Tag: Lincoln-Mercury

1973 Capri: Imported For Lincoln-Mercury

Posted on by

While Ford of England first marketed a Capri model in the early ’60s, the Consul Classic Capri, the first one offered in the United States appeared in 1970 and was sold by Lincoln-Mercury dealers. Often called a ‘Mercury Capri’, it really wasn’t. It was just the Capri, as borne out in all advertising and brochures. Sporty, affordable little imported coupes were hitting their stride in the early ’70s, and Ford wanted in on it.

By the time the Capri came to the US market, insurance premiums were beginning to have an effect on sales of cars like the Mustang, Javelin, Barracuda and others. In short order, your choices for coupes were down to two basic types: a big, landau roofed cruiser like the Monte Carlo or Grand Prix, or a small, sporty coupe such as the Capri, Opel Manta or Toyota Celica.

Continue Reading →

Brougham For Sale: 1978 Mercury Marquis

Posted on by

Remember Jason Bagge? Sure you do. He’s the Pacific Northwest’s Brougham Whisperer. He seeks out, buys, refurbishes, and sells on classic 1970s Broughamtastic Broughams to happy new owners. Many of his previous cars have been featured right here on Riverside Green, including his 1976 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, 1976 Caprice Classic Landau, 1976 Bonneville Brougham, 1972 Bonneville four-door hardtop, and 1973 Imperial LeBaron. Well, folks, he just can’t keep anything, ha ha!

Nope. He finds something cool, fixes it up, sells it on, spies another classic ’70s yacht, and repeats the process. All the aforementioned Detroit land yachts are long gone! If he has a car you like, chances are you can get it-for the right price. And now, ladies and germs, he’s selling a very nice 1978 Mercury Marquis. And it can be yours!

Continue Reading →

1971 Lincoln Continental – I Have A History With These

Posted on by

I am well known for my love of Ford Motor Company’s flagship, the Lincoln Continental. Very few people, at least those who appreciate classic cars, would argue that the 1961-69 Continental was anything but a classic design and a true American luxury car, but I also am rather fond of the 1970-73 version. Remember those? They’ve kind of faded from memory over the decades, with the ’60s Continentals on one side and the square-rigged, luxury railroad coaches that were the 1975-79 Continentals.

I certainly remember them. A big part of that is due to an old, forgotten triple black 1971 Lincoln Continental that was sitting in a 1920s-era one-car garage not far from my neighborhood. From the age of approximately five through the end of junior high, my beloved bicycles took me where I wanted to go. Heck, I still have my first bike sitting in my garage!

Continue Reading →

1977 Mercury Marquis and Marquis Brougham – Ride-Engineered by Lincoln-Mercury!

Posted on by

The last few years of Mercury’s existence, say 2005-2010, were painful to watch. Though the marque had a pretty consistently bumpy road through the years (cheap Lincoln or fancy Ford?), there were still some interesting cars. Who could forget the loaded, tri-tone 1957-58 “senior” Park Lanes, 1967-68 Cougars and the fastback Cyclones of the late Sixties? Or the full-on Broughamtastic Marquis, which first appeared in 1967 as the top-drawer big Mercury? Heck, the Marquis pretty much WAS Mercury the last decade of its existence. So let’s take a look of some of its Seventies forebears, shall we?

The 1977 Marquis was essentially the same as the 1975 Marquis. The main difference was that in 1977 most of its competition had gone on a crash diet and turned out leaner, meaner, and yet more space efficient as well.

And “The New Chevrolet” and its siblings sold like dollar beer at the ball game. What to do? Simple: Improvise.

Continue Reading →