- The Wednesday funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il provided a rare glimpse into the secretive country's automotive tastes.
- Detroit hardware was on display as Kim Jong Il's remains were transported atop a vintage Lincoln Continental Town Car.
- The massive funeral procession featured dozens of cars, including military vehicles and at least one Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman limousine.
PYONGYANG, North Korea — The Wednesday funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il provided a rare glimpse into the secretive country's automotive tastes.
Detroit hardware was on display as Kim Jong Il's remains were transported atop a vintage Lincoln Continental Town Car converted to a hearse.
The coffin was draped in the flag of the nation's Worker's Party. Although state TV did not identify the vehicle, it appears to be a 1976 model. It is also unknown how the car came to be in North Korea; presumably, it was purchased on the black market since the U.S. government bans most exports to that country. A second Lincoln Continental had an oversized photo of a smiling Kim.
The funeral procession featured dozens of cars, including military vehicles and at least one Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman, a factory-built limousine. The procession was marked by wild, snowy weather, with North Korean media noting that the deceased leader still had the ability to control the elements.
It's not surprising that Kim apparently had a fondness for Lincolns. Ford's historical archives describe the Lincoln as "the car of the presidents."
"Lincolns have frequently served as the official means of automotive transportation to the president of the United States, at home and around the world," the company noted.
It added: "Lincolns have been closely associated with some of the most powerful and important figures in history, in images and photographs that resonate decades after they were taken."
Ford said that Calvin Coolidge was the first American president to be chauffeured in a seven-passenger Lincoln in the mid-1920s. The most infamous presidential limo was the $200,000 1961 Lincoln Continental that John F. Kennedy rode in Dallas when he was assassinated. It was a modified four-door Continental Model 74A convertible and was the first in the White House fleet to have air conditioning.
The last Lincoln to serve the White House was a 1989 model, said Ford. It transported George H.W. Bush to his inauguration.
Inside Line says: Although Lincoln no doubt enjoys its image as the choice of heads of state, an association with Kim-Jong Il probably isn't the best press.
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dshnva says:
01:33 AM, 12/31/2011
The cars pictured are Lincoln Continentals, not Town Cars. There was no Lincoln Town Car until 1981.
mrw356 says:
05:25 PM, 12/30/2011
In keeping with the automotive theme of this website; What is the coefficient of drag of the lincoln with the huge picture of Kim Jong Il on top? That has to be one of the strangest looking automotive things I've seen.
Hopefully someday this regime will end without hostilities just as East Germany did.
nefariousnigel says:
09:33 PM, 12/29/2011
What an absolute and utter freakshow....
merks62 says:
09:16 PM, 12/29/2011
Now that we're starting to see proper photos of the funeral procession as opposed to fuzzier images shot off the TV footage, I noticed an interesting detail today that could finally shed some light on the Lincolns' most-likely export trajectory from the U.S. to North Korea. The limo used as Kim Jong-il's hearse - but not the other two Continentals - has an extra set of rear view mirrors topping the middle of each front fender, which were regulatory necessities in Japan when these cars were new and would have added to at least some of the cars "passing through." An expert on mid-1970s Japanese-North Korean trade restrictions might still need to weigh in on this theory, of course!
jmm_101r says:
12:16 PM, 12/29/2011
Im so glad he is gone!...now hopefully the ppl. of north c0rea may see a positive change in their lives. hopefully he is burning in hell wit Gadafi.:) all of us humans where born to be free!! a person like this doesnt deserve any respect.
Lincoln.. an american car! wow.. that is a big surprise for me. that shows the kind of person kim jong was. 2faced!! God bless america & the ppl. of north corea.
kkear3 says:
07:57 AM, 12/29/2011
Lincoln was once such a proud brand. if you drove one, you were Somebody. Hopefully Lincoln will someday return to its former glory.
fandiesel says:
05:23 AM, 12/29/2011
Sad day for Lincoln, carting the world's number one extortionist to the oven. Maybe the children will be able to get some food in the future with him good and dead now !
lolxd says:
01:53 AM, 12/29/2011
Ooh! new E class Mercs alongside a w140 Pullman. How interesting.
rpvitiello says:
01:09 AM, 12/29/2011
Oh the irony!
zr1man says:
08:16 PM, 12/28/2011
That's one that the ZR1 didn't want any part of.