1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V

First let me say that this can be a reasonably attractive car (in a disco sort of way), at least when painted blue with a matching top or some other color scheme that doesn't make your eyes burn. This Continental's color isn't pink exactly, nor would I call it salmon. It reminds me of the off-pink that Crayola crayons used to call, "flesh".

This car would have run you at least $14K in 1978, or $50K in 2020 dollars. Given the high price point, and the fact that in the late '70s America was in the midst of a crushing energy crisis, you might think that Ford had a hard time selling cars like this. Well that's where you'd be wrong. Ford sold 72,600 of these in 1978, and also sold a staggering 565,000 Ford Thunderbirds and Mercury Cougars; land yachts scarcely smaller than the behemoth pictured here. Who can explain anything from the '70s?

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