SW17LS

In the 90s when my dad went from Lincoln to Cadillac what he missed was the ride in the Lincoln.

mmarshall

Today, there is even more difference between Cadillacs and Lincolns. Lincolns represent more or less traditional American luxury, where Cadillacs have become sport-oriented American BMWs.

SW17LS

But you can't deny the sales difference...thats what buyers want. "Traditional American luxury" is something from a bygone era.

mmarshall

Some of that sales-difference comes from something you yourself have pointed out...not a problem with Lincoln products themselves, but the fact that they are sold mostly out of Ford shops. Personally, I couldn't care less that Lincolns are sold that way...if I wanted a Lincoln (and I do like the Corsair), I'd get one regardless of dealerships. But, like with Genesis and Hyundai dealerships, other people may not share the same opinion.

If you have seen Ted Britt Ford/Lincoln in Chantilly, though (right across street from that Dump-the-Keys-on-the-Floor Stellantis dealership we talked about LOL).....it is actually a pretty classy place for a Ford shop, MUCH nicer than the only other combination Ford/Lincoln shop in NoVA, down in Alexandria, which, by comparison, is a dump.

JTMav

I owned a run of Fords in the 70’s and 80’s and one of my favorites was my 1987 Mark VII LSC. I always thought it was a good looking coupe and it had the Ford Mustang 225 HO engine. Enjoyed that car for a few years until son #3 showed up and that was the last of my coupes for a long time. Still think it’s a good looking car today, probably just through my sentimental eyes I’m sure.

AJT123

My Dad did, twice.

He bought a 1988 Oldsmobile Toronado instead of an Eldorado coupe. We also had two Bravadas. When he wanted a GMT800 I tried to get him to go to Cadillac but he ordered a Yukon SLT instead.

AJT123

Also, even though a Mercedes was vastly superior to a Cadillac, I'd still have been fine with a huge Caddy then (pre-emissions era garbage).

SW17LS

Cost savings played a role there. My Dad also had a Oldsmobile Cutlass...because he couldn't afford a Cadillac.

People may choose to buy an Oldsmobile because its more practical or a better value, but they did not aspire to own an Oldsmobile, outside of the time that they had serious performance chops, etc. For instance my Dad got a Cadillac in part because that was what his Dad wanted and never could afford, it meant something to him to be able to achieve owning a Cadillac when his Dad never was able to. Thats a reason why I got an S Class, its a car my Dad always wanted and never had an opportunity to have. Being a symbol of achievement is a big driver behind buying a status car. The Oldsmobile may have made more sense, may have even been better but it would never check that box...which is why the Cadillac was different.

Margate330

My grandfather was a young kid when he immigrated here during the great depression, very poor.
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I never thought about it but maybe that's why he always drove a Cadillac when I was growing up.

Later in life he switched to Lincolns.

AJT123

Cost savings, not really. A Toronado like his was a $23,000 car in 1988, that would make it a $60,000 car in today's dollars. He was pretty loaded and didn't care about flashy cars. His was the loaded out Toronado, but not the actual Trofeo.

Oldsmobiles weren't Cadillacs but they were upscale.

Same thing 15 years later. I said go look at an Escalade or Denali and of course, Yukon SLT is what he picked. These are all cars sold to us by the same guy who sold us the Denali lol. He told me there were a few SLTs available last year when the search began. My Dad would have flocked right to those if he were still around. It was Denali or nothing this time around.

Oh IDK, there were Oldsmobiles I quite liked (first gen Touring Sedan, Toronado, Bravada, LSS) and were nice cars. I was all after Lexus at that time instead of Cadillac when it went to true high end cars.

Margate330

That's key right there.

My grand father was all about the flash and it had to be a Cadillac.

AJT123

My Grandparents were born in the 1920s so they lived through the Depression and WW2. They had lots of money but hoarded it. That's why that generation is so conservative with money. My Great Aunt and Uncle saved and reused aluminum paper for Pete's sake. Then they passed and I found out they were worth >$5MM which just blew my mind (in 2000s dollars).

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL would have frozen over before my Grandparents (or Aunt and Uncle) bought a non-American vehicle. And I don't blame them now that I understand many things as an adult.

I wish Gramps got a Caddy like yours, trust me. They had nice, but nothing special cars.

My Grandpa never sprung for Cadillacs. He loved how much I loved Lexus though and appreciated foreign makes but like I said hell first before he bought non-American. He rode in one of his partners' LS400s when they were new and wrote me a letter telling me it was by far the smoothest and quietest car he had ever sat in.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

was he in the navy? (didn't mind being seasick).

speaking of cadillacs, i spoke to a neighbor this week who is 91 and one of his cars is a cadillac truck thing (xlt?). it is his EIGHTH cadillac in a row and he told me he's driven each over 200k mi. he was in sales before retiring. i asked him had any of them ever left him stranded somewhere. he said no. i followed up asking any major problems? he said no, and no engine or transmission problems at all. he said the only thing is when they get up there in miles there's leaks so you have to do some repairs (gaskets, etc. i guess). that's pretty impressive!!!

JTMav

Well the WW II generation, which were my parents, were pretty loyal to American built products not just cars. My dad served in Europe and my mom was a riveter on war planes in Buffalo during the war. After the war my mom would never buy anything made in Japan and my folks always owned American cars. It was understandable given what they lived through and the two enemy countries of Germany and Japan were still a long ways from becoming allies. Both lost loved ones during the war and Pearl Harbor had a big impact on their view of Japan and the view of Germany,for different reasons, was the same. It’s great to forgive, just can’t forget the sacrifices that were made.

AJT123

Oh I don't forget. Sometimes I do feel traitorous but unfortunately America just isn't as good at making cars as the good foreign makes, It's much better than it was, however. In 2004 there was nothing even in the same universe as the LS430 coming from Cadillac.

Trucks and large SUVs are a different story, USA does those the best.