It’s funny how things can come full circle – I grew up around my dad’s 93 Lincoln Town Car, but I never really loved it as much as I did my Pap’s Cadillacs or his 83 Oldsmobile 98 Regency. But it was one of the first cars I learned how to work on, helping Dad replace the brake pads and rotors, spark plugs, and after the relay/fuse box caught fire, dig into electrical system to have the car floating down the road again. And here I am, tooling around in a ’93 TC, and a Jack Nicklaus Edition at that. And I won it, in a contest, although not on the links.
Since I went to private school as a kid, and my parents split when I was 10, I got spend a lot of time in my dad’s car being ferried about Houston in its leathery comfort, the “Premium Audio” system permanently on the classic rock station spilling out Steely Dan and Pink Floyd. It also set the bar pretty high as far as air conditioning systems go – I can’t remember a time that you wouldn’t be pelted with ice cubes with it set to 60 and MAX AC. Eventually he moved on to driving Ram pickups when he got a job at a country radio station, and after Tropical Storm Allison flooded our neighborhood, the Lincoln headed to the junkyard since the interior was destroyed by mold and mildew.
Dad’s Town Car, behind the 5 door limo
So when I saw a 1993 Jack Nicklaus edition being given away by YouTuber Tyler Hoover, it brought back many childhood memories with Dad – some good, some bad, but enough to make me want the car and it’s acres of leather and fake wood. My 96 Cadillac Fleetwood wasn’t the most reliable daily driver, and my Crown Vic wasn’t as Broughamy for my tastes to live with every say. So I entered a submission video, any by some stroke of luck, I won!
Tyler bought the car at a dealer auction in Kansas where it didn’t fetch any bids due to the rough interior and a mass airflow sensor causing it to run badly. It took about a month to be shipped to me, but a free car is a free car. Especially a limited edition Jack Nicklaus – this thing really tickles my Brougham fancy, and has a few options on it that even the Fleetwood doesn’t have. The 1990 refresh really did bring these cars up to date inside and out, without sacrificing the qualities that “traditional” luxury buyers demanded – as much as I love 80’s land yachts, that era Town Car never did hit me just right like the 77-92 RWD Caddy does.
How did Lincoln come to make a Jack Nicklaus edition? Lincoln, even more than Cadillac, had various special editions over the years – Bill Blass being the best example off the top of my head. By the late 80’s Jack Nicklaus started doing commercials for Lincoln, emphasizing how comfy the car was for those “long drives,” and Lincoln even enlisted his help for the new 1990 Town Car promotional video. He appealed to the traditional Lincoln buyer at the time with an image of the upper middle class golf club member, without being Judge Smails snooty – or as Al Czervik crass.
What did you get for the extra $1,600 above the regular Signature Series Townie? Off white leather seats (like a golf glove) with green Lincoln embroidered logos, elm burl wood grain instrument panel & Jack Nicklaus “Golden Bear” logo, Front fender-mounted Golden Bear badging, green carpet and floor mats with the Golden Bear logo, and 15″ aluminum wheels to round out the package. Above that, my car has the driver’s memory seat, power recliners and lumbar, Auto Dim headlamps, as well as a sunroof and the JBL Sound System. You could get a Jack Nicklaus between 1992 and 1997, with 1997 editions coming with a nice leather golf bag.
Early editions were either green with an off white carriage roof, or white with the plain steel roof. Personally, I like the steel roof on this car – my dad’s car had the same look being a white Executive Series, and anything else just feels off. His however had the “Bordello Red” leather interior that screamed 1970’s Broughamtastic. The white and green in mine looks restrained by comparison.
This particular example has 204k miles on it – the interior is rough in a few places with the leather seat bottoms being worse for wear, and a few brittle plastic interior pieces that I should try and find replacements for are the only items that really need attention inside. Mechanically the engine and transmission are strong, with only a blue cloud of smoke off the line after idling at a stop worrying me. New valve seals are on the list for repairs, along with the usual gremlins of EATC O rings and a blend door motor – pretty standard things to go wrong with a 90’s FoMoCo Panther. The “Service Air Suspension” light comes on after a few miles of driving, so I suspect the rear bags need to be replaced. Another common issue is with these cars – the compressor on my Dad’s TC died while he was saving up to repair it and replace the bags. Being the resourceful type, he rigged a tire Schrader valve up to it so he could manually pump up the bags at the gas station when low.
But how does it drive? Honestly, it’s an almost entirely different feeling than the Crown Vic – very floaty, and not as willing in the curves as the Vic with the Handling & Performance Package. It does have the same 210 HP dual exhaust 4.6, but isn’t as fast off the line due to the different rear axle ratio – which is fine by me, as it gives me 26 MPG cruising at 65. The steering is much crisper than in the Fleetwood, and the brakes being 4 wheel discs make all the difference in the world trying to bring this barge to a halt.
KDKA is not in stereo, but a heterodyne tricked the radio when I snapped the pic
On the highway it’s a much more relaxed drive than the Fleetwood or the Vic – the Fleetwood had a vibration above 70, and while the Vic wasn’t a rough ride, it’s not as “big car” floaty as the Lincoln. One feature I do love is the JBL audio system – it really does crank for a 1990’s era system, and the small subwoofer packs a decent punch. Plus, the radio has AM Stereo – perfect for a radio geek like myself.
Other comparisons to the Fleetwood? The interior of the Lincoln is smaller, but the deep well trunk is more useable than the Fleetwood’s. The doors on the Caddy feel more solid, but both cars are vault like once inside – and it pains me to say this, the Lincoln really is easier to live with day to day. The Caddy has the presence and look, but the Lincoln is just as luxurious and better screwed together on every level. I miss the instant torque of the LT1, but the 4.6 is no slouch – and going back and forth to work I make a tank of gas last longer since the Lincoln gets better mileage.
I am not a “Lincoln Man” at all, but I do think the Town Car is a better vehicle unless you need to tow 7,000 pounds, or can’t live without the Cadillac crest leading the way. That could have been why Dad chose this as his personal vehicle when he sold his 75 Sedan deVille to my Aunt & Uncle in 1993 – I never asked him why he owned a Lincoln when the Lawler’s were a GM family going back to the 1930’s, but getting to compare the two up close and personal I can see where the Town Car felt more like the 85-92
That’s not to say the car is perfect – the seats are a bit too high for me, the sunroof robs an inch of headroom that I would love to get back, and the AOD-E isn’t as buttery smooth as the 4L60E. But overall I love it – I can see why Dad switched after so many years as a Cadillac man (and looking at the sales figures compared to the Fleetwood, others did as well even if the Townie didn’t outsell the DeVille). Dad worked on his own cars – more so out of necessity than love of wrenching, and the Modular V8 is pretty easy for a shadetree mechanic to work on. Money was tight in those years, even with Mom holding down a full time gig and him working full time in radio. My car looks clean under the hood as you can see, and thankfully aside from checking the fluids I haven’t had to pop the hood (yet).
The TC is now my daily driver, and soon will be road tripping up and down the East Coast for the holidays (after a visit to my own car wizard Alan to fix the issues mentioned above). Thank you again to Tyler Hoover for the car – It’s not often you get a second chance to relive your childhood memories, but in this case I get to every time I slide behind the wheel. And whenever the radio plays “Deacon Blues”, I smile and think of Dad.
I may not be my father’s Oldsmobile, but I am his Town Car. And that suits me just fine.
This is a nice treatise on the “luxobarge.” My sister-in-law has had a series of Lincolns including a 1992 and a 1996. Yes, driving them was a pleasure on the highway as they are quite comfortable. I periodically would be driving the Lincolns as we two were the drivers for long trips. Thanks for your information on this special model.
Yep, I’d drive it too! Always like this model, Mostly because of the color. In-laws back in the day had an early 90’s TC, not any “edition” model but a very nice car all around.
I think “Babylon Sister” is the perfect song for this sweet ride. I still kinda prefer the green one. tx for the post.
How about “The Nightfly” since his dad is a radio man.
Or FM- no static at all!
Even better!
Steely Dan and luxobarges? No way, I think a vintage BMW (2002) is a more appropriate setting.
I actually think a luxobarge is perfect car for Steely Dan given that a lot of their songs had an ironic vibe to them. I can totally see Donald Fagen driving something like this.
I love the Nightfly. That CD lives in my Colorado’s cd player as a default music source in the event my iPod is not working on a trip.
One of my all-time favorite movies! (OK, I may have been doing same, ahem, herbs and spices back then, Which I might add or perfectly legal now in some states!!) Always thought they based WKRP in Cincinnati on it. Now I’ll have to go did up the sound track..Now where did I put those cassettes…? Or was it 8-track?…Hmmm 🙂
The senior partner of my first law office bought a Jack Nicklaus edition, probably about the same year as yours. He had been a dedicated GM guy and had owned Cadillacs from 1970. An 84 DeVille with the 4.1 V8 was his last. He was happy with the 88 Town Car he replaced it with and did not agonize over the choice at all when it was time for a new one.
Valve stem seals are a problem in these early 4.6s. At least you get a nice rustproof coating inside of your exhaust system. 🙂
And wow is that stereo head unit familiar – after the stereo with the built in CD player bit the dust in my 94 Club Wagon I bought a Ford unit with the cassette on the Bay of E for not much money. It was a simple pop in replacement and worked just fine. As I recall it would even do skips/searches on the cassettes, so pretty high tech for the era.
Very, very, nice! A good friend in grad school was from a nearby small town. His girlfriend’s family (later his wife) owned the local Ford/Lincoln franchise. They all drove Town Cars! Her aunt had a green JN Town Car, with the white carriage roof. It was stunning. This would have been 1994 or so, so it had the facelift with the smaller headlamps. That white leather with the dark green carpet was something to behold.
Interesting to see that it uses the generic Ford steering wheel of the era.
Take a look in a contemporaneous Aston Martin. Even PAG couldn’t escape that ugly helm.
Oh my, that’s shameless. It even has an oval Aston logo in the same place the Ford logo is on a Crown Vic wheel. I wonder if you peel it off, it says Ford underneath?
The F-Series/Bronco, Mustang, Taurus/Sable, Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis/Town Car, Econoline/Club Wagon, & Aerostar all used that same style wheel between the late 1980s & late 1990s. My Aerostar’s got it.
Yep, so does my ’90 Taurus wagon.
It’s nice to find someone who appreciates these – they’ve become so scarce on the streets. I saw one the other day, for the first time in forever, and it looked so out of place, so retro. I kept thinking that the lines and design seemed so formal, and clearly belonged to another time.
But if pillowy broughmance is your thing, then this one should push the right buttons. Hope you continue to enjoy it – it sounds like you’ve got quite the fleet.
Excellent. Grew up in and learned to drive on a 93 and a 95 TC (and an 84TC, 84+87+93GMs…). I’m not built for the “packaging” of these-the seat/dash/pedal arrangement was never “right” no matter how much I played with it-but these cars all did feel special, and we’re great commuter cars for the time. You did have to watch the fuel / brake line cluster on these- not stainless until later years, and is a PITA when it inevitably fails, as it’s sandwiched between body and frame.
Hoovies town car! I loved that episode, especially attempting to drive golf balls from the roof. The episode where he removes the roof dent that caused was actually quite informative! As soon as I saw the title of this, I thought of this exact JN TC. Thanks for sharing!
Radio geekdom, Steely Dan, Caddyshack references, Broughams… I approve of this post 🙂
Have some more Brougham….here is the ’90 5.7 that my Dad had as part of his fleet with Pap & I next to it. I’d post radio pics, but his days with KLOL and KIKK were pretty R rated and I don’t have many clean pics lol.
Neat! Thanks for the article and pics.
I forgot about the Jack Nicklaus Edition. At least it was fitting for this car and clientele.
Did Hoovy mess up the roof when he hit golf balls off it?
He did…but he fixed the dent on a later video.
In my 25+ years in the Ford parts business (mostly at Lincoln dealers) I don’t recall ever seeing a JN edition TC. Must not be many JN fans in the s.w. burbs of Cleveland 😀 !
KDKA sounded amazing in stereo.
Back in the late 80s I got to hear it in a Cadillac Sedan deVille during a live broadcast from a car dealership. They switched to all talk in 1992 and today like all the CBS Radio stations, are awaiting the closing of our sale to Philly-based Entercom.
I admit I don’t remember the Jack Nicklaus Edition. And I’m trying to remember if there would have been an Arnold Palmer Cadillac equivalent, seeing as there was a Caddy dealership with his name on it in his native Latrobe.
Westinghouse was pretty aggressive with C-QUAM – sister WBZ up in Boston had it on as well as WOWO and KYW. When I was a kid I would pull Chrysler and GM radios from junk cars to listen to AM Stereo stations – 1210 WPHT sounded amazing in stereo during their weekly Sinatra program, and KB 1520 had the pilot on during their oldies revival days from ’06 – ’03.
The absolute best AM in any automobile was in my ’96 Sedan Deville – the electrical system was noise free and the radio was AMAX certified – WMID in Atlantic City sounded like FM with the AM audio “warmth”.
Good luck on the transition with Entercom – I worked at CBS Radio NY for a time in the engineering & production dept at WINS….my friends there are holding their breath and hoping for the best. I do work in The Burgh on occasion – so if you see this car on the Orange Belt, wave!
In 1990, the car hire agency in Seattle fumbled with my reservation for a compact car and upgraded to a brand new Town Car. At first, I didn’t want to drive something that old geezers would drive, but I accepted the plushmobile.
After a week with Town Car, I couldn’t believe how much I really liked it, especially the fact that I was 23 at that time. Really comfortable for highway cruising on I-5 to State to Vancouver, BC, Canada and to Portland, Oregon. I even took a couple of German tourists whom I met at youth hostel along. They thought they had died and went to the heaven because Lincoln was the ‘greatest American thing’. Yeah, right.
Sometimes I got the curious attention from the people because they didn’t normally see such a young man driving a Town Car. One guy at the petrol station actually asked me if I was affliated with local Mafia organisation.
That’s why I have this plate on my land yachts 🙂
Oh, yeah! I had same thing on my Buick Skylark for a while, but my father, a typical old school German, wasn’t seeing the black humour and ordered it removed.
Oh yes! I had totally forgotten about those stickers and I think I actually bought one as a kid (which I did quite often, and just kept it in my “cool stuff” file).
Had Mafia Staff Car license plate frames on my 66 black Imperial, took them off because everyone acted like they believed it.
Nice article, and very perceptive, thank you . I own a ’93 Grand Marquis and have driven my friends’ ’93 TC and agree with all the points made here.
After years of thinking ‘one can’t go wrong with a General Motors car’, I found the Panther platform to be a revelation. Well designed, comfortable, easy to live with, good all-around performance, utterly reliable, with inexpensive parts and straightforward service.
I also feel 1993 was ‘Peak Ford’ as someone else wrote, before cost – cutting and de-contenting eroded a bit of the Ford features and quality.
I suggest a loaded Grand Marquis is a good alternative to a TC. It has comparable features, comfort and quietness to a base TC. Its a bit shorter, with a bit less room in the trunk and rear leg -room. But the handling is better, more controlled and less floaty. I find the trade-off worthwhile, although I would still love to have a TC of this era.
I always liked these Town Cars in the 90s and they invoke good memories of that decade in which I spent all of my middle school and the majority of my high school years. I remember how bad the hood ornament-less 1998 redesign looked in comparison.
I have to agree these were better screwed together inside than the contemporary whale Fleetwood. I had a ’93 and a number of trim pieces fell off or became loose. The quality was way down from my ’87. However, the low end torque and ease of maintenance on the ’93 only L05 5.7L V8 was great. Like the Town Car, I regularly pulled between 24-27 mpg on long trips and about a 550 mile cruising range in the Fleetwood. I did not have any shimmy above 70 mph though…that may be an issue with yours…more often I found myself unconsciously going 75 or 80 because the car was so smooth. One thing the Fleetwood did have that the Townie did not were the real bumpers…I liked how it was the last car with them.
In sum, though, despite my predilection for everything big and GM, the Town Cars had a more appealing design and definitely a far nicer interior. Cool win and good choice. Now you have both of the last new designs of the big boats from the 90s. Lucky man.
A friend of mine is selling his 88 Brougham – it’s in immaculate condition, and I agreed to buy it from him come springtime (he’s in Michigan and won’t let the car travel between October and April), so the 96 will most likely get sold off for that. Not that I’m looking forward to the 307, but I’m not going to pass up a restored beauty…and my automotive ADD kicks in after a year or so.
The LT1 is a great motor when the Optispark is working – but it can get expensive quickly when it breaks.
Another friend of mine had a 98 TC Executive, and you could see the beginning of the decontenting – and the lack of a stand up hood ordainment always looked odd to me.
My first thought when I saw this article was “Hey, wasn’t the Lincoln that Hoovies gave away a Jack Nicklaus edition?” It was fun to see the other side of the story.
1970 Volkswagen Käfer St. Niklaus Edition.
Very nice ride. I get a kick out of Hoovies videos. He’s my kinda youtuber.
Nice car. After years of not being a fan of this gen Towncar (I like the previous generation the best), I have become a fan.
I think what killed off sales of the RWD Fleetwood was not just the TC but also the Deville. To me (who owns a 1995 Deville), the Deville felt just as roomy as the Fleetwood. It also gave the “big car ride” (despite being a FWD) that the big RWD luxobarges gave.
It looks like your TC has the taillight monitor just like my Deville has. That is a nice feature.
Having driven a ’95 DeVille with the 4.9 and a ’93 Fleetwood Brougham with the 5.7, the Fleetwood had the better ride…the DeVille was a lot more wallowy and the Fwd just felt different. What the DeVille did have was a somewhat nicer quality interior and IIRC more options than the cheaped out Fleetwood (especially in comparison to its ’77-92 predecessor) and…and this I think especially…it was a length that people by 1993 accepted as proper for a big car. The Fleetwood at 225 in for 93-96 was just a really big heavy car by then, bigger than its predecessor in every dimension. But it wasn’t 1977 anymore and even traditional buyers had moved on to the idea that 18 feet or so was about as big as you wanted a car, and the Fleetwood was almost a foot longer. The DeVille provided mostly the same room and was a foot and a half shorter, great for geezers backing out of the early bird buffet. Conversely, youcan’t see the back of the Fleetwood even if you’re 6’0 like me. It was no longer a pragmatic choice for the ‘target buyer’ except for the rigid die hards.
I’m happy the author has acquired this car and appreciates its finer qualities.
Hard to believe it was let go to auction rather than diagnose and correct the accumulation of minor faults. I love the colour of the carpet. Drive on proudly!
Nice to see your happy with your purchase, and congratulations on winning it.
I’ve been looking at these Town Cars with a close eye, as I wish to eventually replace my car with something else, and these tick all the right boxes for me. I do have to say, I prefer the 95-97 mid cycle refresh in terms of aesthetics, I find the thinner headlights and sloped back grille more eye appealing than the blocky headlights of old. Although, I find the interior design of the 90-94s much more attractive, the 95-97s look a bit to plasticy for my tastes, even though they probably have less stuff from the parts bin than this one does. If there were a way to combine the aesthetics of the mid cycle refresh with the interior of the first run, I think it would be perfect.
I hope this Town Car treats you well.
Love this edition.
I’ve seen a TC of this era driving around Melbourne in recent years, but at the time they were popular as stretch limousines – and I think they had a great look for that.
Here the only jack nicklaus registered in the netherlands…….
Hi BIGTOMBROUGHAM, I’m a Houstonian and I have an ’02 TC SigLim and we love it. I say we because it’s my wife’s but I get to drive it on weekends. I got it 5 years ago with 165k miles it now has 210k miles and running great.
Last year there was a green Jack Nicklaus edition TC for sale on CL here in Houston. It looked to be in beautiful condition but the asking price was more than I wanted to pay.
Thank you for your story. Should I see a ’93 TC JN around I’ll know is you.
I think that car in its condition, if named for a Steely Dan song, would be (from Countdown to Ecstasy) “Pearl of the Quarter.”
As the designer of the jack Nicklaus town car I would like to add a couple of comments. The car was only offered with a green exterior reflecting the masters golf tournament. The white vinyl roof was a delete option. The only interior had white seats with green welts and green accents. The car was supposed to be a short shot in the arm for the southeast dealers. About 500 units. The car turned out to be a smashing success selling about 7700 units the first year. As a result, the production continued for an additional couple of years. When the decision was made to change the color and interior I was no longer involved with the car. Sales fell off and the car was canceled.
That is fantastic. I love it! I am in the midst of bringing my 78 coupe deville back on the road. It has been in storage since 2005, this brings me good memories!