A 1997 Lincoln Continental brochure shows a well-groomed blond woman who says, “When I see something I like, I buy it.” This example is posted here on craigslist in St. Paul, Minnesota and they’re asking a mere $4,900, less than the cost of the earrings shown on the blond woman in the Lincoln brochure. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Tony P. for the tip!
The Lincoln brochure goes on to talk about how it’s the weekend, so today will be jogging, maybe a bike ride tomorrow, having to get the new sails over to the boat, and finally picking up theater tickets. They’re really hitting all the key points of Lincoln ownership, especially owning a sailboat and going to the theater. I’m sure all Lincoln Continental owners sail regularly and go to the theater like clockwork. The power of advertising was alive and well in 1997 as much as it is today.
We’ve only seen two 1997 Lincoln Continentals here on Barn Finds, believe it or not. And they were shown within the last four months, making it even weirder. The ninth-generation version was made for model years 1995 through 2002 (widely known as the sweet spot for sailing and the theater) and they only came in a four-door sedan body style. That got me thinking, what if they had offered a Lincoln Continental Coupe?… hmmm…
This car has a few marks on the exterior as you can see, but the seller says it’s a single-family-owned car and it only has 90,000 miles, so hopefully it was spared from a few Minnesota winters and all that road salt. There are a few interior issues, not the least of which is the headliner needs to be replaced. It’s in tough shape. The driver’s armrest is showing some wear and we don’t see the driver’s seat bottom so I’m assuming that is pretty worn. The other seats look great, as does the trunk. A couple of underside photos would be nice for a Minnesota car.
The dusty engine compartment houses a Ford 280-cu.in. (4.6-liter) DOHC V8 with 260 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque. It silently glides through a four-speed automatic to the front wheels and the seller says it’s a great, reliable car and they have more photos! Any thoughts on this inexpensive Lincoln Continental? It’s about 15 minutes away in case anyone is seriously interested in it.
Gilbertson the silhouette is familiar. Somewhat like the Bonnevilles, and Eighty-eight Olds’ of the day.
Exact as the one i had..exterior and interior colours and options..was probably a package as i’ve seen a couple absolutely identical to what i had..i really miss that car..LOL
Well… this one is for sale you know you want it just go for it.
This is a great write up Scotty. I think if Lincoln had actually made a 2 door like you showed us they would’ve had a winner on their hands. I’ll never understand why headliners get worn/damaged in so many cars. No one walks on them, no one sits on them, heck, no one hardly ever touches them, and yet they disintegrate. When you mentioned the brochure I was got a laugh out of that too. Its like as if they’re saying You can’t own one of these unless you have a mandatory Sailboat, or go antiquing on Saturdays. I think this Lincoln has a lot going for it though.
Lincoln did make a two door. Called it the Mark VIII.
Fun write-up Scotty, including the reference to the power of advertising. I always thought these were cleanly styled and attractive. This example looks good, but that damaged headliner is odd. Your two-door “chop” is interesting. I didn’t bother to count how many buttons are present for the audio, HVAC, and trip computer functions, but it’s a bunch.
Bob, my 2014 Lincoln -with 270000 miles! – has 24 buttons on the steering wheel alone. Half a dozen control more than one function. I haven’t counted the buttons controls? on the screen on the instrument panel. More to go wrong as the cliche’ goes, but so far repairs have not been related to all the controls.
This car has left and right side wheels, two are on the wrong sides.
We had one of these as a delivery car the store owner had picked up cheap. Ran nice and rode smooth but the air suspension was problematic until we swapped to coils, same saggy headliner issue and an intermittent starting/fuel pressure issue which meant you better not turn the car off while out on a delivery run. Was always crazy to me to think they used the 32v V8 in a fwd transaxle set up, would have been cooler to see the Mark VIII adapter to a 4 door.
Rusy, here’s a version I just conjured up… in about an hour.
Looks like a Taurus
You don’t want to see the bottom of a Minnesota car!
I’m hoping that with just 90,000 miles (3,200 a year on average), it wasn’t driven in the winter, but we don’t know for sure.
I said this the other day concerning another posting. My ’84 Cutlass was Mn. driven & when I picked it off the dealer lot in ’92 there was only oxidation on the frame & underbody. So, the elderly previous owner either didn’t drive it all or Tuesday grocery shopping & Sunday church.
Again, they are out there.
There is the chance that this car had an undercoating treatment applied at purchase. Treatments like Ziebart and Rusty Jones were popular back then and really made a difference.
There are also those owners who really kept their cars clean after salty trips. My friend’s father had a ’75 Cutlass that got hosed off top, bottom, and under, after every snowy, salty trip. That car looked brand new when it was handed to my friend.
I’m one of those. I’m fortunate enough to have a self-serve car wash 3 miles from my house with heated bays. After GM gave us new fenders for our ’15 Equinox under the rust-through warranty, I started hosing the front fenders through the open doors, rinse the door bottoms until water runs out both ends through the drain holes, then shove that high pressure nozzle behind the rear fender liners to rinse the tops of the wheel openings. Both our ’15 Equinox and ’09 Lucerne look new and both have about 110k miles.
Loved the styling of these cars but will never get the image out of my head of the wiped cop cars with the scraped off police stickers that littered the roadways after thugs bought them at police auctions
I don’t like it simply because it’s front wheel drive I think they should have kept this rear wheel drive otherwise it’s a nice car for someone
Isn’t this just a gussied up Ford Crown Victoria?
Nope – the Towncar shared the CV/GM platform
I worked at a L/M dealership from 95-2000 selling these new and used. This was my regular demo. It was a great car to drive, but I’d never own one. Lot’s of suspension and engine issues. The next generation was much better. I owned a 98′ M8 LSC and luved it, but honestly totalling it was the best thing that could have happened for me. Nothing but problems.
Looks worth tackling the little issues if you are looking for a comfy daily.
I’m about to sell my 2001 Continental due to new marriage and too many cars. They are a lot of car for very little money.
Our 02 was my wife’s favorite vehicle of all time. These cars aren’t as plentiful down here in Florida as they once were.