Arch Rivals: Cadillac Eldorado versus Lincoln Continental Mark

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Cadillac and Lincoln have been at each other’s throats for decades, but drilling down into the battle of their full-size luxury coupes provides an interesting microcosm of the struggle between these two Detroit kingpins. Although their respective model years don’t always line up so neatly, the back and forth between the Cadillac Eldorado and the Lincoln Continental/Mark series of big-boned two-doors illustrates the lengths these two automakers were willing to go to one-up each other.

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Which Eldorados were better than what Marks? Here’s our take on nearly 40 years of competition between two-door Cadillacs and Lincolns.

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Arch Rivals: Cadillac Eldorado versus Lincoln Continental Mark Back to video

1959-1960 Lincoln Continental Mark IV/V and 1959-1960 Cadillac Eldorado

In the late ’50s, Ford lost a huge chunk of cash on the Continental Mark II, a coupe that represented its attempt to carve out an ultra-luxe brand that would compete not just in the United States but also around the entire world. After two years it gave up on the idea and returned the Lincoln name to the Continental equation, producing the Mark III.

Although the Mark III made a half-hearted effort in 1958 to stand alone from the ’40s-era Lincoln Continental, it was sold through that brand’s dealerships and served as the flagship for what became Ford’s default premium marque. Styling was pushed away from the existing Lincoln Premier (with which it shared its platform), and the Mark III, the Mark IV (1959), and the Mark V (1960) each delivered a 430-cubic-inch V8, a ‘Breezeway’ rear window that could drop down for additional ventilation, and prominent canted headlights.

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Cadillac’s Eldorado was already in its third generation by the time the Continental Mark III arrived, but it’s more instructive to compare its fourth-gen model (1959-1960) to the final few years of the original Continental coupe. These are the wide-grille, big-fin Eldorados made famous in just about every Hollywood production set in that particular time period, motivated by an equally-massive 390-cubic-inch V8 and stuffed full of optimistic ’60s technology that may or may not have worked but sure looked the part.

The Verdict: Is there a more iconic Cadillac? We don’t think so.

1966-1968 Lincoln Continental Coupe and 1967-1970 Cadillac Eldorado

Lincoln took time off from haemorrhaging money at the end of the previous decade to re-establish itself with the Continental sedan, a suicide-door masterpiece that eventually birthed a coupe.

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Stylistically, there were few differences between the two models: slab-sided, somewhat shorter, and nearly as imposing, the coupe wasn’t a popular choice among well-heeled buyers but it represented a huge improvement over what had come before it. Power was also up thanks to a larger 462-cubic-inch V8 engine that was an evolution of the MEL motor found in the 1958-1960 models.

Skipping over several stylish Eldorado generations due to a lack of Lincoln competition gets us to 1967’s game-changing Cadillac move of putting its flagship coupe on an all-new front-wheel-drive platform. It’s hard to convey how big of a deal this was at the time, as front-wheel-drive was positioned as the way of the future and Cadillac got a massive jump (alongside the Oldsmobile Toronado) on getting there with the latest Eldo. It also retained its big-block nastiness, boasting up to 500 cubic inches of power by 1970.

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The Verdict: The Continental coupe never entered pop culture like the sedan, and the Eldorado continues to turn heads to this day. Cadillac wins another round.

1969-1979 Lincoln Continental Mark II/III/IV and 1971-1978 Cadillac Eldorado

It’s fair to say that the success of the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado lead directly to the resurrection of the ‘Mark’ name and the bold new styling direction it brought with it. Like the Eldorado, the 1969 Mark III redux maintained massive proportions but gave them a little visual muscle that had been lacking from previous cars (and included a ‘Continental kit’ spare tire molded into the trunk as a throwback to the Mark II). This became an enduring design cue for Lincoln’s coupes that would last until the very end of production in the 1990s.

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The vehicle also moved to a new family of big-block V8s, starting out with a 460-cubic-inch power plant that lasted all the way until 1977, when a smog-choked 400 took its place. The Mark IV retained the same Thunderbird-sourced platform as the Mark III, but mid-decade down-sizing saw the Mark V go it alone on a full-size chassis in 1977 as nearly every other large Ford dropped down to the mid-size segment.

At this point the Malaise Era bit hard, reducing most luxury cars to hulking caricatures of their previously-tasteful selves, stripped of performance and ultra-isolated from the road by pillowy suspensions that did their best to disguise their lack of innovation.

Cadillac got to the excess-sells end-game a little quicker than Lincoln with the 1971-1978 Eldorado. Larger than ever, and wrapped in a bland package that substituted massive proportions for detail, the Eldorado was stuffed with boudoir upholstery, erasing the memory of its classy past through the Biarritz package’s vinyl top and (like the late ’70s Lincoln Mark V) opera windows. The pollution controls on the 500-cubic-inch engine wheezed along until 1976, after which it was replaced by a neutered 425-cubic-inch option.

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The Verdict: Lincoln’s early styling efforts gave it at least a little flavour in a time period where no large vehicle emerged unscathed by the over-the-top design currents running through the industry. The Mark series takes this one.

1980-1983 Lincoln Continental Mark VI and 1979-1985 Cadillac Eldorado

Whereas the ’70s Lincoln Marks had done their best to stand apart from the sedan that shared the Continental name, by 1980 the car had become little more than a two-door chop of the Continental sedan (which was soon after renamed the Town Car).

Buyers could look forward to a new fuel-injected 4.9-liter V8 that was just as anemic as the big-blocks it replaced, but by and large this was a placeholder car from a company in flux that was trying to juggle too many platforms without any firm guidance as to what its customers actually wanted.

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The 1979-1985 Cadillac Eldorado found itself in a similar spot. While the larger Coupe de Ville carried on the ’70s Eldo’s rolling tombstone look, the sportier coupe took its inspiration from its previous Oldsmobile and Buick platform twins (with a few more right angles thrown in for good measure).

A host of underwhelming powerplants ranging from a V6 to a modest 4.1-liter V8 were overshadowed by a pair of unmitigated disasters: the failed diesel borrowed from Olds; and the 8-6-4 variable-displacement engine that lasted only a single model year before Cadillac realized it was in way over its head in terms of technology.

The Verdict: It’s a draw. Both of these cars are so lacklustre that they draw almost zero interest on the collector market today. Cadillac and Lincoln, like many Detroit automakers, were treading water until they could figure out how to harness the computer controls and aero advances that were about to revolutionize the auto industry.

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1984-1992 Lincoln Continental Mark VII and 1986-1991 Cadillac Eldorado

Lincoln was the first high-end American automaker to take full advantage of software controls and technology to deliver a driving experience reasonably close to that offered by European luxury brands retailing for twice as much money. The Mark VII represented a break with the past in terms of its shape (wind-tunnel-friendly), its performance (a range of 5.0-liter V8s that ultimately matched the Mustang GT in terms of power), and innovation (a self-levelling air suspension system and composite headlights). It was fast, it was fun, and it was unlike anything else in the Lincoln portfolio.

Cadillac, meanwhile, stuck it out with more of the same when it debuted the next-generation Eldorado in 1986. Much smaller and lighter than the 1985 model, it didn’t offer anything approaching a fun-to-drive personality to go with its reduced proportions. It was simply a 3/4-sized interpretation of the older, square-shaped Eldo, with a higher price tag and none of the exclusivity that came with the Allante convertible serving as Caddy’s new darling. Even the engine was relatively unchanged, still checking in at 4.1 liters of modest V8 power.

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After the collective shrug of its loyal buyer base, Cadillac quickly redesigned the Eldorado for 1988, giving it a much more modern look and installing a somewhat punchier 4.5-liter engine (4.9 liters by 1991). Still, there was little exciting about the coupe, and it was losing ground even in-house to vehicles like the advanced Buick Riviera, to say nothing about the chasm in performance between the Eldorado and the Mark VII.

The Verdict: The Mark VII stands alone among American ’80s luxury cars as an enduring design that still turns heads to this day. This is an easy victory for Lincoln.

1993-1998 Lincoln Continental Mark VIII and 1992-2002 Cadillac Eldorado

In 1993 Lincoln introduced the Mark VIII as its final two-door model. Aerodynamics were the primary focus of its near-wedge shape, with the spare tire trunk lid shaved down to its absolute minimum and its air suspension capable of automatically dropping the vehicle’s ride height to make it more slippery at highway speeds.

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Under the hood was a 32-valve all-aluminum 4.6-liter V8 good for nearly 300 horsepower, a unit that would later be borrowed by the Mustang Cobra. It was a tour-de-force in terms of performance that would only be enhanced in 1997 when an even smoother body and somewhat peppier engine tune were made available.

Cadillac had beaten Lincoln to the punch in updating the Eldorado the year before, and it was a quantum leap forward for the brand. Not only did the Eldorado receive the new Northstar V8 (nearly matching the Mark VIII in terms of power), but it also adopted truly modern looks and a much more lively handling package that made the car a contender among imports rather than a throwback to past glory.

The Eldorado outlasted the Mark VIII (and indeed, Cadillac continued to build coupes long after Lincoln gave up on personal luxury), and played a major role in reshaping how the company was perceived by premium customers.

The Verdict: It’s almost impossible to choose, as both of these cars over-delivered during the last hurrah of large American coupes, but in terms of style and performance we’re giving the nod to Lincoln.