With the exception of the nearly hand-built Continental Mark II, the model line has shared chassis underpinnings with other Ford or Lincoln-Mercury vehicles.

From 2007 to 2020, Lincoln used a visually-similar "MK" prefix for many of its models, which includes the MKC, MKS, MKT, MKX and MKZ; the nomenclature was phased out in favor of conventional names.

Modified extensively over a production vehicle, the personal car had a lowered hoodline, a relocated passenger compartment (requiring an external-mount spare tire), and deletion of the running boards.

As a flagship, Edsel Ford wanted to revive the popularity of the 1929–1932 Lincoln Victoria coupe and convertible with an updated approach, reflecting European styling influences.

A two-door personal luxury car, the Mark II was developed as the successor model line for the 1939–1948 Lincoln Continental.

Largely hand-assembled, the $10,000 (US$112,069 in 2023 dollars[3]) model line was the most expensive American vehicle sold in 1956, competing against Chrysler's new for 1955 Imperial top marque – matching even Rolls-Royce in price (or two new Cadillacs).

In spite of its status as the most expensive vehicle sold in the United States, the high cost of its assembly led Ford to lose over $1000 for each Mark II produced, leading to its discontinuation after the 1957 model year.

The Continental Mark III, IV and V are the longest cars produced by the Ford Motor Company without federally mandated 5-mph bumpers.

Intended as a direct competitor for the Cadillac Eldorado, the introduction of the Mark III launched a brand rivalry that would last for the next three decades.

Though no longer functionally necessary (the spare tire was mounted flat in the trunk floor[6]), the "spare-tire" decklid returned as a styling feature.

One of the most technologically advanced vehicles of its time, the Mark III was fitted with power windows, locks, and seats, and optional automatic climate control (standard in 1971).

The Mark IV adopted multiple design features from its predecessor, including hidden headlamps, spare-tire trunklid, and a radiator-style grille (initially extending into the front bumper).

Offering largely every feature as standard, a delete option replaced the 8-track stereo with a cassette player.For 1980, Ford released the downsized Continental Mark VI, receiving its first complete redesign since 1972.

The redesign began life as a mid-size line (derived from the Fox platform),[9] moving to the full-size Panther chassis during its development.

Alongside the return of the spare-tire decklid and vertical taillamps, the Mark VI was also styled with several features deleted from the Town Car, including oval opera windows and hidden headlamps; (non-functional) louvers were added to the front fenders.

During the production of the Mark VI, several versions became adopted by Lincoln; the Cartier Edition was moved to the Town Car (1982) with the Givenchy Edition moving to the Continental (1983).For 1984, the Mark VII was introduced downsized a second time adopting the mid-size Ford Fox platform to match the size of its Cadillac Eldorado rival.

[10] Sharing its underpinnings with the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar XR7, the Mark VII was a two-door counterpart of the 1982–1987 Lincoln Continental (sold only as a four-door sedan).

While maintaining its rivalry against the Cadillac Eldorado, the Mark VIII was also developed as competition for coupes from European and Japanese automakers, including the Acura Legend and Lexus SC.

Alongside the Thunderbird and Cougar, the Mark VIII was the sole four-seat American car with both rear-wheel drive and independent rear suspension (at the time).

From 1993 to 1994, the Mark VIII was offered in a single trim level; along with shifting the Designer Series entirely to the Lincoln Town Car Cartier Edition, the LSC was placed on hiatus.

In line with its predecessor, the Mark VIII LSC offered model badging, body-color trim and its own suspension tuning, along with a distinct rear axle ratio, and true dual exhaust (raising engine output by 10 hp).

Intended as the flagship marque of Ford Motor Company, Continental was slotted above Lincoln, with the Mark II personal luxury coupe serving as its inaugural product line.

Resuming its previous position as a Ford Motor Company flagship, the model line was marketed above Lincoln within the Lincoln-Mercury dealership network.

From 1981 onward, all vehicle manufacturers were required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to use a 17-character VIN-code with more detailed information.

Along with the change in marketing, the revision was also made to the VIN of the model line, with both the Mark VII and Continental sedan assigned the 1LN manufacturer code of Lincoln.

Although its Thunderbird origins were apparent above the window line, much of the Mark X was restyled for a contemporary and modern appearance (rather than the retro styling seen on its Ford stablemate).

It was a premium four door fastback sedan based on the Ford Mustang platform which influenced the design themes of production Lincolns for a number of years.

After the 2008 model year, the Mark LT was rebadged as the Platinum trim level of the Ford F-150 in the United States and Canada, remaining for sale only in Mexico until 2014.

As the LS and the Continental were both discontinued in the mid-2000s, the division introduced a new alphanumeric naming scheme that would partly revive the Mark Series.

Once the new naming convention reached the initial public, "MK" was commonly mispronounced "em kay" and it was decided by Lincoln marketing to officially pronounce it that way instead.