I'm lusting after a Lincoln Mark IV...

[ForrestGump]

For a while now -- actually since I began the search that ended with me finally buying a car (on eBay) last December -- I've been seriously considering the idea of buying a '70s Cadillac or Lincoln, basically (at least in part) as a 'prop' for my Elvis gig. They are cool cars, though. Elvis owned all sorts of cars: a BMW (he picked it up in Germany when he was in the Army and later gave it to Ursula Andress), one of those little Messerschmitt bubble cars, a Mercedes limo (he got some strife for it from xenophobes who felt he should only 'buy American,' his response basically being that they should go f*** themselves), a Rolls Royce (regularly attacked by his peacocks at Graceland...he just kept having it repainted rather than get rid of the peacocks), a 1975 Dino Ferrari, five Stutz Blackhawks (including the first produced), a Ford Pantera (he bought it for his girlfriend for something like $3000 but used to drive it for fun, though it was extremely unreliable and one day when it died by the side of the road, I think outside of Vegas, he pulled his gun and shot it repeatedly as one might put down a horse), and a ton of other cars. But it's Cadillacs that he's always associated with -- I think he bought about 200 of them, giving most of them away (sometimes to strangers) -- starting with the 1955 pink Fleetwood that he got for his non-driving mother. Lincolns were probably his second most-bought marque -- his very first car was a Lincoln and he had a lot of them over the years, including limos. The local Lincoln dealer in Memphis sold an awful lot of cars to him -- as at Cadillac dealers, he'd go in and pick out a few that he wanted, with no asking for discounts for quantity, or anything of the sort. Elvis paid sticker price. Better him than me. :D

Last week my partner and I flew out to pick up a black '70s Fleetwood Cadillac limousine that's in mint condition, with only 36700 miles on it when we picked it up. We drove it back 1100 miles or so and it ran like it was brand new. It's a remarkable beast (a bit over 20' long) and is truly a work of art. They just do not make them like that any more. It's not the most economical car around, of course, but it's kind of sobering to know that its fuel economy is at least somewhat better than some of these bloated SUVs around now, like the Hummer. Given the choice between a rock solid '70s Elvismobile and a Hummer I sure know which one I'd choose. The thing rips along the highway, too, with zero effort...I've always thought that Elvis must be about the only person who took a Cadillac above 40 mph (like 80 mph above 40 mph!) -- given that they used to seem to be the vehicle of choice of little old ladies who could not see over the steering wheel -- but I drove most of the way and had that baby cruising along smoothly at speeds Elvis would have approved of. We got some interesting looks along the way, of course, and other interactions that were probably a tad surreal for the people involved.

For a while now, I've been leaning toward the Lincolns, though some of those '70s Cadillacs are beautiful. The '70s Lincolns, though, especially the Mark series, are sublime. They look sportier than any Cadillac, kind of like a luxury cruiser front, with a long hood, grafted on to a sportier tail. The Mark IV's lines really appeal to me. The older Mark III (1968-71; the Mark IV was 1972-1976, replaced by the behemoth Mark V in '77) is a beautiful car, too, sleeker and slimmer. Either would be cool. Elvis had both, and gave plenty away...he went on a spree in 1976 in Vail and gave away a bunch of Mark IVs to police officers, for instance.

Here's a mid-'70s Mark IV:



Right now the real object of my immediate lust is a black Mark IV (with black vinyl roof and black interior) on eBay, but I've bid on others and am watching a ton more. I'm patient, and the longer I wait the less I'll be depleting my funds to buy something that is not, strictly speaking, a necessity...though I could always turn around and sell it if I had to.

Anyway, that's it. Just wanted to express my infatuation to anyone who cares or who is nuts about cars or old Lincolns. I'm not a car person, especially, but these are some cool vehicles and I'd not mind being behind their wheels even without the Elvis connection and the possible contribution one of these cars would make to my work. The Cadillac is iconic with Elvis -- and not just the pink one, but the big '70s bruisers -- but my partner's got that market cornered with this immaculate limo and, even if he didn't, I'm really quite taken with these old Lincolns. There're quite a few with low miles up on eBay at any given time. I'll let y'all know when and if... :D