Late 1960s Thunderbirds and Continental Mark IIIs

As this Wikipedia entry mentions, Ford Motor Company realized that its new Mustang would displace the Thunderbird as Ford's sporty, four-seat car model.  So the Thunderbird was slated to become even more upscale and a little less sporty.

Now for my conjecture.  A new Thunderbird might have shared tooling with existing or planned Ford models, but apparently it was decided that none of those platforms would be appropriate for the new concept.  The Lincoln platform was probably thought too large for even a semi-sporty Thunderbird.

So the decision was made to risk creating a new body for Thunderbirds.  And to increase this body's production in an attempt to help amortize its cost, it was decided to also use it for a sporty Lincoln that would be called the Continental Mark III.

The resulting Thunderbird was marketed model years 1967-1971.  The Mark III was launched during the 1968 model year and also continued through 1971.  Total production was just under 360,000 cars -- 280,000 Thunderbirds and 80,000 Continentals.  For the first (and last) time, there was a four-door Thunderbird; the remaining Thunderbirds and all Mark IIIs were coupés.  Four-door production was 77,500 --  21.6 percent of the overall total and 27.8 percent of Thunderbird production.  Given the high prices of the cars, it's likely that Ford found its platform-creation gamble profitable.

Thunderbirds had a 115-inch (2921 mm) wheelbase and were 209.4 inches (5319 mm) long.  Comparable Mark III dimensions were 117.2 inches (2977 mm) and 216.1 inches (5489 mm).  These differences and related styling might have been enough to explain the lag between the Thunderbird's introduction and the Mark III's.

Gallery

The 1967 Ford Thunderbird line, factory photo.  At the upper left is the basic Thunderbird coupe that always sold less well than the Landau coupe at the upper right.  The four-door sedan in the foreground was also called a Landau, even though the roofs were fixed and covered with vinyl.

Barrett-Jackson auction photo of the sedan.  Even though it's a rear-wheel-drive car, it has plenty of front overhang, not to mention that at the rear.  The sloping hood, trunk and fenders provide a sense of lightness to Thunderbirds when seen in profile.

Set of photos of a Landau coupé for sale.  Aside from the faux-Landau gimmickry, the design is attractive.  The front is simplified in part due to retractable headlight covers in the grille ensemble.  Bumpers were skimpy, but in tune with the times.

A 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III, Mecum auction photos.  Styling is more squared off than the Thunderbird's, creating a massive, less-graceful appearance.  Its grille strongly echoes the Rolls-Royce's and the faux-spare tire cover is a tribute to the original 1939-vintage Lincoln Continental.

Now for some body comparisons: this sedan is a "for sale" car.  Observe the rear door cut lines and compare to the coupé below.  The tops and notional C-pillars are the same -- or rather, the side window profiles are the same.  To make room for the rear door, the front door is narrower than the coupé's -- standard practice.  The rear door cuts well into what was the coupé's C-pillar.  It is hinged at the rear, a practice on 1960s Lincolns, but probably used here for body engineering reasons.

Side view of the "for sale" coupé pictured above.  Compare to the Mark III coupé below.

Mecum photo of a 1969 Mark III.  Its rear axle line is slightly farther aft than that of the Thunderbird.  The door shape is slightly different.  The rear fender high point is immediately abaft of the quarter window, whereas the Thunderbird rear fender peaks over the wheel opening.  The shapes of the passenger greenhouses are the same from the windshield to the B-pillar, but thereafter the Continental's seems shorter -- perhaps due to higher fender and trunk lines.  Hood and front fenders are higher than the Thunderbird's.  An impressive-looking car, but to me a little less attractive than the Thunderbird.