(EXPANDED FROM 8/5/2022)
A few years ago Dean’s Garage posted a fascinating story about the battle over the 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV’s styling. Jim and Cheryl Farrell (2022) described how a design proposal championed by Ford President Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen beat out one pushed by Executive Vice President Lee Iacocca.
The story and comment thread are worth a read (go here). Along the way you will find almost two-dozen photographs and illustrations that show how the two competing designs evolved.
Some of the story’s commentators argued that Knudsen showed good judgment in the design that he picked. For example, Norman Gaines Jr. (2022) wrote that Iacocca’s “‘alternative’ design looks like a bunch of ideas put into a mixer and poured out. The produced design was a nice-enough looking car from the ‘personal luxury’ era. The alternative is not, in my sole opinion.”
I would mostly agree — the proposal championed by Iacocca was much more overwrought and ponderous.
Knudsen infuses a GM design sensibility at Ford
Knudsen’s Mark IV arguably had one disadvantage — in key ways it looked more like a 1967-70 Cadillac Eldorado than a Lincoln. As a case in point, the side sheetmetal’s crease was quite similar, as was an unusually rounded lower-rear fender edge and bumper. This made the car look surprisingly sleek for its size.
Why borrow from Cadillac when the 1969-71 Mark III had been a breakout success? This was the first Lincoln to run neck and neck with a Cadillac in sales. Indeed, Richard M. Langworth wrote that Ford executives “were quite sincere about ‘never changing’ the Mark III. But no design lasts forever, and it was time for an update” (1987, p. 295).
The Mark IV’s new side styling was a major departure from the Mark III, which had a flatter, more upright treatment punctuated by wheel-opening blisters that evoked the outboard fenders of the classic era.
One thing that lead designer Wes Dahlberg was not allowed to appreciably change was the radiator grille. However, Langworth noted that he “did make it more prominent by scooping out the front bumper so that it looked, and was, taller” (1987, p. 295).
The new look did pose practical problems. Thomas E. Bonsall wrote that the lower grille was “dangerously exposed to front-end collisions, so an optional bumper guard was available” (1981, p. 200).
Alternative Mark IV took traditional styling too far
A big weakness of the alternative Mark IV was that its wheel-opening blisters were too exaggerated. That gave the car a gimmicky quality. In contrast, Knudsen’s preferred Mark IV had about as understated of a look as you could reasonably expect from a car with a fake radiator grille and spare tire hump.
In addition, GM designers did Ford a favor by giving the 1971 Eldorado a complete redesign that was even more overwrought and ponderous than the alternative Mark IV. The public clearly liked Ford’s approach better because the Mark IV consistently outsold the Eldorado (go here for further discussion).
This raises a “what if” question — might the Eldorado have been given less gingerbread styling if Knudsen had stayed at GM and risen to the level of president? Rumors swirled around Detroit that he moved to Ford after being passed over for the GM presidency in favor of Ed Cole (Wikipedia, 2022).
Meanwhile, Knudsen staying at GM would have opened the door for Iacocca’s more baroque design to reach production. My guess is that the resulting Mark IV would not have sold nearly as well against the Eldorado even if Knudsen had little or no influence on the latter car’s design.
The Mark IV’s best year was arguably its first
In his two history books about Lincoln cars, Bonsall did not discuss the conflict between Knudsen and Iacocca over the Mark IV’s styling. However, he concluded, “Everything the Mark III had done so well, the Mark IV did even better. Where the styling of the Mark III had seemed to many observers to be a bit choppy, the Mark IV was smooth and sleek and almost perfectly proportioned (2004, p. 128).
Well, maybe in 1972 — but not so much once the Mark IV was made compliant with new federal bumper standards. The front got a battering-ram bumper in 1973, replete with more vertical fender edges. Then in 1974 the rear followed suit.
In meeting the bumper standards, Ford took a more meat-and-potatoes approach than GM did. The 1974 Eldorado received a vertical rear bumper whose energy-absorbing qualities were masked by body-colored plastic extending from the sheetmetal. It was fancy but rather gaudy. Kind of like the whole car. No wonder the Mark IV sold better. You done good, Bunkie.
NOTES:
This story was originally posted on August 5, 2022 and expanded on April 16, 2025. Production data were drawn from the auto editors of Consumer Guide (2006), Gunnell (2002), and Flammang and Kowalke (1999).
RE:SOURCES
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 1993, 2006. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International, Lincolnwood, IL.
- Bonsall, Thomas E.; 1981. The Lincoln Motorcar: Sixty Years of Excellence. Bookman Dan!, Baltimore, MD.
- ——; 2004. The Lincoln Story: The Postwar Years. Stanford General Books, Stanford, CA.
- Farrell, Jim and Cheryl; 2022. “The Continental Mark IV—A Contest Of Wills.” Dean’s Garage. Posted June 29.
- Flammang, James M. and Ron Kowalke; 1999. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1976-1999. Third Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
- Gaines, Norman Jr.; 2022. Comment in “The Continental Mark IV—A Contest Of Wills.” Dean’s Garage. Posted 2:36 p.m., June 29.
- Gunnell, John; 2002. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975. Revised Fourth Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
- Langworth, Richard M.; 1987. The Complete History of Ford Motor Company. Publications International, Skokie, IL.
- Wikipedia; 2022. “Semon Knudsen.” Page last modified Feb. 28.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES:
- fordheritagevault.com: Lincoln Continental Mark series (1969, 1970, 1972)
- oldcaradvertising.com: Lincoln Continental Mark III (1971)
- oldcarbrochures.org: Cadillac Eldorado (1968, 1971); Lincoln Continental Mark IV (1972)
Frankly, Bunkie Knudsen’s approval of the design for the Mark IV showed great restraint. Seeing the “Iacocca-favored” design for the Mark IV in “Dean’s Garage” blog, it was a hideous design, like a 1973 Monte Carlo side styling cues put on a tightened-up Mark III. Furthermore, the 1971 Eldorado, which Knudsen had to have seen while at G.M., had its roots in the concept “The Four-Fendered Farkel” (See the book offered by “Dean’s Garage” for the “Farkel” illustration.). The 1967-1970 Eldorados were gorgeous. The 1971-1976 Eldorados look too heavy and to my eye took the worst of the 1970 Buick Riviera and applied it to “The Four-Fendered Farkel”. Of course, the 1971-1976 Eldorado-Riviera-Toronado was based on a modified G.M. “B”-body platform instead of a shorter platform, so it did not look lean, lithe and lovely like the Mark IV.
Definitely more Graceland than what was chosen.
Knudsen had been long gone by the time it was necessary to make the final choice for the 1977 Mark V. It was therefore completely Iacocca’s call. (It’s also my understanding that Bordinat wanted to make sure that he, and not Dahlberg or anyone else, was responsible for the final design.)
Interestingly, the 1977-79 Mark V was an more of an evolution of the Mark III than either the production Mark IV or Iacocca’s preferred Mark IV proposal had been. It featured relatively flat sides, sharp fender creases and restrained side sculpturing. And it was a huge hit, easily outselling the Eldorado while setting a sales record for the Mark series.
That’s a good point. The Mark V’s sharp-edged surfaces also gave it a vague family resemblance to other Ford Motor Company designs such as the Granada. One could argue that this was much better branding than with the Mark IV, which looked more like a GM car.
I would guess that the Mark V’s packaging decisions were made after the onset of the oil embargo, so I was curious as to whether that resulted in many changes. Here are some quick stats: The car was around 300 pounds lighter than the Mark IV but roughly two inches longer and .9 inches lower. EPA passenger volume was down slightly but trunk space was up around three cubic feet.
That beast was huge on the outside yet it wasn’t all that much roomier than a mid-sized Ford LTD II. Meanwhile, the new downsized Buick Riviera was somewhat roomier despite a significantly smaller footprint. Even the Cadillac Eldorado was somewhat roomier despite being six inches shorter; this was because that car was taller and had a longer wheelbase than the Mark series.
The Mark IV and V may very well have been the least efficiently packaged American passenger cars of that era.
I remember when the Mark V debuted in the fall of 1976. Even as a teenager I was aware of the increasing popularity of upscale European imports. And GM’s downsized B- and C-bodies for 1977 were big news even in the mainstream media.
It was therefore somewhat of a shock to read that the new Mark V was LONGER than the previous version! It was as though Ford was giving the federal government, GM and the guys at Car and Driver a great, big raspberry.
When I check the alternative Mark IV mock-up clay photos, I wonder if it might have been a source of inspiration for the customized Eldorado in the movie “Superfly”? 😉
https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_10195-Cadillac-Fleetwood-Eldorado-1971.html
I couldn’t believe how Eldorado they look. The later mockups with those Stutz faux fenders scream pimpmobile.