The Mark made its debut in 1956 under the Continental brand name (at the time it was a separate division of Ford, and not a model under the Lincoln brand). The first Continental Mark II was a truly classic car, and its prized by car fans as being an example of the most elegant American car design of the post WWII era. It sold for nearly as much as a Rolls-Royce and it had quality standards that were second to none in automotive history.

The Mark line was brought back in 1968 after a 10 year layoff. The new Mark III was made by Lincoln from 1968 through 1971. Lee Iacocca himself came up with the idea for the design, telling a designer to put a Rolls Royce grill on a Ford Thunderbird.

The Mark IV kept many of the same stylings as the previous generation when it debuted in 1972. One new feature was the opera windows and the front bumper and grill design that would become an icon of crappy mafia movies set during that decade.

Different designers were given the chance to customize these iconic cars, and each was released in limited edition. They are the Bill Blass, Cartier, Givenchy, and Pucci editions.

The Mark V was only sold in 1977, 1978, and 1979. Once again the car was made bigger, and the same monster 460 cubic inch V8 was used to power it, although a smaller V8 was now made available.

The 1980 Mark VI was changed significantly from the previous models. It was much smaller and weighed 500 pounds less. They were a hit with the public, and more efficient and cheaper to drive. One rare model, the 1980 and 1981 Mark VI Town Coupe, sold in very limited numbers, about 3,000 in total. Look for these on the collectors market.

The Mark VII introduced in 1984 was even smaller than the VI. It was based on the Ford Fox platform. Despite some of the most luxurious features of any car in the '80's, the appeal of personal luxury cars was on the decline, and sales slumped.

The Mark VIII, sold from 1993 until 1998, was the last of the Mark series in the 20th century. It features unique eyeslit headlights and a neon brake light running across the entire rear fender.

The MK9 is a concept car made by Lincoln in 2004. It was not put into production.

There are so many Marks out there, you'd have to be blind to not find one on the used car market. You can find them in abundance on Ebay, along with literally hundreds of different parts.