The Continental Mark VI is a full-size luxury car that was produced by Ford Motor Company from 1980 to 1983. The fifth generation of the Mark series, the Continental Mark VI introduced several changes to the model line. Again marketed and serviced by the Lincoln-Mercury division, the Mark VI served as the flagship of the entire Ford Motor Company model line, slotted above the Lincoln Town Car. The first complete redesign of the Mark series since 1972, the Mark VI was the first generation of the model line to undergo downsizing. In another significant change, the Mark VI shifted mechanical commonality from the 1967–1976 Ford Thunderbird (its companion model since the inaugural 1969 Mark III) to the Lincoln Continental (renamed Lincoln Town Car for 1981). To distinguish itself from the Town Car, the Mark VI was fitted with model-exclusive features (including the return of Designer Edition trims). Alongside the traditional two-door sedan bodystyle, the Mark VI introduced a four-door sedan to the model line (last offered in 1960). The Continental Mark VI was produced alongside the Lincoln Continental and Town Car at the Ford Wixom Assembly Plant in Wixom, Michigan. In total, 131,981 examples were produced. For the 1984 model year, the Mark VI was replaced by the Continental Mark VII. Development During the mid-1970s, within Ford Motor Company, development of a downsized Continental Mark VI (as a successor to the Continental Mark V) began life on what became the Ford Fox platform, intending to downsize it alongside the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar XR7 for 1980. However, due to budgetary constraints, Ford product planners chose a different design direction for the Mark VI, as the project switched from the compact/mid-size Fox chassis to the (downsized) full-size Panther platform, to allow increased parts commonality with the Lincoln Continental. Based on the success of the Mark IV and Mark V, Ford executives (led by Lee Iaccoca) sought to expand the Mark series from a single personal luxury coupe into a comprehensive model line, reviving a stillborn approach proposed 20 years earlier with the Continental Division. As part of the switch to the full-size Panther platform, executives sought to add a four-door sedan, a woodgrained station wagon, and a premium 2-seat coupe to the Mark VI model line. Following the 1978 departure of Lee Iaccoca from Ford, the expansion of the Mark V model line was pared down to a four-door sedan.