Collectible or Consumable?: 1995 Lincoln Town Car

Steven Lang
by Steven Lang

Twenty years from now I’ll still be looking at cars. They may become faster than today’s sports cars and more luxurious than a Mercedes S-Class. But many of us enthusiasts will find something missing within all their awesomeness

That’s because great cars are not about perfection. They are about character. With that in mind, I found a pristine 1995 Lincoln Town Car the other day. With good miles, pristine leather, and a driving experience as Americana as a 1965 Mustang, it may someday become a collectible worth keeping. But then again…

Consumable: These things are as common as wigs and pill popping in today’s retirement communities. The 4.6 Liter engine was used in almost every rear wheel drive car Ford built from 1993 to 2011. Millions of vehicles were given the same powertrain ad nauseum.and with that comes a startling array of authentic alternatives.

Are any of them better or more ‘authentic’ than my Clinton era Town Car? Do they represent ‘the ‘good old days’ in better ways than the interminable time warp that only comes from a car marketed to those tired but no so poor masses who yearned for luxury above all else?

Collectible: No. Not in my estimation. The Thunderbird was an overweight flop. Crown Vics only have their cop cars and special editions offering true cache. The Mark VIII may have greater power and twice the technology than a Town Car. But it is also a buggy little bastard with an interior that is a testament to low grade plastics and petrochemicals.

To me the 1995 Lincoln Town Car is the Rolls-Royce of body-on-frame Fords. The dashboard was finally given a contemporary look (for it’s time) that also offered enough computerized frippery to be considered quaint in the decades to come. Much in the same way as 1960’s radios and dashboards are considered de rigueur in today’s car world.

The Total Package: But the ultimate complement to these Town Cars are their bodies. Rectangular and squared to the power of presence. There is no mistaking a Town Car for anything else on the road. Beyond the design dynamics, there are also precious vehicles of that time which will offer you the same level of quietness, detachment and float. Few of which were worth a flip.

Cadillac Devilles of the mid-90’s were rolling billboards attached to ticking Northstar time bombs.Auroras had bugs and defects that were so thoroughly vested within it, that few offered their owners any long term bliss. Other Oldsmobiles were boring and bland. The Chrysler LHS had an Iacoccas worth of cheap plastics on the inside.

As for Buick? The sedan was nothing special. But I will give kudos to the wagons. Many of which may become to Ultra-Orthodox Jews what horse and buggys are to the Amish.

I think many of the classic car collectors of 2025 and beyond will love a 1995 Lincoln Town Car. What says you? Am I riding shotgun on today’s automotive prognostications? Or am I stuck in the Town Car’s cavernous trunk hoping that the exhaust fumes don’t overtake my delusional state of judgment? Time will tell. But what says you?

Steven Lang
Steven Lang

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  • Turbocontinental Turbocontinental on May 01, 2013

    Collectible! I bought my 1990 Town Car here in Germany in August '11 as TC-Production ended... :-) Have a look at this! http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I191YM33nBE Greetings from the Old Europe

  • Cashy28 Cashy28 on Mar 01, 2016

    I have a 1997 ltc 105,569 miles can't lie I love everything about it and I'm only 28 in the south we love Our big old schools some miss them up with rims that's to big but others put just the right size rims on our old schools I'm leaving my town car stock all the way the only thing I changed was my radio and put 2 kicker 12in subs on a boss amp 3000 class d amp but yes I believe they already classics at lease in the south

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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