Too bad FoMoCO could make the Lincoln Continental work as replacement for Town Car (Livery)

[GON]

Too bad Ford could find a way to make the Continental the replacement for big city livery fleets. Aesthetically looks close. I took pictures of a Continental livery parked next to a S-class livery in WDC earlier this week.

The key to the Town Car- super reliable, and even more so super easy to service by most mechanics with very available parts. I sense the Continental did not match the Town Car in reliability or serviceability.

 

[bullwinkle]

Believe the Continental is (was?) FWD, and unibody design? More like an overgrown Fusion than a Panther based full frame RWD Town Car. The big Benzes are RWD.

 

[4WD]

Was waiting for the rental car bus in Houston the other day - appears the Tahoe has taken up lots of that work around there. Most picks were one or two people anyway …

 

[JustinH]

Ah, the livery that comes to pick me up is usually a Toyota Sienna with a cage in the back.

 

[PWMDMD]

It must be regional because if it's not I don't know how Lincoln is still in business but I think I can go months (years?) without noticing a Lincoln on the road and when I do it is almost always a Navigator. I've seen maybe a handful of Continentals (ever) since they were released?

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

My dad has always been a Lincoln Town Car person. He's had some very nice ones over the years. His last one (2010 LTC) got into a fight with a telephone pole. The telephone pole won that battle.

 

[simple_gifts]

Ah, the livery that comes to pick me up is usually a Toyota Sienna with a cage in the back.

Which side of the bars are you on?

 

[Cujet]

Pretty much the days of the front engine V8 RWD cars are really 2+ decades behind us now. There is absolutely no question such a setup has it's strong points, and the Dodge V8 cars still prove that point. Guess who chases down speeders in just about every state? Yup, V8 powered, RWD cars. While no longer common, I'm always thrilled to get a V8 powered Chrysler 300 for long trips. Soooo much more pleasant.

There are very real and pleasant aspects of a V8. Yes, I know there are plenty of V6 engines and 4 cylinders with power, but they often get on my nerves after 1000 miles. It's not just the sound, it's the smoothness and frequency of the vibrations that only a V8 can offer. Running a V6 at the low RPM required for economy is simply like riding in an old UPS truck. Regardless of how quiet, it's a groaning sound and feeling.

I've been considering purchasing a V8 car because they won't be around much longer.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Lincolns are beautiful cars.

 

[RhondaHonda]

I see those hideous Lincoln MKTs in livery service. I don’t think they sold one unit to a retail customer.

 

[2EHA]

fleets switched to mkt or bigger suvs

the panther made it so long because they were broke and couldn’t repurpose the dew98 to make a full size car. when the volvo based cars were mature they pulled the plug

 

[Hermann]

The na V-6 in my Ford Pickup is very smooth and refined above 1500 rpm. Rarely is it below this rpm. Rarely above 2K either when cruzin'. If I insist on cruzin' at 50 MPH it is generally in 5th instead of 6th which is an overdrive ratio. IIRC

 

[dishdude]

I love the Continental, very disappointed that large sedans are going out of style.

As a previous poster mentioned, the Tahoe and Suburban seem to have taken over livery service. Anytime I've reserved a car service in the US, it's almost always a black GM SUV. I was in a '08ish Tahoe with 450k on it and I never would have guessed if I hadn't been seated in the RR second row and could see the odo.

 

[Zee09]

I saw an Aviator yesterday and it looked very nice. My last Lincoln was the aluminum LS V8 from 2006.

 

[Nick1994]

Probably nothing to do with the actual car.

Rich people are bougie and probably want to be seen in a Benz, Lincolns are so 1999.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

fleets switched to mkt or bigger suvs

the panther made it so long because they were broke and couldn’t repurpose the dew98 to make a full size car. when the volvo based cars were mature they pulled the plug

Ford had a RWD platform in Australia that they could've used, but didn't

 

[earlyre]

on the most basic Level, the continental is an MKZ(Fusion) with a mild stretch (either 3, or 6 inches) lovely, nice car, but.. yeah..

Ford Sells this same stretched Fusion platform as the 7th Gen Taurus in China. (The last Taurus we got in N.America was the 6th Gen.)

 

[2EHA]

Ford had a RWD platform in Australia that they could've used, but didn't

logistically it wouldn’t have worked

they had a world class dew platform and all the tooling to build it. they simply chose to cut their losses, decontent the lincoln ls and tbird and call it a day.

 

[skrypj]

I saw an Aviator yesterday and it looked very nice. My last Lincoln was the aluminum LS V8 from 2006.

I had a 2000 Lincoln LS V8. It was not a bad car.

But it was really just a rebadged Jaguar S-Type

 

[2EHA]

I had a 2000 Lincoln LS V8. It was not a bad car.

But it was really just a rebadged Jaguar S-Type

rebadge is a stretch, the cars were co-developed.

at launch the LS was a better and more complete car than the 1999 stype. the 2002.5+ s-type was massively improved and served as the basis for pretty much everything they made until 2015.

to this day the f-type still rides on pretty much unchanged lincoln ls/dew rear suspension. proved to be very versatile and also adaptable to awd. a town car replacement could’ve certainly happened if nasser didn’t leave.