1998 - 2002 Lincoln Town Car Pre-Owned

On the positive you couldn't ask for more crash protection with regards to sheetmetal and dead airspace. The Town Car is

The Town Car is solid, and well engineered to protect its passenger cell from front, rear or side swipes. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

solid, and well engineered to protect its passenger cell from front, rear or side swipes, actually four star rated on both sides. The 1998 to 2002 model came with frontal airbags, but no side or side-curtain type airbags. Other safety features it does have are anti-lock brakes and traction control.

But such pragmatic concerns aside, consumers who purchase Lincoln's Town Car do so for a variety of other reasons, the foremost being styling, luxury appointments and a smooth, comfortable ride. Model year 1998 saw a dramatic departure from what had previously been an extremely upright, formal design, with 80 percent of the car all-new. Its most prominent feature, the front grille, went from a tall and angular

Model year 1998 saw a dramatic departure from what had previously been an extremely upright, formal design, with 80 percent of the car all-new. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

Rolls-Royce-style façade, the way it had been, more or less, since the late 1960s, to an almost oval Jaguar-like nose. Still attractive, it was a departure that shook many traditionalists to the core. Long integrated headlamp cluster butted up at each end and extended outward wrapping around each corner.

The rest of the car took on the rounded theme, still uprightly formal but nevertheless bending to current trends. I remember seeing it first at one of the major auto shows, impressed at its rear taillight design the most. Again, there was nothing particularly new or innovative about what the stylist penned, but overall the car looked more modern and somehow more refined than the outgoing 1997.