I can't believe this was coming out of Detroit at the time that Toyota came up with the LS400.

 

 

My Dad had a 90 Lincoln Continental that he chose over the then 90 LS400, mainly because he did a lot of business with labor unions and driving a foreign car was a big no no.

It was a good car in a lot of ways, good looking, rode great. Obviously nowhere near as well built or as significant as an LS400

 

Do you know that there are still owners hanging on to these squared-off, pre-1997 Town Cars today because they didn't even like the changeover in design that year to the more curvaceous Jaguar/Kia Amanti look?....never mind the dropping of the Town Car altogether.

 

You liked it even though it was basically just a stretched Taurus....with a V6 FWD Taurus drivetrain? I ask because you usually (seem) pretty sensitive to how luxury cars are designed, and what kind of platforms they use.

 

Well keep in mind I was 9 when he got it and 14 when he got rid of it lol.

I don't have an issue with platform sharing or drivetrain layout at all levels. For instance I never had an issue with the fact that either of my ES sedans were FWD or on Camry platforms, its just that when you get to a certain point on the price scale you start to want a bespoke platform and a RWD layout.

I would not consider that car in the same league as an LS though, even in 1990. Like I said, the only reason he got it was that it was American made.

I don't have an issue with the new Continental being FWD or on a Taurus platform either...just don't try and say its a true luxury flagship car.

 

Those had the air springs/bags on them that started leaking after a few years. Big $$$$ to fix it with Ford parts, less $$$$ to just put conventional coil springs on it. Still don't know why Ford did air bags on the Lincolns back then, a well designed conventional coil spring/shock combo rode just as nice and handled better back in the day.

 

Oh big time. His failed, a valet brought it around when he was out with customers one time with the *** end of it dragging the ground lol

 

Because in the 1990's it was the "in" thing for these cars. Most of the major auto manufacturers al had their own versions of some sort of ride control. To not offer it would of been a mistake when all of the competition would were offering it.

 

Technology was huge. That car had a lot of tech that didn't work quite right, auto high beams for instance, digital dashes were huge at that time, etc.

 

these videos just remind me how much better newer cars are than older cars, in every way possible.

 

No doubt! Its pretty amazing...

 

Unreliable air-suspension parts were a problem on a number of older Lincoln sedans, not just the Continentals of that vintage. If the failure occurred after the warranty was up, many owners simply converted them back to conventional suspensions....that was considered cheaper, with less work involved, than trying to repair or replace those air-struts.

As to the question of why Ford used them, I don't know this for a fact, but my strong guess is that, because Cadillac sales had run ahead of Lincoln's for decades, the Ford marketers were getting desperate for something that the Lincolns could claim as a unique selling point. Presto..........cushy air-suspensions that also kept the rear end of the car level if you stuffed somebody like me into the rear seat LOL.

 

Cadillac had the rear load leveling suspension since the 1960's. While not fool-proof, it was a much simpler and better designed system than Lincoln's air springs. Basically it used very soft coil springs in the rear, with air shocks and a compressor to put air in the shocks or bleed air out depending on the weight in the car. There was a sensor in the rear of the car that determined if the rear end was sagging, it would add air to make the car level. If there was a leak or problem, the coil springs kept the car from dragging its butt unlike Lincoln's system, it was still perfectly driveable.

All the mafia guys loved this feature. You could have 3 bodies in the trunk, nobody would know because the rear suspension kept the rear of the car from sagging under the weight.