This somewhat battered '77 Continental parks on a very narrow street in my neighborhood and causes much gnashing of teeth among residents who have a tough time navigating their SUVs around its vast bulk. However, I approve of this car, because of the grille.
Let's take another look at that thing. Sure, things had gone to hell for Detroit in the mid-70s, what with gas prices and smog laws and an unstoppable torrent of cheap reliable gas-sipping cars pouring in from Nippon. But, dammit (pounds fist on table), Detroit could still make a massive chrome grille!
I'm going to take a wild guess and say this thing- which could be purchased with a gas-swilling 460 or a not-much-more-economical 400- gets about 8 miles per gallon. Maybe.
But who the hell cares when you've got opera windows? This car has class and lots of it!
That tasteful rococo filigree on the rear lenses really makes a statement. And hey, the wild-ass fins of the 50s were still being alluded to in car design as late as 1977!
But before we start thinking this car sucks, we'll make a quick return to that mighty grille. No, it doesn't suck.
Although this particular one could use a few bits and pieces (that marker light is an easy junkyard find these days), this Lincoln is more or less complete.
As a reminder of Malaise Era car design and how painful it was, this Continental still has the govt-mandated huge smog decal on the rear door window. The sad thing is that those standards are godawful compared to today and the engine made no power- not even a good tradeoff.
Lose about 5" of ride height, put some Moon discs on it, tint the windows far beyond legality, and install Cherry Bombs, and you'd really have something here.
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