1979 Continental Mark V
Collector's Series in Diamond Blue

DIAMOND BLUE COLLECTOR'S SERIES AT A GLANCE:

Years Available: 1979 only
Introduction Date: April 1979
Number Built: 197
Exterior Paint Code: 38 - Diamond Blue Moondust Metallic
Vinyl Roof Code: YQ - Midnight Blue Valino Grain Landau Vinyl Roof
Interior Trim Codes: LB - Midnight Blue Kasmann II Luxury Cloth
     DQ - Midnight Blue Luxury Group Sew Style Leather

By April of 1979, production of the final full size luxury Lincolns was approaching the end of the line. And this included Lincoln's top of the line model, the Continental Mark V. A huge sales success since its introduction in 1977, it was certainly appropriate that a special edition be offered to commemorate this historic event.

We've provided the specific details of the Collector's Series Mark V's on other pages of this site, so we won't repeat all of them here, but we will provide links to them at the bottom of the page and in links within this article. We will highlight the details that separate this particular color choice from the others, and that specifically is the paint finish color. Known as paint code 38, this Diamond Blue Moondust Metallic finish was the same provided on the 1978 Continental Mark V Diamond Jubilee Edition [link opens in new window]. Why this additional color choice was offered late in the model year is up for speculation, but April was traditionally the month when Ford Motor Company rolled out new colors and introduced new models in advance of the next model year. It's a tactic that had proved successful for them in the past, so in that respect it made perfect sense.

What didn't make sense was the fact that introducing new colors was usually an attempt to sell more cars, and at this time Lincoln was very close to violating Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandates, which meant heavy fines. But the Collector's Series cars were basically trim and equipment packages, so Lincoln was making big profits on every one sold, and they knew there would never be another Lincoln like this one again, so perhaps they felt the risk was worth it.