The Lincoln Cosmopolitan is a
full-size
Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars, it is the largest size class for cars. In Europe, it is known as E-segment or F-segment.
...
luxury car
A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars.
The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...
that was sold by
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
from the 1949 through the 1954 model year.
All Lincolns were manufactured at
Lincoln Assembly
The Lincoln Motor Company Plant was an automotive plant at 6200 West Warren Avenue (at Livernois) in Detroit, Michigan, later known as the Detroit Edison Warren Service Center. The complex was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, due t ...
,
Dearborn, Michigan, while some were sent in "knock-down kits" to regional factories at
Maywood Assembly,
Maywood, California
Maywood is a small Gateway city in Los Angeles County. At , Maywood is the third-smallest incorporated city in Los Angeles County. It is bordered by the cities of Bell on the south, Vernon on the north and west, Huntington Park on the southwes ...
or
St. Louis Assembly,
St.Louis, Missouri, and assembled locally.
First generation (1949-1951)
![1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/1951_Lincoln_Cosmopolitan.JPG)
In 1949, Lincoln introduced its first postwar bodies (the first product lines of the combined Lincoln-Mercury Division); a
Mercury Eight
The Mercury Eight is an automobile that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford between 1939 and 1951. The debut model line of the Mercury division, Ford slotted the full-size Mercury Eight between the Ford Deluxe (later Custom) model lin ...
-based
standard Lincoln and a larger "senior" Lincoln Cosmopolitan utilizing an exclusive body and wheelbase. The two Lincolns were the result of a last-minute revision to Fords original postwar plans for small (Ford), medium (Ford-based Mercury) and large (Lincoln) car variants. When it was decided that the 1949 Ford would be an entirely new, smaller vehicle the originally planned Ford would become the new Mercury, the somewhat longer originally planned Mercury would become the "junior" Lincoln and the originally planned Lincoln would become the "senior" Lincoln Cosmopolitan.
In a departure from previous Lincoln vehicles, the bodywork featured no running boards, with the fenders and doors enclosed together; the Lincolns featured headlights and taillights recessed ("
frenched") into the bodywork. At the time, the styling was referred to as a
pontoon design. Using a feature that would later appear in the later
Lincoln Continental
The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Ed ...
sedan, all Lincoln-Mercury four-door sedans featured rear-hinged
suicide door
A suicide door is an automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front. Such doors were originally used on horse-drawn carriages, but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are perceived as being less safe than a fro ...
s. Alongside the four-door, the Cosmopolitan was sold as a two-door (in standard and Capri trim) and two-door convertible. There was also a four-door
fastback sedan body style (marketed as the Cosmopolitan Town Sedan), but fastbacks rapidly went out of style after WWII and after only 7302 Town Sedans were ordered, the model did not return for 1950. Although Lincoln moved 73,507 total cars for the 1949 model year, 1950 production totaled only 28,150, a nearly 60% drop. The retail price for the convertible was US$3,948 ($ in dollars ).
Sharing its engine with the Ford heavy truck line, the Lincoln and the Lincoln Cosmopolitan were powered by a 337 cubic-inch
Ford Flathead V8,
becoming the first Lincoln powered by a V8 engine. Ford did not have a full automatic transmission yet, although an experimental automatic known as Liquamatic had been tested in 1941. An attempt to purchase
Packard's
Ultramatic
Ultramatic was the trademarked name of the Packard Motor Car Company's automatic transmission introduced in 1949 and produced until 1954, at Packard's Detroit, Michigan East Grand Boulevard factory. It was produced thereafter from late 1954, thru ...
transmission was unsuccessful as Packard could not supply the transmissions in sufficient quantities, so Ford instead purchased GM Hydramatics. Although Ford and Mercury would gain automatics for 1951, Lincoln continued using the Hydramatic until 1955. The 1951 model year saw the last Lincolns with manual transmissions until the 2000
Lincoln LS
The Lincoln LS is a four-door, five-passenger luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by Ford's Lincoln division over a single generation from 1999–2006. Introduced in June 1999 for model-year 2000, the LS featured rear-wheel drive and near ...
.
For the suspension, the chassis was given front coil springs.
![1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible rear](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/1949_Lincoln_Cosmopolitan_convertible_rear.JPG)
All versions of the Lincoln Cosmopolitan came with electro-hydraulically operated windows and front seat as standard equipment, the same was obtainable only as an extra-cost option on the standard Lincoln. With the advent of improved production techniques, Lincoln offered its clients a vast array of color choices, including two tone appearances and offered 23 single colors including metallic selections, and provided 24 two-tone combinations. Optional equipment was a short list to include a heater and windshield defroster and a radio while full wheel covers, rear fender skirts and whitewall tires were standard.
Alongside the Mercury Eight, the 1949-51 Lincoln Cosmopolitan would gain popularity among customizers creating "
lead sleds".
Second generation (1952-1954)
For 1952, the Lincoln-Mercury model line saw a redesign. A single basic body design was shared between Lincoln and Mercury with Lincoln incorporating several elements to impart a larger, more substantial look. Not only did the Cosmopolitan lose its unique body and wheelbase but it also ceded top rung status to the new
Lincoln Capri
The Lincoln Capri is an automobile that was sold by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from 1952 until 1959. A full-size luxury car, the Lincoln Capri derives its name from an Italian island in the Gulf of Naples. Introduced as a pre ...
. Both Lincoln models differed from the Mercury (now the
Mercury Monterey
The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1952 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the Mercury Monterey served as the upscale version of the Mercury Cus ...
) with their own extended rear quarters, Lincoln-specific grille, bumpers, exterior lamps, instrument panel and other miscellaneous trim and fittings. In a major change, four-door Lincoln-Mercury vehicles saw the introduction of front-hinged rear doors. With the convertible reserved for the Capri range, the Cosmopolitan was now limited to two-door hardtop and four-door sedan body types.
Along with the new body Lincoln introduced a ball joint front suspension and a high-compression, overhead valve 317 cubic-inch
Lincoln Y-block V8, with the 4-speed Hydramatic as the only available transmission.
Lincolns won the top four spots in the Stock Car category of the
Pan American Road Race in both 1952 and 1953. while taking first and second place in 1954.
File:1952 Lincoln Cosmopolitan.webp, 1952 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Custom Four-door Sedan
Presidential state car
In 1950, under the
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
presidency, legend has it that Truman held a grudge with
General Motors because they would not give him use of their cars during his run for the
1948 presidential election; thus, he chose Lincoln for the presidential state car.
The White House leased ten Lincoln Cosmopolitans, built by the
Henney Motor Company
Henney Motor Company was an American manufacturer of limousine, hearse, ambulance taxicab bodies in Freeport, Illinois from 1927 to 1954. Some operations were moved to Canastota, New York to make an electric car, the Henney Kilowatt
The Henney ...
for Lincoln, and modified by the
Hess and Eisenhardt Company. The cars were modified with extra headroom to accommodate the tall silk hats popular at the time, and were painted black. Nine of the automobiles had enclosed bodies, while the tenth was an armored convertible especially for President Truman. The tenth Cosmopolitan was long, wide, and weighed , heavier than a stock Cosmopolitan. All ten cars were outfitted with
V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
s "with heavy-duty
Hydra-Matic
Hydramatic (also known as Hydra-Matic) is an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the ''Hydramatic'' was the first mass-produced fully ...
transmissions."
In 1954, President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
had the Cosmopolitan convertible fitted with a
Plexiglas
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite ...
roof that became known as the "Bubble-top"; it remained in presidential service until 1965.
References
*
{{Authority control
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
Full-size vehicles
1940s cars
1950s cars