1990 Lincoln Mark VII - Black 2 door post sedan.
| Here is another one of my all time favorite cars. This one
pulled on a number of car emotions. Luxury, speed, good handling,
and a bad boy Darth Vader look all added up to one nice ride. That
302 was right out of the Mustang and pushed the Mark 7 about as fast as
most of the much more expensive BMWs and Mercs. This car did not
have the cache of those cars but it was much more reliable and cheaper
to maintain and to my eye, better looking. It was really
comfortable on long trips and when you got bored you could roll down the
windows and open the sun roof to listen to that sweet V8 burble.
We called it the "stinkin Lincoln" (it is important to this nickname to leave off the "g"). Not a very good nickname but rather a sign of our disdain for the upwardly mobile which apparently we now were. Had we arrived? How do you know? All Mark VIIs had automatic transmissions and while I was not able to row the gears I grew to appreciate the transmission, it fit the car. One strange thing I remember about the car is that the trunk would latch itself automatically once it was almost closed. I guess the upper class did not want to have to live with the exertion of actually closing a trunk lid to latch. Such a lower class activity. Not only is this one of my favorite cars but it also is Eileen's. We now have a BMW which she loves and when I asked her what was her favorite all time car we owned, I was surprised when she named the stinkin Lincoln. This is additionally surprising when you consider this car did not have Eileen's favorite car option of all time, namely heated seats. Or did it? Anyway I would not mind owning another one of these, but can you ever really go back? The next version of this car the Mark VIII was such a let down after this one. Once I almost bought one but chose a gold Maxima instead. That was probably a wise decision. While we both loved this car we were not immune to the siren call of a more practical conveyance. One fine Saturday afternoon we were driving around and we spotted a white Dodge Grand Caravan SE with matching white wheels on a loaded car carrier. Wow (at least we thought at the time, remember this was around 1993, so be kind) look at that sporty mini van! We then followed that car carrier to its destination and immediately traded in that beautiful perfect Mark VII in for a "sporty" van. We were so young and so impulsive. But I bought the Mark so cheaply I think we only lost a couple of thousand on it. To be honest though we did not buy that exact van that we saw. I had the dealer find me an identical one with ABS and we bought that one. Good by stinky, hello payment book. Now Eileen was going to drive our expanding family in our new Grand Caravan (with ABS for safety), but what was left for me to drive? Oh no our other car, the Aerostar XLT. I had a sick feeling leaving the dealership realizing the bed I had made for myself. But the sliver lining was who could blame me for wanting something more interesting to drive as soon as possible? That day could not come too soon. Welcome to my van, lovingly nicknamed the Aeroflop. |