5th Jul 2022, 13:07
I have driven a Versailles - more than once. However, you don't need to have driven, let alone owned one, to realize that it is nothing more than a gussied-up Mercury Monarch, aka Ford Granada. Apparently Ford hoped that additional standard equipment and some styling changes (including the requisite fake spare tire hump in the trunk lid) would keep customers from realizing that.
6th Jul 2022, 00:30
Well… I’ll respectfully disagree. Nothing can compare with the build quality of the Mark III or the ride and quietness and luxury of the Mark IV. The Versailles doesn’t compete. I’ve owned a Mark IV and V, driven a Mark III as well as the Versailles. It was a trimmed up Monarch that was a poor attempt to complete with the Seville.
4th Jul 2022, 20:02
The reason this car gets criticism is the fact that it's an obvious rebadged Granada. It's not like the car was unreliable junk, you had 2 proven Windsor V8 engines available. Lincoln should have executed the design a little better so it would stand apart from its Granada/ Monarch siblings.
A good example is how Cadillac introduced the Seville in 1975. Yes, it was built on the Nova "X" platform but had many upgrades to the chassis and Oldsmobile engine that was used. But most important the exterior style stood WAY apart from the Nova/Omega/Phoenix and Apollo models from the other divisions. The others were so identical that you couldn't tell them apart. Meanwhile the Cadillac was in a class and look of its own.
Anyways, if Lincoln could have done this to the Versailles, it probably would have sold better and have a longer model year run.