SWAN SONG
Motor Trend|November 2020
LINCOLN EXITS THE PASSENGER CAR BUSINESS THE WAY IT ENTERED— WITH A CUSTOM COACH-BUILD
FRANK MARKUS
SWAN SONG

After 103 years, Lincoln is getting out of the business of making sleek, stylish sedans to concentrate on building the elephantine SUVs that everyone wants now.

That’s sad news for car enthusiasts, but at least the brand is exiting the way it entered: with a high-end, coach-built special. Ask any automotive history buff which American automaker offered the most custom body designs in its catalog, and they’ll likely be surprised to learn it was Lincoln.

We have Henry Ford’s son, Edsel, to thank for that. Immediately upon being placed in charge of Ford’s newly acquired Lincoln brand in 1922, Edsel set about enlisting the top custom coachbuilders in the U.S. to design bodywork for the brand’s technically brilliant Model L chassis.

Over the years, Lincoln worked with nearly all the big houses: Brunn, Derham, Dietrich, Holbrook, Judkins, LeBaron, Locke, and Willoughby. Advertising in the mid-1920s noted, “Every Lincoln body style is the creation of a master designer.” Sales surged.

It’s fitting, therefore, that the very last “new” Lincoln car introduced, the Continental Coach Door Edition, will be coach-built—including 80 units built in 2019 in celebration of the Continental’s 80th anniversary, with an additional 150 following for 2020. These were the only cars offered for sale in America by a major manufacturer featuring a body assembly hand-finished by an independent coachbuilder, the way luxury automobiles were built in the classic era.

The Lincoln Continental Coach Door Edition manufacturing process is nothing like stretching a Lincoln MKT for limo duty. This factory stretch was 100 percent designed and engineered in-house with collaboration from Cabot Coach Builders—a firm certified by Lincoln as a Qualified Vehicle Modifier more than 30 years ago. Lincoln even produced most of the parts used in its build.

Denne historien er fra November 2020-utgaven av Motor Trend.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra November 2020-utgaven av Motor Trend.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA MOTOR TRENDSe alt
2023 GMC Canyon
Motor Trend

2023 GMC Canyon

MC, the luxe-truck division of General Motors, has long struggled to differentiate its products from mechanically similar Chevrolets.

time-read
3 mins  |
Spring 2024
2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty
Motor Trend

2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty

The heavy-duty truck world moves more slowly than other pickup classes, and progress comes in spurts. Take the Ford F-Series Super Duty, whose recent refresh included softer-edged styling, a new entry-level gas-fed V-8, a new high-output 6.7-liter turbodiesel V-8, and myriad small improvements like new bedside steps. Is it still basically the same truck as before? Absolutely, but it’s also a better Super Duty, however incrementally.

time-read
2 mins  |
Spring 2024
2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD
Motor Trend

2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD

When Chevrolet unveiled its all-new 2020 Silverado HD lineup, it set the truck  world ablaze, and not in a good way.

time-read
3 mins  |
Spring 2024
THE CHEVROLET COLORADO IS THE 2024 MOTORTREND TRUCK OF THE YEAR
Motor Trend

THE CHEVROLET COLORADO IS THE 2024 MOTORTREND TRUCK OF THE YEAR

A BROAD LINEUP DELIVERS AN IMPRESSIVE RANGE OF OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY WITHOUT COMPROMISE TO EVERYDAY LIVABILITY

time-read
8 mins  |
Spring 2024
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE THE 80?!
Motor Trend

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE THE 80?!

THE FIRST-GENERATION NISSAN PATHFINDER IS AN SUV THROWBACK TO A TOTALLY RAD TIME, FOR SURE

time-read
7 mins  |
Spring 2024
BAVARIAN ECONS 2002te
Motor Trend

BAVARIAN ECONS 2002te

THIS ELECTRIC BMW RESTOMOD LOSES ITS ENGINE BUT NOT ITS SOUL

time-read
7 mins  |
Spring 2024
2023 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS FIRST TEST
Motor Trend

2023 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS FIRST TEST

PORSCHE'S MOST FOCUSED 911 OF ALL TIME MUST BE EXPERIENCED AT ITS LIMITS TO BE UNDERSTOOD

time-read
6 mins  |
Spring 2024
2024 TRUCK OF THE YEAR MADE IN MICHIGAN
Motor Trend

2024 TRUCK OF THE YEAR MADE IN MICHIGAN

AFTER DECADES IN THE WEST, TRUCK OF THE YEAR MOVES TO MICHIGAN

time-read
3 mins  |
Spring 2024
YOUR ICON OF ICONS: CHEVROLET CORVETTE
Motor Trend

YOUR ICON OF ICONS: CHEVROLET CORVETTE

Was there ever any doubt? MotorTrend readers are largely American, and as much as we love Jeeps, Mustangs, and F-150s in this country, the Corvette has been “America’s sports car” for nearly as long as this publication has existed. That’s why you chose it via our online vote as the most iconic car of the past 75 years.

time-read
4 mins  |
Spring 2024
MOTORTREND CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
Motor Trend

MOTORTREND CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

The 10 Most Iconic Vehicles of Our Time and Much More

time-read
7 mins  |
Spring 2024