15th Jul 2014, 20:11
The reason why the 1971 Cadillacs dipped in quality is because that year the C-body cars were restyled to look and feel more like the cheaper B-body cars. It was all part of GM's plan to increase profits and volumetric sales, while cutting costs. It doesn't take a trained eye to see that GM's big cars looked creepily alike in that era.
Despite being virtual Chevy Caprice clones, GM relied heavily on brand loyalty to drive sales, which worked but set the stage for the arrogance that led to the disasters of the 1980s. Quality control was de-emphasized as GM was looking for record sales figures over quality, using blinginess and brand name to attract the same buyers who had been buying their cars for decades.
Lincoln never fared as well as Cadillac in the sales race in those days. They had to fight more for their sales and reputation, like the Chrysler Imperials. Lincoln built the better car for the most part, but they lacked the bling and the "I own this neighborhood, I own you" kind of presence, which affected sales.
15th Jul 2014, 13:42
One of my friends traded his 71 Z/28 for a brand new 73 Mark IV in college. Certainly with parental help. I can assure you he got tremendous attention with that new car. Our campus had a number of extremely cool cars, but this was true class. As a 20 year old at the time, I would have loved to have owned it. Brand new it was a beautiful piece. My youngest daughter thinks the Honda Crosstour is the best. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.