To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln, we are offering a $25 introductory membership fee for 2022 for new members. LCOC welcomes all who enjoy Lincoln automobiles to take advantage of the wide variety of exciting member benefits!
During the 1979 model year, Lincoln-Mercury Division heavily advertised the fact that the Town Car/Town Coupe and the Mark series body styles were going to be different next year. The top of the line Collector’s Series Mark Vs, Town Cars, and Town Coupes were referred to in Lincoln-Mercury Division news releases as “special limited production models being built to mark the final year of these traditional full-sized luxury cars”. It does seem like an unusual marketing tactic, but even when the ‘79 Lincolns were new, the buying public was reminded not only of their high resale value, but also of the collectability of the soon to be discontinued models.
According to then Ford Motor Company Vice President and Lincoln General Manager, Walter J. Oben, during the 1979 model year, collectors were buying every new Mark V the factory could produce.
Contemporary factory literature and brochures identify two 1979 Collector Series Mark Vs—one in white, the other in midnight blue. The ‘79 Collector Series Mark Vs were dressed much like the previous year’s Diamond Jubilee models, except that the Collector’s Series Mark Vs, “Collector’s Series” insignia replaced the opera windows.
The midnight blue and white Collector’s Series Mark V’s were introduced at the start of the 1979 model year. Pictures and descriptions of them are included in the factory brochures.
It will come as a surprise to most of us, that in March, 1979 two additional limited edition Collector’s Series Mark Vs were offered, one in silver and the other in Diamond Jubilee blue (light blue). Diamond Jubilee blue is the same Diamond Jubilee blue that was used on the 1978 Mark V Diamond Jubilee model. The only place we know of that you can find any reference to the silver and the Diamond Jubilee blue Collector’s Series Mark V is in the 1979 Dealer’s Color and Upholstery Book as a March, 1979 “glue in” supplement. Bob Bowen, St. Maries, Idaho, has ‘79 Collector’s Edition MarkVs in blue, silver and white. Grant and Joan Milne, Lucerne, Colorado own a silver Collector’s Series Mark V. To date, Bob has located only one 1979 Diamond Jubilee blue Collector’s series Mark V, and it has been wrecked.
In a letter dated August 1, 1984 to a collector in Colorado, Lincoln-Mercury gave the following production figures for the 1979 Collector’s Series Mark Vs.
Midnight Blue: 3,900
White: 2,040
Silver: 125
Diamond Jubilee Blue: 197
Total: 6,262
If any of our members know of any other Diamond Jubilee blue or silver 1979 Collector’s Series Mark Vs out there, please write and let us know about them.
Thanks to Bob Bowen for the information, photographs, and a copy of the supplement to the 1979 Dealer’s Color and Upholstery Book explaining about the additional Collector’s Edition Mark Vs.
Way back in 1962 I was a happy young man, deeply in love with my 1948 Lincoln Continental coupe, which I had acquired in 1955. I had been a member of LCOC since that year, had made a lot of friends and the forseeable future looked rosy.
But then, like many a misguided young man, I left my true love for a tantalizing hussy with a gorgeous jet black paint job, an immaculate gray and white leather interior and a big V-8 engine you could have eaten off of. As it turned out, I had met the vixen from hell.
Bob Cowgill was a long-time LCOC member who lived in Pasadena and had owned a very beautiful 1941 Lincoln Continental coupe. But more recently he had purchased a 1956 Continental Mark II. When some personal reason prompted him to sell the Mark II who should he first offer it to but his old buddy-me. As I recall, he wanted $4,500 for it. I didn’t come close to having that kind of money, but Bob agreed to finance the deal for me. So I sold my lovely 1948 coupe to Tom Powels of the Classic Car Club and drove my new love home.
I never suspected that my happy motoring life was about to come to a rude end.
The next morning I decided to drive my new beauty to work and show her off to my envious co-workers. It was a cold morning, so I turned on the heater, and was immediately greeted by a blast of frigid air on my ankles. The drive to work was 20 miles, and not a breath of warmth could I coax from the heater. On the way home that evening I did get it to work for about 10 minutes, and then it was back to icy ankles. The flip side of this, as you may have guessed, was that when summer arrived the heater worked fine, but the air conditioner refused to even think about cooling the car.
I should state that I have never been one of those mechanically gifted people who do their own automotive work. I will pump gas and check the oil, but everything else gets worked on by people who know what they’re doing. Since the power antenna also was non-operative, I ran to my local Lincoln-Mercury dealer to see about getting warmed, cooled and serenaded by my radio.
For the heater and air-conditioner he wanted something like three months of my salary. The antenna, I was informed, could only be reached by removing the right front fender, a job that would take two men half a day or more of labor in order that they might then re-attach a vacuum hose. I declined gracefully and headed home in tears.
From that time on I put the antenna up and down by hand, wore warm clothes on cold days and opened all the windows on hot days. But my new lover was just getting started.
A couple of weeks later the motor that controlled the power wind wing on the driver’s door died. It took an entire weekend, but I did manage to replace it myself. But within a week a terrible grinding noise whenever I applied the brake pedal informed me that it was time to reline the brakes. I lived on beans for a month, but my brake shop got me back on the road. The weak smile on my face lasted only a few days, however, then the radio died.
In the trunk of my mean-spirited beauty was a shop repair manual, so I decided to follow the instructions for removing the radio. For those of you who have missed the experience, just let me say that first you have to remove that counter-balanced glove box, and then try and get the radio out of the hole formerly occupied by said glove box. I am living proof that it can be done, but I do not recommend the procedure to anyone with a short fuse. (When I took the radio to the repair shop, the owner informed me admiringly that he charged $75.00 labor just to remove the radio – and this was in 1962 dollars!)
To celebrate my victory over the radio, I decided to treat myself to an expensive dinner. Mindful of parking lot attendants, I parked on the street. Two martinis and half a filet mignon later the loudspeaker in the restaurant announced that smoke was pouring out from under the hood of a black Continental in front of the restaurant. My darling had struck again!
A large gas station on the corner had a night mechanic who managed to get the fire in my generator out. As I recall, some sort of Orwellian nightmare in the electrical system had caused the battery to run the generator—or to try to. Since such a thing is apparently impossible, the generator had burned itself to death. I told the guy to fix the problem and went back to the restaurant, where I found that they had thrown out my steak, given my table to someone else and had been considering having me arrested for leaving without paying the check. Thanks again, baby.
Mercifully, a short time later a man I knew only slightly mentioned that a friend of his, a doctor in Beverly Hills, was looking for a good clean Mark II. I murmured that, for the right amount I could be persuaded to part with the love of my life. The deal was made and I paid off Bob Cowgill.
I have spent the last 30-35 years hoping to God that doctor never finds me!
Last year, sources with ties to Ford’s Design Center reported that the aero/elliptical look of current Ford products was about spent and that new styling directions were on the horizon. What are future Lincolns going to look like? Planes are still one of the major influences on car design. The latest look in airplane design is the Stealth. Stylists at Ford’s Design Center describe their translation of the stealth look as “new edge” design.
The newest Lincoln concept car is the 1996 Sentinel. It was introduced to the public January 8, 1996, at the Detroit Auto Show. From its angular lines, it appears to have been heavily influenced by the F-117A Stealth fighter. To old car enthusiasts, the Sentinel may also evoke memories of “Black Beauty”, the modified 1937 Lincoln Zephyr used by the Green Hornet in the 1940 movie of the same name.
In March, 1996, after the Sentinel was shown at several east coast auto shows, the color was changed from black to charcoal gray. The stylists apparently felt that in black, the Sentinel looked too sinister. In present form, the Sentinel is a fiberglass “workout”. It has no drivetrain and no interior except for a steering wheel, the tops of the seats and the top of the dash. The doors, hood and trunk do not open. It is, however, designed to have suicide doors, (stylists call them “French doors”) Currently a new 7/8 size Sentinel is being built for display at the Pebble Beach Concours. The stylists also apparently felt that the sizing of the Sentinel as originally designed was too big. The new 7/8 Sentinel will be a fully operational vehicle. It will be built on a Jaguar platform and it will have “French doors” like the 1961-69 Lincoln Continentals.
A word of caution; just because a particular look is being considered for one of the Ford products in our future, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will come to pass.
Public reaction to the Lincoln Sentinel will be gauged carefully and in a couple of years, when we see the new Lincoln look—whatever it is—we’ll then know if Ford’s stylists have been able to translate the Stealth look into something the car buying public will take to. Jim Farrell.
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The Lincoln Sentinel, a full-size, four-door, rear-wheel-drive luxury concept car, embodies what may be the wave of the future in automotive design.
Ford’s latest example of New Edge design, Sentinel makes its world debut at the 1996 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Sentinel blends classic Lincoln styling themes with the Ford-inspired New Edge approach.
Sentinel retains the recognizable elements of traditional Lincoln exterior styling, such as classic proportions, a crisp silhouette, simple, unadorned body sides and high, linear belt lines. But New Edge’s “shape-upon-shape” technique results in edge highlights where curved planes intersect.
“The result is a strong, almost brutal shape that suggests strength,” said Jack Telnak, vice president, Corporate Design. “In this way, form contains function. The skin is wrapped tightly over the mechanicals, almost like shrink-wrap. The result is not only improved aerodynamics, but also improved fuel economy as well as head-turning styling,” Telnack said.
New Edge is not a new concept for Ford. The GT90 sports car, which was introduced last year, is one of the first applications of Edge design in a car seen by the public.
“The GT90 captured the feel of the original GT40, but with a distinct difference,” Telnack said. “It is a contemporary iteration that uses styling cues from the ‘60s in a whole new way—a three-dimensional ‘90s interpretation.
“So, New Edge is not a retro style. It is a true forward application, but one that pays homage to the past. New Edge is but one of several emerging design concepts. It is a harbinger of things to come, but it is not the only path.
“Like the breadth of our car and truck lines, we have a similar breadth in our design philosophies. There are other equally exciting design avenues we are pursuing,” said Telnack.
Lincoln enthusiasts will recognize a new interpretation of a 1940s-style Continental grill set into the Sentinel’s metallic black exterior. The clean side profile, blade fenders and high belt line with minimal chrome trim are typical Lincoln design themes that are reminiscent of early 1960s Lincolns and still are clearly visible in today’s Town Car.
Flush glass all around and compact, vertically stacked projector headlamps add to the uncluttered look of the exterior. The placement of the flush-to-the-body, massive, 20-inch wheels ensures a minimum of body overhang and adds to Sentinel’s clean lines. The car’s overall length of 218 inches is just one inch shorter than a 1996 Lincoln Town Car.
“The Lincoln Sentinel is an exploratory look at keeping Lincoln’s traditional styling themes fresh for future generations,” said Claude Lobo, Ford’s director of Advanced Design. “But the Sentinel also is helping us to identify important issues in auto design, such as determining the benefits of a New Edge approach. Improved road holding and interior space are two more areas that may benefit from this kind of design approach in the future,” Lobo said.
