Originally published in the 2nd Quarter 1994 edition of Continental Comments (Issue # 198).

WEBMASTER NOTE:  Only the pictures from the original article are posted here.

Originally published in the 4th Quarter 1994 edition of Continental Comments (Issue # 200).

WEBMASTER NOTE:  This is a reprint of an advertisement from 1994.  This print is no longer available.

By Mike Schultz

Originally published in the November/December 2000 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 237).

Going through some old files, I came across the advertisements on the next two pages for two Lincoln pickup truck conversion companies that appeared in Hemmings Motor News in 1979. With increased interest in Lincoln SUVs and the expected debut of the Lincoln Blackwood pickup truck in the near future, I thought these might be of interest.

The Florida Motor Coach conversion of a Lincoln four-door Town Car into a pickup truck was advertised in the September, 1979 issue of Hemmings. This conversion company was located in North Tampa, Florida. The converted vehicle itself apparently does not have any special name applied to it, other than being called a “Lincoln Continental Pick-Up Truck.” From the drawing of the Town Car pickup truck conversion and the ad narrative, it can not be determined if the tail-gate is operable or fixed, although an apparent tail-gate opening handle appears in the drawing. Although there is no photograph of a completed pickup truck conversion of a Town Car from this company, the narrative in the advertisement indicates that at least one conversion “has been done”.

The “Coloma” pickup truck conversion, from the Caribou Motor Corporation, San Francisco, California, utilized a Lincoln Continental Mark V from the years 1977 through 1979. The advertisements for the Coloma conversion kits appeared in the September and November, 1979 issues of Hemmings. The Coloma conversion was actually just a conversion “kit” costing $2,395.00 that the customers could buy and then either install themselves or have “an experienced body man” spend about 50 hours” to make the conversion. There is no mention in the advertisement if the kit manufacturer also installed the conversion kits on customers’ Mark Vs. The photographs of two different colored Mark Vs in one of the Coloma advertisements indicate that at least two of the Coloma Mark V pickup truck conversions were completed, presumably by the kit manufacturer itself. The photograph of one of the Coloma conversion kits being installed shows that there is no tail-gate during the installation process, leading to my conclusion that the tail-gate, once installed, was probably operable, even though there is no obvious evidence of an outside tail-gate handle in the photograph of the completed Mark V Coloma conversion.

Also, there is no indication in either of the advertisements for the Coloma Mark V pickup or the Town Car pickup as to whether the conversions were or were not authorized by the Lincoln factory or if the factory warranties were effected in any way by the conversions. However, especially with the Coloma conversion kit, it can be assumed that the factory would not have made any representations or warranties, since the kits could be installed by the car owner himself.

It would be interesting to know more about both these Lincoln pickup truck conversion companies and their products; such as how many conversions or conversion kits were made or sold; are there any company records left; are there any unsold Coloma conversion kits still sitting in some old warehouse; how many of the completed conversions, themselves, are left, if any; and are any of the completed conversions owned by LCOC members or have any ever been shown by LCOC members and judged at national meets.

While numerous photographs of obvious one-off and home-done Lincoln pickup trucks have been shown in Continental Comments over the years, there is apparently not much known, or at least not published, about Lincoln pickup truck conversions and conversion companies, whether done with or without factory authorization. I’m sure there must have been other conversion companies that made Lincoln pickup trucks (or maybe even station wagons) besides just these two companies.

I invite other LCOC members to let us know about additional Lincoln pickup truck conversions and hope that any members who have them will consider entering them at LCOC National Meets in the future, even if just for show. The extra variety of custom Lincolns, whether pickup trucks, station wagons, convertibles, parade cars, limousines, hearses, or even hot rods, etc. is, in my opinion, always a welcome addition to the usual groups of Lincoln cars we see at every LCOC meet. I believe there is a welcome place at the LCOC table for not just the purists who painstakingly restore their Lincolns to exacting factory specifications (after all, I helped to write the LCOC’s Mark II Authenticity Manual), but also for those members who are just as interested in and dedicated to their custom Lincolns, of whatever type and vintage. In fact, I suggest that we should have an occasional issue of Continental Comments dedicated to Lincoln conversions, especially the factory authorized or dealer prepared conversions.

(The ads on the following two pages [below] are reprinted from 1979 issues of Hemmings Motor News.)

By Jim Raymond, Fort Worth, Texas

Originally published in the November/December 2000 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 237).

Wisely and with great execution, Lincoln had adhered since its inception in 1921 to the automotive maxim, Length times Width times Weight equals luxury. But by 1980 this formula would instead equal violation of federal standards. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements and emissions regulations were to become ever tighter during the new decade and Lincoln could no longer make a vehicle of the traditional luxury size.

But there was still 1979.  The last of the big ones. And so they created the Collector’s Series, … “to epitomize and commemorate this elegant, era of the traditional Lincoln” , stated the 1979 brochure. Available as an option package on both the Lincoln Continental and Continental Mark V, this car would include as standard equipment, a far greater number of features than any other 1979 Lincoln, and even some not even available on any other Lincoln. They would truly achieve their goal.

Establishing a “drawing room” feel for the interior, Lincoln covered the seats with unique “Khasmin II luxury cloth”, an automotive fabric of the highest quality for the time. Leather was also available. But Khasmin II was not limited to the seats, as Lincoln also used it to wrap the interior garnish moldings and sunvisors. And rather than vinyl for the headliner, Lincoln chose Harvard cloth, another fine fabric. Cushioning the occupant’s feet was 36 ounce Tiffany-cut pile carpeting. This was twice the weight of the floor carpet in the standard Lincoln Continental. Meeting the eyes directly, the padded portion of the dash in the Mark V was covered in real leather, and both the Lincoln Continental and Mark V had a steering wheel with a wood grain insert. To protect the owner’s luggage, the trunk was lined with 18 ounce carpet, the same weight as that used in the interior of the standard Lincoln Continental. Further complimenting the trunk ensemble was a leather-bound tool kit. Protecting the owner’s manual was a handsome leather covering, and protecting the owner himself was a navy blue collapsible umbrella. All of these features were unique to the Collector’s Series cars, as they were not even available on any other Lincoln.

Visible to the general public, the exterior was decorated with triple pinstripes (as opposed to double on other Lincolns), a gold-tone grille, coach lamps, and turbine-style cast aluminum wheels. Two colors were primarily offered for the Collector’s Series, navy blue, and white. However a handful were painted silver metallic (color code 1Y) and a handful, diamond blue metallic (code 38). All Collector’s Series have “Collect” stamped on the cowl tag and include the color code.

The 1979 advertisement to the left shows a Continental Mark V Collector’s Series and a Lincoln Continental Collector’s Series at the John. F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

To be a true luxury car, it must be replete with a host of servants available to one’s beck and call. Thus, in addition to the features on a Continental, standard equipment on a Collector’s Series included the following:

• Automatic headlamps
• Automatic high beam dimmer
• AM-FM stereo 8-track
• Power antenna
• Rear window defroster with heated outside mirrors
• Lighted vanity mirrors, left and right
• Tilt steering wheel
• Cruise control
• Illuminated entry system
• Remote control garage door opener
• Overhead dual beam map/dome lamp
• Power door locks
• Power mini-vent windows
• Delay wipers
• Remote trunk release
• Right-hand remote-control mirror
• Coach roof
• Wide band white sidewall tires

Available as options were traction-lok differential, four-wheel disc brakes with Sure-Track (anti-lock on the rear), engine block heater, heavy duty battery, illuminated outside thermometer, fixed glass moonroof or power moonroof, CB radio, trailer towing package, and leather upholstery. With so much standard there was little left to add.

And so in all respects, Lincoln created a car that epitomized “what a luxury car should be” and which commemorated the era of the traditional-sized luxury vehicle. It truly was conveyance in the grand manner.

Mary Klinger’s 1979 Mark V Collector’s Series

Silver 1979 Lincoln Continental Collector’s Series

ABOVE: 1941 Lincoln Continental Coupe, original factory press release photo.

Originally published in the November/December 2000 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 237).

1941 Lincoln Continental Honored by Museum of Modern Art 50 Years Ago in 2001

By Ken Goode, Bennington, Vermont

2001 marks the 50th anniversary of the memorable display of a 1941 Lincoln Continental at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The landmark 1951 exhibition, eight automobiles, featured cars as “hollow, rolling sculpture”.

The eight autos were selected by MoMA’s distinguished director of architecture and design, Philip Johnson.* Mr. Johnson’s choices were suggested by experts who included Raymond Loewy, Howard “Dutch” Darrin, and Cameron Peck. American autos selected, in addition to the Lincoln Continental and foreign makes, were the 1937 Cord and the World War II Jeep, the latter cited as “a beautiful tool for transportation”. Although not displayed, recognition was given to, among others, the 1938 Lincoln-Zephyr, 1939 Cadillac 60 Special, 1947 Studebaker, and 1949 Ford.

The popularity of the eight automobiles led MoMA to mount another auto exhibition in 1953, entitled “Ten Automobiles”. The only American car displayed was the newly-debuted 1953 Studebaker hardtop coupe. MoMA had no subsequent auto exhibit until last year, which focused upon environmentally-friendly, conservational vehicles. The museum has, however, since 1972, maintained a permanent collection of automobiles, beginning with a postwar Cisitalia 202 GT. Added have been a 1990 Ferrari Formula 1 racer and a 1963 Jaguar E-Type roadster.

The displayed Lincoln Continental in 1951 was a light-colored coupe, perhaps Paradise Green or Rockingham Tan. Curiously, the show’s catalog pictured a different car: a dark-colored one, credited to Bimel Kehm. These catalogs are rare … one is owned by Dave Cole. The text, along with photos and the full design analysis of the Continental, was published in OCee Ritch’s 1963 book “The Lincoln Continental.”

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the MoMA display, it’s noteworthy to reflect upon the early, stellar recognition bestowed by one of the world’s premier museums upon the classic Lincoln Continental. Today, appreciation and indebtedness to those wonderful, long-ago events is proudly shared by all of us!

61Lincoln Art Wins “Award of Excellence at Pebble Beach

Above:  Ken Eberts with his award winning 1961 Lincoln Continental painting.

LCOC member Ken Eberts received an Award of Excellence at the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance for his painting of a 1961 Lincoln Continental, entered in the Automotive Fine Arts Society Exhibition which is an integral part of the concours.

Ken’s painting titled “The Art of Elegance” plays up the fact that the 1961 Lincoln Continental was one of the most elegant production automobiles ever produced. The Lincoln is surrounded by other forms of artistic elegance, including a model wearing a ‘60s Pierre Cardin ensemble, and the elegant architecture of the Museum of Art.

The message that Ken has tried to get across is that the Lincoln is not only elegant, but is art, in the the same way that the building that houses the fine art is also art.

ABOVE: Randy Mytar’s former 1958 Buick Caballero Station Wagon, which Randy describes as having, “chrome with paint trim”.

By Tim Howley

Originally published in the March/April 2005 issue of Continental Comments (Issue # 263).

In 1958, John Keats wrote a hilariously funny book about the unfunny state of affairs in Detroit at the time the Edsel was introduced. The book is titled The Insolent Chariots. It was widely published in hardback and paperback form. You will still find copies in bookstores and at swap meets. It is well worth reading if you want to know the inside story of the U.S. auto industry when it reached its low point, and the import invasion began in earnest. Keats’ book cites three basic flaws behind the styling of American automobiles in the 1958 era. These are the rustic caution and provincial limitations of the Midwestern mind, creeping Charlie Wilsonism, and the need for maintaining a relatively high used car price. The first flaw is Detroit’s insularity, its one-track mindset, and the total obliviousness to the realities of the motoring world. Detroit sincerely believed that ever bigger, more powerful, ever more garish dreamboats were what Midwestern America wanted, and people in California who drove sports cars and imports were just a bunch of kooks. Creeping Charlie Wilsonism, named after a director of General Motors, concerns pure research vs. applied research, and that most research money in Detroit is spent on styling, and has nothing whatsoever to do with real improvements and more product efficiency. The need to keep used car prices high is quite obvious. If Detroit built longer lasting, smaller more fuel-efficient cars, used car prices would fall through the floor, and the whole industry would collapse. Thus you have the Detroit syndrome, which is designed to keep the whole thing rolling into eternity. But things were about to change.

October, 1957, marked the Soviet’s launching of Sputnik I, and the end of the postwar era of optimism in the U.S. September 4 was the introduction of the Edsel, which could not have come at a less opportune time. By October, it was clear that the Edsel was in trouble. The problem was not the Edsel, itself, which was a pretty good car by 1958 standards. however, it was not innovative mechanically, and its styling was the brunt of comedians’ jokes. As Jack Benny quipped, “Is that a new Edsel, or did somebody let the horse collar out of the bar without the horse?” The problem with the Edsel was that it was not a truly breakthrough car in terms of safety engineering, compact size and good gas economy, which was what the public was beginning to look for by the fall of 1957.

True, 95% of car sales in the U.S. were American, but the other 5% of the cars sold were imports ready to attack, and people were waiting in line for nine months for Volkswagens. The mood of the American public was quickly changing from unbridled optimism to the harsh reality that the U.S. was no longer the technological and ideological leader of the brave new world created by the defeat of Germany and Japan. In fact, Japan was already laying plans for the Toyopet invasion, which began in 1959. Proof that new times were coming was the fact that the Edsel bombed. Ford had made a $250,000,000 gamble on a car originally conceived in 1947, and lost. Never has market research gone more amuck! But the Edsel was only a part of the big circus picture.

1957-58 was the height of sharp practices in selling cars. It was not only dealer practices but factory practices as well. High-balling, low-balling, sweat rooms, hyped up sales events, dealers being forced to take on more cars than they could profitably sell, factory and dealer financing sharp practices, the silliness and high cost of annual styling changes, cars that totally ignored safety, and above all no sticker price. It took the government in the late sixties to mandate that factories put plainly market retail prices on the windows of all automobiles, listing the base price, price of options, shipping costs, etc. Still even this did not reflect the true price of a car because there were factory rebates to dealers, and all manner of dealer incentives not passed on to the public.

Another factor, especially in the late fifties, was the poor workmanship, the inconsistency of quality, and the notorious Monday and Friday built cars. 1957-58 has often been cited as the height of poor quality. The 1957 Ford, as beautiful as it was in the Fairlane series, was a slap-dab piece of workmanship. Moreover, the design of the car encouraged early rustout, and in those days nobody was putting primers on the inside of the sheet metal. In 1959, Ford began a quality control program that did not really show results until about 1964. Yes, the industry was in a mess in 1958, and the styling of the cars only gave a hint of all the problems.

Keats’ book tells how and why the imports got a stronghold. He writes, “In 1952, when only 27,000 foreign cars were sold in this country, Detroit paid no attention to them. As one dealer said at the time, ‘there’ll always be a few nuts’. By 1955, foreign car sales had doubled to 54,000 units. Detroit shrugged: “What percentage of 6,000,000 is 54,000?”