94V8coupe

Risking getting flamed here but I don't care .
These are great cars, everyone here knows the deal, that's why we own them.

That being said ...

Having owned three Lincolns (still own one ... '87 Continental), there are some features conspicuous in their absence on what is understood to be a tier one Luxury car.

1. Not enough wood.
The wood trim on the console etc. is very nice but there should be more of it. There is zero anywhere to be found on the dash or door panels. My girl's '94SC has wood on the dash and doors. What gives?!

2. No gas mileage computer. Very useful feature and a very good indicator of how your car is running. My Lincoln gives instant and average fuel ecomomy at the touch of a button. Cadillacs & Lincolns had this in the late 70's!

3. No Distance To Empty readout. I always found this handy - kind of goes hand-in-hand with the fuel economy computer.

4. Sub-par interior lighting. Self explanatory. Lincoln wins again. Open the door in that car and it lights up like a stadium for a night game.

5. No cornering lamps. Standard luxury car fare. Once again ... My girl's '94SC has these (later years they became fog lights).

6. No power trunk pull-down. I have to close my own trunk in this thing? Lincoln / Cadillac ... push the trunk until it clicks ... it takes it from there.

7. Ratcheting parking brake. Not on the Lincoln. Not even my 1978 Town car. Pedal is silent - no "ratcheting".

8. Manual parking brake release. Lincoln automatically releases parking brake when the car is put into any forward gear.

9. No Compass. I don't need (nor do I want) sat/nav ... but a compass would be nice (overhead console in the Lincoln)

10. Fugly LCD displays that bleed out. Why couldn't they have matched the nice displays they used for the clock and odometer?

This car is 10 years (or more) newer than these other Ford vehicles ... It should at least have the stuff I mentioned above (Wood trim is a matter of taste - I get it - but they did add more in later years so obviously someone got the message)

Bonus: Failing engine ECU (This is one surprise I was not expecting or aware of until I owned it)
Guess which cars do not have this problem? My old, first generation Ford 5.0 fuel injected Lincoln

Don't get me wrong ... I like the car a lot. But the ball was dropped more than a few times in certain areas in my opinion.
Most of the above stuff is pretty much mandatory in a luxury car as far as I'm concerned. It's not like it was uncharted technology or something.

Thoughts?

400fanboy

Your doors do have wood on the insert with the window controls! And for other things - I always hate the auto-close mechanisms on luxury cars. The soft-close doors and the automatic trunk. The systems always seem so fragile and they just get in the way of me actually just using the damn car.

Discussions like this were probably endlessly talked about - a good car is full of compromises to get the mostest bestest product for the most people.

Some of these things did get added in later LS models, like the fog lights, fuel computer and wood on the steering wheel.

& yes some of these other things were nice to haves. I'm sure they were on someone's shortlist during the development of the car, but for one reason or another, weren't included or were sidelined to spend that development time on something else that you take for granted (how about the flip-down sun visor above the rear view mirror).

One thing that I feel is the biggest flaw of the car is seat adjustability. The hip placement does not go low enough, the thigh support does not go high enough and there is not adjustable bolstering to stop me from sliding out of my seat on every corner. Plus I'd really appreciate it if the pedal box was deeper because the pedals are too close, causing my legs to get in the way of my hands using the wheel. But, unless you're extremely tall like I am, you probably don't notice these things. Hence a car is full of compromises.

YoshiMan

I previously owned a 76 Town car, and currently have a 75 Cadillac Coupe DeVille that has some of those old features as well. One which I'm pretty sure became illegal in new cars by the 90s was the automatic parking brake release, which i admit is really nice, but it's understandable why newer cars don't have this anymore!

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the features, like the cornering lamps and such, were intentionally left out of the LS400 during Toyotas market researching phase, probably coming from a lot of the "new money" at the time thinking that some of the features on the old land yachts were stodgey and for old people.

I love the old land yachts, but a lot of them were unfortunately seen by many as outdated by the end of the 1980s.

Kind of a funny thing is my old Cadillac is one of the rare models without the automatic trunk pulldown, but my 2002 LS430 DOES have it.

400fanboy

New cars have automatic parking brake releases. They just integrate it to "park" and you have no control over it's operation at all.

94V8coupe

Fair enough but the discussion isn't about new cars. The fact is "old" cars had it, but it got left out on my LS for some reason

94V8coupe

But my girlfriend's 1994 SC400 has them! (in '95 they changed them to fog lights)

LOVE the trunk pulldown! Screams "luxury" to me.

The Continental of which I speak ...



Dash is just a black lens when the car shuts off. Turn the key and all the gauges (digital) appear like magic. Sounds kind of familiar

And the LS in question ...

Stroock639

a few of those things were sorted out by 1998, and 1999 for me is the best interior since there's now wood on the wheel and shift lever!



of what you mentioned i would most like to have the auto trunk close and some kind of compass integrated into the rearview mirror... additionally i love turn signals that just require a light press to automatically blink 3 times

tbh i think toyota didn't want too much wood since they were trying to show the world that this isn't just some old lincoln, rather something the traditional S-Class buyer would seriously consider

YoshiMan

Let's be honest, pretty much everything in the 70s and 80s had a lot of wood, but it was all plastic.

The interior of my 75 Caddy is a celebration of man made materials!

RelentLex

I personally dont care for any of those automated features. Meh.
Thats the beauty of the LS400, simple luxury. Pleasure to own, pleasure to drive.

If you want wood on the dash get an LS430, it has that, or drive your girls SC400 lol. Different cars, different designs. Is it really that much of a big deal? Im sure we could think of many things missing from the cars you mentioned too that are present on the LS400...it could go both ways. It is what is is. Its an LS400. I believe Cadillac disassembled an LS400 back in the day to see how it was constructed, and came to the conclusion that they could not build such a car using their production methods... and to be frank, I dont think any american car has ever been build to the same standard of fit and finish and materials as an LS400... or any LS for that matter..to this day.

The wood in your LS400 was finished by Yamaha Piano company...did you know that? Its legit. Its friggen NICE. Is the wood in these American cars even real?

The LS400 interior is beautiful. In my eyes really cant compare to these American cars mentioned, those interiors look very outdated and tacky to me (sorry)...I dont care how good the lighting is or that it sucks the trunk down lol. Throw some LEDs into your LS400 interior if you want, and get your GF to close the trunk for you if its too much of a chore

As some one said, 98-00 was improved, more wood. And in general a more executive driving feel. More power, a 5th gear. Few other upgraded features.
For the record 95-97s do have fog lights, they're integrated into the headlight lenses.
And lastly, the Japanese versions of these cars had a ton of crazy features for the time, rear reclining and massaging seats, full hvac and radio controls in the back, and more. But we never got those features here in North America. Not that I personally care for those features myself. But they existed.

Sorry man, your complaints just sound like a bunch of naggy nit picks to me. These cars are legendary. They are perfect to me

94V8coupe

Lots of Caddies came with real wood. '89-'93 Fleetwood and Sixty special come to mind.
But that's not even the point anyway.
If you're gonna do wood (fake or real) ... go big or go home.
It's almost like Toyota felt obligated to add SOME wood trim, but couldn't bring themselves to go full Rolls Royce.
Somewhere in between would have been nice. Zero wood on the dash is just weird when you have it on the console.

94V8coupe

I know eh ... who wants luxury in a luxury car anyway?

Not what the discussion is about ... but I knew at least one white-knight would have to jump in with this. Incidentally ... I never had to replace a power steering pump on any car i have ever owned (which is many) up to now. Never had to replace an ECU on any car (other than this one). Never had to pull the damn intake manifold to do a starter (horrible design). Never had LCD displays bleed out to where you can't see squat (except on the LS).
Point ... It's an excellent car - not a perfect one.

Precisely why I should see some on the dash at eye level. Yes, quite a few of those "American" cars have real wood trim. Real "American" walnut in some (not all) Cadillacs.

It is very nice indeed and extremely well put together. Beautiful ... more like elegant.

They seem outdated because they're from, you know, a different (earlier) date

That would be relevant if we were talking '98 and up ... which we're not.

Who said anything about fog lights? hint ... it illuminates in conjunction with the turn signal Answer: C_rn_r_ng L_mp

That's because in Japan it's more prestigious to be driven than to do the driving yourself. But I'm sure you already knew that.


That's kind of the whole point. Always found it a little weird when guys defend the honour of a car like you just punched his mom or something.

94V8coupe

I hear ya on that. Just a personal taste nit-pick.

YoshiMan

lemme fix that for you: Some* came with real wood 😜

Everything they built from 1970 to roughly 86 was all plastic, which I don't necessarily see as a fault, since it weathers the test of time VERY well if it's actually not real!

One of the market segments that I wish Cadillac and Lincoln would get back into is the soft riding large cars with no sporting pretensions. It's pretty much impossible to find an actually car with those qualities today, as everything has gone towards being sporty (which even the new LSs have shifted in that direction.)

After driving around my harsh riding work truck for 10+ hours, and then riding home in my LS430, or my old Cadillac, they feel SOOOO nice by comparison with how they glide along.

94V8coupe

Very true.

Ain't that the truth. My long gone Mark VII ... Fake wood in all it's glory! Only in the "Bill Blass" model. There was a "Versace" version as well.
Darn fine automobile. 4 wheel air suspension, all the bells & whistles with style for days.









Could not agree more. The early LS models really nailed that in my opinion. I was actually quite shocked (and pleased) at how cushy the ride is. The seats themselves are sprung for pete's sake! in the I still remember (in the late 80s) when all the car reviewers *****ed about this and the luxo-barge makers decided they needed to be more "European".

I second that emotion

Not gonna lie, wouldn't mind seeing one of these on the 'ol LS

RelentLex

I have never had to swap a power steering pump either... and I've had 6 of these cars. Only had to repair 1 ecu.

I never said LS400 is a perfect car. No car is. My point is that regardless of the few flaws, it's an excellent car. Many other cars have far bigger problems.

People define luxury differently. For you it's tons of wood, for me it's quality of materials, durability, fit and finish, efficiency.....

if you dont want to hear people defending the ls400 try posting this on an American car form then, what did you really expect here.

And stop punching my mom. I'll kick your grandma...