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THE ANATOMY OF THE LINCOLN

Lincoln has long made luxury vehicles at technology’s leading edge. The company began in 1917, making aircraft engines for the First World War. In 1921, when Lincoln created its first car, critics praised its sophisticated and reliable engine, which included pistons made of special, hard-cast iron. But from the start, Lincoln matched technology with elegance: their vehicles had every option imaginable for their day, including elegant interiors made from mohair and leather. As time went on, Lincoln refined its cars, whether they were double-filament headlights or ever-better engines. In 1936, Lincoln created the first aerodynamic car, the Zephyr. When the Lincoln Continental was introduced in 1940, Frank Lloyd Wright called it the most beautiful car in the world. By then, Lincoln vehicles had become iconic: every sitting President, from Coolidge to Bush has ridden in a Lincoln. 

Lincoln has never rested, but instead drives forward. It developed the first automatic transmission with the settings familiar to every driver today: P-R-N-Dr-Lo. It created the first American car with antilock braking. And its innovations continue—always, with Lincoln matching technology with elegance. Look for our innovations in every new Lincoln, from the groundbreaking MKT crossover, to the MKZ Hybrid.

By the time this photograph was taken in 1925, the Roaring Twenties had begun and Lincoln Motor Company was an established maker of fine cars. At its just-opened body shop, workers are seen carefully preparing brand new Lincolns for fittings with their chassis and V8 engines. These would have been fitted with their trademark long, tightly curving fenders and optional greyhound hood ornaments, designed by famed silversmith, Gorham. Even then, Lincolns were at the technological forefront, by late 1925, dashboards included (then-innovative) gasoline gauges. Thirteen body styles were offered by Lincoln in 1925, but countless more styles were also available from independent coachbuilders.

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The introduction of the 1936 Lincoln-Zephyr was a technological watershed: it was the first aerodynamic production car. Possibly inspired by its early days as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, the Zephyr was streamlined throughout, much like an airplane. But the design went deeper than the car’s obviously sloping hood: it included the latest in technology, an integrated body-chassis. It also had a low center of gravity and was a mere 13.5 inches above the ground—making them easy to control, and simple to step in and out of.

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Lincoln has a long history of providing cars for Presidential use, from Coolidge, all the way to Bush. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1939 “Sunshine Special” was the first specially built Presidential car, with security features such as armor plating, bulletproof glass and tires, and a special two-way radio. Truman’s limousine took on those security features but also added gold-plated passenger compartment accessories, a built-in humidor, and writing sets. It was a part of a fleet of nine cars, all of which included special, elongated seven-passenger bodies mounted on a reinforced Cosmopolitan chassis.

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President Harry S. Truman here rides a specially fitted 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan. The Cosmopolitan was Lincoln’s top-of-the-line vehicle—some models were sporty two-doors, while others seated six. Because Lincolns have always been built with the latest in luxury, Cosmopolitans usually came with options and accessories such as smooth-shifting Hydra-Matic transmissions, cord and leather upholstery, radios, and portable rear speakers.

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As Lincoln moved into the 21^st Century, it has continued to create vehicles that seamlessly integrate technology and design. But what’s so smart about Lincoln’s 2012 vehicles? Game-changing technology is a start. From rear view camera technology and one-touch Start capabilities to Easy Fuel™ Capless Fuel Filters and rain sensing wipers, Lincoln has continued to equip its vehicles with the best in automotive technology.

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Typically considered a cause of frustration, parallel parking with Lincoln is now easy and quick, courtesy of Active Park Assist. Lincoln has equipped it’s vehicles with ultrasonic sensors to precisely measure open spaces to find a suitable parking spot. As drivers approach an open parking spot, an alert will tell them if their vehicle will fit before they even attempt to park—no guessing required. Then as the vehicle parks itself, drivers will still control the gear shifter, brake, and gas.

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Lincoln has made night driving easier and safer with adaptive HID headlamps. As the vehicles turn, the lights turn with the steering wheel angle and vehicle speed to allow a greater field of vision around the darkest curves. They can also automatically switch to high beam intensity when no other vehicles are near, and revert to low-beam intensity when sensors detect the headlamps or tail lamps of other vehicles.

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Lincoln’s touchscreen navigation system not only gives you turn-by-turn directions, it also delivers traffic alerts, current weather forecasts, gas station locations and prices, live sports scores and schedules, and theater locations with movie listings and times. The system is also enabled with SiriusXM, a 10GB hard drive that can store approximately 2,400 songs, and a media hub that allows for bluetooth syncing from media devices, allowing drivers to select their music by touch screen or voice activation.

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There’s never been a better time to put a new Lincoln on your wish list.
Lincolndealer.com

RAY BLANTON

Leonard Ray Blanton (April 10, 1930–November 22, 1996) was the 44th Governor of Tennessee from 1975 to 1979. Blanton's administration was rife with corruption.

Blanton was from Adamsville, Tennessee, and was from a farming family with road-building interests. He had a background as a schoolteacher and he had worked his way through the University of Tennessee. After one term in the Tennessee House of Representatives, he ran for Congress, challenging 12-term incumbent and former Crump machine ally Tom J. Murray in the Democratic primary for the 7th Congressional District, which was based inJackson and included Adamsville. Blanton defeated Murray in a major upset, a victory that was tantamount to election in the then-heavily Democratic 7th district. Blanton was reelected three times.[edit]




Early life and Congress

[edit]Tennessee in the early 1970s

Tennessee lost a congressional district after the 1970 census, and the legislature decided to eliminate Blanton's district in time for the 1972 elections. Much of Blanton's district, including his home, was merged with the neighboring 8th District of fellow Democrat Ed Jones. The redrawn district retained Blanton's district number—the 7th—and Jackson was the biggest city in the district. However, the district contained more of Jones' former territory than Blanton's. Jones was very popular in this area and would have probably proven very difficult if not impossible to defeat. At the same time, Republican Senator Howard Baker was running for reelection. Even though Baker was a heavy favorite, the Democrats needed a serious candidate to oppose him. Blanton sought the Democratic nomination and won, but was heavily defeated in November. This was the year of a massive Republican landslide that saw PresidentRichard Nixon carry 90 of Tennessee's 95 counties. Under the circumstances, Blanton faced nearly impossible odds, though Baker was so popular that Blanton would have been a heavy underdog in any case. He later stated that his problems in 1972 were "the two M's – money and McGovern" (although Blanton held views similar to McGovern's on the Vietnam War^{[citation needed]}). His willingness to take on a popular Republican opponent against long odds greatly increased his name recognition in the state, setting him up as the principal Democratic candidate for governor in 1974.

[edit]1974 gubernatorial campaign

In 1974 Blanton won a twelve-person Democratic primary for governor. With just 23% of the vote,^[1] he defeated several well-financed opponents including flamboyant East Tennessee banker Jake Butcher. In the November general election he defeated the Republican nominee, attorney Lamar Alexander, receiving the largest number of popular votes ever achieved for a statewide race in Tennessee to that date, 575,205. Blanton's strongest condemnation of Alexander seemed to be that he had served for a time on Nixon's White House staff. Nixon had resigned in disgrace only a few months earlier. Blanton also took advantage of the wide perception that Alexander was a somewhat distant, upper-class individual (despite Alexander's modest background as the son of schoolteachers).

[edit]Tennessee governorship

Blanton's administration was noted for extensive recruiting of foreign industrial and trade opportunities. Also, it was during his term that the state Office of Tourismwas raised to a Cabinet-level position, making Tennessee the first state in the nation to do so. Blanton's administration emphasized equality for women andblacks, tax relief for older and fixed income citizens, and penal reform.

Blanton soon displayed an abrasive style that was interpreted by many as arrogance. He was suspected of playing favorites with his family and other highway contractors. He gained considerable negative attention when he told Carol Marin, then a reporter with Nashville's WSM-TV, that he would not be answering any more "negative" questions. His administration seemed rife with "cronyism", and this became more apparent when Roger Humphreys, a convicted double murderer, was pardoned for his crimes and it became public knowledge that his father was a county chairman for Blanton. It was later discovered that members of Blanton's staff were involved in the apparent sale of pardons. Several of them were subsequently convicted of selling pardons.^{[citation needed]} Blanton himself was never charged, and seemed unfazed by any criticism. On August 18, 1977, he represented President Jimmy Carter at the funeral of Elvis Presley.

In February 1978, the Tennessee State Constitution was amended to allow Blanton and future Tennessee governors to succeed themselves. Blanton did not run for reelection. However, in light of the controversy surrounding his administration, it seems unlikely that he would have been renominated, let alone been reelected, if he had run. His Republican opponent in 1974, Alexander, won in November.

[edit]Transition from Blanton to Alexander

In January 1979, with his term expiring, the State's Pardon Board began to make a series of pardons that seemed to be either the product of sheer politics or openbribery. This generated outrage from both political parties. Leaders from both houses of the legislature, Lieutenant Governor (and Senate Speaker) John S. Wilderand State House Speaker Ned McWherter, searched for a way to prevent further damage to the state's reputation. They found it in the state constitution, which is somewhat vague on when a newly elected governor must be sworn in. It was eventually decided to swear in Alexander three days before the traditional inauguration day. Wilder later referred to Blanton's ouster as "impeachment Tennessee-style."^[2]

[edit]Post-governor troubles

Out of office, Blanton found himself in legal difficulties. He was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among other law-enforcement agencies. Although never formally charged in the pardons matter, he was eventually indicted on charges of selling liquor licenses. He was convicted and sentenced to federal prison. After serving his sentence he returned to Tennessee and later had some charges against him dropped. Although a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals initially reversed the convictions because of the way in which the district court conducted the voir dire,^[3] that decision was vacated by the court's decision to re-hear the case en banc. The full Sixth Circuit Court affirmed Blanton's convictions, and the Supreme Court denied review.^[4]

[edit]Run for Congress in 1988 and death

In 1988, Blanton appeared on a ballot for the first time in 14 years when he ran for the retiring Ed Jones' Congressional seat. He finished far behind the eventual winner, state representative John Tanner, only winning seven percent of the vote. He then became privately employed at a Ford Motors dealership in Hendersonuntil he died of liver failure in 1996, still proclaiming his innocence.

[edit]Film about governorship

A portion of the story of the pardons scandal was made into a book, Marie: A True Story by Peter Maas, author of Serpico, and eventually made into the motion picture Marie starring Sissy Spacek in the title role of Board of Pardons and Paroles Board head Marie Ragghianti. Attorney and future U.S. Senator Fred Thompson launched his acting career in this picture, portraying himself (he was Ragghianti's lawyer). The pardons scandal, as well as others, are also detailed in the book FBI Codename TENNPAR, written by Hank Hillin, the Nashville-based FBI agent who led the investigation into the Blanton administration.^[5]