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About Easy to Crack Puzzle #101: 1957 Lincoln Four Door Sedan 'Premiere' (UPDATE: new winner!)

Despite the poor quality picture (taken with a phone during a rainstorm which is not visible in the same photo, but believe us conditions were horrible). Anyway we didn't take the trouble to find out what it was and basically thought it was much easier. Looking back we thought this must be an fairly avarage middle of the road fifties fintailer. Not so. Yet we are lucky that we can fall back on Kit Foster when it comes to the identification of american tin. Thanks Kit! 
He could confirm that between all competitors we had two very good answers. However with one clearly better than the other. Now if you were less knowledgable than thr two senders below you could have saved you a lot of trouble by typing in the Dutch registration DL-26-79 at the website of the the dutch 'highway authority', resulting in this. At least you would have had a basis to start a further search for details...

Five competitors and jurymembers came up with the right year and make: Frans Vrijaldenhoven, Kit Foster, Cees Roeleveld, Bob Branner and Ace Zynek. Now saying  '1957 Lincoln Premiere' is one thing. But now pointing out the correct type in this small range is something else... That is to say, anybody can see that it's a four door. But that's not the end to this.
Ace Zynek comes up with lots of useful information: "1957 Lincoln Four-Door Sedan (Landau’s don’t have rear vent windows). Without chrome rocker molding it’s a Capri, Type 58A (the Premiere, Type 58B, had chrome rockers). The Capri or Premiere name appears only on the front fender. The tailfins in '57 were closely copied from the Futura showcar because Lincoln thought their cars wouldn't sell without them. Power vent windows, a six-way power front seat, and electric door locks were new options for 1957. The rear bumper’s integrated back-up lamps should have all white lenses. The Capri cost $4,794 with 1,476 made. Premiere cost $5,294 with 5,139 made."

Bob Branner gives also soem good old memories: "My dream car 1957 Lincoln Premiere as one just like this was parked near my home when growing up. I never got a ride in it and often wondered if it would be a fast as the one written about in the 1955 hit Hot Rod Lincoln by Charlie Ryan and the Livingstone Brothers Always remember a line from the song about a race ' and the telephone poles were going by like picket fences' with a 388 Cu Inch almost the largest mass produced engine in 1957 second only to Chrysler 392. The car found in the picture is a 4 door hardtop first Lincoln with this body style also a first was the new 4 front headlamp systems."

It was Kit Foster helped us to decide Ace's answer is the better one as this a Four Door Sedan (too much B-post to be a hardtop).  The chrome applications on the rocker panels plus various here invisible items make it a Premiere. Kit also added that the chrome object on the right rear fender is a give away that the car has a factory air conditioning...

So in short: congratulations to Ace! Please send us your size and mail address and the PostWarClassic T-shirt will come your way!

UPDATE by Editor: Ace Zynek is a good sports and stepped forward saying he should not be the winner. We didn't check good enough if he is a jury member and he forget to mention this. Now sweat. Then we wanted to give the price to Bob Branner , but he told us the car is a hardtop which is not the case. As Kit mentioned and we checked...:  It's clearly not a four door hardtop, which Lincoln called "Landau." The Landau had no vent window in the rear door. It might be a Premiere, though, instead of a Capri, since I think I can see a rocker panel moulding." So now we decided to point out Cees Roeleveld as winner. He simply wrote. "1957 Lincoln Premiere" 
 

Published:
Friday January 30th, 2015

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