Lincoln. American Luxury.

My grandparents recently purchased a 2001 Lincoln LS. They kept their 98 Mark VIII,
and since I am 16, and talked them into the car, they let me drive it 98% of the time, and I
must say I love the car. It is wonderful to drive, and you may think I am some nieve child
that has no idea about what drives good and does not, but I have driven Mercedes, BMW
(my dad and step mother each have a 328i, but dads is the ic 2dr., and my aunt recently
purchased a S-Type, and I have driven all of them, and the LS handles, accelerates, and
looks much better than all of them.

Interior:

The interior of the car is beautiful, even thought the fake wood has been criticized, you
can have real wood (that matches the steering wheel) added for 300 dollars, and it looks
like it has been there for ever. The leather is very soft, smooth, and taught, unlike BMWs
loose, somewhat ruff leather (not referring the leatherette junk). The seats are simply
wonderful!! They are so soft and cushiony, yet firm, and fits your body perfect. I love the
power lumbar, it makes a huge difference.

Gadgets:

I really like the message center, it tells me exactly how many miles I need until refuel, lets
me customize the remote settings, etc.

Another gadget I like is that you cannot lock the door if the keys are in the ignition, and
that is something I really needed (locked the keys in my moms car ALL the time, kept an
extra remote one me..).

The driver settings is a nice feature to, but there are only 2 compared to 3 for BMW
owners (boo hoo), but it is only me that drives it, I drive my grandma to the store and
everything.

I also like the feature that opens the windows and moonroof all at once.

The home link is an excellent feature, we have a garage door opener and before, the ugly
remote always seemed to be in the way of one thing or another.

The climate control is wonderful, you can adjust everything, it keeps the air just perfect
for driver and passenger. I also like the windshield wiper warmers, really gets rid of ice...

Exterior:

I love the exterior, it is a combo of BMW and Mercedes, and some Honda Accord with
just the right amount of Lincoln. The grille is wonderful, I love it, it lookes like a small
version of the Navigator, but the back reverse lights really make a statement, even if they
are alot like the Town Car. The car was directed toward 35-50 year olds, but I think the
car is beautiful, and so do alot of my teenage friends, plus I have received alot of remarks
from teachers and complete strangers in the parking lot at school and other various places.
The polished rims are really nice looking, stylish yet simple.

Audio:

The audio system is wonderful!! We have the Alpine with the 2 sub woofers, and it is
excellent. It is perfect for all my CD's. We got the indash 6 CD changer simply because
we do not have any tapes. You may notice that the LS has not antenna (that is visible
anyway), it is in the back window.

Driving:

The car has a V8 5 speed auto., and I love it. It packs quite a punch (more than the V6
that my grandfather test drove, but he said the V6 had plenty "get up and go"). The car
also gets pretty good gas mileage, I refuel about 2 times a week, and I am driving all the
time! The acceleration is also very very good, really goes, and I have found that I needed
it the other day on the interstate, the car in front of me pulled in the passing lane as I was
going onto the interstate and it about hit a semi, the semi swerved and got into the lane I
was getting into, I "floored it" and probably saved my life. The braking is excellent, it
snowed a couple weeks ago and the car managed great in the snow also.

The car is the sister to the Jag., S-Type. The S-Type got the engine, and some people say
the looks (I personally like less radical styling), but the LS got everything else (okay,
except real wood), for 11 grand less, and believe me, the LS drives much better (my aunt,
who owns an s-type, said so herself), and the handling is abousolutly incomparable.

Also, some people say you have to get used to the LS because it drives like a Jag., my
grandmother is what people call a "nervous driver", you know both hands at 10 and 2
o'clock, with her eyes fixed on the road, afraid to adjust the air cond., well in the LS she
can drive 1 handed (she had to the other night, she has had corpal tunnel and had it
operated on, and I was at an out of town football game), and she can every adjust the air!!

Options:

The moon roof has not got much use (yet!), but once summer comes along it will be used
ALOT more. It opens and closed very quietly, and is very simple to use (unlike
Mercedes)

We also have the cell phone in the car, it is SO easy to use, an it has the voice recognition
which is a really neat feature, but when it is taken out it can get in the way of the gearshift,
and it is on the ugly side, so unless I am driving I stick to my StarTac.

The heated seats are really a great extra. I love them, and in OK you will need them,
because when it gets cold, IT GETS COLD.

The car is great all around, I (we) have been very pleased with it. I am not sure about the
insurance, my grandfather says it is moderate considering that I am on their insurance, but
it is more than my mothers Mustang GT's insurance (but then I am on hers too), so I can't
really comment on insurance. I would recommend this car to anyone and everyone. It is
free of flaws, it runs and drives as good as it looks.

Please excuse any grammer errors, I wrote this in 15 minutes...