Continental (Ford) (1956-7) Lincoln (Ford) (July 1958–1998)
Production
1956–1960 1969–1998
Body and chassis
Class
Full-size personal luxury car
Body style
2-door coupe 4-door sedan (1958–1960, 1980–1983) 2-door convertible (1958–1960)
Layout
FR layout
Chronology
Predecessor
Lincoln Continental (1940–1948)
Successor
Lincoln LS
The Continental Mark series (later Lincoln Mark series) is a series of personal luxury cars that was produced by Ford Motor Company. The nomenclature came into use with the Continental Mark II for 1956, which was a successor to the Lincoln Continental of 1939–1948. Following the discontinuation of the Mark II, Ford continued the use of the Mark series on Continental-branded vehicles from 1958 to 1960.
Following a hiatus, Lincoln-Mercury relaunched the Continental Mark series during 1968. This new model was branded as the Continental Mark III in order to suggest continuity with the flagship 1956–1957 Continental Mark II rather than the less-successful 1958–1960 models. The reborn Mark series went on to produce six successive generations through the 1998 model year.
Serving as the flagship vehicle of Ford Motor Company for its entire production, the Mark series beginning with the Mark III continued the use of Continental branding, similar to how the Continental nameplate was positioned above Lincoln before its discontinuation in July 1956 (and distinct from the 1961 and onward Lincoln Continental). All Continental Mark series models were marketed and serviced by Lincoln-Mercury.
In line with both the 1940s Lincoln Continental and the Continental Mark II, most versions of the Mark series were produced as two-door coupes (personal cars); at various times through its production, multiple body styles were simultaneously offered. With the exception of the nearly hand-built Continental Mark II, the model line has shared chassis underpinnings with other Ford or Lincoln-Mercury vehicles.
Derived from the original Lincoln Continental, the continental tire trunklid design feature was adopted by each generation (in various forms) from the Continental Mark II to the final Lincoln Mark VIII. The Lincoln four-point star emblem is a design feature that was introduced by the Continental Mark II.
To eliminate the branding confusion, the Mark series dropped Continental branding and adopted the Lincoln name from the 1986 model year onward. After the 1998 model year, Lincoln ended the Mark series with the Mark VIII, as the division shifted away from personal luxury cars to concentrate on four-door sedans and SUVs. From 2007 to 2020, Lincoln used a visually-similar "MK" prefix for many of its models, which includes the MKC, MKS, MKT, MKX and MKZ; the nomenclature was phased out in favor of conventional names.
From 1958 to 1998, Mark series vehicles were produced alongside Lincolns by Wixom Assembly at Wixom, Michigan.
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