AUTOS: The New Continental

Among the Ford family the car was known as “Billy’s toy.” This week young (30) William Clay Ford rolled his toy out for all the world to see. It is the Ford Motor Co.’s Continental Mark II, the 1956 version of the classic Lincoln Continental, which many car buffs consider the best-looking U.S. car ever designed. With his toy, Billy Ford hopes to race past Cadillac and take over as builder of the nation’s No. 1 prestige car. Price of the Continental: $10,000.

Though the new Continental has been redesigned from rubber to roof, it is deliberately reminiscent of its famed predecessor. The body is long (18 ft. 2 in.) and low (56 in.). The spare-tire mount, a hallmark of the old Continental, is now molded into the trunk lid. Under its 6-ft. hood is a souped-up Lincoln engine with an estimated 300 h.p. (because Ford wants to avoid a horsepower contest with other big cars, the exact figures are secret). Automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes and power windows are standard equipment; the sole optional feature is air conditioning. To preserve its elegant finish (two double coats of lacquer, triple-thickness chromium plating), each Continental will be shipped to the dealer in a fleece-lined canvas and plastic envelope.

Ford hopes that the new Continental will become as famed as the original, which was first styled by Edsel Ford and custom-built as a personal car. On a trip to Florida Edsel got so many requests for a car like his that he put the Continental into production in 1940. Though Ford collected dividends in prestige for the 5,322 Continentals it built, it lost money on every car. When the company skidded into the red after World War II, it stopped making them. Three years ago, after Ford moved solidly back in the black, Benson Ford proposed that the company revive the Continental, and brother Billy was later put in charge of a new Continental division, given a new $25 million factory near Dearborn to produce the car.

To build up interest, pressagents let word leak that potential customers would be checked for social standing. As a result, many buyers sent in pedigrees, along with deposit checks on a new car. The president of a big insurance company sent a three-page biography, listed his clubs and well-placed friends. All told, 2,100 orders have come in.* Production will be limited to about 4,000 cars yearly, less than expected demand.

* One buyer was Argentina’s ex-Dictator Perón, whose new blue Continental was shipped a month ago. Quipped Billy Ford: “Whoever ends up with that car will probably be the real boss of Argentina.”