But why would anyone want an anachronistic 16-valve SOHC V8 powering a car that rides on a truck-like steel frame, when most
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| Why would anyone want an anachronistic 16-valve SOHC V8 powering a car that rides on a truck-like steel frame? It's simple, decent power, reasonable fuel consumption and low operation costs. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
luxury cars feature stiff monocoque construction underpinning multivalve, DOHC engines and 5+ speed gearboxes? It's simple, decent power, reasonable fuel consumption and low operation costs. The steel frame makes them easy to stretch, rear-drive configuration easier to fix, OHV engine reliable and relatively fuel friendly and 4-speed transmission bulletproof. It's dollars and cents really. If limo companies wanted unibody cars with high-tech multivalve engines and front-wheel drive, then Cadillac's full-size limousine business wouldn't have almost entirely dried up when it introduced the current Northstar-powered DeVille.
Over the years I've taken the odd Town Car for a week at a time. They're always brand new, because automakers are in the business selling new cars, not used, and therefore we rarely get a chance to see how well a car holds up over the long haul. Of course, this isn't the case with the Town Car as there probably isn't a more abused vehicle on the roads, next to a Ford Crown Vic which is more or less the same vehicle underneath the sheetmetal.
I think only Kia's new Amanti sedan, also incredibly large for a Korean product, offers a smoother ride. The Lincoln is, as
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| The Lincoln is, as expected, plush, and thoroughly enjoyable when on the straight or while executing long sweeping freeway turns. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
expected, plush, thoroughly enjoyable when on the straight or while executing long sweeping freeway turns but rolling into tight corners without much grace under the pressure of high Gs. Of course, no one buys a Town Car to slalom being that Lincoln makes a very adequate LS for such duties. Yet the ability to maintain control while swerving isn't only for adding entertainment while driving, more importantly it's for avoiding an accident if someone happens to pull out in front of you, or the like. I'm sorry to say the previous generation Town Car might be the least likely car to avoid an accident, as it's quite heavy and overly ponderous when asked to move from side to side quickly. Its replacement is better, due to a stiffer hydroformed frame and attention paid to such maneuvers while setting up its suspension calibrations, but the previous model is quite hopeless.
