The weekend has barely begun, and here I am ogling vintage ’70s land yachts on CL, via one of my favorite Facebook groups, Finding Future Classic Cars. And it will no doubt come as no surprise to most of you that one, it is a Continental, two, that it is pastel yellow, and three, that it is from the 1970s. The trifecta! So let’s check out this 1974 Continental Mark IV.
As with my Brougham lust for 1971-76 Cadillac Fleetwood Broughams, my equal fascination with the 1972-76 Continental Mark IV is due to my having a little diecast version of one when I was a kid. Also, my grandfather, Bob Klockau, had a triple dark green 1972 model. Also, Cannon is just about my favorite TV show. So every time I see one, I go back in time.
While the Mark IV started off with svelte, shapely bumpers for its inaugural year in 1972, federal standards quickly changed that. Starting in 1973, that delicate front bumper was replaced with a much more robust unit, as seen here.
When the ’74s appeared in Autumn 1973, the rear bumper got the same treatment. And while I prefer the ’72, I don’t mind the big-bumper 1974-76 models either. I’m a hopeless case when it comes to ’70s Lincolns. Like a starving man at a steakhouse, I like everything.
As Rodney Dangerfield famously quipped in the 1986 comedy, Back To School: “Have you ever looked at a menu and said, OK?” That’s me, when it comes to ’70s personal luxury cars, haha.
Continental Mark IVs by this time were outselling its arch-rival, the Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado. In 1974, 57,316 of the $10,194 Mark IVs came off the line at Wixom, MI, compared to 32,812, $9,110 Eldorado coupes and 7,600, $9,437 Eldorado convertibles.
However, Cadillac was still handily trouncing Lincoln in total sales, helped by a much more extensive model lineup, including formal sedans and limousines.
One thing Lincoln was really jumping into by 1973-75 were special edition Mark IVs. With such packages as the Silver Luxury Group, Gold Luxury Group, Blue Diamond, and others, the sky was nearly the limit for personalizing your new Mark IV.
But even the standard Mark IV was a fully equipped car. Standard features on both the Mark IV and Continental sedan and coupe included WSW steel-belted radial tires, 460 CID V8, Select-Shift automatic transmission, automatic temperature control, power seats, power windows, power steering, power brakes, automatic parking brake release, and cornering lamps. Our featured Mark IV is currently for sale in the greater Portland area, finished in Maize Yellow, with matching top and interior. I was smitten as soon as I saw the pictures.
Since it is still relatively early in the year, there are still many with “Barrett-Jackson-itis” with overly inflated ideas of what their vintage car is worth. And of course pictures can hide a multitude of issues that are apparent once viewed in the metal. But this particular Mark IV looks remarkably well-preserved, and the $5,900 ask does not seem unreasonable. So if you’re near Portland and suddenly have a hankering for 1970s personal-lux excess, you can check out the ad here. As for me, I already have two Lincolns, and they look like Chevrolet Corsicas size-wise compared to this ’74 IV, so I will just ogle the pictures and call it good!