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Top 3 Cars To Buy Right Now
People ask me from time to time what cars to buy. I always tell them that while you are not what you drive, you are what you eat. After looking at me quizzically, I break it down for them and explain that usually they ask me this question in an attempt to feed their own egos. This is because I am asked this question most often by people who are old enough to think for themselves but don't. So, what they really are asking me is "what car looks best on me?". Which is why I can never understand why they won't talk to me after I give them my standard three best cars for the dough. As if one forgets that cars cost, and burn, cash.
These are the top 3 to buy right now, immediately before gas prices go back up after Iran builds a bomb and de-stabilizes oil prices again. You'll have your fun while it lasts and save enough on the front end to compensate for the fuel costs.
a) Any Lincoln Town Car in "triple black" post 2003, preferably from Florida. Make sure if you buy it down there without driving it that you get a driver to check it out for smoking--that is usually why a good one is unusually cheap. You can buy a prime example right now with 30k for around 10k and, if you put a "Boston Coach" sticker on the rear window and go with a 21% (legal) window tint, you will always look like a VIP from out of town in your own backyard.
b) The super pimpy Lincoln Aviator. I have written about this before. Buy one if you can find one.
c) By now, we're up to about 25k. So, because you who asked me this question probably own a three-car garage, take the change you have left and plunk down a final 10k on a Honda S2000 that's about five years old. If you don't NEED three cars then just choose one of the Lincolns (preferably an Aviator in a deep metallic grey/green.)
Any questions?
Have you ever read my blog entry Legal Lolitas?
17 Reader Comments
That's a pretty good mix. Two for just being cool, and the Honda in case you actually like to drive a bit instead of just ride.
Or, in the event the Town Car breaks down on the road, you can keep the Honda in the trunk to use as a spare car.
The Town Car will not break down. In fact, the Town Car has the lowest life cost of any car in modern history.
Next time you are in Manhattan or Chicago notice that ALL the limos (or livery service) cars are Town Cars. They get over 500,000 miles on these cars. You replace parts once every 150,000 miles or so. That is because they are literally built like trucks--called "body on frame" construction.
They also get 24-27 MPG on the highway. Not quite Obama standards but OK.
The Honda will break down after 150,000 miles with its highly stressed engine, but heh, that's amazing considering.
The Town Car will not break down. In fact, the Town Car has the lowest life cost of any car in modern history.
Next time you are in Manhattan or Chicago notice that ALL the limos (or livery service) cars are Town Cars. They get over 500,000 miles on these cars. You replace parts once every 150,000 miles or so. That is because they are literally built like trucks--called "body on frame" construction.
They also get 24-27 MPG on the highway. Not quite Obama standards but OK.
The Honda will break down after 150,000 miles with its highly stressed engine, but heh, that's amazing considering.
Got some empirical data from a credible source to support that?
Call Boston Coach. Ask them how many miles they get on a typical Town Car. 300,000 is very common. 500,000 is less common, but not entirely rare.
Please name me one car in modern history besides the occasional Mercedes Benz or Volvo (both cheap to operate, right) that goes for 500,000 miles.
Name one.
Add to this the concept of life cost which is simply maintenance costs divided by mileage and you have your empirical data right here.
Or is this not good enough for you?
Name me one other car.
C'mon, do it.
Calling your friends at "Boston Coach" isn't going to provide anything meaningful other than anecdotal evidence. They're in the limo business - of course they're going to give their models glowing reviews. Imploring us to "name me" (sic) one other car that "goes for 500,000 miles" is a straw man argument. It would be easy to find owners of various models that have topped the half-mil mark, providing equally anecdotal and worthless evidence. It still proves nothing of statistical significance. A more seasoned journalist would have supported his claim with some valid stats from the beginning. You should be more honest with your readers and simply state up front that those cars are merely your personal favorites. Your article is a fluff piece - we get it.
It would be easy to find other owners? Really?
Do you think I would drive a Lincoln Town Car when I am only in my mid-20s?
Sorry pal, you're shorts are on too tight. Show me more cars that have 500,000 miles on them consistently.
This has nothing to do with journalism--which, incidentally, is all bullshit opinion anyway.
Why else would we be getting a 1.1 trillion dollar stimulus package shoved down our throats with no debate?
I suppose you think that FDR solved the depression and that Hoover was a hands-off Republican. I can't believe it, but I actually agreed with Michelle Bachman's column in the paper today. While she is worthless, her statements are historically accurate. Clever job by the paper to convey the real story from the pen of a Pyscho with no cred.
And, if you wish to understand the concept of life cost--which is what I base my claim on, you can pay $31.00 for this abstract that compares the life cost of a car to a bus.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V2W-4HKD03W-1...
I don't get paid to write this stuff so, that is the only seasoning or salsa, so to speak, that I happen to lack here.
Wow. Rough day at the SuperAmerica? Take a deep breath, calm down and try to relax, kid. It's OK. Really.
Let's take a look at your last comment posting and see if we can make some sense of it, shall we?
You still have this fixation on "show me the 500,000 mile cars" yet you are incapable of supporting your own claims. You're not terribly bright, are you? A middle school kid could out-maneuver your feeble attempt at reasoning.
Then your post degrades into some incoherent ruminations of stimulus packages, FDR, Hoover, and then a ham-handed segue to Michele Bachmann. You really should try to do this writing stuff when sober. These subjects are way over your head and you seem to be babbling via keyboard here.
Better yet: leave the political analysis to the professionals - it's out of your league.
Secrets of the City is a great rag and it deserves better writing than this non-sensical drivel.
Oh, now you're criticizing the people at SuperAmerica?
Usually that is what effete urban intellectuals do. However, as I spend a great deal of time in major metropolitan markets, like, and I repeat, Chicago and New York, its simply common knowledge that ALL the livery cars are Town Cars. If you knew anything about cars, you'd also realize that 90% of the taxi cabs are Crown Victorias--the same basic car.
Why can't you understand the concept of life cost? Tell me you get this first, and then also apologize for claiming that "journalism" is honest (what a croc), and then perhaps I will engage in an empirical study to prove what people in the know already understand.
That would be "car guys." Something tells me you take yourself so seriously that you probably cannot stop to understand the folksy vernacular of our industry. The automotive industry.
Just call Dan Neil at the Los Angeles Times and he'll back me up.
And, just because you are such a little prick, here is what is, again, common knowledge to those who know cars. (I trust you do not know cars. You are not a car guy from the tone of your comments. Perhaps you really are a journalist that wants my job. Today, as it usually has been over history, that means you will be just another opiner.)
The Town Car is built on the Ford Panther platform, currently the longest running automotive platform in existence in North America. While someday I will quote total Panther-based platform car sales, for now this empirically validated fact will suffice.
It is tough and durable and tends to protect the "automotive innards" like the alternator and transmission so they don't get jiggled (love that word, don't you?, think breasts) around and worn down. In the event you do need to replace a part its a cheap part made by , um, Ford Motor Company not Mercedes or Volvo (ever bought a part from these guys?). When you combine the longevity of the platform with the cheap cost of replacement parts and the fact that fleet sales are what keep most cars "best-sellers" for years, its fairly obvious that an empirical case can be made for my claim.
The lowest life cost of any car in modern history.
The only car that may challenge this claim could be the Volkswagen Beetle (which does not last as long) or perhaps the beloved Ambassador made since the 1950s in India. While that could be the car that beats the Town Car and its Panther-based cousins (all the same car, essentially) I doubt that we are talking about original cars. Ambys are usually re-built a few times.
As of the 2008 model year, it is the oldest vehicle platform in current use in North America. It uses the body-on-frame construction with live rear axle suspension common when it was introduced, but now almost exclusively found in heavy SUVs and trucks. It was introduced in 1978 for the 1979 model year as the response to downsizing of full-size cars from AMC, Chrysler, and GM. As downsizing continued in the 1980s, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick, as well as AMC and Chrysler dropped out of the traditional full-size segment entirely. During trying periods for Ford it was scheduled for cancellation on several occasions, as early as 1985. It has outlasted its GM counterpart, the B-platform which was used for the Chevrolet Caprice and Buick Roadmaster, along with its extended-wheelbase version the D-platform used for Cadillac Fleetwood, until their cancellation in 1996. The durability resulting from the body on frame construction (which allows easier repair after minor collisions), the cars' low price, and their relatively simple design make the Panther cars appealing as fleet vehicles, including police interceptors and taxicabs. The Lincoln Town Car appeals largely to older clients and is the most commonly used limousine in the United States and Canada, due to it's ability to be easily "stretched" by lengthening the frame, without compromising chassis strength. The Panther platform is still in production as of 2008 and is currently committed to production until at least 2011. [1]
I'm enjoying your petulance. It provides a few moments of amusement. Keep it up. I especially enjoy how you feel the need to come back with a second posting. Can't collect all your thoughts at once? That's OK. Some people are a bit slower than others. No shame in that.
But it's twice the fun for me to read.
Your assertion (if it's even true) that "all the livery cars" are Town Cars does not necessarily speak of quality. The US government bought a lot of K-cars back in the '80s, but no one would construe that as a rousing endorsement for them. Think about that one for a minute.
The Town Car may be well made, perhaps even one of the most robust cars to roll out of Detroit. But American automotive innovation is all but dead. Pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV. We're keeping Detroit on life-support. In a few years they'll be gone. No amount of bailout money can stop that downward momentum. Can't beat the Japanese.
I have an engineering degree with an MBA, so I know things like cars and business concepts (including "life cost") far better than you. But there is far more to industrial quality analysis than "life cost."
Don't worry, I don't want your tacky little writing job, so don't flatter yourself by thinking otherwise. I don't think I could live well on your income. But if I wanted it, I could take it from you. So easy it wouldn't even be fair.
Interesting treatise on the Town Car "platform," BTW. Nice copy & paste job. So where did you swipe it from?
You're just not very good at argumentation. You'll have a lot less stress once you face up to that fact. I feel like I'm not even trying here. --yawn--
Cheers.
Mankster! Why are you trolling here, man? I want you trolling back at Topix--way more fun. Plus, you don't need to worry about facts at Topix. Unlike here.
"Mankster"
Wow, you even have a nickname.
Who is this little prick friend of yours anonymous who feeds his ego by extolling his argumentation skills?
You have done nothing to refute my claim on the life cost of the Lincoln Town Car. Nothing.
These are three facts that are unrefutable:
a) The Ford Panther Platform is the longest running platform in existence in North America.
b) The Volkswagen Beetle is the longest running car platform of all time
c) The Amby in India is the only other platform, if you can call it that, that qualifies. It actually is based on a Morris chassis I believe.
Add to this two assertions that could be validated:
a) That neither the Beetle nor the Amby are modern platforms. The Panther platform barely qualifies itself.
b) When I say "the lowest life cost of any car in modern history" (which is an intelligent person's metric for reliability) the only area where I was careless with my language for frustrated journalists like you, was in the use of "modern history." I meant to imply modern automotive history, which is generally assumed to be dated from post WW II.
Both the Beetle and the underpinnings of the Amby stretch back before WW II, so I feel confident in my original assertion. In fact, I am willing to put money on it.
You are an MBA and an Engineer, you should be able to make a wager. You should also not assume that this is my only job. Then again, given your lack of irony, you seem to enjoy making assumptions.
And disliking American cars. With a passion.
Now go back to reading your Paul Krugman. Its Sunday Morning.
And, "Mankster", I wonder if you were actually born in the United States?
I question your patriotism. Perhaps I should talk to my friend Matt Kramer--do you know who he is?
Would you like to?
A good limousine service will help you do just that: by providing the best transportation available to you, you can make sure that such life-changing events will be made as memorable as possible. Limousine@service
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