Editing Lincoln Motor Company (section)

===1960s===
From 1958 until 1960, Lincoln would lose over $60 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|60000000|1960}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars {{inflation-fn|US}}). Following the recession economy of the late 1950s (a factor that would play into the demise of Edsel), Ford Motor Company was forced to recoup the development costs of a vehicle platform that Lincoln shared with neither Ford nor Mercury (with the lone exception of the engine and transmission). By 1958, the future of Lincoln-Mercury was at risk, with Ford President [[Robert McNamara]] considering the reduction of Ford to its namesake brand.<ref name="howstuffworks">{{cite web|url=https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1961-lincoln-continental7.htm |title=1961 Lincoln Continental Almost Discontinued |date=October 11, 2007 |website=How Stuff Works |access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref> As a condition of allowing Lincoln to continue production, McNamara required the Lincoln model line to undergo a reduction in size.<ref name="howstuffworks"/>

For 1961, Lincoln consolidated its model lineup to a single model line, with the Lincoln Continental replacing the Lincoln Capri and Lincoln Premiere; as the Continental marque was withdrawn, the Mark V saw no successor. While only nominally lighter than the 1960 Lincoln, the 1961 Lincoln Continental adopted a smaller exterior footprint, shedding 15 inches in length and 8 inches of wheelbase. In an effort to streamline production, only four-door body styles were produced, with the Continental becoming the sole mass-produced four-door convertible sold in North America; to maximize rear-seat egress, Lincoln returned to the use of rear [[suicide doors]].

In another requirement to ensure its survival, the model cycle of Lincoln was extended from three years to nine years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1961-lincoln-continental1.htm |title=Lincoln Institutes Design Study |date=October 11, 2007 |website=How Stuff Works |access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref> While largely dispensing with major yearly model changes, the decision established design consistency and shifting resources towards quality control.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1966-1969-lincoln-continental.htm |title=1966-1969 Lincoln Continental |date=September 4, 2007 |website=How Stuff Works |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202095956/https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1966-1969-lincoln-continental.htm |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref> For the 1966 model year, to better compete with the Cadillac Coupe de Ville and the Imperial Crown/LeBaron Coupe, Lincoln added a two-door hardtop to the Continental model line. After the 1967 model year, Lincoln ended production of the Continental 4-door convertible. At 5,712 pounds,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.automobile-catalog.com/make/lincoln/continental_lincoln_2gen/continental_lincoln_2gen_convertible/1967.html |title=1967 Lincoln Continental 4-Door Convertible |website=automobile-catalog.com|access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref> the 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible is the heaviest non-limousine car ever produced by Ford Motor Company; {{as of|2023|lc=yes}}, it is the final factory-produced four-door convertible sold in North America.

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File:1960 Lincoln Continental Mark V (9691140806).jpg|1960 Lincoln Continental Mark V hardtop sedan
File:1961 Lincoln Continental (20960224924).jpg|1961 Lincoln Continental sedan
File:1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible (31045125132).jpg|1963 Lincoln Continental convertible
File:1964 Lincoln Continental Convertible (35951033032).jpg|1964 Lincoln Continental convertible (top raised)
File:1967 Lincoln Continental coupe (8450835437).jpg|1967 Lincoln Continental coupe
File:1969 Lincoln Continental (27503822210).jpg|1969 Lincoln Continental sedan 
</gallery>

====Continental Mark III====
During the 1960s, Ford sought to develop a new flagship vehicle as a successor to the Continental Mark II. While the Lincoln Continental served as a close competitor to the Cadillac de Ville series and the [[Imperial (automobile)|Imperial]], while Cadillac shifted the [[Cadillac Eldorado]] to the personal luxury segment in 1967, a segment that Ford exited in 1957 after the withdrawal of the Continental Mark II. As a response, in April 1968, the [[Lincoln Continental Mark III|Continental Mark III]] was released as a 1969 model. While not officially a Lincoln, the Continental Mark III was marketed and serviced through the Lincoln-Mercury dealer network. Over a number of various names considered for the vehicle, Continental Mark III was chosen, as Henry Ford II thought the Continental Mark II did not have a proper successor (thus restarting the nomenclature).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://auto.howstuffworks.com/lincoln-cars9.htm |title=How Lincoln Cars Work |date=2007-06-08 |website=How Stuff Works |access-date=2022-05-08}}</ref>

Alongside the 1968 Lincoln Continental, the Continental Mark III marked the debut of the {{convert|460|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} Ford 385-series V8 rated at {{convert|365|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|500|lb.ft|N·m|0|abbr=on}} torque and also became the first Ford vehicle to be fitted with anti-lock brakes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eldorado-seville.com/MarkIII/MarkIII/history.html |title=The History of my Mark III |last=Loidl |first=Gerald |website=eldorado-seville.com |access-date=2018-05-20}}</ref> As standard equipment, the Mark III was fitted with power door locks, power seats, and power windows. To control development and production costs, the Mark III was offered only as a two-door hardtop derived from the chassis underpinnings of the four-door [[Ford Thunderbird (fifth generation)|Ford Thunderbird]]. While sharing many styling elements from Lincoln, the Continental Mark III debuted many elements of its own, including hidden headlights and a redesigned trunk lid with a simulated spare-tire indentation (the actual spare tire laid flat in the front part of the trunk). It mixed European and American luxury features with the most prominent being an upright chrome grille inspired by a Rolls-Royce design and had a centrally-mounted Cartier electric clock on the dashboard.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Shea |first1=Terry |title=1969-'71 Lincoln Continental Mark III |url=https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1969-71-lincoln-continental-mark-iii | magazine =Hemmings Motor News |date=April 2018 |access-date=2020-12-27}}</ref>

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File:1969 Lincoln Continetal Mark III (27056867860).jpg|1969 Continental Mark III rear
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