Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Seek and Ye shall find. Part One.

This is the Lincoln MKZ.

Good advice.

I am always keeping my eyes open for used cars that might appeal to me. At the top of the list is the new Lincoln Aviator, but at "previously owned" prices that are still around 40-50 thousand dollars, it will be a few more years before I seriously consider one. Besides their SUVs, Lincoln produced some luxury cars in the recent past. I'm not very interested in the end of the Town Car line, though there are many die hard fans of these last Panther platform cars. These can sometimes be found with low mileage. I become a Lincoln fan with my Navigator, but do these smaller cars have the right appeal? Do they impress me as being a real Lincoln?

Even though I am quite happy and content with my current stable, I like to keep my eyes open and see if there's anything out there that also appeals to me. I no longer have any interest in anything from a European manufacturer. Japanese makes are still in consideration, but I'm sticking with good old American makes, for now. 

I just don't see myself getting into a real vintage car anymore. The prices are just too high. I think that I've also finally learned my lesson about project cars. I want a car that is in good shape, runs good and has fairly low miles on it. I'll be looking at something only around ten years old, no need for rebuilding, or restorations.

High performance is not really a consideration. I find my '96 Mustang to be plenty fast enough, my '06 is much faster. I don't see a need for anything more powerful than that. 

It's been about five years since Lincoln quit making actual cars instead of truck based SUVs or CUVs. At the end there were two models available; the MKS, the MKZ, and finally, the Continental. It seems that everyone had a lot of trouble distinguishing between the Taurus based MKS, and the Fusion based MKZ. They were so similar in size it was hard to tell them apart. Not to mention that it was easy to confuse the names. The MKS was later dropped to make room for the Continental, a stretched, fancier, MKS.

This is the MKS

One issue, is that these two cars look so much like the Fords that they are based on. Also, the fact that Ford offers almost all the same equipment as optional on the Taurus and Fusion. The Platinum models are fully equipped vehicles. That leads to a perception that the two Lincolns are just top of the line versions of the Fords. They are often not seen as legitimate, stand alone, distinct, Lincoln models. I think that it hurts the Lincoln models that the Fords have actual names. The three letter labels of the Lincolns contribute to their sense of anonymity. I love the name of my Lincoln, the Navigator!

All of this controversy led to poor sales, even for the long awaited Continental. That is why these vehicles are no longer in production. Low demand is why they suffer from low resale values, which means low prices. Depreciation is pretty rough with these cars, bad news for the original buyers but good news for people like me.

While I find the Continental to be attractive, the situation with the Continental is the same as with the Aviator. Still too new to have a low price. So those will be off the table for quite a few years. 

Could I be happy with one of these cars?

Would I consider them special enough to take pride in them? Or would they be just a nice car at a nice price? 

I have been doing my research on the Net, but I think that it is time to actually take a close look in person, as well as a test drive. 

The first question is always, do they look good to me? 

I can't say that they illicit a lot of passion, filling me with a burning desire to own one. If I compare them to current Cadillac sedans, I'd have to say that the Cadillacs have a much bolder appearance, even the small ATS. Of the two, I'd say that I prefer the fastback roof line and aerodynamic and futuristic tail end of the MKZ. 

The profile is sleek.

Definitely the best angle for this car.

It's the front ends that are problematic for me. This version of the split wing grille isn't my favorite. The earlier boxier models had a better frontal appearance. They looked more like a luxury car, this front end is a lot like a new Camry. Or something.

Consider the white example pictured below. The straight on, front view is telling. 

Why does it remind me of this guy?

Is it just me? Is this a look that I could really live with? 

In reality, all I'm doing is daydreaming. I'm not planning to buy or sell anything, at the moment. However I find it productive to look at the market and see what is available.

Yesterday I went out to a used car dealer to check out a MKZ. It was surprising to see it close up.

This particular car was a 2022  MKZ with a V6 AWD drive train. It was painted dark metallic grey, much like my '07 Mustang.

First of all,  I was surprised by the size, it's quite a bit bigger than I thought. Parked next to a Mazda CX5, (I was at a Mazda dealer)  it was about a foot longer. It seemed to be a pretty substantial car. 

The quality of the paint, trim, and fit were excellent. Ditto to the interior materials and assembly. The cabin looked spacious and comfortable, a pleasant place to be. 

Standing close to a car you can appreciate the smaller details. I really like the design of the polished 18 in. alloy wheels, with the Lincoln Star emblem. The tail lamp panel with the full width tail lamp is the car's best feature in my opinion. That, and the semi fastback roof line give it the look of a customized car, reminiscent of my '66 Riviera. 

The front end, also looks kind of like a customized car. Like my '71 boat tail Riviera, it makes you wonder how a major manufacturer would green light such a "distinctive" design. It is so different from it's Fusion platform mate. It does come off better in person, as it is much more dimensional than it looks in photos. It looks kind of flat in "straight on" photos. It makes a much better impression in person.

The design certainly is polarizing, the addition of the rectangular Continental style grille, on the latest models made the design of the car much more mainstream and acceptable. 

The Continental on the other hand, is a much more traditional and attractive car.

The Continental is a car that elicits a desire for ownership in me. It resolves a lot of the confusion within the Lincoln sedan camp. It just looks right, big enough to take seriously. It's a car that I will surely consider when depreciation brings it closer to my price point. But I'll also be looking at what's going on at Cadillac.