Piston Slap: What to Do at the HID Dead End?

George writes:

What can I do about the low-beam headlights on my 1996 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC? Does anybody make replacement parts for this car?

Please help!

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Piston Slap: Submit Queries Now or This LSC Gets It!

Make your Mark so Sanjeev doesn’t have to.

Sajeev writes:

Yes, I’m riffing on that infamous 1980s Car & Driver promotion about doing something-something or we’ll shoot this dog.

My coffers are almost empty: TTAC’s readership needs to send questions to answer on Piston Slap. Because, if you don’t…

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Piston Slap: You've Got to Be All Mine…Foxy Lady!

TTAC Commentator Thunderjet writes:

Hello Sajeev,

Last year I picked up a ’91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC for $800. It’s in decent shape for being a Chicago area car and having 153K on the clock. The body has no major rust issues except for the front fenders, which have rust holes due to the sunroof drains, so the car will eventually need new fenders. The under body and frame are rust free and very clean. The car sat for several years before I purchased it and over the last year I have put about $500 into the car replacing various wear/tune up items (water pump, hoses, belt, cap, rotor, plug wires, spark plugs, and the starter). The car runs well and I’ve always wanted one, being that I have been a Fox Body nut since I started driving.

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Curbside Classic Outtake: Continental Mark VII

No, there’s no Mark III, V or VI to be found here, at least for now. Just as well. But I’ve been sitting on this Mark VII for almost a year, from the looks of the daffodils blooming (and they are, hereabouts). But the Mark VII was a different animal altogether. Quite the radical break, but then Ford had more than hit the end of the road with the ugly, boxy wallowing stuff they’d been pushing out the door for decades. Their near-brush with bankruptcy in 1980 resulted in a whole new regime and approach: headed by the pragmatic but car enthusiast Donald Petersen. But development money was tight, so the Town Car became immortal. But a relatively low-budget solution to the dead-end Mark VI was handy in the form of the new aero-Thunderbird.

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  • Master Baiter I told my wife that rather than buying my 13YO son a car when he turns 16, we'd be better off just having him take Lyft everywhere he needs to go. She laughed off the idea, but between the cost of insurance and an extra vehicle, I'd wager that Lyft would be a cheaper option, and safer for the kid as well.
  • Master Baiter Toyota and Honda have sufficient brand equity and manufacturing expertise that they could switch to producing EVs if and when they determine it's necessary based on market realities. If you know how to build cars, then designing one around an EV drive train is trivial for a company the size of Toyota or Honda. By waiting it out, these companies can take advantage of supply chains being developed around batteries and electric motors, while avoiding short term losses like Ford is experiencing. Regarding hybrids, personally I don't do enough city driving to warrant the expense and complexity of a system essentially designed to recover braking energy.
  • Urlik You missed the point. The Feds haven’t changed child labor laws so it is still illegal under Federal law. No state has changed their law so that it goes against a Federal child labor hazardous order like working in a slaughter house either.
  • Plaincraig 1975 Mercury Cougar with the 460 four barrel. My dad bought it new and removed all the pollution control stuff and did a lot of upgrades to the engine (450hp). I got to use it from 1986 to 1991 when I got my Eclipse GSX. The payments and insurance for a 3000GT were going to be too much. No tickets no accidents so far in my many years and miles.My sister learned on a 76 LTD with the 350 two barrel then a Ford Escort but she has tickets (speeding but she has contacts so they get dismissed or fine and no points) and accidents (none her fault)
  • Namesakeone If I were the parent of a teenage daughter, I would want her in an H1 Hummer. It would be big enough to protect her in a crash, too big for her to afford the fuel (and thus keep her home), big enough to intimidate her in a parallel-parking situation (and thus keep her home), and the transmission tunnel would prevent backseat sex.If I were the parent of a teenage son, I would want him to have, for his first wheeled transportation...a ride-on lawnmower. For obvious reasons.