27th May 2014, 18:20
I believe Ford's Panther platform got big cars right. Ride was great, handling was excellent for such a large car, space was pretty much on par with the 1970s cars, it was reliable, and gas mileage was pretty decent. It had the best melding of old school luxury and new school engineering for its time. I've ridden in and driven several 1990s Lincoln Town Cars, and I say that they hold up pretty well in terms of technology and engineering. They could've been better had Ford actually put money into them after 1998 or so.
Compare that to the Panther's closest competitor, the GM B/D bodies, which are great cars in their own right and have superior styling, but handle sloppily in comparison, don't have quite as much room, have less emphasis on engineering, and aren't as efficient. To be fair though, GM backed out of the big car market early and knew their decision beforehand, making further investment unwise into two aged platforms.
Big cars can be great if they have something in them to motivate buyers to jump. But they didn't after 1998 or so, and sales really showed. The 2011 Panthers were excellent vehicles in most aspects, but they were dinosaurs and weren't really capable of taking on the competition. The Panther was a evolution in full-size car engineering when it first came out in 1979; imagine if Ford made that leap again nowadays.
29th May 2014, 22:50
To the poster in Chester County, PA.... I am the original poster with the 1977 Town Car... and I (along with the car) am in Chester County. I see posts from people all over the world on here.... just blew my mind to see one replying to my post from my backyard :)
30th May 2014, 13:55
Hope you can reinforce my comments. What kind of cars and age bracket do you see young people driving? I was dining with my daughter at Cafe Fiorellos yesterday. You have been to West Chester Pa. Your car would fit in perfectly anywhere in the area. See you down at Hagley Car Show nearby late summer. Enjoy your car!
8th Jul 2014, 14:41
I know this is a little off topic, but how would you guys compare the 60's and 70's Lincolns to Cadillacs of the same vintage?
How did they compare in quality, ride comfort, and interior space?
9th Jul 2014, 12:45
Cadillac with leather - more luxurious and comfortable, and a better ride. More chrome. I am comparing to the Biarritz however. An equivalent ride would be the Town Car from Lincoln. The Mark's hood draws the driver to the hood ornament. The rear trunk deck on the Mark is sharp, even if the spare is flat on the floor. My vote goes to the Cadillac Eldorado if a nice one is available, mid seventies.
9th Jul 2014, 14:43
Are you serious?
The only decision factors for somebody buying one of these 1960's-1970's cars now is going to be availability, price, condition and styling. In 2014, nobody is likely to choose a 1967 Sedan deVille over a 1965 Continental just because the Caddy has more rear legroom.
If it's that important to you, you can easily find an old Consumer Guide or Edmund's automobile review books at any used bookstore or Amazon.
10th Jul 2014, 22:44
It was just a simple question, so calm down, and a question for someone that has owned both luxury brands from those era's to give me a comparison between the different luxury makes.
11th Jul 2014, 16:14
I meant front room, not legroom. I have a limo by the way, reviewed on Carsurvey.
11th Jul 2014, 19:00
Well I have owned both, and the Lincoln was far superior to the Cadillac in ride, handling, and build quality.
11th Jul 2014, 21:36
I thought that was a perfectly good question. Just because you can't go to the showroom and compare them back to back any more, doesn't mean that you can't still look for the one that has the most comfortable interior, smoothest ride, most reliable over time. Those are things you can't ascertain just by looking at the car like styling. For someone that is not familiar with these cars, those are very good questions to ask, and this is a pretty good place to start with gathering information.
12th Jul 2014, 13:05
I differ in the Lincoln quality comment.
Our Cadillac had real interior wood and better door trim. The Lincoln had fake walnut appliqué.
The Cadillac had far more comfortable pillow like leather, vs firm slippery ones in the Lincoln.
The Cadillac has metal window controls and knobs. The Lincoln plastic coated; in other words, chrome plated plastic.
The Eldorado has a longer wheelbase and softer ride.
It's a lively debate and each can formulate their own opinion. We have owned both, well into today.
12th Jul 2014, 16:55
Thank you! That's the kind of answer I was looking for. And yes, interior size does matter to some people, build quality and such, but overall, I feel like whatever car had better styling then, usually took home the cake, even if it wasn't that great of a car. 70's Cadillac's are a shadow of their once former greatness from the 50's-60's. The 70's Cads suffered from crappy construction, and quality control, while Lincoln kept its greatness even in build quality all the way into the 70's, but the last of true Lincolns you could say were the 79's, which rode and felt better than any Lincoln that came afterwards.
Today, it seems as if styling isn't so important to car buyers like it was so many years ago. Just look at the Toyo Camry, as bland as your new cheap plastic toaster, but the car sells an insane amount of Camrys every month, crushing the competition that are actually building better cars than Toyo is. Go figure.
Cadillacs have always been so streamlined and sleek, which tend to sell better with the general public from young to old, while Lincolns were more stately and bold looking cars, that appeared stodgy and old fashioned to some, yet they have very mature and classy styling, almost like going to the opera. LOL.
13th Jul 2014, 11:26
Personally I love the great technology in the new Cadillacs. Even the wagon has a 0-60 model in the 4.4 second range. You can have Corvette technology with a 6 speed manual trans.
My father switched back and forth between Cadillac and Lincoln. My favorite was his Continental Convertible, early 60s. A beautiful car. He also had larger Town Cars late in life, which were great on trips. My observations were more as a passenger. I liked the late 60s Eldorado with the sharp V back window and knife shaped rear tail lights. The 70 Fleetwood had great lines. I may have been one of the few that liked our new 73 T-Bird more than my father's Mark as far as styling. All cars are pretty nice new. The effect is more pronounced driving a brand new car with updated styling at the time. Back then especially, cars looked old quickly. Now a nice restored example is more appreciated. Cars are fun, so enjoy the ride!
27th May 2014, 07:44
You can have children living at home, and dual income families buying Infiniti, Lexus, Cadillac Crossovers. A friend of mine is on a waiting list for a new Audi crossover that they want a special interior option for. They have young kids, and between the two of them can easily afford it.
My father was the breadwinner of the family and bought new luxury cars long ago. Lot of moms stayed home in those days. With 2 professionals working in a family, it puts the family right back in the position to buy very nice luxury cars.
Also most older couples want something a bit more luxurious or upscale, irregardless of what recent decade we are discussing here.