Remembering The 1989 Lincoln Town Car
What can be said about the 1989 Lincoln Town Car? At the time that it was built, it was easily considered to be one of the most luxurious cars of its type that had ever graced the road. Remember, this was 1989. Cars didn’t have all of the electronic gadgets that current automobiles have. This was during a time when virtually every automobile on the road still had old fashioned carburetors, points and came with two keys, one for the ignition and one to unlock the doors. What was considered to be high-end back then was very different then the types of things people are looking for in modern-day automobiles. By today’s standards, the 1989 Lincoln Town Car probably wouldn’t turn many heads, if any at all. However, back in 1989, it was the car that virtually everyone wanted to own.
A Car For The Most Discerning Individuals
There is no question about it. This was a car that was designed and built for the most discerning individuals. There was even a special Cartier Edition that had jewel-crusted interior and every amenity that any car owner during that era could ever want. It was considered to be the best of the best. If the 1989 Lincoln Town Car was considered better than everything else on the market at the time, the Cartier Edition was considered to be the epitome of that particular model. It was also the rarest version, with just a handful being built. After all, it was designed to be something special. It simply didn’t make sense to mass-produce it because doing so would mean that there was nothing special about it at all. In order for a Lincoln to truly make it a special car, there could only be a few. This allowed them to market the car as something that was truly unique, something that only true automotive aficionados would be interested in having. It also gave them an opportunity to ratchet up the price tag. Again, it all comes back to the idea of supply and demand, something that every high school economics student has had to learn.
The Car Itself
The thing that most people noticed about the 1989 Lincoln Town Car was its size. It was a big car, there was no doubt about that. The surprising thing is that it was actually down size from the earlier 1980 version of the car, a true behemoth that looks like it’s long enough to take up an entire city block. The 1980 version was still enjoying that unique time during automotive history when the idea was to create a wheel base bigger than everything else out there. It’s important to note that the 1989 version came along a long time after it had become popular to downsize as much as possible. Other car makers were creating truly compact models that were less than half the size of the 1989 Lincoln Town Car. That did not stop Lincoln. Their idea was to create something that stood out, and stand out this card did.
Cost
If the car was different from everything else that was on the road at the time and it was bigger than everything else, it would only stand to reason that the cost was comparable to the size of the car itself. The signature series, which was considered to be one of the top echelons of this particular model, initially sold for a price tag of just over $28,000. That is a considerable amount of money, especially when you consider the fact that the car was manufactured for the 1989 model year. That means that the car essentially was available for purchase during 1988. At a time when many brand new cars were less than $10,000, this car was almost three times that amount. Even by today’s standards, some would consider this to be pricey. Even now, it’s possible to find a few new cars that are under $20,000. It may not be easy, but it can still be done. Back in 1989, the idea of spending almost $30,000 for a car was practically unheard-of. Again, Lincoln wanted to create something that was designed for people that had a lot of money and wanted something different. As such, they went directly after that demographic and they put a price tag on the car to match what they wanted. It was a risky marketing gimmick, but it was also one that worked.
Finding One Today
Is it still possible to find the 1989 Lincoln Town Car today? Sadly, there are very few examples of this car that are still on the road. There are a few that are available for sale, although the majority of them require a great deal of work in order to make them drivable. If you are lucky enough to find one available for sale that still runs, you can get it for far less than you would have paid for it when it was brand new. Most examples of the car that are in somewhat acceptable condition run for approximately $5,000 to $6,000 in today’s market.
That is considerably less than the $28,000 asking price that Lincoln had attached to the car when it rolled off the showroom floor. Most cars do not hold their value and this has proven to be no different than any other automobile. While some rare collectibles do command a steep price tag that is far more than their original asking price, this is definitely not one of those cases. Truth be told, you will probably end up spending far more money restoring it then you could ever spend purchasing it. If you just happen to have a soft spot for the 1989 Lincoln Town Car, you may have to do some searching, but you can probably still find an example that can at least be restored to its original condition. It won’t be easy and as previously mentioned, it will probably cost you more to restore it then it will to make the initial purchase. However, it might be worth it if this is a particular model that tugs at your heartstrings.
