What did Lincoln do right with the LS? Excellent design traits:

LJS30

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Well gentlemen I made a thread in regards to design flaws so I thought I would make a counter thread. What did Lincoln do right when they made the LS? What design traits do you feel were really excellent and should have continued to today?
 
Well gentlemen I made a thread in regards to design flaws so I thought I would make a counter thread. What did Lincoln do right when they made the LS? What design traits do you feel were really excellent and should have continued to today?

Right Wheel Drive
Near 50/50 Weight Distribution
 
I think your rear end is broken

Right wheel drive as in correct wheel drive which is rear wheel drive as opposed to wrong wheel drive which is front wheel drive.
I think that's a pretty good bad sentence...
 
Handling/suspension. For a pig of a car, this car handles great.
 
I will add sound system for the Alpines in the Gen I.

Also, designing for maximum passenger space in a small back seat area.
 
Moonroof glass! = in total LS wrecks the glass always stays intact and WINS!
 
No, it's not all bad. The front hubs are very easy to replace with new ones. The rear links are pretty easy to replace too. Then there's the little hatch under the back seat that lets you change the fuel pump without draining and dropping the tank (although I've not had to do that one yet.) And it does move out pretty well, considering the weight of the car vs the size of the engine. That's about it.
 
Then there's the little hatch under the back seat that lets you change the fuel pump without draining and dropping the tank (although I've not had to do that one yet.)

yes. this has pretty much became the standard all the manufactures follow now days




honestly, the looks, inside and out are the biggest thing this car has going for it other than as mentioned above, RWD (right wheel drive lol), suspension setup, and weight balance which translate into the great handling which truly makes this car what it is. and as Telco said, that really is about it...






most good things about this car are missing something that keeps them from being great

like...

being rear wheel drive really makes the great balance possible BUT the unusual(no so much unusual as in weird design, but as in different from all other models and lacking interchangeability ) open rear end as the only option really holds it back by not having less than great traction and causes uneven amount of oversteer at different times (and turning directions) not to mention really hurting its ability in slippery/snowy weather. not having the option to re gear the car is also kinda a big let down.

offering a V8 engine without the option of a manual transmission in what is considered a sport sedan is just silly. only offering a manual transmission on the V6 is even sillier... the whole excuse that the getrag manual transmission cant handle the power of the V8 just means that they made a really poor choice in choosing that tranny, since ours autos are basically versions of the mustang trans, it seems like the logical choice would have been to use the tremec from the mustang (or hell even the new Getrag) also... no strength problems there, already tested and true.

the V8 they chose is also kinda a weak choice, not only is it a little under powered for a car this size, having a special version different from the normal jag version is kinda silly, they also could have remedied the weakness of the motor by offering some of the other versions they were already making (cough cough STR cough) or designed the chassis to accept a slightly larger and much more common engine that also has fewer problems (cough cough aluminator cough) hell even though I don't care for either of them, I would have rather had the 2 or 3 valve 4.6 instead of this stupid AJ motor...

for the longest time, ford has had a lincoln that basically had a mustang drivetrain, having that here, would have taken this car from very good, to truly great!
if this car looked the way it does, but had a twin cam 4.6 backed up with a T56 or T6060 6 speed (I would even settle for a T3650 5 speed) going out back to a 8.8 rear end, I would be looking for other options for a next car, the I would be very content with sticking with the LS for a good long time. this would also solve the entire lack of aftermarket support we all suffer from.
 
As been said already, the timeless appearance. People are blown away that this car is over a decade old.
 
Sport Suspension is great for a Sedan, Stereo, Brakes (stock are quite good), 50/50 weight distribution, A/C is far better than my Caddys (2002 Eldorado, 2003 DTS - both past), and road feel. It is on par with any euro sedan of the day.
 
Was this car considered under powered for its time?

No. It was quite quick and compared quite favorably with the competition. In fact, the '03 V8 LS beat the 540i in a comparative test.
 
Was this car considered under powered for its time?

yes and no...

it was as near as fast or faster than most cars in its direct competition.

BUT

there was no real performance version offered, so while yes it can keep up with a 540 there is no SVT version that can come any where near a M5... or an AMG... or a CTS-V... or a S4/S6/RS4... or a damn STR...

so pretty much every other brand has a same sized car that is ten times faster and better handling(even back then).
 
No. It was quite quick and compared quite favorably with the competition. In fact, the '03 V8 LS beat the 540i in a comparative test.

Handling test. The 540i from 1997 had more power than the gen 2 and was faster.

IMO, the gen 1 should've had the gen 2s numbers to be competitive. The gen 2 would then be a step up from that, especially since it would've been competing with the next gen 5 series.
 
...there is no SVT version

"SVT LS" has a nice sound to it. It might be the sound of a photocopier or some kind of disease with such an acronymated name, but if it works for McLaren with the MP4-12C...
 
I like the way the rear end does not lift up when stopping. Don't know how that was designed, but part of it is the weight distribution. I like the handling, alot. It is much more sophisticated than my previous car which was a Camaro. I like the automatic windshield wipers and auto dimming rear view mirror. Styling is great and with the '00's now being 14 years old the styling is proving to be timeless. I still get lots of compliments on the looks of my '00. That wouldn't happen with a 14 year old Camry!
 
Handling test. The 540i from 1997 had more power than the gen 2 and was faster.

IMO, the gen 1 should've had the gen 2s numbers to be competitive. The gen 2 would then be a step up from that, especially since it would've been competing with the next gen 5 series.

I remembered the ad wrong... It was about handling...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=538857MPzzY
 
We still have the best looking car on the block,I tell my wife.LOL! It's just a white LS,2004,but people really like its looks.When it and my red `05 Mustang convertible are out in front of the house,we have the TWO best-lookers on the block. don-ohio
 
the only way you can tell by the style that the LS is old, is because lincoln hasn't had a good looking car for a long time now! lol
 
suspension is great, thx sound is great, and the LSE look makes it look great everything else looks old. the interior looks bland especially the instruments cluster.
 
The way the steering wheel gets out of the way of my fat belly when I take the key out...always one of my favs lol.
 

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