Another Lee idea: ’69 Lincoln Mark III
The Mark III was created by Lee Iacocca, president of Ford Motor Company at the time, when he directed Design Vice President, Gene Bordinat, to “put a Rolls Royce grille on a Thunderbird” in September 1965. The Mark III was based on the big 4-door T-bird that was first introduced for 1967. The Mark III was intended to compete head-to-head with Cadillac’s redesigned front-drive Eldorado. Introduced in April 1968 as an early 1969 model, the model was a remarkable commercial success because it combined the high unit revenue of a luxury model with the low development costs and platform sharing. It was appealing enough to buyers that it was an instant success. Iacocca said, “We brought out the Mark III in April 1968, and in its very first year it outsold the Cadillac Eldorado, which had been our long-range goal.” Where is Lee now when Lincoln needs his magic more then ever? Once again, like the ’55 Imperial we featured today, we have a 1st year model of a car that became an enduring and successful American luxury car. We’ll run across a Mark III every now and then, but none as nice as this time-capsule. We don’t think this is the most beautiful car in the world by any stretch but it does depict a period of design and packaging that was very successful. This would all but end when the Arab oil embargo hit in 1973. Today’s Mark III is probably the best of the best so it warrants a Mint feature. It is a AACA Senior winner with 82,000 miles. It is powered by a monster 460ci engine and it has factory air conditioning plus all of the goodies one would expect including a Cartier clock. It has original interior and one exterior repaint that must be pretty good quality to gain the AACA status. If a Mark III was on our bucket list, we would lean towards the 1969 for its purity of concept. This one could sell in the high $20,000 range or even more if a few Lincoln collectors get involved. Click here for the eBay listing.