1998 Lincoln Town Car Ditched Boxy Styling For Sleek Lines: Retro Review

MotorWeek’s Retro Review series is always a great way to take a virtual trip back in time, remembering when past models made their debuts. The long-running weekly automotive magazine continues to churn out new vehicle reviews to this day, but there’s nothing quite like reliving memories from the less-recent past – such as the 1990s, which has been the subject of many Retro Review videos lately. We’ve seen our fair share of them centered around Blue Oval models like the Lincoln Continental, and now, that also includes the 1998 Lincoln Town Car.

For quite some time, the Lincoln Town Car was a boxy luxury sedan, but things changed dramatically in 1998, when that particular model got a rather sleek, modern makeover in more ways than one. As our host John Davis points out, this was a risky move for Lincoln at the time, as it sought to retain its traditional customers while also becoming a bit more appealing to younger shoppers, too.

The 1998 Lincoln Town Car attempted to do both things with its “sleeker, leaner appearance,” and it was four inches shorter than its predecessor, to boot. Notably, the Town Car also ditched its hood ornament and swapped to a smaller front grille, albeit accompanied by some old fashioned chrome door handles.

Inside the cabin, the then-new Lincoln Town Car featured the same opulent luxuries one would expect, albeit, in a “softer, more curvaceous form” than before.

Power for the new Town Car came from the naturally-aspirated Ford 4.6L V8, churning out 205 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, or 220/290 with an optional dual exhaust system. A revamped suspension helped reduce body roll while improving handling and ride quality, too, resulting in a solid all-round package. “With an updated look that is now thoroughly modern and a suspension package that previously Lincoln owners could only dream about, we’d have to say that this is definitely not your grand daddy’s Lincoln,” Davis concludes.