1974 Lincoln Continental

The year was 1974, the dawn of the Malaise Era. The Hemi was gone, the Mustang was a Pinto, and all cars got a clunky 5-mph mandatory bumper hung off their ass end to match the one that had been disfiguring their proboscii since the previous model year. Next year would come catalytic converters and unleaded gas. Fuel injection was still uncommon and computers were things that took up whole rooms in college basements, so compliance with emissions and mileage rules was done via methods that look crude today and mostly involved miles of vacuum lines under the hood.

Into this world was born the '74 Continental above, appropriately painted a color called "Medium Beige", a soulless color for a soulless time. (Although when slathered over that much sheet metal it should be "Venti Beige".)

This was the fourth model year of the fifth generation of Lincoln's Continental, and it was enormous: 80" wide, roughly nineteen and a half feet long, riding on a 127.7" wheelbase, and weighing every bit of 5,362 pounds. Under the hood was exactly one powertrain configuration, Ford's 460 cubic inch big block V-8 with a four-barrel Motorcraft carb and rated at 215 SAE net horsepower, backed by a Ford C6 3-speed automatic.

This one was photographed in August of 2023 using an iPhone 13 Pro Max.