1998 Lincoln Town Car DOWN 4.9 WAC

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and behold the last survivor of a once-prolific breed: Luxus Americanus Gigantea, aka the traditional full-size rear-wheel-drive American luxury sedan. Although it's been updated from stem to stern -- a makeover that covers a lot of territory -- the 1998 Lincoln Town Car belongs to another era, a time when vast dimensions bore testament to social stature and battleship mass was regarded as a dynamic virtue: it was referred to as road-hugging weight. Other identifying traits: marshmallow suspension, a general reluctance to change directions, and steering that doesn't feel as though it's actually attached to anything. I'm happy to say that the Town Car team members have moved their new creation away from those misguided old characteristics. But I wish I could say they'd moved it more. The new Town Car's dynamics are more contemporary than the previous version, particularly in braking performance, but its handling still qualifies as nautical, rather than automotive. Lots of rock, roll and wallow when it's pressed. To be fair, my preproduction test car was a member of the fancy Cartier series. Lincoln plans to issue a slightly firmer version, the Signature Touring Series. The touring setup, Ford's first attempt at anything remotely sporty in this car, is a little handier through a set of slalom cones. A little. Nevertheless, with or without the touring setup, the Town Car's steering leaves a lot to be desired. Lincoln has made a number of improvements to the steering system designed to improve steering precision and feel and also to promote better on-center feel -- in other words, to provide a tactile sense of what the front wheels are doing, even when the car is pointed straight ahead. Steering suffers Compared to the old Town Car, whose steering felt like stirring a fork through a vat of clear broth, there's some improvement on this score. But compared to most contemporary automobiles, it's still dismally numb. I suppose the absence of any steering effort makes this big sedan easier to herd through heavy urban traffic, but it's unnerving on a twisty back road. Then again, this car isn't really designed for driving, at least not in the sense of driving pleasure. It's designed for folks who want to have as little to do with the driving as possible, in maximum, glove-leather, library-quiet comfort. And it's also designed for making a grand entrance at black-tie affairs and the like. Viewed from that perspective, I think Lincoln has done a pretty good job. The new body is curved and contemporary, compared to the squarish dreadnought lines of the old car, and it's actually a smidge shorter, although this is still the biggest production sedan sold in America. And that imposing Lincoln grille leaves little doubt concerning identity. Will Town Car traditionalists respond to these soft curves and contemporary lines? That's hard to say, but I was surprised by the attention my tester drew during a recent run to central Ohio. One owner of an older Town Car even followed me into a gas station to make inquiries. I was even more surprised at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, site of the Sports Car Club of America national championships. You'd think a Town Car would be strictly ho-hum among all the Porsches and other sporty iron, but a number of folks approached, expressing admiration and asking questions. Redesigned interior So it seems clear that the daring -- by Town Car standards -- departure from square-edged tradition is a step in the right direction. As you'd expect, the interior has also been redesigned, although here the look is more traditional, with plenty of wood-grain. The dashboard is uncluttered, sound system controls are generously sized, and the audio quality in my test car seemed consistent with the Town Car's luxu ry mission. The major appeal of this cabin, of course, is space, which is plentiful, fore and aft , with a trunk that could almost swallow a softball team. Seating is of the li