Junkyard Gem: 1986 Lincoln Town Car
Ford’s Lincoln Division utilized the City Automobile identify (initially the Anglicized identify for a coupé de ville horse-drawn carriage) to new automobiles starting with the 1959 Continental, but it surely wasn’t till the 1981 mannequin yr that the City Automobile grew to become a Lincoln mannequin in its personal proper (earlier City Vehicles had been Continentals). These boxy, sharp-edged City Vehicles had been constructed all through the rest of the Eighties and bought nicely, however they’re virtually extinct at this time. Here is a type of automobiles, present in a Denver-area self-service yard just lately.
The City Automobile was constructed from the 1981 by way of 2011 mannequin years, with a whole redesign for 1990 that stored the identical chassis however added a much less angular physique and rear air suspension. In 1998, the City Automobile bought the total “whale” physique therapy seen on its Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis siblings, and manufacturing of that model continued till the tip. In China, Hongqi constructed a model badged because the CA7460 Qijian.
All 1981-2011 City Vehicles lived on the versatile and durable body-on-frame Panther platform. For a Seventies design, the Panther stayed related for a surprisingly very long time.
This automobile was carefully associated to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis, to not point out the Continental Mark VI.
The inside is filled with “wood-tone appliqués” and the gauges come straight from mid-Seventies Lincoln-Mercury merchandise.
These “twin consolation lounge” seats had been simply as cozy as they give the impression of being right here, and the Almost Velour™ cloth simply wants a cleansing to be in like-new situation. In fact, the elective Cartier package deal had a lot classier upholstery.
You may discover one in each automobile. You may see.
Each Eighties City Automobile had some type of padded vinyl roof as customary tools.
This roof has not fared nicely beneath the Colorado solar.
It is a disgrace that opera lights have gone out of trend.
Each 1981-1990 City Automobile bought a 302-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) Windsor V8 below the hood. 1986 was the primary yr that digital gasoline injection changed carburetors within the City Automobile; this engine was rated at 150 horsepower and 270 pound-feet.
The jarring mashup of typefaces on the HVAC and radio controls of mid-Eighties Fords at all times makes me uncomfortable.
This automobile has the elective “wire-style” hubcaps, which price an additional $341 (about $920 in 2022 {dollars}). A number of flavors of aluminum wheels had been obtainable on the ’86 City Automobile, however no true wire wheels.
The MSRP on this automobile was $20,764, or about $56,130 at this time. The Cartier Version would set you again $25,235 ($68,215 now).
What changed the City Automobile? Vans.
Wealthy individuals on the valet stand argued endlessly over identical-looking Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, and Buicks, based on this industrial. The 1986 LTD Crown Victoria and City Automobile regarded fairly related to one another, in fact.
They’re dealin’ City Vehicles in Cell!
No surprise over 91,000 Cadillac homeowners have switched to Lincoln within the final 5 years (maybe the Cimarron and V8-6-4 engine had one thing to do with that).
Regardless that the Panther City Vehicles had been smaller and lighter than their huge predecessors, they nonetheless rode like waterbeds.
