. Go old-school V-6 if you insist power has to be part of the premium-car deal, or get the MKZ Hybrid. Price is the same, but we think choosing the MKZ Hybrid over Lincoln’s standard MKZ is the no-brainer of the 2011 model year.

Source: askautoexperts.com

1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan

In 1953 Tony Fotos purchased a used 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible for $400. Although the 152 horsepower V-8 engine returned fuel economy of only 8 miles per gallon, gasoline was selling for 28 cents a gallon.

“With a dollar’s worth of gas,” Fotos says, “I could pick up my girl, Anne Green, and take her to the movies.”

After a few years the Lincoln was sold, the young couple married, and life went on. While attending a high school reunion in Maryland in 2005, many of the couple’s former classmates asked them about the old Lincoln. Those inquiries were the catalyst that sent Fotos on a quest to find a car like the Lincoln.

He discovered that not many Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertibles were manufactured and very few survived. When new in 1949, the 4,419-pound car had a base price of $3,948. “I looked all over,” Fotos recalls. He finally found one for sale in North Carolina. The owner was in Florida and the broker handling the deal was in California. Regardless of the car’s condition, Fotos was confident that he could handle any restoration work. “I bought it sight unseen,” he says.

The seller wanted the car to be in perfect condition when he sold it, so he had the Lincoln trucked to a shop in Pennsylvania for some minor work. When Fotos was informed that the work was completed he was told other work also needed to be done: a new brake system, new shock absorbers, new tires and a new top with a tiny glass rear window. He says he had to stall because he needed more time to complete the garage he was building to house the Lincoln.

Finally the Chantilly Green convertible with the tan top arrived on the back of a truck. “I was astounded when I saw it,” Fotos recalls.

The headlights and the taillights are recessed into the fenders and the front wheel wells are crowned with eye appealing gravel deflectors in chrome.

Under the expansive engine hood is a 336.7-cubic-inch V-8 that Fotos says was originally designed as a Ford truck engine. As befits a luxury car, the interior is primarily covered in either green leather or tan carpet.
Fotos did add one item that was not on the Lincoln accessory list. He says he had a suicide knob on his Lincoln in high school, and so too, he now has one on this Lincoln. He explains that one-handed steering is possible when his right arm is around his best girl.

In that post World War II era, Ford Motor Co. was developing an automatic transmission for the big Lincoln but it wasn’t ready for production. Consequently, the Ford-produced Lincoln has a General Motors-produced Hydra-Matic transmission with a shift pattern from the left of Neutral-Drive-Low-Reverse. There was no parking gear.

Fotos has noticed that at a certain speed his transmission slips a little, but he is unconcerned because he remembers his first Lincoln exhibited the same slippage, which never caused any problems.

While cruising comfortably on the 125-inch wheelbase Fotos has an unobstructed view through the three-spoke steering wheel of the 120-mph speedometer. Just to see what the car would do, he says, “I’ve had it up to 95 and I still had pedal.”

The 1949-model-year Lincoln was a luxuriously appointed automobile with power windows, one-piece windshield, heater, turn signals and a radio. The radio has a signal-seeking function. On the back of each front seat cushion is a built-in ashtray for the convenience of smoking passengers in the back seat.

Now that he once more has a 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible, Fotos can relive his youth and take his wife to the movies — only it’s going to take more than a dollar’s worth of gasoline.

Source: askautoexperts.com

Lincoln Sales Up 31 Percent

• Ford Motor Company March U.S. sales increase 3 percent compared to last year with 244,167 vehicles sold; retail sales of 166,030 vehicles up 3 percent for the best March retail result in eight years
• Ford Fusion posts record sales month with 32,963 cars sold, up 9 percent from last year’s record month
• Ford F-Series tops 70,000-vehicle mark with 70,940 vehicles sold, up 5 percent
• Lincoln MKZ sales increase 72 percent for a best-ever record sales month; Lincoln total sales up 31 percent

Download Full Sales Release (PDF)

DEARBORN, Mich., April 1, 2014 – Ford Motor Company U.S. total March sales of 244,167 vehicles are up 3 percent from a year ago. Retail sales of 166,030 vehicles are up 3 percent and represent the best March result in eight years.

“March sales turned noticeably higher mid-month and finished strong,” said John Felice, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service. “Fusion set an all-time record in March, as overall retail sales in the West continued to expand at the fastest rate in the nation – including California being up 32 percent. F-Series also had a very strong month, as did Lincoln MKZ.”

Ford Fusion sales of 32,963 vehicles set an all-time monthly record since the vehicle was introduced in 2005. The western region of the U.S. continues to drive Fusion retail sales higher, including a 22 percent increase in March.

Ford F-Series surpassed the 70,000-vehicle sales mark with 70,940 trucks sold. During the last seven years, F-Series has surpassed the monthly 70,000 truck mark only four times. Last month marks F-Series’ highest March sales volume since 2008.

Lincoln MKZ sales of 4,052 vehicles are up 72 percent, setting an all-time monthly sales record. The strong performance of MKZ drove overall Lincoln sales to a 31 percent increase in March, the sixth straight month of sales gains. During the last six months, Lincoln has increased sales 27 percent with 43,445 vehicles sold.

Source: Ford.com

1966 Lincoln Convertible

The four-door Lincoln convertible that Rick Parker owned in his younger days is gone, yet not forgotten.

Desiring to acquire an old Lincoln convertible, Parker has investigated several models, but for one reason or another each of them fell short of his requirements.

Then came the summer of 2010 when Parker received a reliable tip that a 1966 Lincoln convertible painted Pitcairn Blue was for sale — and pictures of the car were promising. Parker mistakenly thought the Lincoln was in Virginia, where the seller was located, however, the Lincoln was in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Parker then took the only practical action imaginable — he flew to Florida to inspect the Lincoln.
Between the massive bumpers the impressive convertible stretches 18 feet, 5 inches long. Paperwork accurately detailing the history of the 1966 car showed that it had been ordered on April 15, 1966 at the Barry Lincoln-Mercury dealership on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio.

Included in the delivered price of $6,514.08 were: Air Temp air conditioning ($523.55), AM/FM radio with rear speaker ($244.54), 6-way power seats ($83.23), power door locks & guards ($75.26), power vent windows ($71.64), white sidewall 15-inch tires ($56.80), tinted glass ($52.53), license plate frames ($9.65), 3-way non-glare inside mirror ($4.65).

The four-door convertible Lincoln, one of 3,180 such models manufactured, was delivered May 10, 1966, just in time for delightful top-down weather. When Parker saw the car the odometer had recorded only 81,000 miles. Up until 2007 the convertible was driven regularly, but records indicate that between 2007 and 2010 the car had been driven only 40 miles.

The slab-sided Lincoln was parked in a garage with the white top in the raised position. Parker describes the Lincoln’s appearance as “very smudgy.” The smell of mildew permeated the garage.

Parker recalls that once started, the massive 462-cubic-inch V-8 engine ran, but not right. It certainly was not producing 340 horsepower as it once did.

As attracted to the Lincoln as he was, Parker and the owner could not agree on a mutually acceptable price. Parker went home to Rockville, Md.  Sometime later Parker’s telephone rang. The Lincoln owner was calling to accept Parker’s offer. “I was thrilled,” he said.

Parker promptly arranged to have the convertible trucked to the west side of Florida where he knew a trusted technician who would bring the car back to good health. “I wanted a re-commissioned car,” Parker says.

That is what he got. The 1966 Lincoln is loaded with power assisted equipment including vent windows, antenna, seats, steering, brakes and convertible top.

Near the gasoline tank filler door on the left rear fender is what appears to be a key operated lock. After inserting a key a twist of the wrist electrically operates the convertible top.

“Ten relays run the top,” Parker explains. The enormous deck lid is hinged at the rear.

By the first weekend of October, 2010 the Lincoln had been put back into original condition from the black carpet to the black dashboard with the stark contrasting white leather upholstery.

The Lincoln rolls on a new set of 15-inch tires on a 126-inch wheelbase. As the 5,480-pound car approaches 83,000 miles, Parker admits the gasoline mileage ranges from, “miserable to very poor.”   He says the 340 horsepower is necessary to move the heavy car. “I need it!” he exclaims.

With the convertible top lowered visibility is of course, splendid. While sitting behind the two-spoke steering wheel, Parker says he enjoys, “a toy of such magnitude.”

Source: askautoexperts.com