Thanks for the fun,
Thanks for the fun, historical article Al. The Suicide door, stretch Lincolns are indeed an important part of American automotive history. I was recently reminded how cool the Lehmann Peterson limos were when I recently saw a restored model at a local (big) car show. It was a purpose-built car, modified to show off the occupant's wealth and status in a big way, and in-person the car is impressive well beyond what a Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator is today. But generally big cars have been replaced by big trucks and SUVs. I agree with you that the Lincoln Continental needed to have a long wheelbase model from the beginning, but I suspect that Lincoln did not want to eat into the Navigator market, and they did not want the Continental to be classified as a gas guzzling dinosaur. I like the design of the new Continental, and when you see it in person the car has beautifully integrated design details that do raise it above the regular Ford models. Personally I do not mind FWD or having a V6 in a car like this. The FWD packaging means that there is no drive shaft tunnel, and more passenger space is available without making the car a huge boat. I am also betting that the 400HP turbo V6 makes this model the quickest of it's kind for any Lincoln stretch model before now. Not that this limo needs to be a hot rod Lincoln. It is a politically incorrect move today to shout out to the world that you are excessively rich and powerful because it quickly brings into focus the fact that so many people are poor and needy. But I am happy to see that Lincoln is embracing it's past strength of building special, unique cars. And I am happy that this new flagship is not a another luxury SUV.