lincoln Versailles Used Parts Online

The Lincoln Versailles was the first mid size car from Ford Motor Company's Lincoln luxury division. It was sold from 1977 to 1980, as a four door sedan only, with a total production of 50,156. The Versailles was largely a response to the great success of the smaller Cadillac Seville which had appeared in 1975. The Seville was based upon the Chevrolet Nova and became an instant hit. Ford responded by choosing the Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch as the base for a new mid size Lincoln sedan. Ford did not have as much development capital to spend on its vehicles as General Motors, which was a problem that has often lead to the similar bodies of Ford and Mercury models. Until the Versailles, however, care had generally been taken to give Lincolns a distinct appearance and feel, in order to hide their sometimes humble origins although by the seventies the similarities were very apparent. But the Versailles was visibly a Ford Granada clone and quickly became one of Lincoln's greatest sales disasters. Unable to afford a new body, Lincoln stylists attempted to disguise this fact with a Lincoln esque grille and wheels, along with a "humped" trunk lid that mimicked the spare tire bulge of the Continental Mark coupe. Whether these elements really worked on a smaller vehicle could be debated, but what was in between was indisputably Granada.

A somewhat longer, more formal roofline (via a hidden fiberglass cap) was grafted on for 1979, with a carriage style landau vinyl roof. The car was also given some genuine firsts. The Versailles was the first American car to use halogen headlights and the first to use clearcoat paint, which would shortly spread throughout the industry. Buyers evidently noticed, because sales went up to 21,000, then virtually stopped. The Versailles was withdrawn before the end of the 1980 model year with only about 4,000 produced, although prototypes for the next generation design had already been built. The car's mechanicals, along with its body, were somewhat lackluster. The standard 351 cu in (5.8 L) V8 was carbureted, as opposed to the Seville's fuel injected 350 cu in (5.7 L). Even worse, Ford's situation with regard to the tightening fuel economy standards was precarious, as it had not been able to afford as fast a downsizing of its line as GM had managed. Consequently, almost immediately the Versailles was cut back to the smaller 302 in³ V8, which was very common in the Granada.