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#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.
#1843 of 3244 by rea98d Mar 18, 2003 (5:36 pm)
Regarding the '82 she's holding up pretty good. I got her last summer with 41,000 miles on her, and have put about 20,000 more on her since then (I drive a lot). I had to replace quite a bit of stuff on her when I first got her, because the PO only drove about 2,000 miles a year, and idled everywhere she went. Also, I don't think she had ever heard the words "tune up" in her entire life. But she runs good now, and I don't hesitate to take her out on long highway trips. In fact, other than the gratuitous gasoline consumption, she's perfect for long trips. Seats are split seats, but flat like the bench seats, with fold-down arm rests. As for the spare tire, I hadn't really noticed its placement was all that bad, but the trunk is definately deep! You could hide Jimmy Hoffa in there and no one would ever find him. (Uh, oops. SHouldn't have said that. I never made a comment about Jimmy Hoffa. Never mind). But the car is holding up well enough, and I continue to drive her. When I bought her, she was extremely low mileage for an '82. When I end up getting rid of her, she'll probably be extremely high mileage. I tend to do that to cars.
#1844 of 3244 An Associated Press article read today: by dinu Mar 19, 2003 (8:58 am)
FYI:   Today, March 19, 2003, in The Arizona Republic newspaper there is an Associated Press article titled "Luxury cars, SUVs crack under crash-test pressure" by Dee-Ann Durbin. Bumper crash tests were made by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. Does anyone know if they have a internet website? A Google search should determine this.   The luxury sedans cited in the article are noted below in order, according to the degree of damage in these bumper crash tests:   2003 Infiniti Q45 - $1,445   2003 Cadillac CTS - $1,172   2003 Lincoln Town Car - $1,147   2002 Acura RL - $1,103   There was also one midsize SUV noted and two small SUVs noted in the article. If anyone is interested in knowing what the article said about these vehicles post a request for this info here and I'll put it in this discussion grouop today or tomorrow.   Here's a quote from the article relative to the Lincoln Town Car:   In a statement, Lincoln manufacturer Ford Motor Co. said its bumpers meet or exceed government safety standards. It also said the institute's tests "may not be representative of he type of damage that occurs in real-world situations."
#1845 of 3244 dinu: My first car was a '39 Chev with real steel chrome plated bumpers. by kinley Mar 19, 2003 (9:25 am)
When someone scratched my bumper while backing into a parking place, the scratch was accepted because that's what bumpers are there for, to protect the main body of the car. Today, if you back into another's bumper while parallel parking and the bumper gets scratched, it's an insurance Property Damage claim. Another cause of high insurance premiums. Bumpers should be protective rather than decorative.
#1846 of 3244 Re: Kinley's #1840 post & his #1845 by dinu Mar 19, 2003 (9:58 am)
You're right about "bumpers should be protective rather than decorative" Property Damage claims today.   Am interested in you being "amateur orchestra conductor". I don't play a musical instrument but even at 69 it's not too late to learn! Beethoven's 4th piano concerto is now playing in the background on KBAQ our classical music station here. Kinley, you can listen in too while working on the computer. The URL address is: www.kbaq.org   Yes, Poulenc's choral works are lovely...I especially like his "Gloria". Try his concerto for two painos and his Concert champetre for harpsicord and orchestra (the later written for Wanda Landowska) if you don't know them.   Thanks for the info on music & automobiles. Am wondering what sound system the GM and the TC have. The Toyota Avalon XLS 4dr sedan w/bucket seats has a JBL 7 speaker system including subwoofer and 6 disc in-dash CD changer. But the Avalon doesn't have any audio controls on its steering wheel as the GM Ultimate and TC Executive do.   BTW The interior specs of the Avalon XLS are nearly equal to the TC and better in some aspects. We don't know as yet how low we can get the bottom line on the Executive TC that would include the cash incentives that end this month. Will have to take another spin in it and seek out thier rock-bottom "bottom line". Right now we are leaning in favor of the Avalon XLS V6 (with bucket seats, Package #5, Vehicle Skid Control, and carpet/cargo mat set) at an invoice total of $29,094. The MSRP is $33,249 and Edmund's TMV price is $29,269. No incentives or rebates on this car but the one we saw on a lot had a $1200 discount on it.   The wife and I like bucket seats rather than the bench type. I don't believe that the GM or Executive TC offer the choice of bucket seats, do they? Will have to check the Edmunds site.

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