King of the Hill: 1968 Cadillac Eldorado vs. 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III

Motor Trend

20 hours ago

[This story first appeared in the July/August 2006 issue of MotorTrend Classic] At the end of the 1960s, the luxury-car market was booming to the tune of about $2.5 billion and Detroit owned it. Audis, BMWs, and Mercedes-Benzes were well-built drivers' cars, but these bland-looking boxes were too small, Spartan, and harsh-riding to suit well-heeled Yanks, and Jaguar was busy earning a reputation for quality lapses. So great was the demand for luxury offerings—especially personal-luxury coupes and close-coupled sedans that lesser divisions of the Big Three were fielding flagships of their own: the Buick Riviera, the Olds Toronado, and even the once sporty Ford Thunderbird was becoming a limo. Cadillac and Lincoln clearly needed new blood to assert dominion over these pretenders to the throne.
Cadillac decided to go cutting-edge techno with its offering, capitalizing on more than a decade's worth of research and development in front-drive technology. GM, Chrysler, and Ford all toyed with front-drive in the 1930s, with little to show for it. But by 1958, Cadillac had a running front drive prototype with a longitudinal engine. In 1959, Cadillac launched a program to create a spiritual successor for the opulent Eldorado Brougham, with front drive and the possibility of V-12 or V-16 power (see sidebar). Accommodating such a long engine required longitudinal engine placement, rather than the transverse arrangement Olds was developing for its compact front-driver at the time. Then in 1963, GM group vice president Ed Cole ordered Cadillac and Olds to consolidate their front-drive development and share the Buick Riviera's E-body architecture.
The Olds Toronado arrived for 1966; the Cadillac trailed by a year while a new assembly line was built.
Lincoln's Continental Mark III wasn't built as a hasty reaction to the Eldorado, but rather it was a Lee Iacocca brainstorm to leverage existing Thunderbird architecture and fill excess capacity in the Wixom, Michigan, plant where it was built, thereby cashing in on the personal luxo-coupe craze. The perimeter frame shares its 117.2-inch wheelbase with the four-door 'Bird, but the body is six inches longer. The passenger compartment rides farther aft on the chassis, making room for the regal six-foot prow that provides such a strong visual link with the proportions of the Mark II and the original Continental. Working with a conventional 460-cubic-inch V-8 and rear-drive architecture afforded Lincoln more time and resources to devote to refining its flagship. Extensive chassis reinforcements, rubber isolation of all engine and suspension mounting points, and 150 pounds of sound-deadening materials made the Mark III one of the quietest and smoothest riding cars available when it launched in April 1968.
Now Cadillac and Lincoln each had new flagships, both of which decisively overshadowed the lesser-marque pretenders. In July 1970, Motor Trend arranged a meeting of the Cars That Would Be King. 'If you've got the American Dream, if your goal is to move all the way up from your Biscayne station wagon, then the Lincoln Continental Mark III and the Cadillac Eldorado are the end of Status Street. Top of the Heap. King of the Hill. But which one?' Hence was born a six-year serial road test. That first comparison consisted of just four columns of type on three pages, little of which was devoted to deep analysis of the cars' acceleration, braking, and handling, save for a few zingers like this: 'Now any clown who wants to take one of these cars to a road course and see what kind of violent under or oversteer he can force out of these immense, overly dampened, mushily sprung dinosaurs must be a little ding-a-ling.' That said, the Eldorado's variable-ratio steering proved more responsive, while each car's front-disc/rear-drum brakes performed equally well, with lots of fade. (Rudimentary rear-anti-lock systems on both cars were panned by many reviewers as ineffective.) In an unimaginable drag race, the 500-cubic-inch 1970 Eldorado edged the Mark III out by 0.4 second to 60 mph. (Eldo pink-slip racers note: Our testers brake-torqued a launch in second gear to prevent hellacious wheelspin.)
Our comparison dwelled more on the luxury aspects of the two cars, finding the Eldorado's seats to be roomier but more fatiguing on long hauls, its gauges and switches easier to read and use, but less opulent looking, and its ride crisper and less luxurious. We crowned the Mark III King of the Hill owing to its superior plushness and luxury.
That original comparison test generated bags of impassioned reader comment, so when Cadillac reskinned the Eldo for 1971, we reprised our King of the Hill comparo. The new styling didn't strike us as an improvement, and in most critical measures the cars shook out similarly. The fit, finish, and build quality of the Lincoln outshone the Cadillac's, and 'the Mark III still comes off like the family that has lived gracefully for years with its money, while the Eldo feels like 'nouveau riche,' trying so hard to tell the world it's wealthy.' Long live King Lincoln!
Not. For 1972, the Mark III was replaced by the larger, even cushier Mark IV, and we devised an elaborate tech-heavy four-part analysis. Part one involved a week of in-town driving and an 800-mile road trip, during which the Eldorado offered laudable straight-line stability in contrast with the Mark IV's squirmy yaw on the freeway. Less fatiguing seats cinched the Eldo's lead in this segment. Next we examined resale value (advantage Lincoln), repair records (tie), interior space (Eldo best in front, Mark best in back) and noise levels (tie), and called the round a draw. Part III involved instrumented performance testing, which the Eldorado won decisively. Part IV was a staff straw-poll on styling, which the Lincoln swept almost unanimously. But having won two of the four categories, the Cadillac succeeded in seizing the King's crown from Lincoln.
Both cars were largely carried over in 1973 so we devoted the pages to a State-of-the-Luxury-Car-Union address, noting that while the strong-performing Cadillac retained its crown, the posh and stylish Lincoln was winning the sales war. Maybe we were losing interest, but our 1974 installment in the drama was so mired in a painful knights-of-the-round-table thematic device that details are difficult to mine, but while the Eldorado got better gas mileage, the Mark IV was now faster, and it still rode smoother, and so it won back the crown. Our final installment was renamed 'The King's Ransom Road Test' and was expanded to include a Chrysler Imperial coupe. The story also included a parallel test of the top sedans from BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz. On the domestic side, the Mark IV was deemed quietest, the Eldorado the quickest, and the Imperial the best in handling and braking. The official winner? 'None of the above.' Our editors had caught a whiff of the svelte new Euro-firm Cadillac Seville, and, even though it wasn't tested, we predicted it would be the new King of Both Hills.
How have the original contenders for the crown stood the test of time? To answer the question, Sandy Edelstein and Scott King bought one of each, both built with the rare vinyl-top delete options, and let us take them for a spin. The cars are in exceptional condition, and each has a unique character. The Cadillac's sharp-edged design is by far the most interesting to new-millennium eyes, while the Continental Mark III—especially in steel-topped guise—harks faithfully to the fabulous Mark II. Both cars accelerate effortlessly, with little audible report from the engine room. Neither offers even a modicum of steering feel or feedback, but the Cadillac responds to its helm more quickly and directly, and its brakes seem less vague and remote. The Eldorado's suspension filters out less of the road's rumbles and bumps, leaving a slightly crusty ride quality. By contrast, the Lincoln approximates a wheeled isolation tank as closely as any 1969 car ever did. It wafts over road imperfections without squeaking or rattling, though this may say more about its low mileage (34,000 to the Eldo's 86,000) than about its original assembly quality. The view down each car's immense hood certainly puts one in an imperial frame of mind. The Cadillac's bow is dominated by a coffin-shaped central bulge; the Mark's is bordered by chrome-topped fences. The Eldorado's minimalist interior furnishings, though dressed up with real wood accents, can't compare with the Lincoln's classy neo-Duesenberg cabin.
After a day spent swapping back and forth between the cars, the descent from the high desert above Palm Springs in the Mark III with the A/C cranked and Old Blue-Eyes crooning through the ($245.30) StereoSonic AM/8-Track five-speaker Hi-Fi validated our original decision, so we hereby re-crown the Lincoln Continental Mark III, King of the (1969-1970) Hill.
Would the edgy Eldorado have been crowned king with a V-12 or V-16 snuggled under that mile-long hood? Sure seems likely, and it almost happened. One idea was to marry two small-block V-8s to form a 530-cube V-16. This concept received little development, but GM engineering staff progressed through several generations of development and durability testing of a 500-cubic-inch 90-degree SOHC 24-valve V-12 with 30-degree offset crankshaft pins. Few details have ever been released about this so-called 'V-future' engine that was intended to proliferate throughout the Cadillac range, starting with the Eldorado. Early versions of the aluminum-block engine had iron cylinder liners, but later iterations employed an innovative die-casting of high-silicon aluminum intended to run without sleeves. On second thought, maybe it's just as well that this technology was tested on the Vega. 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III: The IV-Door
The Mark III was a runaway sales success, outselling the original Continental and Mark II combined before the end of 1968 and besting Eldorado sales by 20 percent. Might Lincoln have moved even more metal with a four-door? Maybe. An early prototype of a reskinned Thunderbird was shot down, but another true Mark III four-door is rumored to have been built, possibly for Henry Ford II. Little is known about that car, but word of its existence may have leaked out to Martin-Marietta boss Grover Hermann—he contacted Ford to request a four-door Mark of his own. Ford farmed the work out to Lehmann-Peterson and Moloney Coachworks, who charged $13,325 to stretch the body and frame 7.3 inches and custom-fit suicide doors, adding over 700 pounds. Current owner Phil G.D. Schaefer reports that the body remains as tight and quiet as a coupe's. Ask the Guys who Own Them
Mortgage broker Sandy Edelstein and automotive product specialist Scott King collect coupes large (1958 Caddy) and small (Honda N600), none of which has a vinyl top.
Why we like them: 'We both grew up around Cadillacs, and the cutting edge style of the first-gen front-drive Eldorado really imprinted on us. The Lincoln was irresistibly gorgeous, and with the ultra-rare steel top it seemed the perfect match for our Eldorado.'
Why they're collectible: Each was the flagship, not only of its marque, but of its parent corporation. The Eldorado pushed the technological and styling envelopes, the Continental Mark III aimed to reprise the opulence and build quality of the 1956-1957 Mark II.
Restoring/Maintaining: Production volumes were relatively high, and most parts are readily available from multiple sources.
Beware: Rust attacks the rockers, trunk floor, and around the bottom of vinyl tops; check for filler in cars that have been repainted.
Expect to pay: (Eldorado) Concours ready: $15,000; solid driver $7500; tired runner: $2500; (Continental Mark III) Concours ready: $15,750; solid driver $7500; tired runner: $4000
Join the Clubs: Cadillac & LaSalle club (cadillaclasalleclub.org); Lincoln & Continental Owners Club (lcoc.org) Our Take
Then: So who is the King of the Hill? As long as there are Eldorado and Mark III owners around, cigar sales will continue to go up and no one will ever agree. The Eldorado has a lot of seemingly more advanced technical conveniences, but from a strictly plush, posh, luxury standpoint, the Mark III has the intimacy a car like this should offer.—Bill Sanders, MotorTrend , July 1970
Now: The Lincoln Continental and Cadillac Eldorado were built in a golden age before emissions and safety regs strangled engines and ham-strung car designers, yet after air-conditioning and disc brakes were popularized. So in many ways, no future car can hope to ever achieve the style and panache of these Kings of the Hill.