The headline on this issue is accurate. It was a good time to buy your favorite classic...
When I worked at ford, I worked in the styling studio that was working on this model (Lincoln Mark VIII).
I remember seeing the interior design clay model buck when it was pretty close to being done.
At least in clay, it looked fantastic.
There was a flowing theme that went smoothly from door to door and the center console also flowed down smoothly.
The final product wasn't quite as stunning due to the materials used, panel gaps, etc.
I also remember doing a CHMSL study to make sure that it met the 2 degrees down visibility requirement. Due to the fake spare tire hump, the CHMSL pretty much had to be at the top of the backlite, or nearly 1/3 of the way up the backlite if you tried to put it on the bottom.
There was also a clay mockup of a version of the rear end without the fake spare tire hump.
The car was based on the same platform as the Thunderbird (MN12), which was a large & heavy vehicle.
I'm sure the Lincoln version was even heavier.
When I rotated through the Engine Design division, I worked in the Top End group (cylinder heads, intake system, etc.). They were working on the finishing touches of the new over head cam V8 (Modular V8). There was a SOHC & DOHC (4 valve) versions. I can't remember but at least the DOHC head was aluminum.
It was a physically large engine. The DOHC version was pretty wide. I'm not sure but some version of the Modular V8 engine is still around, I think...
I'd like to find just the rotor one of these days at a swap meet.
It would make a pretty cool display piece...
I'll read Peter Egan's monthly column...
He's still writing for a motorcycle magazine, in his semi-retirement.
There's a short article about a bicycle by Audi...
Always liked the styling on this car.
Very clean, solid looking design with good proportions.
I guess there was a price bubble in the late '80s/early '90s. By 1994, prices had dropped significantly...
For example, MB 300SL Gullwing had dropped from $450,00 to $190,000.
A Porsche Speedster was down to $50,000...
It's hard to imagine now, but 300 HP was a big number back then.
Now the Honda Civic Type R makes more than 300...
Looks like the Toyota Supra Turbo was the fastest of this bunch...
The Tokyo Auto Show used to have some really crazy cars...
This is a long article (5 pages) by Peter Egan. Looking forward to reading it...
The Porsche ad caught my eye...
In February of 1994, we had just bought our house a few months before.
We were overextended financially to buy the house & I was very stressed about it.
$12,000 would have been out of the question...
Actually, wouldn't have had $1,200 to spare, let alone $12,000...
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