Today's post offers a more detailed look at how Lincoln dealt with that situation. And, by implication, Mercury. For model years 1949-1951, Ford Motor Company's Lincoln brand offered cars based on two different bodies. Its upscale line was the Cosmopolitan. The basic Lincoln line shared its bodies with Ford's Mercury brand. All three Ford Motor Company brands were restyled for 1952, featuring similar three-box designs. Fords were already largely into three-box styling, but company leadership decided that some money be spent on 1951 models to provide a whiff of transition for Mercury and Lincoln.
I might have used Mercury to illustrate the main 1951 facelift features. Sadly (an opinion I've held since the early 1950s), many 1949/1950 Mercurys were butchered into hotrods with customized body modifications. The result is that not many factory-design examples survived even into the 1960s. Not so with Lincolns sharing that body. Hence, my use of Lincoln here.
Finally, I need to note that the 1951 sheet metal changes from 1950 were essentially the same for both designs. Also noted is that, aside from a grille facelift, 1949 and 1950 Lincolns looked about the same, so 1950 cars are pictured below due to better availability of useful photographs.
The larger, higher-priced Lincoln.
It was mildly facelifted for 1951, being 5 inches (127 mm) longer than the initial 1949 models. Some or most of the added length had to do with more massive bumpers. No effort was made to transition to the 1952 redesign.
The shorter, basic Lincoln that shared its body with Mercury.
The facelifted design. It's 1.8 inches (46 mm) longer than the original '49 design, again partly or mostly due to bumper design changes. The transition feature is the raised fenderline at the rear. This gave the design a slightly more three-box feeling. Also changed was the shape of the backlight window. Its increased width is more in line with 1952 Lincoln backlights, though the shapes differ.
Here's an example of the 1952 Lincoln redesign towards which the 1951 facelift hinted. The two-bodies system of 1949-51 was eliminated, this being the only basic Lincoln body. The car is a Cosmopolitan, but now Cosmos were entry-level Lincolns: line-leaders were Capris.
Ford spent a fair amount of money retooling rear ends of Mercurys and the smaller Lincolns. Compare to the design in the following image.
Changes include the backlight window already mentioned. It looks like the aft end of the trunk lid might have been reshaped, creating a slightly shorter trunk. The raised aft parts of the rear fenders are obvious, also their extension abaft of the trunk lid. The result is a more interesting design, despite the added chrome.
It's possible that I am wrong because I've trusted the length data reported here by Wikipedia, or else attributed added length to bumpers, rather than fenders. Corrections and amplifications are welcome in Comments.
