Lincoln Town Car

The Lincoln Town Car is a fullsize luxury sedan and serves as the flagship of Ford's luxury Lincoln division. Often referred to as the "last traditional American luxury sedan", the Town Car continues to honor the time-tested luxury formula consisting of a smooth ride, soft plush seats and large interior room. Along with the spacious interior also come extravagant dimensions. The Town Car is currently the largest American-made car, measuring nearly 18 feet in length for a standard Town Car and 18 1/2 ft for an L Edition. The Town Car's main competitors include the Lexus LS 460 and Cadillac DTS. The Town Car is manufactured at the Wixom, Michigan Assembly Plant and ranges in price from US$42,055 for a basic Signature Series to $56,745 for a top-of-the-line Signature L Series.

With the Wixom Assembly Plant closing in 2007, it is likely that the Town Car will end production as well. Ford, however, has hinted that it does not plan to discontinue the Town Car any time soon; rather, it plans to prolong its production into the foreseeable future.

History

The Town Car name first appeared in the Lincoln line in 1959, on a special limousine-like version of the standard Continental. This first Town Car was available only in black and was identifiable by a unique padded vinyl top, which was a rarity at that time.

It is probably not a coincidence that "Town Car" is a translation of Cadillac's "Sedan de Ville," a model which was gaining popularity in the 1950s. Both names refer to a classic style of limousine, popular in the 1920s, which had an open chauffeur's compartment up front, but only Lincoln has sometimes attempted to make its modern models visually suggest their older namesakes. As an example, note the vinyl roof covering on the 1979 model shown below. It sweeps down the center pillar as part of a raised molding, complete with opera lamps, which suggests a partition between front and rear seats, while no vinyl is applied to the front section of the roof over the driver.