A Far Too Brief History of the Lincoln Continental Mark Series 

I love my ‘78 Mark V , all original and quite beautiful

Yes, I owned a 1977 lincoln mark V, and it was the quietest car Ive ever owned.

My 79 mark V ...the pinnacle 1970s luxury car ...all at 12MPG around town ....NOT BAD

my Mark V ...is built well. .no major parts had broken down ...and is LIKE NOTHING on the road today ...also owned an 83 Mark VI for 4 years ...VERY underrated car ...It was designed 2 b smoother and quiter.....then the MARK V ...and IT WAS . FIRST YEAR 4 fuel injection in a MARK

While am a HUGE MARK V FAN... ...I did own a 79 Cadillac coupe de ville for 10 years ....I think it was CADILLAC's last great car ...before DOWNSIZING and LIGHTER became a PRORITY

Love it!😂😊

haha. Awesome. Reminds of the movie The Postman. The kid's name was FordLincolnMercury.

Thanks for watching!

Still drive and love my 1975 Continental Mark IV. Bought it in 2002.

Doing this video and the upcoming one on the Eldorado, I just can't shake the feeling that an American Luxury Brand that finally decides to come out with a great sedan/coupe/convertible and break the SUV mold won't have a complete hit on their hands!

@@AllCarswithJon: Oddly I see Cadillac attempting that down the road and not Lincoln. GM had abandoned coupes/sedans for the most part but as hinted at coming back to it at some point. Even with the upcoming demise of the Camaro, insiders have said to expect it or something like it to ultimately return to Chevrolet, and I can see Cadillac adopting it for its own use for a return of the Eldo or Fleetwood or something like it, for people are growing tired of boring looking SUVs (which I think will go the way of the minivan). But Ford seems hell bent on trucks and SUVs, and its commitment to the Mustang seems passive at best despite the new model in 2024. That’s a great platform to introduce a uniquely styled, four passenger luxury coupe to call the Mark X. Evolving to EVs would also make the idea of building a longer, bolder car that much more attractive to the market, logistically possible and cost effective. But right now, Ford seems to be on a drug trip in its business execution with a strange obsession in trucks and EVs. Yes the F150 is a core staple to its revenue, but Ford is also clearly putting all its eggs in one risky basket for shareholders. EV’s is the trend, but going all in EV so quickly and abruptly must be managed effectively. It literally handed its ICE powered sedan business to the Japanese and South Koreans. And Mustang sales aren’t exactly spiking the sales charts either; the long aging Dodge Challenger (nearly unchanged since 2009!) outsold the Mustang in 2022: that’s a very telling sign. Ford product planners just seem lost in the automobile dark forest right now.

Thanks! To me it was the massive reduction in HP through the 70s and just how long it took for the 5.0 and 4.9's to get back up there. I *knew* it, but it was stunning to go through it.

Well I'm not a Mark aficionado but to me only the coupe is a "Mark".

Thanks for the kind words!

In researching this, I was blown away by the Mark II. By itself it's pretty, but when compared with it's competition it was from the future. Really impressive. I'm working on the Eldorado history right now, so many of those 70-ish Marks were okay, and by the 80s & 90s the Caddy's were really pretty (to my eyes!). But I don't think I really appreciated the Marks of that time. Then came the VIII and it was from the future. (so of course Ford squandered it)

@@AllCarswithJon I don’t think people appreciate the extent and expense that Ford went to creating the Mark II. Most certainly don’t know that Ford created an entirely separate Continental division. The Mark II is indeed an exquisite car. I’m sure the research on the Eldorado’s will be interesting! The late 50s Eldorado Brougham was an equally stunning luxury car.

@@Zneedsmore Honestly most of the Eldos are beautiful, but doing the history is frustrating. It amounts to long periods of the same platform with yearly styling tweaks!

@@AllCarswithJon True! Well, in fairness, for most all American brands, that was the narrative for automotive design pretty much between 1949 thru 1976, and the annual changes were more subtle and less frequent from that point forward once the downsizing took over.

@@Zneedsmore I know, I know. :) You know what, doing these histories really drives it home. A caddy might be built on the E body for years, but there's headlight, sheetmetal, or tailfin changes every year while the body/engine chugs along. Then the 80s hit and suddenly cars go 8=10 years with only a midcycle refresh and maybe a new engine/transmission. I don't think most people truly understand just how much the foundation of the market changed after the 70s.

Awesome! Thank you! I hope you enjoy the Roadmaster one!

My 1993 Mark VIII was marked as LSC on the dealer service card - a rarity

Morning!

This was a fun video to do, coming from a GM family it's amazing how much I liked some of these Lincolns. but that image of a Caddy with steer horns on the hood from Dallas or Boss Hogg still stick with me... thus the Eldorado video I just released!

Glad you enjoyed it!

But they made some awesome stuff... a least from a conumer point of view.

@@AllCarswithJon . Yes, agreed

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks. Did those interiors not look inviting? Seriously, I fell in love with some of those!

A friend had a MKIII. It felt like a sofa mounted on a waterbed. But that's what the average Lincoln owner wanted at the time.

ROADSOFA would make a good license plate for one of those cars. or HWYCOUCH

@@ianperkins8812 That's really good! :)

Yes the late 50’s Marks were ‘unique’ … and they hold a weird spot in Continental’s history. I used to really dislike the look of them, but they’ve honestly grown on me over the years when I see them at car shows. Their ponderous look just made the new ‘61 Continental sedans that much more stately and revolutionary for the history books.

Agreed that the IV was indeed a much bigger and heavier car in 1972. It did evolve in its proportions though: short deck, long hood, generally low slung profile. My dad rode in one with a colleague for work back in 1975 when going from Cincinnati to Chicago; his friend had a gold 74 Mark IV…. Gorgeous car. I was only 9 at the time but was so impressed with it. My dad recounted from the trip that he was fascinated with the IV’s subtle chime announcing when the car was low on fuel. He was stunned at how often they had to pull over to get gasoline… it averaged about 10 mpg and that was when the speed limit was reduced to 55 mph LOL. My dad by comparison had a far older ‘67 Buick Wildcat that was indeed thirsty on gas too, but nothing like that Mark IV!

Thanks for the kind words. And this isn't all just off the top of my head. Lots of research behind it. :)

Thanks, I'll check that out!

OMGosh! I had some of those! I LOVED them! Thanks for the memory!

Thanks for the view and comment!

Yes, I've been corrected. 😀

But, will it sell?

@@MisterMikeTexas I think it will

Ooooffff... thanks for the comment and the correction. I was trying to say the V8 was from the "385 family" and even messed that up! Thank you again for the correction!

I'd have to go re-listen to it but I think you caught me mis-speaking. It's from the 385 series, but I may have misspoke. Thanks for pointing it out.

After doing some of these videos, I'm increasingly amazed that some of the great, strong names our companies had have just been abandoned. I won't guess how long, but I think some of them will come back, but as you said probably not in a product I'd like to see it on. Just staying with the Mark, that's a great name to bring back, and consider that Buick is going to be bringing back the "Electra" name. Lincoln went weird names for a while (MKs, MKz) and came back to real names, so personally I think it's only a matter of time until some old names are repurposed. That future Mark might be one of the coupe-type CUVs or something and not a 2 door convertible... but I can still see it coming back someday. :)

I haven't done a video on that, and I noticed it too. I'm not sure why that's really happened.

@@AllCarswithJon Perhaps a video on some of the best colors (probably from the early 1960's) and the worst (from AMC in the 1970's).

@@daviduliana4447 Soooo.... that's a good idea but honestly it's not for me. I'm color blind, so I absolutely do not want to subject myself to the ridicule I'd get when I call something 'green' on camera for all time... and it's actually 'yellow'. :) LOL!

Probably because most of the reviews were "meh" about it. Looked fantastic, but didn't really match up to it's competitors - that's what I remember reading about it when it came out.

@@AllCarswithJon I think it was more of suvs and crossovers were the big sellers. This is true with Buick which is all suvs and crossovers. I had a 2012 Buick Lacrosse Luxury edition hybrid which I really loved but I sold it a year ago at a 4k profit. Lincoln and Buick still offer their cars in China besides crossovers and suvs. One of the main reasons for the end of 2 door American Personal Luxury cars was people with families going to 4 door sedans and then to suvs like the Explorer, Navigator, Suburban, and Escalade. I do miss the PLCs and the luxury sedans of the past and it would be nice if they became popular again but I believe the foreseeable future is suvs and crossovers.

I'm sorry to hear that

I've almost always (almost) found I like Lincolns.... as long as I nevery compare them with their Caddy competition.

I like them, but have never aspired to have one. Even if I could have afforded a new one, my more practical brain would have been focused on something else.