An look at Lincoln design in the late 1940s
Over the years, the '49 Lincoln seems to have become synonymous with the '49 Mercury, because they look so darn similar, especially in the suicide 4 door models and the coupe. Customizers have long coveted the '49 Merc, no doubt because they epitomize the "lead sled" and look positively sinister lowered and chopped. The early 50s Lincolns seem to have become more popular for customizing in recent years, perhaps due to fewer '49 Mercs being available, or maybe car builders are just looking for something a little more unique, a little different.
I'll be honest: I don't usually like to see old Lincolns chopped up and/or customized, but I am glad to see them still on the road. In my opinion the Cosmopolitans are just too unique and frankly too rare these days to be anything more than mildly modified. They were the top of the line Lincoln in their day so to see one in stock form in nice condition is really a sight to behold. Fortunately the "bubble top" body style tends to be left au naturale.
The Cosmopolitans have a very unique front end, which you either love or hate (personally I like it) with those custom looking frenched in headlights (and frenched taillights as well), "rocket" hood ornament, and the full width, swept back chrome grille. The styling on the Cosmopolitans was done by Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie, who designed such revolutionary cars as the 1936 Lincoln Zephyr and 1940 Lincoln Continental.
The star of this Lincoln of the Week is the one that you don't see too often. It has the distinctive front end of every other '49, but also a very interesting "bubble top" side profile, still with suicide doors. It seems to be almost a continuation of the streamlined Lincs of the 30s. I also see some styling influences from Hudsons of the time, as well as the "bathtub" Packards of the 40s. Lincoln called them "America's Most Distinctive Cars." In this era Lincoln seems to have been trying to redefine itself in the styling department, as there isn't much continuity from the 40s V12 Lincolns, not to my eye anyways.
The Town Sedan was the 4 door fastback, while the Sport Sedan was a regular 4 door sedan. Both had distinctive rear quarter windows and a graceful, swept back look. The Sport Sedan was the better seller, with 18,906 examples produced in 1949, while the Town Sedan sold only 7,302. Perhaps the fastback style was going out of fashion by the late 40s? Well, personally I prefer the styling of the Sport Sedan, it just looks more graceful and modern to me. In the late 40s, Lincoln needed a fresh new look, as part of their first all new line after World War II. Lincoln was trying to create a distinctive identity for the brand and this was their first effort. There would be many, many different styling trends for Lincoln in the 50s (a subject for another post), culminating with the glitzy, finned '58-'60 models, which are 180 degrees apart from these. The Cosmopolitan line fit right in with the "bathtub" cars of the time, although there is no connection to the previous Lincoln models in styling which could be considered a shortcoming compared to Cadillac's good continuity. It just looks a little bit desperate when the company appears to be reinventing itself all the time, not really comfortable to define itself well. This is how things were for Lincoln all through the 50s, until they hit gold with the 60s suicide door Continental, and rested on their laurels with only minor modifications to the basic '61 bodystyle. The late 40s must have been tough for all the luxury carmakers, trying to figure out where to go from what were basically late 30s/early 40s designs.
Town Sedan
From a technical standpoint these Lincolns were a mix of old and new technology. As with all 1949 Lincolns, they were powered by the 337 cubic inch flathead V8 engine (new for '49), producing a healthy 152 horsepower, and gobs of torque at low RPMs (it was a truck engine, after all). This engine was old tech compared to Cadillac's new for '49 OHV 331 V8, but still made good power especially compared with the antiquated straight eights of Chrysler and Packard. The '49s had some notable new technology for Lincoln, such as front coil springs (for a more comfortable ride), "Finger Tip Weather Control" (early climate control system using fresh air), power windows, power seats, and 4 speed Hydramatic auto transmission. The power features were reserved only for luxury cars of the Cosmopolitan's caliber back in this era, they were years away from becoming common on "regular" cars.
That's the Lincoln of the week, a "lead sled" that's old school and modern at the same time, one of the most distinctive cars Lincoln ever built, and one of the last cars designed by "Bob" Gregorie before he retired from Ford.
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