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Lincoln Continental returns after 13-year hiatus

Ford Motor Co. said Monday that the Lincoln Continental is coming back after a 13-year hiatus. A concept version of the full-size Continental will be shown at the New York auto show this week. The production car goes on sale next year. In Pic: In this June 1946 file photo, Henry Ford II, grandson of Ford Motor Co. founder Henry Ford, is seated in a Ford Lincoln Continental.
The name vanished amid an invasion of newer luxury cars from Europe and Asia. Ford Motor Co. is resurrecting its storied nameplate. In Pic: This undated photo provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V.
Lincoln, Ford's luxury division, was founded in 1917 by Henry Leland, the former manager of General Motors Co.'s Cadillac division. In pic: This undated photo provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mk II.
Leland named the company after his hero, Abraham Lincoln. Initially, the company made motors for World War I airplanes, but by 1920 it was making luxury cars. In pic: This undated photo provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the 1941 Lincoln Continental.
In 1922, Lincoln declared bankruptcy and was sold to Ford, which wanted to acquire a luxury nameplate. Henry Ford's son, Edsel, became Lincoln's president. In pic: This undated photo provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the 1948 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet V12.
Edsel Ford was more interested in style and design than his father. "Father makes the most popular cars in the world. I want to make the best cars in the world,'' he once said. Image: This undated photo provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV.
The Continental was the pinnacle of luxury in the 1950s and 1960s. Babe Ruth had one; so did Elvis. It drove presidents from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan. In pic: In this June 14, 1961 file photo, US Secret Service agents stand on retractable stands on President John F. Kennedy's new plastic-topped Lincoln Continental limousine outside the White House, after its delivery in Washington. The car has three roof combinations, a rear seat that can be raised and lowered, retractable foot stands for Secret Service men, two two-way radio telephones, and a master control panel for power accessories.
In 1938, Edsel Ford asked the design team to make him a European-style convertible for his upcoming vacation in Palm Beach. His friends were impressed, and he soon put the Continental into production. In pic: This undated photo provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible.
Warner Brothers gave Elizabeth Taylor a 1956 Continental with a custom paint color to match her eyes. A darker historical note: John F. Kennedy was riding in the back of a 1961 Continental convertible when he was assassinated in Dallas. In pic: This undated photo provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the 1962 Lincoln Continental convertible.
Continental sales peaked in 1990 at 62,732, but the car - and the Lincoln brand - were soon overtaken by Japanese and German rivals, who were making better cars. Lincoln's last Continental rolled off a Michigan assembly line in 2002. In pic: This undated photo provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the 1997 Lincoln Continental.
Lincoln's designs got dull and failed to stand out from lower-priced Fords. The Continental was also squeezed by competition from the midsize Lincoln LS, which debuted in 2000, and the bigger Town Car. In pic: In this August 27, 1996 file photo, visitors to the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda, Calif get a look at the limousine that was built in 1967 for President Lyndon B. Johnson.
To make its way back, Lincoln isn't trying to be sporty like BMW or showy like Cadillac. Instead, Fields says, it wants to give drivers an experience that is elegant and serene. In pic: This October 9, 2012 file photo shows a 1948 Lincoln Continental that belonged to baseball great Babe Ruth, in Amarillo, Texas.
Full-size sedans like the Continental are a tough sell in the US, where buyers tend to prefer midsize sedans or SUVs. US sales of Lincoln's current full-size sedan, the MKS, fell 24 percent last year. In pic: This product image provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the interior of the new Lincoln Continental concept.
The concept car being unveiled Monday in New York is painted a deep Prussian blue, an homage to Continentals of the 1950s and 1960s. In pic: This product image provided by the Ford Motor Co. shows the new Lincoln Continental concept.
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