Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Town Car to be reduced to Fleet sales as new Lincoln models squander a legacy in 2008

The ultimate modern road trip mobile, not many want to buy one, but we all love to rent them for long trips or climb into one on the way to the airport. The Town Car, a much neglected car (along with it's siblings the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis) is none the less an American Icon. While some may laugh, the Town Car has some very good characteristics, and believe it or not, fuel economy is not bad, on long highway trips I've achieved averages of 25 mpg. There is no better cabin for long trips either. But now those days are coming to an end. Edmunds reports what many have known or suspected for a few months, that the Town Car is being shoved into the corner, relagated to Fleet sales. To be replaced by a new Flagship based on the Ford 500.
The new Flagship will be out in 2008 and Town Cars will be around until 2010,

Also slated to be killed is the Lincoln LS, a car that so many of us saw promise with. A real shame that this car will be gone in 2008, it's already been abandoned by FoMoCo, to die a slow painful death of neglect. This car still has so much promise as an import fighter, and is so much more refined than the brutish Chrysler 300, with it's pillbox windows.
The glory days of Lincoln, the 30's, grace style and speed thanks to the V12. This is a 1932 Lincoln Dual Cowl Phaeton. Lincoln has had it's ups and downs over the years, but there are enough good models to point to over the years.
The 60's Continental was one of my all time favorite cars. A four door convertible with suicide rear doors. When I win the lottery I'm going to buy two of these, just for the hell of it.
Lincoln Mark VIII the last of the Lincoln coupes. The last of the LSC line.
OH the 70's what an era, probably the last time that owning a Lincoln was a status symbol.
Not that the 500 is a bad car, not at all, but is this what a Lincoln flagship should be based on? And why do all future Lincolns need to be front/allwheel drive ? Didn't they learn from Cadilac?
over the last few years, many promising concepts like the above Continental and the Mark X concept roadster below, have come out. One poster commented that they have the stain of Jaques Nasser on them and will suffer their association with him. Or to be more accurate, we will suffer. The rear wheel drive cars here would be more fitting as "flagship" models.

These new Lincolns, the Aviator and Zephyr are both intersting and promising models. Both will offer all wheel drive. Why then does Lincoln need two more models with all wheel drive? Is the ice age coming and nobody told me?
Ford listen up, don't make the same mistakes Cadilac made and abandon rear wheel drive. The futue of Lincoln, Mercury and even Ford does not look bright with the abandoning of the LS and Panther platforms. You want a flagship, build a variation of the Continental concept, keep the suicide rear doors and build it on a new rear wheel drive platform that will replace the Panther. And if you really want to wow them, build a 4 door convertible! With all these stupid decisions, I feel like I should rename this blog MYFORDNIGHTMARES !!!!!!!

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