Lincoln Continental. A small car?

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Purchasing classics there

That was an eye-opener: "But in fact those things are just small". The car we were looking at was an 1979'er Lincoln Continental. An "American" from the time that word was spoken with awe and respect. A car from the time that the European car industry made cars in which the Simca 1100 Tourist was a very serious family car. The Continental weighed 1855 kilos. The Simca 950 kilo.

The frame of reference for most classic enthusiasts lies in the time when Americans were 'huge through the eyes of then'. In this time of sustainability and technology, things are of course different now. Even though Europe is considerably better after the 1950s than before.

And that 'just small' was because the Lincoln was next to a brand new BMW X7. We have looked up some data from this at home. Such a castle is Length / width / height in mm 5.151 / 2.000 / 1.805. And the structure weighs empty 2446 kilos.

The Lincoln Continental

The top series from Ford has a long history. The very early Lincolns even had V12 engines. But after that it was 'business as usual' and V8s became the norm. When it comes to dimensions, the Lincolns from 1974-1979 - which were actually very identical to the other topper in the Ford program, the Mercury Grand Marquis, are already smaller than their predecessors. And that again had to do with the oil crisis of the early 1970s.

The biggest difference

In addition, such a very thick BMW is a platform for electronics and an extension of your smartphone. A significant part of the vehicle weight consists of electric motors. Such an old American is just a lot of stands on wheels with a very simple V8 in between. And that's just heartbreakingly endearing. In terms of electrical things, the Lincoln was equipped with electric front / rear windows and electrically adjustable front seats. And electrically adjustable mirrors. In a modern high-end car there are soon forty electric motors to control tricks. Indicators that progress had also reached the States were the (still optional) disc brakes all around and the inclusion of catalytic converters in the exhaust system, so from that model the Continentals had to drink lead-free.

But the most striking difference between such a new BMW and the classic Continental, those are the proportions. Plus the fact that the Continental seems to be on soup plates rather than on decent wheels and tires. And it is even considerably lower than the average Citroën Xsara Picasso.

On the very big plus side, however, such a Lincoln Continental is a very real classic.

A car with which the proud owner will be flashed considerably less than the hurried driver of such a BMW top piece. This Lincoln was once just such a status symbol as the large BMW is today. But we can conclude that time shows us everything in a milder light.

And whether such a BMW X7 is a classic in 25 years?

Or in fifty years? By that time, combustion engines are probably prohibited. But before that time, such a high-tech machine probably died of an electronics infarction. You now have a neat Lincoln for amounts from just above € 10.000. The BMW now costs a sloppy € 115.000 from now on.

Lincoln Continental
There was apparently more parking space then

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8 comments

  1. Badly written piece by someone who apparently knows little about these Lincoln Continental models… The reference that the wheels look like soup plates is strange. 15 ”rims with a high tire were then just the n9
    norm. Just like fill out the corners ... a little research in American magazines and then you know why. Think this magazine can stick to Euro models better. The depth behind the design of these Lincoln models never really made the crossing to Europe ...

  2. To the above 1: 3 is a lot, With an 8,2L from the Cadillac coupe Deville I got 1: 4,5 on gas and 1: 3 on gas, but that was the 1975 version with the already squeezed lead-free engine. So with the then applicable gas price Reed the Cadillac 10 years ago) I drove just as expensive, or economical as with the daily Toyota Camry V6 And ​​if you, just like the Americans, learn to think in miles and Gallons, everything is not too bad.

  3. We had a '72 Lincoln Conti MkIII for a while.
    Two and a half tons of steel, and a delicious 7,2 liter (435 ci) V8 in the front.
    Beautiful box, but hopeless in whatever parking garage or parking space at the supermarket: it always sticks out on all sides.
    And the consumption does not make you happy on this side of the Atlantic Ocean either: 1 in 3… on petrol, on LPG it was all tragedy ..
    Even a truck scores better nowadays.

  4. Oh yes, I think security crumple zones etc. also take a lot of weight. I have ever had 1 of the 1st Astra Stations (1.7D). This was about 100 kg heavier than the Kadett Caravan 1.6D that it replaced. Thanks to the extra built-in safety.
    And by the way about 3 hp less. Before and after, not had such a bad diesel anymore. the thing was really not to burn forward and had a weak head gasket and gearbox as well. Also came to the south near Liege hardly up the mountain :-(

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