Continental Mark II - 1956
In the 1950s, as a method of competing head on with General Motors, the Ford Motor Company sought to organise itself into a broader range of auto divisions.
Ford vs Chevrolet, the new Edsel Division vs Pontiac, Mercury vs Oldsmobile, Lincoln vs Buick. Atop this series, Continental would be broken out as a marque in its own right.
Continental would compete directly with Cadillac - then undisputed leader in the upper luxury division.
'Continental' would have its own staff, its factory and its own, unique vehicle.
Continental, was intended to create a vehicle in the spirit of the 'Classic Era' - the 1930's. Coachbuilt vehicles of the highest quality. With this in mind numerous layers of quality control and quality design was embedded into every process involved in the creation and manufacture of each car.
This quality came at a cost. Each Continental Mark II was a very expensive machine to purchase - but the process in creating the car was also costly, and time consuming. For this reason, though the car can rightly be called a 20th Century landmark classic, only 1,231 cars found homes in 1955, a further 1,325 in 1956, (and 444 in the 1957 calendar year), It is estimated that Ford lost $1,000 per car (in 1957 money).
The postscript to the story is that the Continental Division was once again merged with Lincoln - the new 1958 Continental Mk III was substantially a modified Lincoln. This may not have been such a problem, but for the fact that the 1958-1960 Lincoln and Continentals are some of the most unattractive cars from the period.
Continental Mark II - 1956
In the 1950s, as a method of competing head on with General Motors, the Ford Motor Company sought to organise itself into a broader range of auto divisions.
Ford vs Chevrolet, the new Edsel Division vs Pontiac, Mercury vs Oldsmobile, Lincoln vs Buick. Atop this series, Continental would be broken out as a marque in its own right.
Continental would compete directly with Cadillac - then undisputed leader in the upper luxury division.
'Continental' would have its own staff, its factory and its own, unique vehicle.
Continental, was intended to create a vehicle in the spirit of the 'Classic Era' - the 1930's. Coachbuilt vehicles of the highest quality. With this in mind numerous layers of quality control and quality design was embedded into every process involved in the creation and manufacture of each car.
This quality came at a cost. Each Continental Mark II was a very expensive machine to purchase - but the process in creating the car was also costly, and time consuming. For this reason, though the car can rightly be called a 20th Century landmark classic, only 1,231 cars found homes in 1955, a further 1,325 in 1956, (and 444 in the 1957 calendar year), It is estimated that Ford lost $1,000 per car (in 1957 money).
The postscript to the story is that the Continental Division was once again merged with Lincoln - the new 1958 Continental Mk III was substantially a modified Lincoln. This may not have been such a problem, but for the fact that the 1958-1960 Lincoln and Continentals are some of the most unattractive cars from the period.