It would be the distinguishing mark for Lincoln for the rest of the decade and one, which would garner it accolades as "classic" before Richard Nixon, would ascend to the Presidency.  This was Lincoln for 1961.

 Originally intended to be a  '61 2-door Thunderbird, this prototype was selected in the fall of 1958 by Ford's Robert McNamara to be the '61 Lincoln.  Lincoln had learned that a lot of Cadillac's success came from the fact that it had numerous styling "cues" that enabled consumers to identify it immediately as a Cadillac.  This influenced the decision to use this prototype, a style that could be used for many years, with only minor alterations.  In an effort to keep a rein on costs, the decision was made to produce only a 4-door vehicle.  This meant that even the convertible would be a four door and this posed the problem of where to hang the rear door.  As this door was quite heavy, and the vehicle was a unit-body design, the center pillar would simply not support the weight of this door.  Thus, they returned to a style which was not uncommon to them, for the late '40's Lincoln 4-door cars had employed "front-opening rear doors".   This would permit the hanging of the rear doors from the inner structure of the quarter panels, a much sturdier base.  Add to this a smooth, uncluttered "slab-side" design and they had a car that no one would mistake for anything other than a Lincoln.

 The '61 was significantly reduced in size from the 1960 model.  When that car was introduced in 1958, Lincoln chose to use a unit-body design.  The body and floor pan of the car take the place of the traditional frame.  The advantages of this become increasing less as the size of a unit bodied car increases; in fact, the disadvantages of it grow, as the vehicle becomes larger.  In 1958 Lincoln had wanted to exceed a Cadillac in size.  This they did, but discovered that doing this with a unit bodied car posed a number of problems.  And so, the wheelbase of the '61 Lincoln was reduced to 123 inches from the 1960 model's 131.  Lincoln took advantage of this and promoted it as more maneuverable.  The 430ci engine with 2 barrel carb was retained from 1960.  Base price was $6,067 for the sedan and $6,713 for the convertible.
 Lincoln also wished to develop a reputation of high quality.  Numerous tests were performed along the assembly line and the engines and transmissions were test run for several hours before installation.  After leaving the line, each and every car was given a 12 mile road test and subjected to a 189 point inspection.  Lincoln even featured these dozen or so inspectors in one of their magazine ads in 1963.  With good reason to believe their product was leaving the factory with few if any defects, Lincoln offered the industry's first 2-year, 24,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.  This at a time when 12/12 was the most a consumer could hope for.
 Sales of the '61 were 25,160, only a few hundred more than the 1960-which had not been a particularly good year.  But this was not to be discouraging.  For both Cadillac and Imperial experienced sales declines from 1960 to '61.  But the car really caught on by 1962, selling 31,061, a 23% increase.  Keeping a tight grip on those highly valued "styling cues" Lincoln made few changes to the '62.  The horizontal bar cutting through the center of the '61 grill was removed.  (This is the easy way to identify a '61.)

                                1962                                                1963

 Performance modifications were warranted by '63.  Lincoln had used a 2 barrel carb the first 2 years but switched to four, and redesigned the pistons.  The improvements resulted in a horsepower increase from 300 to 320.  Redesigned front seat backs resulted in more rear seat legroom, and a change in style for the trunk lid gave more room for the family's luggage.  Sales remained relatively flat at 31,233.

 A common complaint of the '61-'63 was that it was too small in the rear compartment.  A modest improvement was made with the seat redesign of 1963 but the real answer was to stretch the wheelbase.  And so this was increased 3 inches to 126 in 1964.  All of this was in the area between the front and rear seats.  Minor styling changes were also made to the roofline making it more squared-off and giving better visibility.  A complete dash redesign added oil and charging gauges.  Wheel size was increased from 14 to 15 inches (making it much easier today to find tires).  By and large, Lincoln had left the styling alone for the first 4 model years.  This had been the intent.  But they could not leave it the same forever.  A stockholder-pleasing 36,297 cars were sold.

                                                           1964

 The '61-'64 Lincoln grill was decidedly convex.  Lincoln flattened this for '65 giving the entire car a squared-off look.  With a change this substantial Lincoln left the rest of the styling alone.  In '65 they were the first in the luxury car field to offer front disc brakes as standard equipment.  These would not even become available as optional on Cadillacs until 1968.  All road testers acknowledged the tremendous improvement in braking. This would be the last slab-sided Lincoln to have a full set of gauges.  Sales increased to 40,180.

 Thorough marketing studies in the early '60's had revealed to Lincoln that there really was a market for a 2-door version of their car.  Accompanying the 4 door models for 1966 was the first 2 door Lincoln since 1960.  It was a wise decision. 
                                                                        1966           Click Here to hear the 1966 Ad Audio Clip!

Sales of the 4 doors in '66 were 38,989, a small drop from '65.  But the new 2-door sold 15,766, giving Lincoln its best sales year to date. The original 430ci engine was increased to 462ci.  An entirely new dash grouped everything in front of the driver and eliminated the temp, oil, and charging gauges.  All sheet metal was new, but remained close enough in style to the '61-'65 that there was no doubt that this was still a Lincoln.
1967

 Nineteen sixty-seven would be the last year for a Lincoln convertible-regardless of the number of doors.   Sales of the open car had never been more than about 10% of total production in any given year since 1961.  The base price of a 4-door sedan was $5795, a decrease of about $300 from 1961.   Styling was almost identical to 1966.  Sales were 45,607, off from 1966. But still extremely good for Lincoln.

 Nineteen sixty-eight was now the eighth year for this basic vehicle and perhaps sales were a reflection of this.  The 2-door had a new roofline, more squared-off than the "fastback" style of '66-'67.  Lincoln began phasing-in the all-new 460 engine in November,1967,and used the old 462 until as late as February, 1968.

This engine was so well designed that it met the Federal pollution standards for 1968 and 1969 without any add-on emission control devices.  While the 462 had developed 340 horsepower, the new 460 was rated conservatively at 365, and of course was cleaner burning.  This engine was to last well into the '90's in large pickups and motor homes.  But this was not Lincoln's biggest achievement for 1968.

 A trend had begun in the late '50's and early '60's toward personal luxury cars, the Thunderbird and Riviera being the two most popular examples.  Now it was Lincoln's turn.  Using the 4-door Thunderbird platform Lincoln created the MKIII, another wise decision.  In its worst year the Lincoln Mark would equal the sales of its chief competitor, the Cadillac Eldorado.  In its best years it would almost double them.  Six thousand seven hundred dollars put one in your driveway.

 The MKIII was introduced in the spring of 1968 but was promoted as a '69.  Sales of all other Lincolns in 1968 totaled 39,134.  This was not as bad as it might seem, for surely many thousands were purchasing the MKIII
instead.

1969

 Nineteen sixty-nine would be the final year for the original unit body suicide door Lincoln.  With the long sales year for the MKIII the Lincoln total would come to just over 69,000 units.  Even given the extra MKIII's this was still not bad for a car that looked very similar to the one introduced in 1961.  Lincoln had achieved its goal.  No one would mistake the look of a Lincoln now.

Other Online articles:
The Sixties- "The Design Story" - 1973 Article (REPRINT here)
 

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