The U.S. Capitol and surroundings in January of 1957 are the backdrop for this pitch for the ’57 Lincoln.
This original Ford Motor Co. clip has a remarkable setting. We’re in Washington, D.C. just a day or two before the second inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Monday, January 20, 1957. Our host is Julia Meade, a popular actress and spokesperson of the time, who gave presentations for the Lincoln brand on the Ed Sullivan Show each Sunday evening. In this episode we get a brief tour of the U.S. Capitol and surroundings just before the inaugural, and then a pitch for the 1957 models. “More and more of the most important people” are driving Lincolns, she declares.
As we noted recently here at Mac’s Motor City Garage, the ’56-’57 Lincolns represented a major investment for the Ford Motor Co. in its ambitious campaign to compete with Cadillac, the luxury-class leader. (See our feature here.) One of the more visible changes for ’57 was the adoption of quad headlamps, or at least the look. Lincoln’s one-year Quadra-Lite system used used conventional 7-inch headlamps on top paired with 4.75-in road lamps underneath. The four-headlamp setup is a focal point of this production, you won’t help but notice. Video below.
The scenes of driving a top-down convertible in January in Washington were shivering.
My rule was there’s nothing falling from the sky, over 40°F, under 40 mph, top down. Of course the under 40 mph meant city only but that’s where you draw the most incredulous stares. heh heh
Every convertible owner should at least once in their life, experience a heavy snow fall while driving a convertible at high speeds with the top down and the heater blasting out hot air!
The best way to experience this is to pick a stretch of high speed roads where there are no stop signs or lights, and at least 2 overpasses a couple of miles apart. This is best done at night so the dark night sky lets you see the falling snow. Stopping under the first overpass, drop the top & turn on the heater fan, then accelerate up to speed. Leave the windows up. Take a quick glance above you and you will see the snow flying past your head. Children love this experience. Use the video camera on your phone to document this for later. Approaching the other underpass, just come to a stop and put the top back up again.
Now as to Lincolns in Washington DC, and the President:
I’m a lifelong resident of Washington DC and it’s suburbs, and I owned a vintage limousine service in the area for many years. I’ve been interested in Presidential cars since I was a child, and I’ve collected many photographs of numerous scenes around the federal city where one can see the various limousines parked at places like the Capitol. Most are Cadillacs, with a few Packards dotting the parking spaces. I also have most of the 1950s records for the White House garage fleets, and until the Kennedy era, Lincolns were not popular! Checking the 1957 White House garage limousine fleet list, only one Lincoln was listed [the bubble-top] The other cars were Cadillac [4], Packards [2], and Chryslers [2]. The only other Ford products were several black Ford sedans for staff use.
Ike was always a Chrysler man. K.T. Keller, Chairman of Chrysler Corp was a close friend of the President and Mamie, and in 1955 the company sent the White House a pair of Crown Imperial limousines, both cars being heavily modified by Derham Coachbuilders in Pennsylvania. Ike loved the Imperials so much he ended up buying a 1956 Imperial sedan for private use in and around his farm in Gettysburg, PA.
I’m very familiar with these 2 cars. I owned Mamie’s limo [chassis C-70-110] for about 20 years, and I’m one of the few people to have driven Ike’s limo [chassis C-70-101. as I was close friends with the owner for over 25 years. I spearheaded the car’s donation to the National Park Service. The car is kept at the Eisenhower Farm’s big garage out back, where it can be seen by the public.
I’ve had conversations about these 2 cars with various people who knew both the cars and Ike very well. David and Julie Eisenhower celebrated the re-opening of the Eisenhower theater in the Kennedy center in the late 1980s, and they were transported to/from the event in Ike’s car, with me driving. David told me his grandfather wasn’t a fan of “flashy” cars like Lincolns and Cadillacs, and I don’t recall any Lincolns used in the January 1957 Inaugural parade. I have a wonderful photo of David and Julie standing thru the sunroof of Ike’s limo.
But of course the 1953 parade was different, as they used the Bubbletop Lincoln.
I would have included some photos, but I don’t see how someone attaches them here.
Thanks for telling us about your unique association with these cars. As a car and history guy I found it very informative.