1959 only a few changes were made on Lincoln and Continentals. Premiere convertible was moved to 1958 Continental Mark III line, and the four-door sedan and the two and four-door hardtops were left in Capri and Premiere trim. They all were moved back in 1959 when Lincoln absorbed Continental as its subseries and Capris became basically Lincolns. Although the ’56-’57 Mark II and ’58 Mark III were cars of a separate Continental Division, therefore non-Lincolns although later they were all under Lincoln. This was after Ford and Edsel downfall and failed to sell Mark II as planned. 1959 model year Continental Marque merged with Lincoln. Edsel and Mercury had merged into M-E-L that lasted for a short period to cut cost. Ford’s upper-division converted to its original form as Lincoln-Mercury, in which it exists to date.
Mark IV was introduced in ’59 but was a Mark III facelifted and had a formal-roof Town Car. Horsepower was reduced to 350 in all Lincoln models considering the public was more concerned about mileage when purchasing cars. Continental and Lincoln design had few changes made for 1960. Grilles had new inserts, the huge front bumper guards were placed inboard of the headlamps, and rear ends redesigned. Lincolns had complete upper-body moldings, a better shaped roofline, and a rear window. Horsepower was reduced to 315, prices didn’t change, and same standard equipment but Lincoln sales dropped to 14,000 units and Continental being steady at about 11,000 units.
A new chapter begun in 1961 with continental downsized. It was offered in just two models; four-door sedan and the first America’s four-door convertible. They both shared a 123 inch wheelbase, similar to that of the ’50s and a rear-hinged suicidal doors of the ’30s. Prices were $6067 for the hardtop, and $6713 for the convertible; these were the Mark V.