Minneapolis Street Sighting: Lincoln Continental

When one thinks presence, luxury, stateliness, the marque Lincoln is quickly at the top of the list is it not? If you're into classic American cars, there are two brands that constantly battle it out for luxury supremacy-- Lincoln and Cadillac. Just like every other car brands, both Lincoln and Cadillac have had "bad years" in terms of sales, but in terms of styling as well. To me, the quintessential Lincoln is the 1961-1963 Continental, and the least quintessential Lincoln would be.. this?
It's like Lincoln was stuck in a transition phase between the 1961-1969 cars, and the almost-as-popular 1975-1979 cars.--and they probably were. Hideaway headlights, flat sides, and fender skirts hint at the 1975-1979 models, as does the formal grille, while the white-wall tires, and Lincoln and Continental scripts, as well as the sideways logo bring the spirit of the 1961-1969 cars back. The chrome line on the front fenders separating the hood and fenders is a nice touch, too, and it was one of my favorite elements of the previous generation cars.
But the combination of details is where it goes wrong; none of these cues mesh with each other. It's like Lincoln was in a rush to design a car, but had the 1975-1979 cars already planned and simply threw something together. As a result, this generation is quite uncommon. I often still see the 1975-1979 cars, and the 1961-1969 cars are widely represented at car shows both across the nation and worldwide, but these seem to be forgotten--for the better.










While I am no fan of this generation by any stretch, this particular car looks nice for what it is. Really, this generation is nothing to look at, with its generic mish-mash of styling cues. Drab white paint, swathed with minimal does not a convincing luxury car make--sort of like a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. But this example could be quite a bit worse. No rust--at least not visible except for the usual spots. Steelies, too, drag this car down, especially the modern GM steelie. And to make matters worse, it's parked outside a local paint shop that specializes in donk work. All of these conditions come together to make a luxury car that will soon become a rolling showcase for illicit audio equipment and giant wheels.
In a way, it is a loss, but on the other hand.. will anyone really care? Lincoln enthusiasts don't like this generation, and they're obviously not valuable, or else these would be common on the show circuit, and in classic car dealers. As it is, I have not seen one except for this one, and I wasn't all that impressed.
I never liked these, and this one is soon getting a donk treatment, which will render it even more useless. Oh well. It's shame, but at least its not one of the good ones.