Ironically, the Continental Mark IV is the most “American” car ever. It’s the ultimate counterpart to that most continental/ European car ever, the VW Rabbit/Golf Mk I that appeared about the same time. The Golf was a brilliant triumph of modern design: space efficiency, economy, light weight, visibility, sparkling performance and handling. And in Europe, the Golf became known as the “classless” car; one that didn’t make a statement about its owner. The Mark? Well, take all those qualities, turn them upside down, inside out, and then toss them out the window. Americans have long had ambivalence about “modern” anyway; it hinted at socialistic and intellectual influences that didn’t always sit so well. The most modern American car ever was the Corvair, and look how that turned out. Even the Kennedy Lincolns were a touch too modern. America was ripe for the first true post-modern car, and Ford was the obvious company to make it. (Read More…)
Tagged as Cadillac Eldorado, continental, henry ford, Henry Ford II, lee iaccoca, Lincoln, Mark III, Mark IV, Mark V, Mark VI, mcmansion, ronald reagan, zephyr
Recent Comments
CelticPete - The problem for Jaguar is that there are just not alot of people who want this kind of car vs. a lux SUV. That’s why they are suffering. A millionare...
Summicron - But you’ll have to make us think you normally write for Mother Jones, just like Brendan did. Fair’s fair.
MadHungarian - I see one of these very frequently parked a block or two from where I work. It is just downright sexy, no doubt about that. But I am concerned how well you...
Summicron - Interesting site. Must be where blowfish works.
CelticPete - I didn’t like this review at all. I don’t understand how the readers at this site can complain about Car and Driver and then like...
nzecowitz - Better than Clarkson!
MadHungarian - Don’t know about that. Only without Jaguar does Ford have a chance, a small one but a chance, of reviving Lincoln. Part of the Lincoln story is that...
Wheeljack - Back when I worked for Ford I had a 1998 Mystique Sport with the V-6 and a manual trans as a company car. 1998 was the last good...
Compaq Deskpro - The real waste is buying a new one, you can get 90′s models for 10-20k, early 2000′s for <100k. If it has a dent, drive...
snakebit - I find the imagined poor reliability of late model Jaguars versus the realtime reliability of Range Rovers troubling. I don’t have sales figures in front...