The Premiere name lasted only five years at Lincoln, but in that time the badge appeared on some memorable cars.
When the 1956 Lincoln Premiere (above) made its um, premiere in October of 1955, it came with a complete redesign at the division that was said to cost $100 million. This new model became the top Lincoln trim level, displacing the Capri, which carried on but with fewer features and a lower price than the Premiere. At around the same time, the Ford Motor Company introduced the Continental Mark II with a price more than double that of the two Lincolns, and while it was sold by the same dealers, the Mark II was marketed as a separate brand.
The Premiere and Capri shared the same body shell, 126-inch wheelbase chassis, and 368 cubic-inch V8, and apart from their badging and wheel covers, their exteriors were difficult to tell apart. The main differences were in the interior materials and appointments and in their pricing: At $4,601 for a two-door hardtop, the Premiere carried a $482 premium over the Capri. Also, the Premiere was available as a convertible ($4747) while the Capri was not. (For more on the ’56-’57 Lincolns, see our feature here.)
For 1957 (above) the Premiere and Capri acquired a pair of tall, sharp tail fins and quad-look headlamps (however, they weren’t true quad headlamps). Power steering, power brakes, and Turbo-Drive automatic transmission were now standard on all Lincolns, while power windows and power seats were standard on the Premiere. One notable extra-cost option was Push-Button Automatic Lubrication, which greased the steering and suspension joints via a dash-mounted control.
1958 Lincoln Premiere Sedan and Hardtop Coupe
After the Ford Motor Company shut down the Continental division in June of 1956, it was ultimately decided that the Lincoln and Continental brands would be reunited, so to speak, for the 1958 model year. Now the Continental Mark III was effectively the top model in the Lincoln lineup, with the Premiere in the middle of the range and the Capri as the base model.
All three cars were based on the same 131-inch wheelbase unitized chassis, with a price spread of around $500 between the Capri and Premiere and another $1000 or more between the Premiere and Continental. Naturally, the Continental was the most well-equipped and offered exclusive formal roof styles, but the Premiere was adequately decked out as well, fear not. From most any distance, the easiest way to tell the models apart is in their backlites. The Premiere (Capri also) has a swept-back rear glass, while the Continental’s is at a reverse angle and incorporates a power window.
These 1958-60 Lincolns, Premiere included, are noted today mainly for their flamboyant styling (garish, some will say) and intimidating presence. Ford stylists reportedly designed the cars to look even larger than they were, with canted headlamps, bumper strakes, and long character lines. In 1960 the Capri name was dropped and the three lines were now Lincoln, Premiere, and Continental. For 1961, the Lincoln-Mercury division reversed course entirely with a smaller, cleaner design and a single model line: Continental. The Premiere badge was retired permanently.
1959 Lincoln Premiere Sedan
What’s in a name? In the automobile world, at least, usually nothing. The car companies have copyrites on various names that that they may or may not drag out whenever they wish and apply to various vehicles that may or may not have any connection to any previous model that used that name. That’s why today we have Ford Mavericks that are hybrid front wheel drive compact pickup trucks. GM could decide to make plug-in electric garbage trucks and call them Corvettes if they wanted to. The only thing we can be pretty sure of is that nobody will ever make anything again called a Vega. If you keep in mind that a car is a machine and a name is just a word, you can avoid being brainwashed by the marketing guys.
So… 38 years ago I bought a 56 Premier that was abandoned for four years behind a gas station. I was told it was a pig-in-a-poke but I could get it for $350, so I did. It was the same salmon and white two tone that the 59 pictured above was, the interior had the same color motif with a chrome kleenex box too. It was a four door and the coolest thing about it was the A/C unit in the trunk that fed cold air up to ceiling vents through clear plastic tubes that came out of the rear package tray. When I picked it up I brought a new battery, plugs, plug wires, oil and filter. It started and ran. I pumped up the tires and ran it through a self serve car wash and then took it home on the freeway at 70 mph, probably not the brightest idea but I couldn’t afford to tow it. It drove like a charm. After two days of cleaning it up, I sold it for $2000 to a Swedish fellow who advised me that he would pay top dollar for anything similar I could find, he in turn was shipping them to Sweden and selling them for a lot of Kroners! Sometimes I wish I had kept that beast.
Fans of old black and white television may remember that Perry Mason drove a late ’50s Lincoln convertible in one of the show’s early seasons. I don’t recall the model but, being showcased, it was likely a Mark III.
Garish indeed. Whoever thought canting the headlight was such a great idea? And those awkward roofs with the rearward sloping glass, strange indeed. Seems like the Lincoln designers were spending their evenings drinking with the Chrysler designers and trying to out ugly the other. Ultimately, I think the Chrysler guys won that contest, Lincoln finally got their heads on straight and produced the Kennedy Lincolns, which are design masterpieces while the Chrysler guys were still producing bug eyed designs.
My first car was a ’60 Lincoln Premier. My mom got it for me for $75 and it had to be towed to the house. It was black with a gray interior and aside from the fact that it didn’t run at first, it was in great condition. It had a dealer badge from Columbus, GA. I was 17 yrs old and learning about engines so it took me a month to get it started.
My ’60 Lincoln Premier (ca 1972) was my high school ride. 430/2bbl with power everything and AC. It had a vacuum operated windshield washer and vacuum operated parking brake release. A real party car for a teenager!