As the world’s very first personal luxury car, the Lincoln Continental has existed across multiple decades and generations, though it has also gone away only to resurface on various occasions over that same time span. Regardless, while more vintage examples of the Lincoln Continental have long been favorites of collectors, newer models are starting to garner more interest in that regard as well. Thus, now is a great time to look back at this MotorWeek Retro Review of the 1998 Lincoln Continental, as this luxury icon is once again on ice.
As our host John Davis points out, luxury vehicles were already beginning to incorporate more and more technology during this era, and that – plus the typical style and comfort expected from those models – is precisely what the 1998 Lincoln Continental intended to offer customers. When it received major updates for 1995, the Continental became the tech leader in the Lincoln lineup, according to Davis, though its array of tech features and buttons proved to be, well, somewhat confusing for certain customers. Thus, for 1998, Lincoln aimed to simplify things a bit.
Along with some subtle exterior styling updates, the 1998 Lincoln Continental received a few other tweaks throughout, though it carried on with the same 4.6L V8 making 260 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. The interior received a few refinements throughout, including shifting controls around to make them easier to identify and utilize. Regardless, MotorWeek found the car’s message center to be a bit confusing, but still called the luxury model “an intelligent choice” that leans on a “more modest use of electronic driver assist.”
This was quite the shift from prior years, when MotorWeek found the Lincoln Continental to be bit too tech-laden and confusing, but overall, TV’s original automotive magazine has long been a fan of that cushy model, regardless. In fact, it was also a big fan of the 1988 model, which received its fair share of praise during a previous Retro Review, fresh off some major updates of its own.
Comments
I had one of these. Wish I kept it. Great car. Comfortable highway cruiser with very good fuel economy and range. I had no problems with it, and disagree with MotorWeek’s carp about the message center controls.
Loved these cars back when I worked at a L-M dealer. They drove so nicely, were comfortable and powerful. I always felt like they should’ve sold a lot better.
They were pretty reliable, too, especially compared to the Northstar disease inflicting period Cadillacs.
What a wasted opportunity for FoMoCo, no large luxury Sedans or Wagons, all about numbers, this is where all the Japanese and Korean manufacturers come in.
Problem was styling. Couldn’t tell a Lincoln from a Mercury, from a Ford. The slab sided 60’s models will always be what a Continental represents.