While the Mercury "Breezeway" series was the most common use of the powered rear window, it was not the only car model that had it. We had a 1960 Lincoln with the feature, which was (I was told) the biggest domestic American car ever made. Other manufacturers experimented with the concept, including some in the 1920s and 1930s and the Packard Balboa in 1953, but Packard decided not to use the retractable feature and sold the rights to Ford. The option was used on the Lincoln Continental from 1958-1960. Sure wish I had that 1960 Lincoln still (and our 1966 Mustang).

Some friends of my mom and dad--I believe it was Rose and Charlie Tomlinson--had one of those Mercurys in black when we lived in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Our beach house got washed away in a hurricane in September, 1964, so theirs must have been the model from a year earlier.

I thought that rear window rolling down was the coolest thing I had ever seen on a car. Whether it was of any practical value was beside the point; it was awesome.

I was always intrigued by the reverse-slanted, powered rear window on these cars. I'd say a 1965 Mercury Monterey Breezeway, V8 390, average gas consumption of just over 10 mpg. Kudos to Ruth and Lewis Cooper for posing and photographing their car this way.