For most of Lincoln's history, every Lincoln was a Continental. There were upscale trim packages that would and selected luxury options for distintion, in the mid 70's Towncar returned as one of those options. so you would have a Lincoln Continental, Towncar. My mom had a 76, huge, but a beautiful car. I think the years 1974 through 1979 captured the look of what a Lincoln should look like. I love the square lines, the tail and front marker lights built into the corner sheetmetal, and those covered headlights, (although maybe not vaccume operatred) way classey. In 1990, Towncar became a stand alone model without being a Continental, Ford did that so they could make the Continental a different Lincoln all together. The Continental became a much smaller car, built on the Tauras/Sable chassis, while Towncar remained on as the full size Lincoln, sharing the Crown Vic, Marquis chassis, albeit, Towncar is three inches longer between the front and back seats. It was then the Executive, Signiture Series, and Cartier models were the Towncar trim packages.