CAR CRAZY SAGA -My Continental(s)- 10:

My Continental(s)

Three thousand fifteen were produced from June 1955 to May 1957. It was the last hand-built car made in America.

Among the famous owners were: President & Mrs. Eisenhower,

Ronald Reagan, the Shah of Iran, Juan Peron, Elvis Presley,
Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Cecil B. DeMille, Howard Johnson, Nelson

Rockefeller, Stephen Crane, Barry Goldwater, Jack Baily, Darryl

Zanuck, 'King' Vidor, Eli Lilly, Merle Norman, Jack Warner,

Harvey Firestone, Louis Prima, John Daley, Henry J. Kaiser and

Michael & Elizabeth Taylor Todd.

Elvis' only non-Cadillac!

The Continental Mark lI is 18 feet 3 inches long, 6 feet 6 inches wide

and 4 feet 8 inches high. It's 368 cid V-8 delivers 285 horsepower

using a 4-barrel downdraft Holley carburetor. It weighs 5,190

pounds with the option of rear air-conditioning. It gets about 12 mpg.

The Mark II has power-vacuum antenna; signal-seeking, 'Town and

Country' tube radio; vacuum wipers; vacuum w/s washer; power

steering; power brakes; power seat; six power windows; automatic

three-speed transmission; all leather upholstery (first time these

were all standard!) and a 'step-down' or 'cow-belly' frame.

A retractable hardtop was designed for the Mark II, but was never

produced. 

Although the technology was given to the Ford Division

which produced the famous '57 Ford Skyliner.

The 'Continental Star' was designed for the new Continental Mark

Il—then it was used for all future Lincolns.

It was the most expensive American car: Cadillac was $5,100, the

Continental Mark II was $10,000! (A Rolls-Royce cost $13,000.)

However, it cost the Ford Motor Company $11,000 to build each

Mark II !

The car was scheduled to be produced for four years. But a

combination of too few customers, and Ford Motor Company going

public, killed the full run.

Of the original 3,015, about 1,000 are thought to be extant. If this is

true, it would be the highest percentage of remaining cars for a

car this old. This is attributed to the fact that it was considered

'special' the moment it appeared and many people treated them

carefully. AIso, many people have preserved the car in storage.

This phenomenon has tended to keep the price of the car down and

there is not much turnover. A 1956 Cadillac convertible tends to cost 

over $70,000 now, while a good Mark II, at twice the original cost, 

tends to be in the $40,000 to $50,000 range. This is expected to 

change soon. Prices have been increasing faster in the last few years. 

The Japanese have begun buying Mark IIs—a certain sign.

Next, Further Information.