Did the sporty, full-sized American luxury car ever have its moment? But for the occasional Eldorado Touring Coupe or DeVille Concours, cars in the full-size luxury segment have generally focussed on high-tech gizmos and/or cushy luxury rather than athletic aspirations. Lincoln offered a Signature Touring option on its third-generation Town Car but these are extremely rare.
Photo courtesy of Civil Auto
In uptown Manhattan, you don’t really ever stop to look at a Town Car, as due to their popularity as livery cars they are a dime a dozen. I knew something was off when I spotted the featured Town Car, though. Note the blackwalls and lack of chrome. Signature Tourings also offered 20 more horsepower (for 220, with 275 ft-lbs of torque), dual exhaust, larger front brakes, bigger anti-roll bars, and upgraded wheels, tires and shocks. For 2000, power was increased to 235 hp. Puzzlingly for its intended mission, a bench seat was standard.
But just who was Lincoln targeting? If you wanted something dynamic and fun-to-drive, a Town Car probably wasn’t on your list. The price point also eliminated the kind of buyer who wanted an old-fashioned muscle sedan, and engine output wasn’t much to write home about either, anyway: the DeVille Concours offered 300 hp.
While a Touring Sedan with more distinct visuals – fatter tires, smoked lights, AMG-style wheels – sounds quite appealing, it probably wouldn’t have sold any better. By 2003, the Signature Touring was gone. Once again, who was buying a “sporty” Town Car?
I like it. Do you really need so much chrome just to prove that you’re a luxury car?
More chrome to hide the rust on door bottom and quarter panels, and it can look more luxurious without rust spots.
Nowadays we find plastics though.
I used to scorn chrome, but having lived with oxidation- or fade-prone Euro-black trim, I’ve come around & decided that some [real] chrome or stainless is the way to go, so long as it’s not slathered on like ’50s Buicks or current F-250 monster trucks.
I like it as a bit of performance upgrade over the base Town Car, but did the intended customer really care? The well-to-do retired types who bought Town Cars wanted comfy seats and quiet, serene luxury. They could care less about how many roll bars and exhaust pipes it had. This model just didn’t register with them and I doubt if dealers, knowing their customer’s wants, ever stocked them in inventory. Someone wanting one would most likely have to do a factory order, which dealers are now loathe to do.
I give Lincoln kudos for offering a better performing version, but the take rate was so low it didn’t justify continuing it. Too bad.
The sporty, luxury, full-size American car moment was with the first Buick Riviera, they nailed it but then lost the plot after.
I never liked the 1998+ Town Cars – they look like a Jaguar Mark X that has gone to hopeless fat. The slightly reduced chrome of the Signature Tourings does not help.
some alternatives
Crown Victoria Touring Sedan – nice wheels
or a marauder – 300+ horses
Marauder fan here. I’ve never seen the Ford or Lincoln equivalents in the metal though I quite like them.
How long did they offer the Touring Sedan for? I have seen the 1998-2002 Crown Vic and Grand Marquis with those wheels. Or was it just a “touring suspension” option (I think Sajeev has discussed it on the other site)?
The Touring Sedan as an actual model was one year only, 1992. Its 16″ wheels, or ones of a similar style, were an option for quite a while longer, as part of the touring suspension.
probably leftover LSC wheels 😀
The only one of these I’ve ever seen for sale on eBay was equipped with a padded vinyl roof, and semi-continental tire hump on the trunk, so I doubt any buyers or dealers noticed it being “sportier”. They probably sold it as a monotone, or just slightly de-chromed, option.
Would your average Lincoln dealer even have understood the intent behind one of these?
I have never noticed these; I guess few others did. The Marauder was much more unique.
I’d like one just for the weird factor. Right next to a ’69 Mercury Maurader X-100.
What’s interesting is it looks like the cars pictured have wheel covers instead of alloy wheels. I never knew these were sold with wheel covers or a bench front seat.
This model seems like it would be ideal for politicians needing a smallish step-up from a Grand Marquis/Crown Victoria. Or for folks just starting a driver service.
I don’t think those are wheel covers, I think they’re just flat-faced alloys. I wonder if the offset changed after the 2003 front subframe redesign, as they went from heavily concave to mostly flat afterward. Marauder alloys have a flat face as well, it’s just not as noticeable.
The offset of older panther cars was so great that it clearly looks ’80s, regardless rims unless covered by hubcaps. ( neither GM B-Body nor Chrysler M-Body has that great offset ) and Ford probably realized the problem in early 00s.
Yes Chris you are right. I service a fleet of Crown Vic taxis and the 03 up cars all have the flat face wheels. Even the steel wheels with a little center cap that are very heavy for cop car abuse which most of these cabs were. This was done to accomidate the required travel of the then new rack and pinion steering to that platform. As an aside Ford developed an all new bolt in alloy steering and suspension cradle that also supports the engine. These have become popular with the rodders as easy way to modernize the power train, steering and suspension in older F100 trucks.
This is a Town Car model I was never aware of. Guess that’s due in large part to the low sales. Interesting, though–I do wonder who they were aiming for. And, if they actually wanted to make a proper “Touring” model why oh why didn’t they put the 32V motor in it? Yeah, it’s more expensive and requires premium, but if you’re going to do it, do it right. 302hp/318tq as fitted to the Marauder and Aviator. Going back to ’99 you would have had the variant most recently used in the Mark VIII, but that was only slighly less powerful at 285hp/295tq and still much stronger than the regular 4.6.
I realized that model when I saw the flat wheels on the street in a bright red color, I thought that was a special order. Then I saw another one and I realized it could be a rare option.
The reason they didn’t put DOHC engine is probably they knew customers would use 87 regular anyway hearing it’s a 4.6 V8 in a Town Car.
…unlike German sedans which •require• Premium, a deal-breaker to me. Come on now, you fabled “German engineers,” can’t you design an 87-tolerant engine like Toyota?
I don’t think the premium fuel requirement would have been that much of a big deal to possible customers. After all Cadillac had Premium fuel requirement for some of their cars in the late 1980’s( with multi port versions of the 4.5l V8) and by 1994, all of the engines in their car line up(except the 5.7l V8 in the Fleetwood) required premium gas and that did not stop customers from buying boat loads of 94-99 Devilles.
I just don’t think the look and design of the 98-11 TC lent itself to the possibility of a sports version.
> Did the sporty, full-sized American luxury car ever have its moment?
The Chrysler 300 “letter series” in the ’50s/’60s and Impala SS in the ’90s.
The ’90s Park Avenue Ultra with the supercharged V6 arguably had a hint of sportiness too.
I actually saw a Touring Sedan Town Car shortly after the package was released. It was black on black and given my fascination at the time with V8 rear drive American Iron I stared so long my Kewpee burger got cold (shout out to Lima, OH.)
“Sporty” LOL it may have had a little more boogie for the zero to sixty sprint but what happens when you fling it into a 90 degree corner at said sixty?
Massive understeer, sidewall roll and tire squealing.
“Sporty”? I tend to doubt it, but that black one does manage to look cool and menacing at the same time. Looks like an unmarked police chief or government officials car. I`ll take one.
I don’t think that the market for the Lincoln Town Car ever went away. The Ford Diner kept serving the same thing for supper every nite until even the people who used to love their cooking got sick of it.
My sister has one of these in a red pearl color with a dull grey interior. Her second Touring, actually. Even though she’s bought many new car since, she refuses to trade it in. She keeps it at her house near Branson, MO and enjoys putting it through it’s paces up and down the hills and around the numerous curves. (As much as one can with such a big heavy car.)
I’ve driven it dozens and dozens of times, and while it’s no speedster, it does seem to hold it’s own. The very flat seats and not so grippy tires keep you from pushing too far from it’s comfort zone.
My father has a 99′ Touring Sedan and actually out of all of the Town Cars we have had that one has probably been the most solid, reliable and serious to drive on the highway. The interior appointments for that vintage were good as well. He refuses to part with it and I can’t say I would either.
I don’t think clientele that were buying big Detroit Luxo barges had any interest in a “sporty” version of those types of cars. The Deville Concurs tanked also in comparison to regular Deville sales. However Cadillac did have the Seville for those that wanted a sporty Caddy and this car sold very well
I do think after letting the Concurs resemble the base 94-96 Deville (with the exception of the hood ornament less hood, revised grill and Concurs badges on the front doors.) GM realized that they should make it look different and added a new front clip with fog lights
GM did have the edge though regarding power with the Deville Concurs having 270 hp vs the Towncar having 220hp.
I found an old MT road test comparing the 98 Concurs with the Towncar Touring.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/112_9712_cadillac_deville_concours_vs_lincoln_town_and_country/viewall.html
I’m no great fan of the post-98 TCs but this one isn’t bad. Given the location and the non-livery option pack, I wouldn’t be surprised if the owner when new wasn’t connected.
A brother in law bought one of these as a CPO. I loved it. Unfortunately, the car had a water leak in the body and as soon as it was back from the dealer for the second repair, he traded it on a new Avalon.
I really wanted to buy it from him, but he considered it a hopeless lemon. He is quite fastidious with his cars.
People who have never driven a Panther with handling suspension and decent tires will never understand the appeal of this car.
“People who have never driven a Panther with handling suspension and decent tires will never understand the appeal of this car.”
Funny thing this article was just published as I just bought a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria LX Sport. It’s still sitting in the garage so I’m not really sure how it handles, but I’ve heard/read a lot of good things about it.
It’s not quite a Marauder but it has a console and leather “buckets” along with 15 more horses and some mechanical handling upgrades.
Anyway, the interior, dark charcoal/black or whatever they call it:
So why aren’t the Korean luxury cars selling better?
I am a Panther fan, my wife’s DD is a 2002 TC Signature, I love the cushiness and quite ride, But I do find the lack of variety of interior materials and colors boring,
My question which year(s) Panthers had the highest build quality? To be more specific which generation and or model years of the Lincoln Town Cars had the best build quality.
Ford should have done a Marauder towny. The fact they didn’t probably indicates they wanted the car gone, and the 32 valve would sexy it up considerably – not the objective. The 32 valve would fit under the hood easily though.