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COMING UP ON AUTOMOTIVE MILEPOSTS:
The 1956-57 Continental Mark II

Ford was determined to take on its competitors by creating the most exclusive, most expensive production car ever in the mid-fifties. And that was the Continental Mark II. With nearly every luxury then known provided as standard equipment, extreme care was exercised in its construction. This care carried through to shipping, with each car being transported in a protective cover.

Loved by celebrities and the world's wealthiest people, the Continental Mark II didn't last long, and neither did its reign at the top of the market, as Cadillac's Eldorado Brougham appeared on the scene for 1957, just as the Mark II exited production. Priced higher, and with even more luxuries, the challenge was on. It was an incredible time in motordom, and the Mark II remains a favorite among Lincoln enthusiasts today.

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Monday, October 22, 2012 2:33 PM

On this date in 1954, the public introduction of Ford's new 1955 Thunderbird took place. Dealers accepted orders for around 4,000 cars on the first day. The T-bird was about to become an American icon.

Saturday, September 15, 2012 7:46 AM

Good morning, everyone! Due to a move, illness, and vacations, updates have been missing the past few weeks. Our apologies. Thank you for your patience. Have a great Saturday!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 12:59 PM

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July holiday.

Sunday, July 1, 2012 12:10 PM

On this date in 2005, the last Ford Thunderbird to date rolled off the assembly line at the historic Wixom, Michigan Assembly Plant. To commemorate the Thunderbird's 50th Anniversary, a special Limited Edition was built. All featured Cashmere tri-coat metallic paint with matching removable hardtop. The convertible soft top was Medium Light Stone with a matching soft boot. Interiors were color-keyed Cashmere, Stone, and Soft Gold. Even the scuff plates were a Soft Gold color. Production was limited to 1,500 cars.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 11:41 AM

We are testing the configuration of a few of our Contents pages by rearranging the position of our logo and condensing some of the images, links and text on those pages to sit a bit higher on the page. This is in preparation for our upcoming site redesign. This will not be the final version once we begin to roll out the update, but it is a step toward that goal. Our intent is to make it easier for you to read the articles on our pages without having to scroll down to find the beginning of the article.

During this test, some of our Contents pages may look a bit different, and we wanted to let you know why that is. Thank you for your patience during this testing procedure.

Monday, June 25, 2012 12:19 PM

Last True Packard Built

On June 25, 1956, the last true Packard, once America's top luxury car, rolled off the assembly line at the Packard Plant in Detroit, Michigan.

Founded by James Ward Packard, a mechanical engineer, and his brother, William Dowd Packard, the first automobile they built was a single cylinder buggy. It was assembled in Warren, Ohio in 1899. The Packard Motor Car Company went on to become the country's leading luxury car manufacturer. Packard converted to war production during World War I early, and its Twin Six engine was adapted for use in the Liberty Aircraft, a significant contribution to the wartime industry in America.

After the war, Packard struggled as Cadillac achieved top status in the luxury car market. Packard's styling during this time was mocked by the press, labeled with descriptive terms such as "bathtub" or "pregnant elephant."

Packard sales began to taper off during the 1950s, which resulted in Packard merging with Studebaker Corporation. The intent was to reduce production and development costs to be more competitve. The new Studebaker-Packard Corporation became the fourth largest manufacturer of cars in the nation. Unknown to Packard to some degree, Studebaker was also in trouble at the time, and in 1956, then-president James Nance decided to suspend Packard's manufacturing operations in Detroit. Cars bearing the Packard name would continue to be built in South Bend, Indiana through 1958, but they bore little resemblance to the historic Packards of the past. The South Bend plant was closed on December 20, 1963 after initial sales of the 1964 models were poor. By 1966, Studebaker would also be gone, as the last car came off the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada production line on March 16, 1966.

Saturday, June 2, 2012 8:10 AM

We've updated our GM Scissor Top Parts page. We've included GM part numbers for some of the major components to help you locate parts for your 1971-76 General Motors full-sized convertible. We're still researching part numbers, and will add them as soon as they've been verified.

Monday, May 28, 2012 8:47 AM

We'd like to wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day.

Thursday, May 24, 2012 8:30 AM

Good morning, everyone! We're continuing to make updates to existing pages, both to the coding of those pages and the information provided on them. Production number details have been added on the 1978 Continental Mark Vs, and we've made corrections and clarifications to accent stripe color availability and their order code numbers on the Mark V and Lincoln Versailles pages, as well as added a few documented special order colors for the 1979 Mark V. We've updated the 1977 Mark V Options page as well to provide more information on the optional luggage offered. Additional information has been provided on a few of the Cadillac interior trim pages, and there are a couple of new shows listed on the Movie and TV-Birds - The Sixties page (look for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in the 1963 section, and Kraft Suspense Theater in the 1964 section).

We're still updating our Facebook and Twitter pages daily as well, so please visit us there if you have time.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 8:40 AM

Over the last few weeks, we've been working on a site update that we plan to roll out in the months ahead. The new look will include increased functionality for you as well as a change in appearance. All pages will share a common header and footer, which means it will be easier for you to navigate through the site. You will be able to search the site from most pages so you can easily find what you're looking for, and we are incorporating social media buttons to make it easy for you to share articles and pages of interest with your friends and family.

As part of this update, we will be reconfiguring our pages to display better on mobile devices. While most of this work goes on behind the scenes, we're still making updates to the site. Over the last couple of weeks, we've added new information to many of our Cadillac options pages, including expanded production and accessory codes for optional equipment, as well as updated pricing of options to reflect early production and late production pricing.

Additionally, we discovered and documented new interior trim codes for the 1964 Lincoln Continentals, including two special order interiors, and have added those to the Interior Trim page for that model.

These changes take time, as our pages are created individually, to reflect the design and era of the car they represent. We don't mass generate pages using a database, as we feel that's somewhat impersonal, and that the classics we include on our site deserve more respect than that.

We'll provide more information as we get closer to making changes that you can see. Thank you for visiting, we're honored that you spend time on our site. Have a great Tuesday!