Replacing a Lincoln Town Car with Chrysler LHS can be a strange decision, and it is certainly an interesting experience. But it is also a very educating for the differences between the two said surprisingly much on how people think about cars, the way people buy cars and how cars are designed.
I always liked a real sedan full American greatness - a body-on-frame behemoth, RWD with a big V8 in the front seat to environment and a fairly large trunk for more bodies in the back. And the '98 Lincoln Town Car I have driven daily for more than a year perfectly matches the bill. But it was borrowed and buy (and correct the remaining problems) was not really in my financial means. So he had to go, and I had to find a replacement. And I found a car that is like the Town Car lost brother in many ways, and its opposite in many others. In 1994 Chrysler LHS.
The 190 Chryslers do not get much love among lovers of American cars in the Czech Republic. Not only do they lack a pair of rollers and are driven by bad wheel, but this is probably the worst, they are quite common. They can not admit it, but for most American car owners in Europe, scarcity is largely magic. And because Chryslers were officially imported in the 190s and 00s, they are usually not required in such esteem that the "real" American cars - for example those to be brough here by "gray importers".
But if you want a cheap luxobarge, making large enough interesting Chryslers. Do not be as fresh as other American cars mean they are cheap. While a '98 Town Car would have cost about $ 5k here, which is significantly more than 7-Series (E38) BMW or first generation Audi A8, the LHS can be had for under $ 2,000. In my case, with broken timing gear but otherwise fine, it cost 11 000 CZK. That $ 433 at the exchange rate of today. That Škoda Felicia money. And Felicia is not much better than Yugo. Included in the price was a parts car with the work of a powertrain. So after a few hundered dollars to repair timing gear (about $ 150 for parts + shipping, about twice that for the work, as the tension erupted from the block), I have a full-size sedan pleasant and fully passable.
it still has some flaws - mostly the front suspension needs attention - but it has a pretty decent interior, the Infinity audio system works very well, body and paint is not perfect, but pleasant enough, the transmission shifts, rumble motors, power stuff works. A good start to find out what's the story with these great Chryslers. I have always avoided for the reasons mentioned above, but it was a few years ago, when they made money costs. So how can you compare a city car? And should maintain, or should commit suicide mechanical?
When it was launched, the LH platform was the return of Chrysler in the world of real fullsize cars and introduced a modern approach to the same brief that gave rise to B-body and Panthers long ago. And, viewed by cold and rational eyes, he was far superior to both. Why Panther LH survived by many years, and why LH has been replaced by much more like Panther LX are are a fascinating look at the automotive market.
If you compare a city car with a '98 '94 LHS, the first thing you notice is the similarity of the two cars. I would even dare to say that the design of the Town Car was largely inspired by older LHS - especially the back. And even the size, features, space and interior conduct are quite similar, although far from identical. Which brings us to the second thing you notice.
That the LHS feels good more modern. Yes, you read that right. I went from a '98 car (which was the first year of the new model) to a '94 car (which was also the first year), and I felt like I went half a decade recent . In some ways, it's no surprise - after all, the Panther platform was introduced in late 70s, while the LH debuted in 1993. But that explains the fundamental differences in packaging and handling, not things like interior fit, finish and technology. The LHS almost European feel, in a good way. Actually, I do not feel much difference when I transfer to Chrysler '04 Mercedes CLK 270 CDI with a friend, which I test this week.
Although the Town Car must have looked and felt like a re-hash cost-cutted an old platform (which was in fact), the LHS must have felt like a spaceship when he appeared in dealerships in late 1993, the instrument cluster was not as forward thinking as in Lexus LS400 few years earlier, but it was still wonderfully lit and extremely readable. The excellent Infinity stereo player had in the CD dashboard. There was a "message center" owl in the center of the dashboard. - A black panel height in the middle of the dashboard where the idiot lights appear
The main difference, however, is the space. in the design of the new LH platform, Chrysler engineers have adopted a rational approach and decided that there was no need to make room for a V8 when a V6 can power pretty fast car (LHS with its 3.5 V6 feels a bit faster than with Lincoln 4.6 V8), and there is no point in doing RWD. RWD costs money, it costs and space it adds weight. it improves balance and the feeling of driving, but people who buy large American sedans may not particularly care about these things.
following this cold, rational thought they have the most modern and convenient as possible to think about the time they moved longitudinally mounted V6 far forward -. it is before of the front axle - and used the space resulting to the bulk of the wheelbase. He paid. Although it almost a foot shorter, the LHS offers more interior space than the Town Car and larger (shaped or at least more usefully) trunk.
Costs? First, the looks. Although LHS must have looked strikingly when it was launched, and it feels much more modern than your typical 20-year car, it lacked the imposing presence of the Panthers and B-body. His short, the low cowl released a little heavy tail, much like a car of the future if not welcome, where cars are on their way to become a transport pods.
Next, the driving. On paper, it is a perfectly good automobile. It is quite fast in a straight line and can at least meet its RWD fullsize brothers in the corners as well. So far, so good. But the engine hanging over the front axle has a huge effect on how the car feels . With most cars, understeer / oversteer is something you read in the reviews, but most drivers will never really understand what that means. In LHS? Ah yes, the car can teach understeer on college! You should not be driving fast at all feel that the right thing. Does it not. Want to. AT. Turn.
Probably the worst, however, is how the car behaves when you accelerate hard from a stop in turns. While a sedan powered rear slightly squats and moves forward majestic, unless you act like a maniac lead to foot, pull the car starts before scraping for traction and screeching tires. And even if the traction control sets, there is still no thanks to that.
If people bought cars purely by logic and not on the basis of sensation and characeter, the LH-platform could be considered superior to his successor Mercedes-derived, the LX. But LX with its elegant proportions and rear wheel drive, much better fits the idea of the purchaser of how a luxury sedan should look and feel. People are not rational - and their car buying habits are not rational or
is @VojtaDobes Motoring journalist of Czech Republic, who has worked for local editions and Coach TopGear magazine .. Today, he runs his own website, www.Autickar.cz and serves as editor at www.USmotors.cz. After a failed adventure with the importation of classic American cars in Europe, it is quite broken, he drives a ratty Chrysler LHS. His previous cars included a Caprice New York Taxi livery in 1988, hot rodded Opel diplomat, two Dodge Coronets, a Simca, a Fiat 0 and Austin Maestro. He never owned a diesel, manual trolley
Photo: David Marek
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