December 19, 2001

2003 Lincoln Town Car Cartier Click image to enlarge

Preview:
2003 Lincoln Town Car

The car that most people associate with airport limousines and stretched limos has undergone some significant revisions for the 2003 model year. The mildly restyled Town Car offers a revised frame and new dual-stage front airbags that are expected to help the Town Car earn quadruple five-star ratings in U.S. government crash tests; revised steering, brakes and front suspension that improve ride and handling; a quieter cabin; and improved interior and trunk stowage.

"The Town Car has been Lincoln's bedrock," says Ford Motor Company Chief Operating Officer, Nick Scheele. "Its abiding strength, together with the success of the Navigator and LS in attracting a new and broad range of customers to the brand, has given the company the confidence to invest in a long-term growth strategy for Lincoln."

According to Lincoln research, Town Car customers are extremely loyal - almost 60 percent are repeat buyers; 65 percent of them say they don't even consider another vehicle.

Lincoln's goals for the new Town Car were to enhance the car's smoothness, quietness, comfort and abundant storage and trunk space, and instil new-found precision in the car's dynamics.

The long-term involvement of nearly two-dozen loyal Town Car customers drawn from the ranks of active and retired Ford Motor Company employees helped guide the process. Some of the features or design changes that were added in response to their input include:

• The return of the stand-up hood ornament (useful as a parking aid)
• A secondary digital speedometer in the instrument cluster that can be programmed for English or metric units (for improved visibility and to help drivers who travel between Canada and the United States)
• A 44 percent increase in total interior stowage, including a larger glove compartment and better cup holders
• Dual-zone climate control, and standard heated seats (certain models)

Design

2003 Lincoln Town Car Cartier Click image to enlarge

The hood, fenders and quarter panels have been reshaped to lend the car a more formal appearance. Up front, a new chromed Lincoln signature grille stands more upright and is flanked by quad-beam halogen headlamps that are 60 percent brighter than last year's dual-beam design. High intensity discharge headlamps, which generate twice the light of conventional halogen bulbs, are optional on Cartier models and standard on the Cartier L. Both Cartier models feature halogen driving lights integrated into the front fascia below the bumper.

At the rear of the car, the fascia, taillamps and the chrome license plate surround have been revised to present a clean, uncluttered appearance. There are 11 exterior colours, as well as three available two-tone colour combinations.

All Town Car models are now fitted with standard 17-by-7-inch "Euroflange" aluminum wheels, which replace last year's standard 16-inch aluminum wheels. Euroflange wheels have a cleaner appearance because the wheel balancing weights are mounted out of sight on the inside rim. Executive and Signature series cars have a 14-spoke design. Cartier models are fitted with a nine-spoke chrome-finished wheel.

Interior

2003 Lincoln Town Car 2003 Lincoln Town Car Cartier L 2003 Lincoln Town Car Cartier L Click image to enlarge

The interior volume of the Town Car is unchanged at 132.9 cubic feet, but a 1.5-inch increase in front seat travel and other design changes to the seats, dashboard and door trim panels improve overall comfort and usable stowage space.

Town Car's front seat hip room of 57.3 inches and legroom of 45.8 inches are more than the Cadillac DeVille and Lexus LS430. The sheer spaciousness of the Town Car, in combination with an eight-way power-adjustable driver's seat, power lumbar support, standard power-adjustable brake and accelerator pedals and a tilt steering column allow almost any person to find a comfortable driving position. The outboard front passenger seat (the three-passenger front seats are split 40/20/40) also features the extended seat travel, eight-way power adjustment and power lumbar support.

Front seat stowage includes:

• A new centre armrest storage bin that is hinged on both sides to allow easy access by the driver and the front seat passenger
• New pouches built into the leading edge of the driver and passenger seat cushions
• Covered bins with padded, hinged lids built into the front door armrests
• A map sleeve built into the driver's sun visor
• A 20 percent larger glovebox
• Sturdy, redesigned cupholders that now fold out from the leading edge of the center seat
• A larger ashtray that slides out of the instrument panel

Long wheelbase models

2003 Lincoln Town Car Cartier L Click image to enlarge

The Cartier L and Executive L models, which ride on a six-inch longer wheelbase than standard Town Cars, boast more rear seat legroom than any other regular production car or truck on the road today - a total of 47 inches. The long wheel base cars are not "stretched" versions of the standard cars. The frame side rails are fabricated as a one-piece unit, and the roof, body sides and doors are unique stampings. The rear glass fills the door and is 17 percent larger than the previous long wheelbase Town Car for improved visibility.

The overall utility of Town Car's best-in-class 20.6-cubic foot trunk is significantly improved. Specifically:

• The relocation of the mini-spare tire to the right-hand wheel well has freed up a large parcel shelf behind the rear seat backs.
• On Cartier models, the deep well in the center of the trunk is now fitted with a removable covered bin ideal for stowing grocery bags, a First Aid Kit and other items.
• The decklid opening is 7.8 inches wider and the liftover height is slightly lower.

Standard features

• A new dual-zone climate control system that allows the front seat passengers to select different temperature and fan settings
• Centre console-mounted heat and air conditioning vents for rear seat passengers
• Remote keyless entry system, illuminated entry with theatre lighting and driver's door-mounted keyless entry keypad
• Steering wheel-mounted speed control and redundant climate and audio controls
• Headlamps that automatically turn on at dusk and when the wipers are activated

The standard audio system for Signature and Cartier models is a 145-watt Alpine dual media AM/FM stereo system with cassette and single disc CD player and four Audiophile speakers, plus an eight-inch subwoofer. A trunk-mounted six-disc changer is optional. The sound system in Executive models includes an AM/FM receiver, as well as cassette and single CD players.

Improved frame, brakes and suspension

The front frame rails are now fully boxed sections of hydroformed steel, which is lighter, stronger and more uniform than the welded steel channels of the old frame. The new rails, which are filled with structural foam in key locations, are designed to help improve offset crash performance. Key frame crossmembers also are all new. All told, the frame's torsional rigidity has been increased by 24 percent and its resistance to vertical bending has been improved by 20 percent.

2003 Lincoln Town Car Click image to enlarge

The new frame allowed Lincoln engineers to make major changes to the independent short- and long-arm front suspension to improve ride quality. They also replaced the older model's recirculating ball steering gear with a new variable-assist rack and pinion steering system that offers greater precision, less friction and weighs 22.5 pounds less.

The front suspension's upper and lower control arms are a new, more robust design and the lower arm is now made of aluminum instead of steel. A new front stabilizer bar with "grippy" bushings helps reduce lateral compliance for crisp turn in with reduced body roll. Load-leveling air springs and new monotube shock absorbers are used at all four corners of the car. The Town Car's live-axle rear suspension is located by upper and lower control arms and a lateral Watt's linkage. This design change, coupled with a 14-millimeter increase in track width, is designed to keep the rear of the vehicle firmly planted during cornering on rough roads or washboard surfaces.

All 2003 Lincoln Town Cars are fitted with a four-wheel antilock disc brake system (ABS) and a new dual-rate brake booster that provides a "panic assist" in emergency situations. Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) is used to dynamically proportion braking forces front to rear. EBD effectively raises the threshold for ABS engagement by optimizing front-to-rear brake bias.

For 2003, all Lincoln Town Car models are powered by a 4.6-litre, single overhead cam V-8 engine with two valves per cylinder and dual exhaust that produces 235 horsepower at 4,750 rpm and 275 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 rpm. This represents an increase of 15 horsepower and 10 lb.-ft. of torque. The Town Car's four-speed automatic transmission has been recalibrated to increase the speed of downshifts by 0.2 seconds to 0.3 seconds. All-speed traction control, which uses the ABS system and throttle intervention to manage wheelspin, is standard on all models.

Numerous design and detail changes were made to this proven powertrain to improve its refinement by reducing noise, vibration and harshness. Specifically:

• New hydraulic engine mounts reduce the transfer of engine vibrations into the chassis.
• The exhaust pipe hangers are now mounted to the frame rails instead of a crossmember for better isolation.
• A new air intake and resonator improve airflow and reduce noise levels by two to three decibels from 3,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm.
• A new variable-speed engine cooling fan is quieter overall than the previous two-speed fan.
• A new scroll-type compressor for the climate control engages more smoothly and is quieter than the old design.

Safety

The Town Car's new frame, combined with new safety equipment, is expected to help the 2003 model achieve a quadruple five-star rating in the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash tests (for the driver and front seat passenger in front impacts and for the driver and rear seat passenger in side impacts). The current car is a double five-star in front impacts and a double four-star in side impacts.

The 2003 Town Car will now be equipped with the Personal Safety System which includes dual-stage front air bags (triggered by a crash severity sensor), front seat-mounted side air bags, and for the outboard seats, three-point safety belts with height-adjustable D-rings, belt pretensioners and energy management retractors. In addition, the BeltMinder system rings a chime to remind front seat occupants to buckle up.

Also new for 2003, LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) anchors are integrated into the rear outboard seats to make securing a compatible child safety seat easier.

The new park-assist system, which is standard on the Signature and Cartier series and optional on Executive models, triggers in-cabin audio and visual warnings if an obstacle is detected when reversing. The system uses a combination of two ultrasonic sensors and a hidden radar sensor to improve accuracy and expand the field of coverage to 15 feet.

The new Lincoln Town Car will be built in Wixom, Michigan.

More Previews....