What Kind Of Cars Do The Lincoln Lawyer Drive In The TV Show?

“The Lincoln Lawyer” is a legal drama on Netflix that features Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a criminal defense attorney working with several high-profile clients. The show currently has three seasons, but the first season, which is based on the book ‘The Brass Verdict’ by Michael Connelly, focuses on a case where a tech billionaire, Trevor Elliot (Christopher Gorham), is accused of murdering his wife and her lover. Elliot’s original lawyer was murdered before the trial started, and Haller is mysteriously tapped to take over the case.

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As the title suggests, Haller is known for spending a lot of time working in the back of his vehicle. In the first episode, when the main protagonist is introduced, his legal aide tells him to drive one of his Lincolns to get to a meeting with the judge who will assign him the case that takes center stage during the season. She says, “Get one out of storage. The Lincoln becomes you, and you become you. Should this thing here become a real opportunity, you got to go in there full Mickey Haller.”

The next scene then cuts to Haller preparing for his meeting and then opening a garage door to reveal the three Lincoln models we will frequently see on the show. So, which cars does our main protagonist have? Let’s explore the models that we’ll find in the Netflix series and also look at the model that the original Mickey Haller drove in the 2011 movie.

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The first car that Mickey Haller drives in the “Lincoln Lawyer” TV series is this blue 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible, a classic convertible that’s worth owning by anyone today, especially if you’re a successful lawyer (or at least once was, at the beginning of the series). This particular car sports a special plate: NTGUILTY, which highlights Haller’s career as a criminal defense attorney.

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Although Haller hires a driver (who’s one of his first clients in the series), we will never see anyone else drive this convertible. Given its age and legendary status, as well as its unique suicide-door layout, it’s understandable that the Continental Convertible is his personal car that he drives for enjoyment and probably for some nostalgia as well. That’s because it’s implied in the flashbacks that Mickey’s dad, himself a defense attorney, also drives a Lincoln.

The Lincoln Continental was the company’s flagship vehicle during its launch, so aside from being a comfortable and spacious vehicle to drive around in, it’s also a statement to others signifying that you’ve made it in your business or career. More than that, the convertible model that Haller was driving around is a rare model, accounting for less than 10% of the total production numbers for that model year, or 3,183 cars. It had an original MSRP of $6,196 in 1963, putting its price today at $63,916.80. For this amount, you could get a BMW 5-series, a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, or a Tesla Model S in 2024 — although not at their top trims.

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While the 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible is indeed a beautiful classic car, it doesn’t have the features of modern vehicles like an infotainment screen and much more comfortable seats. So, it just makes sense for Mickey Haller to have a more modern daily driver. This is where his two Lincoln Navigators come in, and they have equally snazzy license plates: DISMISSD and IWALKEM. Contrary to what others say, the Lincoln with the IWALKEM license plate is still a Navigator. This is clearly seen in Season 1, Episode 7 when Haller visits some of his biker clients, and we can see the rear of the silver vehicle that shows the features of a 2019 Lincoln Navigator.

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The 2019 Lincoln Navigator is Haller’s daily driver, and he’s often seen in it being driven around by his driver, Izzy Letts (Jazz Raycole). This three-row full-size SUV is currently Lincoln’s flagship model, meaning it’ll be the largest, most spacious car in its lineup. This is the perfect vehicle for someone who frequently works in their car. Although Haller inherited a physical office from the lawyer who was assassinated during the opening scene of the series, he rarely works there, often preferring the back of his car while Letts drives him to his court appointments.

Those who have seen the movie or read the book might note that this isn’t the original Lincoln model that our protagonist used to be driven in. However, the original book launched in 2005, and the first movie debuted in 2011, and Lincoln no longer makes that particular model. So, to keep up with the times, the producers replaced that car with the Navigator.

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Although Mickey Haller is known for driving around in swanky and expensive Lincolns, he also had a humble beginning. We see this in a flashback in the first half of Season 3, Episode 1, where he’s seen driving a red 1997 Volkswagen Rabbit Cabriolet with a less conspicuous license plate. This was also the exact car he was driving in when he first saw the blue Lincoln Continental Convertible on sale at a car dealership while he was stopped at an intersection.

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The Volkswagen Rabbit wasn’t as popular in the U.S. as Japanese imports, and it didn’t have the cult following of the classic Beetle, which is still worth buying today. Nevertheless, it’s still an affordable and reliable car, something that a new lawyer would probably drive while he’s still building up his clients and reputation. Despite this, Haller invested a little bit more to get the convertible model instead of the usual hatchback. He probably did this because putting the top down would allow him to carry his huge surfboard around, while it would also score him a few extra creature comforts and style points to have a car that could put its top down.

Mickey Haller totals his DISMISSD Lincoln Navigator in Season 3 after he and his driver were attacked at the end of Episode 5. So, to protect him, one of his clients, Hector Moya (Arturo Del Puerto), gives him a replacement vehicle. This car is still a Lincoln Navigator, but this time it’s an L model, which features 12 more inches of cargo room. Aside from featuring another vanity plate that says RSNBL.DBT (Reasonable Doubt), this model also sports additional protection, featuring 360 degrees of bulletproofing, armored glass, and run-flat tires. This car will be his new daily driver for the rest of the season, and we also see in some scenes that a bodyguard in a black Mercedes-Benz follows him around.

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Since Eddie Rojas (Allyn Morion), his new driver for Season 3, was killed during the crash, his old driver, Izzy, who has since transitioned to working in his office, returns behind the wheel. She says that she doesn’t trust anyone else to drive him during that time, especially as someone is seemingly trying to kill our protagonist.

“The Lincoln Lawyer” series is based on the 2011 movie of the same name starring Matthew McConaughey. In the movie, McConaughey’s Mickey Haller is seen driving around in a 1986 Lincoln Town Car. However, the TV series didn’t use this model as Lincoln has since discontinued this model. During that time, though, the Town Car was one of the most luxurious classic American cars you can get and is the flagship model owned by Ford’s luxury division.

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Furthermore, “The Lincoln Lawyer” showrunner Ted Humphrey said that they replaced the Town Car with an SUV for practical reasons. After all, the Netflix series is set in the present day, and U.S. automakers don’t sell too many sedans anymore. Furthermore, it would be weird for such a successful defense lawyer like Mickey Haller to be seen driving around in an old car, and it definitely has to be a Lincoln. Besides, the name of the series is “The Lincoln Lawyer,” not “The Toyota Lawyer.”