Well the 64 lincoln conti vert is my all time favorite automobile and if ford goes to market with that conti-concept in a vert you can bet the bank i will be on a pre-order list.
Ironically, Autoextremist never has anything positive to say over Ford, and I do not grasp why they fail to understand where Lincoln is headed, since it's been mention at least a thousand times already.
Lincoln is NOT chasing Cadillac, it doesn't need to. Ford has Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin to battle where Cadillac wishes to play at. GM had to place Cadillac much higher, and allocate Buick in the position that Caddilac left.
Lincoln has always been about affordable american luxury. The whole concept of it's roots was to offer american's affordable luxury vehicles at a good price without breaking the bank.
Common sense shows, more vehicles are sold at the $35-50K range, than the 50-100K range. In fact, large luxury sedan sales have dropped for a few upper echelon brands, from last year figures to current.
Some of these publications (while whining about why Lincoln isn't chasing Cadillac) turn around and start bashing Cadillac on the Escalade being Tahoe, Avalache, Yukon, etc twins, and of how mediocre their interior material quality are for their vehicles (typical for GM).
Most of these rantings remind me of Old-Detroit, an era long ago where because Timmy bought a new bike, Bobby had to buy one too. If Bobby added bigger tires, Timmy had to as well. They are forgetting that Cindy, Sandy and Jack moved into the cul-de-sac, some are seeing each other, some have gotten married, yet Bobby and Timmy haven't grown up, nor has Autoextremists understanding and are trying to relive an era of long ago.
Good rant, heyjewel - and while I don't disagree with some of it, I have to say, that I don't see what you're saying in the products I own from Lincoln yet at all. My Lincolns are class leading today (Navigator) with interiors second to none and features (power folding 3rd row seat, Independent rear suspension, heated and cooled seats, rack & pinion steering, power running boards) nobody else even has yet! Is that "near luxury"? Now, if they choose not to charge $70M for that, I'm strangely ok with that, no matter what my neighbors think. If they want to laugh at me for driving a cheap near luxury SUV, fine. Maybe it's not Bill Ford who's dumb here, maybe it's GM who HAS to drive Caddy upmarket to compete with Ford's Jag, Rover, Volvo & Aston-Martin luxury brands, because they don't have anything at that level. And I believe Bill will make those brands profitable yet. He has made Jag a decent marque with a good reputation now, Volvo is both good and profitable now, Rover needs help, and Aston is too low volume to matter.
In the end, it's all about the product. I'm 51. Sometime in the next 10 years, I'm likely to go back to a large Sedan. At this moment, the Town Car and the Lexus LS 430 are at the top of the list. If the Town Car had a decent Air Conditioner and Cooled Seats, it would get my check hands down. Love the size and the looks. Sure, the Lexus is probably more refined, solid and modern, but it's not very pretty, it's smaller, and doesn't create much of an impression in most valet circles, and it's a hellovalot more money. The XJ might work, but it's pretty low to the ground for my left knee. So is the S-80. No interest in anything German at this point. Not reliable enough, too expensive. Cadillac? They think too highly of themselves. Just because they think they're worth $55,000, doesn't mean they are.
I understand your frustration, but again I keep hearing "Because Cadillac this, Lincoln needs to do that", and that's the whole point. Lincoln doesn't need to follow Cadillac.
And other examples of how Lincoln used to be decades ago.... The whole marketplace has changed since then, having hand crafted vehicles might have seemed special, and give people some warm fuzzy feelings, but today's methods are much more reliable. And there's much more competition... If your limit your options to 2 specific makes, of course one would succeed over another graciously. Now there's many more options, in a saturated marketplace.
I don't see why AutoExtremist picked this item to harp on recently. Lincoln was holding it's own in the late 90's with just 3 vehicles at the time. Cont, TC, M8 in those bleak days. Then the Nav was introduced, Mk8 killed in 98. Three simple vehicles holding the sales forte.
Now new products are coming and of course it'll never be enough. People will find an issue to complain about the next Aviator using the CD3 platform (Mazda6 derived), same with the Zephyr. The Conti and LS replacements riding on the D3 platform (Volvo derived), a cross-over, a coupe, and another SUV to be introduced later on.
And when it's 2008... while these vehicles will compare to other luxury brands and offer similar features for less, AE will continue to bring it up that Lincolns $40K sedan just isn't good enough to compete with Caddies $70K equivilant because they still are stuck with the idealism of decades ago in a cut throat market.
I'm convinced Lincoln's current direction was a direct result of Ford's financial crisis of a few years ago. Remember - the cars we're seeing now were created 3-4 years ago and back then Ford was strapped for cash. If you can't afford to develop an all new RWD platform (DEW98 is too expensive and can't use the corporate V8 engines) then you take what you can get - and that's how we got mazda6 and volvo platforms and AWD instead of RWD. Now that Ford is profitable again and they've completed the F150, Mustang and 500 launches and well on the way to completing the others next year they should have the capability to develop a new RWD platform for the future.
The question is whether they'll decide that FWD/AWD is good enough and decide not to spend the money on a new platform - in which case we'll know in about 3 years.
<Aiming for the "near-luxury" segment is like drawing a bead on mediocrity. Given that brief, some car companies just can't help themselves, and end up consciously or unconsciously designing cars that are compromised in some way. And too often in many ways. So, here we have Lincoln, which has become the new poster child for a car company that has made the conscious decision to settle for mediocrity. Lincoln is aiming their entire future product portfolio at the "near-luxury" segment, meaning there will be no top-line, first-rate, "flagship" Lincoln - a car that everyone across the country can instantly recognize and call out to their friends as "that new Lincoln." Instead, Lincoln will launch a series of vehicles that will instantly get swallowed up in Near-Luxury Hell - along with 95 percent of the other manufacturers elbowing each other for the same piece of market segment real estate. I'm sure the marketing geniuses at Lincoln will protest vehemently, but the fact remains that they have taken the easy way out. It's much easier to play "me too" in this business than it is to lead with bold strokes. It's much easier to deliver "good enough" to the market than it is to carve out a distinctive persona all your own. The sad thing about all of this is that at one time Lincoln had the kind of distinctive, luxury brand persona that everyone at least recognized and acknowledged. Now, they'll content themselves with only trying to get "near" it, apparently.>
I need to replace the horn on my 2000 LS. It can only sound one of the notes now when it honks (sounds like a old pickup truck horn).
Does anyone know where the horn unit is located? I spent some time poking around in the engine bay with a flashlight but didn't see anything but plastic shrouds and a few wires.
If the thing is too buried in the very-cramped LS V8 engine bay I may just let the dealer replace it rather than spend all day uninstalling and reinstalling unrelated stuff just to replace the horn.
Let your ears guide you... Have a friend or family member honk it while you are looking. Ford typically places the horns in the driver's side front, just below/behind the bumper.
My guess is that you'll have to get an 8mm 1/4" wrench and remove the lower/front shroud to see it at all. That isn't too difficult to do.
I plan to use my 03 TBird wheels on my LS for the summer, and put snows on the LS wheels (stock 2004 LS8 17" sport) for the winter. (I bought a used set of 04 TBird 17 blade wheels for the TBird.)
Does anyone know if the small hubcap off the Lincoln chrome seven blade wheel will fit the TBird seven blade chrome wheel? I could reuse the TBird cap, but it has the TBird logo on it.
Tried putting the 03 TBird chrome cap on the 04 LS wheel. No good. TBird cap has a larger protruding piece that allows the cap to be centered. Will not fit, without some modifying.
The LS cap fits on the TBird rim, but it doesn't cover as much area. The TBird cap has a slightly larger outside diameter. Slight gap shows.
Still have yet to try a chrome LS cap on the TBird rim. Can't seem to find a car with the chrome rims in any of the local dealerships.
Well. since I have all winter to figure it out, I'm in no rush.
Put the WS 50 225/55/17 on the car. Still rides/handles well. Now to try them out in the white stuff, although we haven't had any snow yet in the NY/NJ area, and the ten day weather report still doesn't predict any. (No complaints here at all.)
Just passed 70k miles on 2000LS V-6 Sport and couldn't bring myself to trade up to 2004 V-6 because of no sport package, even with 9k off new sticker. Why can't Lincoln offer that sport pack on a V-6, so simple to slap on big tires, higher rate springs, shocks, bushings. Cad CTS, BMW, Lexus, MB all have sport pack V-6's. I know, go to the V8 but less is more sometimes
You can get a brand new loaded 04 premium V6 LS w/ moonroof and safety package for $26K (sticker $39K). At least they're being advertised that way in multiple cities.
When Lincoln showed dealers (and a few lucky LS owners) the new 03 LS in early 02 they had base and sport models of both the V6 and V8. The dealers complained loudly and forced Lincoln to eliminate the sport V6 and base V8 models to simplify the number of unique models. Since the dealers are the ones who buy the vehicles from Lincoln they capitulated. It was clearly Lincoln's intent to produce a sport V6 and a base V8. Blame your dealer.
Puchased the only leftover base 2004 LS with the only option of the ceramic white paint. MSRP of $33,295 for $22,000. Gave me $5,000 rebate plus additional rebate of $1,000 for trading in Park Ave, plus $5,295 dealer discount. Got $6700 for 98 Park Ave. Lots of new car for $22,000 / $15,300 with trade. One problem: 2-3 upshift rough, took in for reprogramming and replacement of sensor. 1,000 miles on car sincew 11/20.
i am hearing a clunking noise when i go over even small bumps. i found several discussions in this forum about sway bar bushings causing this and would like to replace mine. i called the local dealership (plano, tx) and they want to know if i want the center bushings ($15/piece) or the end link+bushing ($~$32/piece)...any ideas which of these i should replace?
Even if you're doing the work yourself, the labor is by far the higher consideration. Once you're in there with everything taken apart, you may as well do the whole thing. Why do it over again in six months or two years or whatever when the other pieces fail?
If you're paying the dealership or an independent, the cost of the parts shrinks to insignificance when compared to the installation labour.
Let us know how it turns out, by the way. My bushings have been clunking for the last couple of years, and in the cooler weather now I'm noticing them more and more.
I concur. My AC clutch coil on my AC compressor went bad months ago. The Clutch coil can be replaced but when you consider the time to rebuild the compressor and the fact that the compressor had to be removed to get to the clutch coil any way; I went ahead and replaced the entire assy. I seen the writting on the wall.... 2 months later and have the compressor go out... Not on my watch!
I need a little help, I was in accident on 11-30-04, got rear ended while i was at a complete stop by a full size GMC Pickup truck going around 45-50 mph(he did not hit the brakes!)I was smashed into the car in front of me, well my air bags did not deploy! I asked the dealership why not and he wasn't sure where the sensors were in my 2001 LS, I was just curious to know where they were located and if anyone would know why they didn't deploy. There was over $11,000 of damage to car including a bent frame! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!
Heather Anders Very sad.....missing my baby girl...she is going to be gone for at least the next month...:( Now I am driving a stinkin Kia Optimus....it makes me sick to drive that...I am very spoiled by my First Lincoln LS
We were sad when sideswiped before t'giving and didn"t have the LS for 3 weeks, after 5k damage - so know how you feel. Glad to say we had a very good body shop in Phila do the work, and the homecoming was a happy experence. Good luck!!
BTW, if you haven't already, check for genuine parts replacement vs: aftermarket parts. Insurance companys tend to dictate parts source. This can be significant w/ body panels or bumper cover replacement as well as suspension parts. Also review paint and clearcoat applications together w/ the shop's warranty.
Our airs bags didn't deploy, but the impact was not severe and was absorbed by the front end.
My guess is the impact wasn't severe enough to deploy the airbags. Was anyone hurt? If nobody was hurt, then the vehicle obviously made the correct decision. Deploying the airbags would have increased the damage and the cost/time to repair. But, if the deployment saved injuries, it would be worth it.
You're funny Bob! Eventually, Cadillac gets their copies of what Lincoln invents on the market - Escalade after Navigator, CTS-V after LS, etc....... Enjoy.
As to the answer to your question -- whatever the market will bear. Hmmm. . .four year old car that can be had brand new today (with those famous 200 improvements) for $30K. . .say $12K.
I just did some checking on the value, I looked in a couple of publications and the lowest I could find (on the west coast) with comparable low mileage 2000-2001 V8 LS was $16,500 from a private party (without any upgrades). I realize the upgrades don't add much to the value (even though they cost a small fortune) but they really make the car look and sound very cool. There are just a few that are lower than $16,000, but they are over 40,000 miles and far from here. I'm in Orange County California so no snow, no salt, no pot holes, the car is near showroom condition. Regardless I'll price it low and watch it go!
As many have pointed out, something is worth only what a willing buyer will pay. . .not the listing price of an optimistic seller. If the data you're citing are actual selling prices, I stand corrected.
I won't trouble the group with what I got for my '94 Eagle Vision (finally, after two months of newspaper ads & Auto Trader price reductions), relative to what the "fair market value" was.
Do let us know what your LS brings. Having endured the Eagle thing, I'm not looking forward to getting $1.85 (yet again) for my used North American vehicle (the Eagle was built in Canada), but having a few data points is always a good thing.
Good point; every time I instruct at a drivers school I see a similar situation- a 325iA stuck to the tail of a 330 ZHP, a 944 worrying a C4, etc. At a Sears Point school in 1993 I drove a friend's Dinan suspended M3 and I passed every 911 in my run group save one 993 Turbo. In 1994 on the other hand, I put together three REALLY bad autocross runs driving my chipped and cat-free M6. A friend in a 1993 XJ6 slushbox matched my FTD...:p
I've done some research and am ready to venture out to the dealerships. I'm looking for a safe vehicle with a degree of luxury. Sportiness/performance don't interest me. I really like the LS but ... real wheel drive vehicles are terrible to drive in the winter, right? If the LS was front wheel drive, or better still AWD, I'd be at the dealership giving it serious consideration. But the rear-drive thing just seems disagreeable, especially with safety being a big issue with me (I live in Pennsylvania). Anyone care to comment?
from the days when FWD was touted as being the end all in bad weather handling.
Properly equipped, I feel a RWD vehicle is actually safer. What is properly equipped? 1 - SNOW tires in the winter. NOT all seasons. Michelin makes an Artic Alpin tire that is incredible. Buying a second set of steel wheels for snow tires is a cheap investment for family safety. 2 - stability/traction control - pretty standard now on lux/sport sedans. This will help limit spins 3 - informed driver - knowing your car's as well as your own limits is the best equipment you can have.
A RWD vehicle w/o snows may be a problem. But you have to consider too - if you get a foot of snow, are you REALLY going to be driving an LS in it? Probably not, as there is not 12" of clearance under it. You'd just be a snowplow!
Your biggest danger in a RWD with snows is not the snow, but the other drivers who have no clue and think they can drive normally in those conditions. In that case, you want your airbags and other safety equipment working.
In all fairness, the CTS-V driver was listed as a Novice. From what I've heard, and was confirmed by statements made by the driver of this CTS is that the CTS-V suffers from wheel hop at launch due to the combination/interaction of engine torque and the IRS. The overall balance of the V isn't as good as the standard CTS either, and that also contributes to it's autocrossing performance.
I'm actually looking forward to more competition . . . because I just don't encounter that many luxury sport sedans on the skid pad. That's been the ONLY CTS I've ever seen autocrossing, and I recall only competing against 2 other BMW 5 series (528 and 540, and beat them both).
Now, the Infiniti G35 sedan is a different story . . . the car has more hp and torque, weighs less than an LS, but the SCCA places it is D-stock (which has a more advantageous handicap factor). Go figure. The guy that competes with it has more experience than me and does beat me on raw time (and with the handicap factor, beats me by a seemingly larger margin), though it's still close enough to keep things interesting.
The most important thing to remember, though, is autocrossing is more about the driver than the car.
“I'm looking for a safe vehicle with a degree of luxury. Sportiness/performance don't interest me. I really like the LS but ... real wheel drive vehicles are terrible to drive in the winter, right? If the LS was front wheel drive, or better still AWD, I'd be at the dealership giving it serious consideration. But the rear-drive thing just seems disagreeable, especially with safety being a big issue with me (I live in Pennsylvania). Anyone care to comment?” - cerebus
With what little information you’ve supplied, it is really difficult for me to comment usefully. But – it sounds like you might be much more comfortable with a FWD or AWD. (There are lots that offer some significant measure of luxury.)
The LS offers a unique combination of sport, performance and value that appeals to certain people. (Perhaps I am in a lunatic fringe group – I’m on my 2nd LS.) But unless that appeals to you, I expect that there are a bunch of other vehicles that you may want to look at. Ones where luxury (in ride, equipment level, etc.) is a higher priority than in the LS.
When it seemed likely that I’d be moving back to the Northeast, I drove an AWD 8-cylinder German sedan. For a while. - Ray Sad to be steering someone away from the LS, but . . .
Hi Chris: What is the story with the other LS I noticed in the scoring? Whomever it is seems to be very fast. I am surprised at the number of entrants in the event. You must have to wait a while for your turn. Where are they holding this event? I'm in NW Phoenix at the moment.
On another note, my lease on my Jag XType runs out in about 2 months. Thinking of another LS. It is hard to be the value per dollar and the great handling. A V6 would be fine with me.
The "other guy" driving the LS is a friend of mine that was actually co-driving my LS. Yes, he is very fast and quite an accomplished driver. He's been competing at the Solo II National level for over 20 consecutive years, driving a variety of RWD platforms (mostly Mustangs, but Corvette's more recently).
My friend wanted to co-drive my LS this Winter Season (which just concluded this past Sunday, with one event per month since September). This past Sunday, we were using the parking lot at Phoenix International Raceway, but the 3 prior events were out at Firebird Raceway, next to the Bob Bondurant Driving School. If my friend isn't co-driving someone else's car (he is jokingly referred to as a car concubine), he drives his own '97 BMW M3. On a handicap basis, I can now beat him occasionally when we each drive our own cars (and yes, I have beaten him when we each drive my LS, but he usually beats me).
Scoring for this past Sunday's event is VERY misleading . . . it rained all morning for the first 3 run groups, started to dry out when my run group went (but there was still standing water on the course), and was actually very dry for the 5th run group when my friend had my car. All the guys at the top of the scoring charts ran in the 5th run group. In the category I compete in, drivers can run in any run group during the day, so conditions can vary (though they seldom do out here). Unfortunately, conditions varied considerably this past Sunday, and I wasn't one of the people running in the 5th run group. Oh well, there's always next season . . . it starts January back out at PIR.
I live in Northwest Pennsylvania (on the edge of the snow belt - we get a lot of snow) and because I would like to keep my LS long term - I park it from December 15th to March 15th.
I have had it out on several occasions (over the past 4 winters) during heavy snow - or shortly after a storm (roads covered in 2-4 inches of unplowed wet snow.) There was one time when I stopped on a slight upgrade that it wouldn't start unless I backed it up a ways and got a run for it. Other than that it handled very well as far as steering and braking go. In deep snow - it doesn't take off with the stock tires very well - it most likely is better with snows on the rear.
I think with dedicated snow tires and a little extra weight in the trunk - you'd have few problems - if ever. It doesn't seem to snow as much in the Philly region compared to here.
I also know a lady that does drive her LS through the winter. She lives in a valley with a couple of very steep grades to get out of her driveway. She told me that she never really had any problems and didn't have the snow tires on. We also got probably over 100 inches of snow the past 2 winters that she has had her LS.
Somehow I suspect the driver of the V may have been a little new to the vehicle. At the moment I'd have a hard time keeping the monster V between the cones. Heck I can't even figure out how to get the Navigation system to stop giving me directions...Now I have two women telling how to drive!
Has anyone replaced their shocks yet. I got 70k on my '00 sportV6 with 5 years of driving mostly interstate. They aren't leaking, but how effective are they after 5 yrs. Would you change them at local shop and spec a particular shock or let dealer put OEM's back on. I never did change shocks on '93 Acura Legend with 130K at trade because was told don't fix what ain't broke..
I live in Northeast PA and just purchased a leftover 2004, base car with the ceramic white (metallic white) paint option for $22,000 new (MSRP of $33,295). I have installed 4 Michelin
X-Ice snow tires and looking forward to the first snow for response. Have a '99 Town Car with snows on the back only - no problems witht he proper weight in trunk (summer tires mounted on OEM wheels)
Comments
Lincoln is NOT chasing Cadillac, it doesn't need to. Ford has Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin to battle where Cadillac wishes to play at. GM had to place Cadillac much higher, and allocate Buick in the position that Caddilac left.
Lincoln has always been about affordable american luxury. The whole concept of it's roots was to offer american's affordable luxury vehicles at a good price without breaking the bank.
Common sense shows, more vehicles are sold at the $35-50K range, than the 50-100K range. In fact, large luxury sedan sales have dropped for a few upper echelon brands, from last year figures to current.
Some of these publications (while whining about why Lincoln isn't chasing Cadillac) turn around and start bashing Cadillac on the Escalade being Tahoe, Avalache, Yukon, etc twins, and of how mediocre their interior material quality are for their vehicles (typical for GM).
Most of these rantings remind me of Old-Detroit, an era long ago where because Timmy bought a new bike, Bobby had to buy one too. If Bobby added bigger tires, Timmy had to as well. They are forgetting that Cindy, Sandy and Jack moved into the cul-de-sac, some are seeing each other, some have gotten married, yet Bobby and Timmy haven't grown up, nor has Autoextremists understanding and are trying to relive an era of long ago.
In the end, it's all about the product. I'm 51. Sometime in the next 10 years, I'm likely to go back to a large Sedan. At this moment, the Town Car and the Lexus LS 430 are at the top of the list. If the Town Car had a decent Air Conditioner and Cooled Seats, it would get my check hands down. Love the size and the looks. Sure, the Lexus is probably more refined, solid and modern, but it's not very pretty, it's smaller, and doesn't create much of an impression in most valet circles, and it's a hellovalot more money. The XJ might work, but it's pretty low to the ground for my left knee. So is the S-80. No interest in anything German at this point. Not reliable enough, too expensive. Cadillac? They think too highly of themselves. Just because they think they're worth $55,000, doesn't mean they are.
I understand your frustration, but again I keep hearing "Because Cadillac this, Lincoln needs to do that", and that's the whole point. Lincoln doesn't need to follow Cadillac.
And other examples of how Lincoln used to be decades ago.... The whole marketplace has changed since then, having hand crafted vehicles might have seemed special, and give people some warm fuzzy feelings, but today's methods are much more reliable. And there's much more competition... If your limit your options to 2 specific makes, of course one would succeed over another graciously. Now there's many more options, in a saturated marketplace.
I don't see why AutoExtremist picked this item to harp on recently. Lincoln was holding it's own in the late 90's with just 3 vehicles at the time. Cont, TC, M8 in those bleak days. Then the Nav was introduced, Mk8 killed in 98. Three simple vehicles holding the sales forte.
Now new products are coming and of course it'll never be enough. People will find an issue to complain about the next Aviator using the CD3 platform (Mazda6 derived), same with the Zephyr. The Conti and LS replacements riding on the D3 platform (Volvo derived), a cross-over, a coupe, and another SUV to be introduced later on.
And when it's 2008... while these vehicles will compare to other luxury brands and offer similar features for less, AE will continue to bring it up that Lincolns $40K sedan just isn't good enough to compete with Caddies $70K equivilant because they still are stuck with the idealism of decades ago in a cut throat market.
I made a reference to a 6-year flash in the pan recently, then paused to consider how long the flash was. . .really.
The starting date is pretty simple -- when the first paying customer drove one off the lot.
The ending date will be more difficult. I'm guessing the last LS will be on someone's lot years after the platform is history (for the LS).
Any ideas?
Forgive me, but my job involves metrics, and choosing objective measures like this helps to define things.
The question is whether they'll decide that FWD/AWD is good enough and decide not to spend the money on a new platform - in which case we'll know in about 3 years.
A relevant excerpt-
<Aiming for the "near-luxury" segment is like drawing a bead on mediocrity. Given that brief, some car companies just can't help themselves, and end up consciously or unconsciously designing cars that are compromised in some way. And too often in many ways.
So, here we have Lincoln, which has become the new poster child for a car company that has made the conscious decision to settle for mediocrity. Lincoln is aiming their entire future product portfolio at the "near-luxury" segment, meaning there will be no top-line, first-rate, "flagship" Lincoln - a car that everyone across the country can instantly recognize and call out to their friends as "that new Lincoln." Instead, Lincoln will launch a series of vehicles that will instantly get swallowed up in Near-Luxury Hell - along with 95 percent of the other manufacturers elbowing each other for the same piece of market segment real estate.
I'm sure the marketing geniuses at Lincoln will protest vehemently, but the fact remains that they have taken the easy way out. It's much easier to play "me too" in this business than it is to lead with bold strokes. It's much easier to deliver "good enough" to the market than it is to carve out a distinctive persona all your own.
The sad thing about all of this is that at one time Lincoln had the kind of distinctive, luxury brand persona that everyone at least recognized and acknowledged.
Now, they'll content themselves with only trying to get "near" it, apparently.>
Does anyone know where the horn unit is located? I spent some time poking around in the engine bay with a flashlight but didn't see anything but plastic shrouds and a few wires.
If the thing is too buried in the very-cramped LS V8 engine bay I may just let the dealer replace it rather than spend all day uninstalling and reinstalling unrelated stuff just to replace the horn.
Thanks for any tips you can offer.
My guess is that you'll have to get an 8mm 1/4" wrench and remove the lower/front shroud to see it at all. That isn't too difficult to do.
Does anyone know if the small hubcap off the Lincoln chrome seven blade wheel will fit the TBird seven blade chrome wheel? I could reuse the TBird cap, but it has the TBird logo on it.
thanks.
Tried putting the 03 TBird chrome cap on the 04 LS wheel. No good. TBird cap has a larger protruding piece that allows the cap to be centered. Will not fit, without some modifying.
The LS cap fits on the TBird rim, but it doesn't cover as much area. The TBird cap has a slightly larger outside diameter. Slight gap shows.
Still have yet to try a chrome LS cap on the TBird rim. Can't seem to find a car with the chrome rims in any of the local dealerships.
Well. since I have all winter to figure it out, I'm in no rush.
Put the WS 50 225/55/17 on the car. Still rides/handles well. Now to try them out in the white stuff, although we haven't had any snow yet in the NY/NJ area, and the ten day weather report still doesn't predict any. (No complaints here at all.)
At least they're being advertised that way in multiple cities.
When Lincoln showed dealers (and a few lucky LS owners) the new 03 LS in early 02 they had base and sport models of both the V6 and V8. The dealers complained loudly and forced Lincoln to eliminate the sport V6 and base V8 models to simplify the number of unique models. Since the dealers are the ones who buy the vehicles from Lincoln they capitulated. It was clearly Lincoln's intent to produce a sport V6 and a base V8. Blame your dealer.
thanks in advance,
steve
Even if you're doing the work yourself, the labor is by far the higher consideration. Once you're in there with everything taken apart, you may as well do the whole thing. Why do it over again in six months or two years or whatever when the other pieces fail?
If you're paying the dealership or an independent, the cost of the parts shrinks to insignificance when compared to the installation labour.
Let us know how it turns out, by the way. My bushings have been clunking for the last couple of years, and in the cooler weather now I'm noticing them more and more.
-Paul
I had some clunks from the front end too. Turned out to be broken sway bar links. This was at about 45000.
$22000 for an '04 LS? Shoot me now.
Heather Anders
Our airs bags didn't deploy, but the impact was not severe and was absorbed by the front end.
I got a genuine Lincoln replacement part...
2005 CTS-V...Yeehaw!
Bob
Enjoy your V, Bob.
As to the answer to your question -- whatever the market will bear. Hmmm. . .four year old car that can be had brand new today (with those famous 200 improvements) for $30K. . .say $12K.
Doncha just love it?
I won't trouble the group with what I got for my '94 Eagle Vision (finally, after two months of newspaper ads & Auto Trader price reductions), relative to what the "fair market value" was.
Do let us know what your LS brings. Having endured the Eagle thing, I'm not looking forward to getting $1.85 (yet again) for my used North American vehicle (the Eagle was built in Canada), but having a few data points is always a good thing.
2004 CTS-V: 0
The Caddy was more than 4 seconds adrift on a course that took less than 60 seconds to run.
check out the Event Results from the AZ SCCA SoloII on Nov. 7, 2004
http://www.azsolo2.com/cgi-bin/results.cgi?
Wonder how that V will do after the person driving it has a couple of years' experience?
Also wonder what the results would be with you driving the V & them driving your LS?
Properly equipped, I feel a RWD vehicle is actually safer. What is properly equipped?
1 - SNOW tires in the winter. NOT all seasons. Michelin makes an Artic Alpin tire that is incredible. Buying a second set of steel wheels for snow tires is a cheap investment for family safety.
2 - stability/traction control - pretty standard now on lux/sport sedans. This will help limit spins
3 - informed driver - knowing your car's as well as your own limits is the best equipment you can have.
A RWD vehicle w/o snows may be a problem. But you have to consider too - if you get a foot of snow, are you REALLY going to be driving an LS in it? Probably not, as there is not 12" of clearance under it. You'd just be a snowplow!
Your biggest danger in a RWD with snows is not the snow, but the other drivers who have no clue and think they can drive normally in those conditions. In that case, you want your airbags and other safety equipment working.
-Paul
I'm actually looking forward to more competition . . . because I just don't encounter that many luxury sport sedans on the skid pad. That's been the ONLY CTS I've ever seen autocrossing, and I recall only competing against 2 other BMW 5 series (528 and 540, and beat them both).
Now, the Infiniti G35 sedan is a different story . . . the car has more hp and torque, weighs less than an LS, but the SCCA places it is D-stock (which has a more advantageous handicap factor). Go figure. The guy that competes with it has more experience than me and does beat me on raw time (and with the handicap factor, beats me by a seemingly larger margin), though it's still close enough to keep things interesting.
The most important thing to remember, though, is autocrossing is more about the driver than the car.
- cerebus
With what little information you’ve supplied, it is really difficult for me to comment usefully. But – it sounds like you might be much more comfortable with a FWD or AWD. (There are lots that offer some significant measure of luxury.)
The LS offers a unique combination of sport, performance and value that appeals to certain people. (Perhaps I am in a lunatic fringe group – I’m on my 2nd LS.) But unless that appeals to you, I expect that there are a bunch of other vehicles that you may want to look at. Ones where luxury (in ride, equipment level, etc.) is a higher priority than in the LS.
When it seemed likely that I’d be moving back to the Northeast, I drove an AWD 8-cylinder German sedan. For a while.
- Ray
Sad to be steering someone away from the LS, but . . .
On another note, my lease on my Jag XType runs out in about 2 months. Thinking of another LS. It is hard to be the value per dollar and the great handling. A V6 would be fine with me.
My friend wanted to co-drive my LS this Winter Season (which just concluded this past Sunday, with one event per month since September). This past Sunday, we were using the parking lot at Phoenix International Raceway, but the 3 prior events were out at Firebird Raceway, next to the Bob Bondurant Driving School. If my friend isn't co-driving someone else's car (he is jokingly referred to as a car concubine), he drives his own '97 BMW M3. On a handicap basis, I can now beat him occasionally when we each drive our own cars (and yes, I have beaten him when we each drive my LS, but he usually beats me).
Scoring for this past Sunday's event is VERY misleading . . . it rained all morning for the first 3 run groups, started to dry out when my run group went (but there was still standing water on the course), and was actually very dry for the 5th run group when my friend had my car. All the guys at the top of the scoring charts ran in the 5th run group. In the category I compete in, drivers can run in any run group during the day, so conditions can vary (though they seldom do out here). Unfortunately, conditions varied considerably this past Sunday, and I wasn't one of the people running in the 5th run group. Oh well, there's always next season . . . it starts January back out at PIR.
I have had it out on several occasions (over the past 4 winters) during heavy snow - or shortly after a storm (roads covered in 2-4 inches of unplowed wet snow.) There was one time when I stopped on a slight upgrade that it wouldn't start unless I backed it up a ways and got a run for it. Other than that it handled very well as far as steering and braking go. In deep snow - it doesn't take off with the stock tires very well - it most likely is better with snows on the rear.
I think with dedicated snow tires and a little extra weight in the trunk - you'd have few problems - if ever. It doesn't seem to snow as much in the Philly region compared to here.
I also know a lady that does drive her LS through the winter. She lives in a valley with a couple of very steep grades to get out of her driveway. She told me that she never really had any problems and didn't have the snow tires on. We also got probably over 100 inches of snow the past 2 winters that she has had her LS.
X-Ice snow tires and looking forward to the first snow for response. Have a '99 Town Car with snows on the back only - no problems witht he proper weight in trunk (summer tires mounted on OEM wheels)