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| The Lincoln Mark IV was all new in 1972. |
Lincoln had been the Blue
Oval flagship since Henry Ford purchased the floundering luxury make
in 1922. Edsel Ford made the car unforgettable with his design magic.
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| The 1961 Lincoln. |
Its creators rescued it from a dowdy fate and made Lincoln stately in 1961. The classic body
style carried the prestige marque for more than a decade. Lee Iococca
was the man who been responsible for the revival-look Mark III and
its success. He stood behind the refined Mark IV that bowed for the
1972 selling season.
From the boldly elegant
radiator-inspired Rolls-Royce grille--with its stand-up hood ornament
to the whisper of the spare tire outlined on the rear deck sheet
metal, to the genuinely inspired opera window in the sail panel--one
replete with an etched silver leaf star at its centre--this motor
vehicle radiated discrete priveledge on an elevated plane.
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| The 1972 Lincoln
Mark IV was a revival model. Stylists paid homage to an era when spare tires
were carried on the rear of the car.
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Available only as a
two-door hardtop coupe, the Mark IV’s side envelope was seamless
and breathtaking. The design carried front fenders tapering inward
every so subtly, flaunted a massive bodyside “blade” in the rear
quarter panel and a sharp and shapely crease in the lower third of
the panel. It shared a roof with Thunderbird.
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| The Lincoln Mark IV sold for $10,613 f.o.b. Oakville, Ontario. |
Powering this majestic
maharaja of the motorways was the magnificent 460-cubic inch
overhead-valve V-8 engine that ran on 91-octane gasoline. The mill
generated 212 horsepower at 4400 RPM. Transmission of power to the
road was by use of the three-speed Select-Shift automatic with a
12-inch hydraulic torque converter.
Surprisingly, the Mark
IV’s frame was a lengthened version of the Mercury Montego’s
undercarriage. It did have wider front and rear treads, a STABUL rear
suspension, a linkless brake booster and a centre-fill fuel tank with
a capacity of 18.7 Imperial gallons.
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The launch of the Mark IV
was tasteful. “It stands alone in a world where individuality has
all be disappeared.” Advertising spoke of the “graceful sweep of
the roofline,” the subtle refinement of a contemporary classic”
and a 120.4-inch wheelbased personal luxury car kissed with the
hallmarks of concealed headlamps and Michelin steel-belted radial ply
tires.
Interiors were
surprisingly large for such a sleek envelope and were upholstered in
Dark Blue, Black, Dark Red, Dark Green or Light Grey Gold Lamont
tricot biscuit-pattern cloth. An appropriate upgrade was white, Black
Dark Blue, Dark Red, Medium Ginger, Dark Green, Light Grey Gold or
Dark Tobacco leather. Seats were six-way electric Twin Comfort
loungers operated from consoles built into the door armrests.
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| The instrument panel of the Lincoln Mark IV was placed in a rectangular console for the operator’s convenience and passengers’ safety. |
The instrument panel was
finished in a combination Kashmir Walnut Woodgrain Matina and Baby
Burl Walnut Woodgrain appliqué. All instruments were placed in
rectangular, silver faced pods in a console, positioned directly in
front of the driver, including the Cartier timepiece—a clock
crafted by one of the world’s most famous jewellers—and exclusive
to Lincoln Mark IV.
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| No less of a company than Cartier the jeweller provided the Mark IV with a chronometer. |
Auto historian Gregory
Von Dare tells of early quality control problems at the Wixham,
Michigan plant where Continentals, Mark IVs and Thunderbirds were
assembled. The two cars’ interiors were very similar in look. More
than one Lincoln-Mercury-Meteor dealer received Mark IVs with
Thunderbird logos on the instrument panel. Similarly, not a few Ford
dealers discovered Thunderbirds that proclaimed themselves Lincolns!
Auto historian Tom Bonsall notes with humour that Thunderbird owners
didn’t seem to mind the mix up.
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| The optional AM/FM stereo radio came with ten pre-set button positions. |
These Lincoln Mark IV
passenger cars were born with power steering, power disc brakes front
and power drum in the rear, an Automatic Temperature Control (heater
and air conditioner to ordinary Canadians), power windows, power
seats, an AM radio and 100-percent long-shear, cut-pile
carpeting—colour-keyed in the cabin and black in the luggage
compartment. Other standard features included electric wipers and
washer, a three-spoke rim-blow steering wheel, folding centre
armrests—fore and aft—keyless door locking and a reversible key,
triple-note horns, trip odometer, door assist straps, cornering
lights and curb mouldings.
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Acrylic enamel exterior
finishes included 15 standard colour choices: Black, Maroon, Dark
Green Metallic, White, Yellow, Pastel Lime, Light Blue, Light Grey
Metallic, Medium Green metallic, Medium Blue Metallic, Dark Brown
Metallic, Grey Gold Metallic, Green Gold Metallic, Dark Blue Metallic
and Light Yellow Metallic. In addition there were eight optional
“Moondust” metallic colours consisting of Gold, Light Ginger,
Ginger, Blue, Light Ivy, Ivy, Red and Copper. To top things off, at
no extra cost, padded roof colours were Black, White, Dark Green,
Dark Brown or Dark Blue.
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| The 1972 Mark IV was the first Lincoln to carry opera windows. |
One could invest further
in one’s Lincoln Continental Mark IV with such convenient lifestyle
add-ons as front bumper guards, a rear window defroster, automatic
headlight dimmers, a stereo tape player, reclining seats and a tilt
steering wheel.
From St. John’s to
Victoria and from Windsor to Tuktoyaktuk, Lincoln racked up 2,498
sales for calendar year 1972. That made folks in Oakville very happy,
as this was a very healthy increase over the 1,777 units delivered in
1971—making Ford’s most luxurious offering less popular that year
than AMC’s Javelin. Even more Lincolns would sell in 1973, no doubt
helped along by the beautiful lines of the Mark IV.
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