Lincoln Town Car

[Silver03MM]

Ok let me start by saying that my Father used to have a 1989 Lincoln Town Car and I remember it being a very comfortable car and at the time he paid $26k for it. My issue is - how can Ford/Lincoln keep selling these with a very very dated engine and frame and still ask $47k for a car that probably only has sound and interior electronic updates? It is a very dated design that has just went up in cost with little to no improvement since 1997.
My feelings are that Ford should had atleast used left over 4.6 3V's and auto trans from the 2010 Mustang making 315 hp into these cars. They need somemore power and new modern interior and design. I mean come on a V8 making 239hp and poor fuel economy isn't cool.
I apologize for my vent LOL I'm just a big Ford/Lincoln/Mercury fan and I would like to see them improve on this big car. Since they killed off Mercury and the Crown Vic lets try to atleast keep one big American Luxury car on the road!

[a_d_a_m]

Nice idea but it's not going to happen. The Panther platform will not meet future CAFE and NHTSA requirements. Enjoy one while you can. Used but still new Town Cars can be had for a pretty cheap deal.

[jflave]

I drive a 2011 for work & get a new one every 2 years or so. I drive between 40,000 & 50,000 miles a year & the last three TC's (over 300,000 miles) i have had ZERO down days. Thats very important to me so i hope they keep making them just the way they do, i know good PM & some luck is involved.

[Fosters]

The R&D has long been paid off on those cars, and the limo industry still loves them for how easy they are to stretch, and how parts are a dime a dozen... so, for now, no drivetrain changes.

I'm guessing they're also using them cars as the parts bin; clearing up the last of the 2v heads, timing covers, accessories, etc...

The 3v is already old news; that car could use the new coyote and a 6 speed auto to be any kind of competitive...

[Peter]

The typical brand new Town Car owner doesn't need a 300+HP engine. I talked to plenty of owners who purchased their Town Car new. There main complaints were the lack of tachnology in it. Ford made rain-sensing wipers only available in 2003. Exclusively on the Cartier model, it was canned the next year. THX certified audio and navigation was available from 2005-7. Not sure why Ford would go to the expense of designing those units only to discontinue it a couple years later. Same with the Moonroof. At least HIDs are still available.

The Town Car was supposed to get a redesign in 2008, never happened.

I considered ordering a Town Car here, but Ford is insane asking $71xxx with no incentives!!!

I'm waiting for the fire-sale Lincoln will have once they get rid of the Town Cars from dealer's lots.

[EMAS]

Dated chassis and no updates since 1997? How about the new rear suspension and back 1/3 of the frame in 1998 and a new front suspension and rest of the frame in 2003? There is no more advanced live axle rear suspension nor front suspension than on the Panthers. As the others have said they haven't messed with the TC because it works and there is demand even if it is only from the black car industry. I do agree that they should have repowered it with the 3v and maybe even offered it with the 4.2 they offered in the trucks for a few years, but the average purchaser isn't interested in more power. As far as the poor mileage the Lexus LS 460 is EPA rated at 16/24 the same as the Town Car, the Mercedes S550 with it's fancy 7sp auto is only rated at 15/23 so the TC is actually tied for best in class.

[Fosters]

Dated chassis and no updates since 1997? How about the new rear suspension and back 1/3 of the frame in 1998 and a new front suspension and rest of the frame in 2003? There is no more advanced live axle rear suspension nor front suspension than on the Panthers. As the others have said they haven't messed with the TC because it works and there is demand even if it is only from the black car industry. I do agree that they should have repowered it with the 3v and maybe even offered it with the 4.2 they offered in the trucks for a few years, but the average purchaser isn't interested in more power. As far as the poor mileage the Lexus LS 460 is EPA rated at 16/24 the same as the Town Car, the Mercedes S550 with it's fancy 7sp auto is only rated at 15/23 so the TC is actually tied for best in class.

I'm sorry, but the 2011 mustang gt live rear axle is leaps and bounds above the panther rear... And I don't know that I'd go all that far to say the front end is the most advanced in the industry..

The 3v has had its share of problems, and it's not exactly gonna set mpg records. The new mustang/F150 drivetrains (coyote and 3.7L n/a v6) would be a boost in both MPG and power... but would cut into profits and would likely be harder to produce as many (i don't know if they're keeping up with production considering how much they're stalling bringing them to the lots in the F150s and whatnot)

[Peter]

From my understanding none of those engines would fit anyway without a significant redesign of the firewall and front end.

[88LTDCV351]

I rented a 2010 Towncar in May of last year for a trip to Reno. Very nice car. Perfect the way it was except it felt underpowered at times. I was shocked to see that Ford is asking $47,000 for the one that I rented. Thought maybe I would buy one new, but I'll get one used someday but I can understand for $47,000 its not a family truckster anymore. Its a shame.

[Peter]

I rented a 2010 Towncar in May of last year for a trip to Reno. Very nice car. Perfect the way it was except it felt underpowered at times. I was shocked to see that Ford is asking $47,000 for the one that I rented. Thought maybe I would buy one new, but I'll get one used someday but I can understand for $47,000 its not a family truckster anymore. Its a shame.

I've seen them advertised for around $35,000. No one pays MSRP for the Town Car...

[a_d_a_m]

Let me re-broadcast my original quote so you guys can stop re-engineering the Panther platform:

Nice idea but it's not going to happen. The Panther platform will not meet future CAFE and NHTSA requirements.

[Peter]

Let me re-broadcast my original quote so you guys can stop re-engineering the Panther platform:

Redesigned town car:






300HP SUPERCHARGED

[EMAS]

I'm sorry, but the 2011 mustang gt live rear axle is leaps and bounds above the panther rear... And I don't know that I'd go all that far to say the front end is the most advanced in the industry..

The 3v has had its share of problems, and it's not exactly gonna set mpg records. The new mustang/F150 drivetrains (coyote and 3.7L n/a v6) would be a boost in both MPG and power... but would cut into profits and would likely be harder to produce as many (i don't know if they're keeping up with production considering how much they're stalling bringing them to the lots in the F150s and whatnot)

The Mustang is an entirely different animal from a Panther and the engineers spent much effort making the Mustang handle while they didn't with the Panther. The facts are however that a Watt's linkage is still as good as it gets to laterally locate a live rear axle, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt%27s_linkage and far superior to the alternative the Panhard rod http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhard_rod. A SLA front suspension with coil overs is also as good as it gets, yes it could be improved with a longer spindle but that would create packaging problems in a car with as low of a hood line.

I never said that the 3v would have improved MPG just the power level compared to the 2v. Sure the new 5.0 and 3.7 could have improved both but since the Panthers were scheduled to end production as 2010 models it wouldn't make sense to spend the money to put them in the 2011 models that were only produced because the black car industry cried "you can't take our beloved Panther on such short notice" so Ford relented and agreed to take orders longer and keep it in production until those orders were filled.

[EMAS]

Let me re-broadcast my original quote so you guys can stop re-engineering the Panther platform:

While it may not have been able to meet safety requirements I disagree that it couldn't meet CAFE requirements after all the A stands for average. If they can get 30 MPG out of the 305 horse V6 Mustang they certainly could have improved the MPG of the Panther platform cars so it made less of a dent in CAFE particularly with it's relatively low volume. The facts are however that the Panther died due to that low volume that made it uneconomical to improve either MPG or safety.

[BLACKMARAUDER04]

One local dealer is advertising $9000 off sticker.