Cadillac DeVille vs Lincoln Continental — American Luxury Rivals

The Cadillac DeVille's advantage is volume and variety. Produced in enormous numbers across multiple body styles — hardtop coupe, hardtop sedan, convertible — the DeVille offers collectors entry points from $12,000 to well over $60,000 depending on configuration and year. The 1959 DeVille (with those magnificent tailfins) is the most recognizable American car of its decade — a cultural artifact of the first order. The convertible versions of 1964–1970 are the most collectible DeVilles in the modern market. Cadillac's engineering of this era — the Series 62 and DeVille — represented genuine state-of-the-art luxury engineering, not just style.

The 1961–1969 Lincoln Continental is the more restrained, more European-influenced design — and from a concours judging perspective, it is among the most important American automobiles ever produced. The four-door convertible (1961–1967) is a design without peer in American automotive history: a 215-inch car with a convertible top that folds completely flat, suicide rear doors, and no excess ornamentation whatsoever. The Continental's development under Robert McNamara's product philosophy produced a car that was later and less fashionable than Cadillac — and more enduring as design. Values for four-door convertibles have appreciated sharply and clean examples now exceed $65,000–$120,000.