For 1949, the Lincoln-Mercury Division introduced a smaller, more affordable Lincoln, and it was a solid success in the showrooms.
The baby Lincolns of ’49-’51 came about when, in mid-development, Ford Motor Company management hastily reshuffled the 1949 Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln product lines. Executive vice president Ernest K. Breech decided that the proposed ’49 Ford was too large for a low-priced car and his boss Henry Ford II agreed, so it was bumped up to the Mercury division. And work began on an all-new ’49 Ford.
Meanwhile, the Mercury was moved up and shared with the premium Lincoln brand, with both now under the umbrella of the Lincoln-Mercury Division created in October of 1945. That left Ford’s luxury brand with two distinct product lines for ’49. These junior and senior models, officially designated the EL and EH series. were marketed as the Lincoln and the Lincoln Cosmopolitan, respectively.
The smaller Lincoln was much the same car as its Mercury cousin, but with its wheelbase extended from 118 inches to 121 inches from the cowl forward to accept Lincoln front end sheetmetal. From other angles, the baby Lincoln and the Mercury could be difficult to tell apart. Common features with Mercury included front-opening (suicide) rear doors on the sedans, while baby’s tail lamps were borrowed from the senior Lincoln. (See our feature on the ’49-’51 Mercury here.)
The two Lincolns share an unusual (odd, some would say) recessed headlamp treatment, which arose from another mid-course adjustment: E.T. Gregorie’s original front-end design had incorporated hidden headlamps. One area where the baby Lincoln separated itself from Mercury was in the engine room. Instead of the Mercury’s 255 CID flathead V8, the small Lincoln was blessed with the same big 337 CID L-head V8 as the Cosmopolitan. As Ford had not yet developed its own automatic transmission, the General Motors Hydra-Matic was available as an extra-cost option.
With an early launch on April 22, 1948 to replace the aged Zephyr-based line, the two new ’49 models were the most modern Lincolns in years. In mid-1950, the snazzy Lido coupe (above) was introduced on the junior EL platform. Like the similar Ford Crestliner and Mercury Monterey, the Lido was dressed up with special features including a fabric top cover and upgraded interior to compete with the new pillarless hardtops from GM.
For 1951, Mercury was treated to new rear end styling and a larger rear window, and the little Lincoln got them as well (below). With prices starting at $2,527, more than $650 less than the Cosmopolitan, the baby Lincoln was a solid seller for the Lincoln-Mercury Division. In fact, the smaller, more affordable models outsold the Cosmopolitan by a comfortable margin, accounting for most of the volume for 1949-51.
Where I lived in northern Silver Spring, MD, an elderly couple owned a beautiful 1950 baby Lincoln sedan they bought new. The man was a retired US Navy Admiral. This big dark blue car was equipped with Hydramatic, and was always garaged, almost never driven in bad weather. I used to stop & visit them from time to time, and politely made sure they know of my interest in buying the car someday.
My best friend’s father was also a retired Admiral, and eventually the two men realized they both knew me, and my friend’s father let it be known I would take good care of the Lincoln. So in 1977 I was told if I wanted the car, it was mine for $100, and the price was non-negotiable. The car had done only 34,000 miles, and it looked great.
Sadly, 2 years later a friend was helping me take the Lincoln to a antique car show, as I drove my 1955 Crown Imperial limousine, when all of a sudden a 10 ton truck ran a red light in front of the Lincoln, and the car was totaled. My friend escaped serious injury because the Admiral had installed seat belts years ago.
I never did have the heart to let the original owners know their baby was going to make a great parts car.
A seldom seen car today. I was offered a 49 4 door, but the previous owner had disassembled it for paint before he died and there was no way to know if it was all there or not. Pieces were scattered throughout the car and the old building it was stored in. It had sat for several years, so a complete restoration was needed. I already had my 47 Zephyr restomod underway, so I couldn’t meet their asking price which I thought was way more than it was worth. I would have probably ended up parting it out anyway.
I always ground it a bit odd that the shape of the Mercs and Lincolns of this era had some style lines reminiscent of the step- down Hudsons.