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Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis

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#1833 of 3244 Re-Think the Buick by ronslakie Mar 17, 2003 (5:57 am)
dinu - I would re-think any decision on that Buick Park Avenue even if they offer $20K off. The reason is that Buick's biggest available engine is the 3.8 V6 which is seriously undersized for a car that size. Buick compenstaes for this by offering it with a supercharger; what it really needs is a V8 like the Northstar that Cadillac has. I have a friend who has a Park avenue and the supercharger just went south to the tune of $2600. Who needs to start with that type of handicap. The 3.8 V6 was initially introduced in the sixties; I had one in a 77 LeSabre and didn't think much of it then.   Ron
#1834 of 3244 on: Re-Think the Buick by dinu Mar 17, 2003 (7:21 am)
Thanks Ron. We've pretty much ruled out the Buick anyway. A question for you: If you were buying a new comfortable, reliable, quality 4dr passenger car with plenty of room, decent handling ability and sufficient power to handle certain conditions where the power was needed, what make and model would you pick? Low re-sale value is of no concern to us as we'll be keeping the new car we buy for ten or more years. Price is somewhat of a concern and the Lincoln TC Executive may be stretching us too much.   We've narrowed it down to three cars thus far: the Toyota Avalon XL or XLS, the GM LS Ultimate Editon, and the Lincoln TC Executive.   On paper, nothing in the Chrysler line seems interesting enough to look into, including their 300 model. Nothing else that Ford or General Motors makes catches our eye or pocketbook. Don't know about the Acura, the Mitsubishi or other makes.   As for the GM and the TC, we have some reservations on the quality for long-term ownership based on some reviews we've read. Do you or others on this forum have any reservations on these cars?   Others viewing this forum are welcome to voice their opinion in answering the question I asked at the beginning of this post.   BTW, I'm wondering if any of the car makers anonymously post comments in the Edmunds' Town Hall forums and/or other similar websites. I don't see how Edmunds or other websites could screen out such posts.
#1835 of 3244 Dinu: You have excellent classical music taste. by kinley Mar 17, 2003 (11:11 am)
" With Smetana's Moldau flowing in the background" Currently I like Sam Barber, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, and of course, Mozart. Bach organ is pleasant and Beethoven is always welcome. Now, back to the cars.   We too buy for the long term. Our present Towncar was purchased new in '94 and has over 105,000 miles. When the market improves significantly, I'm looking for another, perhaps an '04. The '03 Crown Vics, GM's, & TC's have the same running gear from engine to axle. Same wheels and tires. Same rack & pinion steering design, however, the TC has the more rear room. I don't think the GM LSE is any longer than the Ultimate or LS, thus both would fit in the garage. Suggest you dial in www.lincolnvehicles.com & see what's there as far as dimensions go. They tell all on that website. A few years ago, I flew to Detroit and toured the Wixom factory seeing how the Lincoln is made. Their computer sequential process with same day inventory of parts was very interesting. IMO the tour is worth the price of getting there and wouldn't factory drive away be fun?
#1836 of 3244 by rea98d Mar 17, 2003 (12:19 pm)
All we got here is a Sam's. I was just trying to be funny, cause in places like that, you end up buy 10,000 floppy disks for $5, pickles by the 5-gallon bucket, laundry soap in 55-gallon drums... I figured they'd sell Toyotas shrink-wrapped in 5-packs for $70,000 or something. Get the "Avalon Variety Pack," and have 5 different colors.
#1837 of 3244 Hi again rea98d & kinley by dinu Mar 17, 2003 (4:32 pm)
Got the humor the first time rea98d, but I didn't acknowledge it or carry on with it when I replied. Your comment was funny though. The wife works at Honeywell and as I'm retired I do all the grocery shopping which I don't mind doing. As far as Costco goes I only buy spices like garlic powder and other spices in rather larger bottles than what's in the supermarkets....also Epson ink cartridges for my printer, 3 bundle pack of the 2 lb. Arizona brand tortilla chips, 96 oz. bottles of Woolite, ...........well I could go on and on! Didn't go there today but will later this week when the rain lets up a bit.   I see by your profile that you own an '82 Grand Marquis. It must be holding up pretty well. Tell me about the car: any history of problems with it?.... service done at the dealership.......or anything else you'd like to say about it. Do you have the bench type front seating or the bucket style. We haven't decided which kind we'd get if we bought a GM. One thing I definitely don't like about the GM is the positioning of the spare tire in the trunk. It's set up high and obtrusively making the placement of other stuff, like baggage, rather awkward. The trunk floor is rather low and I'd imagine it might be a little more difficult to get suitcases and the like out. The Lincoln TC does it better regarding the spare and the design of the trunk.   Kinley, it's good to meet another classical music lover. I have a life-long passion for this kind of music. Andre Previn said it best: "A day without music is a day lost." I'm also into jazz, world music and the old pop standards. Your choice of composers that you mentioned are fine. How about Bartok, Dvorak, & Poulenc?   Back to the car stuff: It's good to hear from someone that's had a TC with so much milage. Tell me about the car a bit as regards any problems with it, cost of parts & servicing it if that's significant, and anything else you'd like to tell me. With the incentives that Mercury has this month and my wife's discount via Honeywell, perhaps I can get the bottom line down to a comfortable level for us. The GM Ultimate Edition and the Avalon XLS will likely be close to $10,000 less than an Executive TC. So I'll be looking into how much lower I can get the bottom line for a TC. I'll check on the length of the cars for a fit in my garage. I'll check out that website you mentioned. Your trip to the Lincoln factory sounded interesting. My home state is Indiana and have gone to Detroit a few times but that was long ago. Didn't get to visit the Ford museum that I've heard about nor did I go to a Ford factory. When the wife retires we'll be touring back east in the car we'll be buying this year. She retires in 2 or 3 years. We want to experience the New England area in the fall and then wheel up to Canada and travel across Canada, then cutting down to home in Arizona. We've never been to Canada other than Vancouver B.C. and nearby Victoria. Nice talking with both of you guys.
#1838 of 3244 For kinley: by dinu Mar 17, 2003 (5:42 pm)
Have been doing some reading of the other forums and found your comments in the Town Car forum. Your #777 was an interesting history of problems/repairs that you've had. Some of your other posts were read. By reading them I've pretty much got the answers to my question put to you above. Any further comments are welcomed.
#1839 of 3244 Car Selection by ronslakie Mar 18, 2003 (5:40 am)
dinu - Reference your question on what I would select. I currently have a GM LS and I am pleased with it except for back seat legroom. If I were looking right now I believe I would look at a regular (not Exec) Town Car. I would get about 3-4" more of back seat legroom; the Exec can add $10K on to the price real quick and I am not sure you are getting your moneys worth. There are some deals out there on the TCs for around $30K you just have to hunt them down. I have found the net very helpful in that regard. It is a shame that us rear whell drive fans don't have a bigger selection but in 2 years Cadillac and Chrysler will be switching their larger models to rear wheel drive.   Ron
#1840 of 3244 by kinley Mar 18, 2003 (10:30 am)
"Bartok, Dvorak, & Poulenc" I think Poulenc is more associated with choral works and as a an amateur orchestra conductor, I'm more familiar with the first two. Noting the #1839 post mentions "regular (not Exec) Town Car." The most economical TC is the Executive.   Regarding music & automobiles: FM has a limit of about 14k whereas Tape & CD can produce up to 20k, but an "add on CD" uses the FM circuitry, thus limiting the "highs". The factory installed unit has it's own pre amp for CD reproduction. And the sound is noticeably better.   As to price differential I agree the TC will be more cost than the GM, but how much? If it is 5k or less, I'd take the TC over the GM and think of it as only $500 a year more for more rear leg room. If you want a chuckle with your "spellcheck" on Outlook Express, type in "Bizet".   When you get to Vancouver, take a side trip up to Pemberton on Hiway 99. Spend a night at Whistler and ride the gondolas up the mountain for wonderful vistas. Reminds me, we took our TC to Alaska for 6 weeks and 6,000 miles a few years ago and highly recommend that visit to you.
#1841 of 3244 TC versus GM by cfocfo Mar 18, 2003 (2:04 pm)
I looked at the TC and GM before making my final decision. To get to an apples to apples comparison price wise, I was looking at a very nice TC Executive that was 2 years old, in great shape, with low miles VERSUS a brand new GM LS Ultimate.   The TC provided even a better comfort couch ride than the GM of course, BUT I decided on the GM ultimately because it was brand new, no "used car" unknowns or risks. Buying a 1 or 2 year old car is smart $$ wise, but not without risks.   I did not test drive an Avalon, but will have to read the CR article to see the pluses over the GM.
#1842 of 3244 Regarding Music by cfocfo Mar 18, 2003 (2:23 pm)
As a GM owner with graying hair, (KEYWORDS-with hair) I felt obligated to reserve 2 pre-set FM stations for Jazz and Clasical music.   But when the windows are rolled up during the solo trips, I also listen to Steely Dan, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and Neil Young on the CD player. All of which would probably fall into the "old folks" category as well AND all controlled without having to lean my old back off of the fine leather seats, as the controls are on the steering wheel.

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