Simple; those cars’ aesthetics were about presence. Granted they were much less attractive than their late 70’s counterparts… but they still had that look. They were tanks.
See the Lincoln Mark VI, for example.
Personally… I find a simple 3-box square design easier on the eyes than most new cars which look like pregnant obese guinea pigs.
I can’t agree more(although I thought we were talking about early 90’s cars… not that I dont prefer the look of 70’s and 80’s us cars), AND they look noticeable without resorting to hypercar-esque styling on their pregnant obese guinea pigs, looks over at modern Lexuses
I wouldn’t say that modern Lexuses look anything like a pregnant guinea pig. Let’s don’t insult these nice little animals.
I’d say modern Lexuses are designed using an axe.
By someone completely drunk.
Who mixed vodka with LSD.
Although there are some good looking new cars. Mazdas, I’d say. Or Mercs. Or Alfas, Jag F-type, Subaru BR-Z, Mustang…
Seriously, this guy ^ knows from experience. If you want a cheap, reliable, easy to fix (because so many parts), comfortable, large, American sedan with a load of potential for upgrades to the engine, the panther is your best bet.
It looks good.
If your skin is orange, your hair look like left over cat fur and you come from the south. Even better if you wear suspenders and smoke cigars. I can see the brown pants going out of that, with the fake gold rolex, as the pimp makes his way to collect the money from his employees.
Such class.
And what would your idea of a good looking car be? Because to me that car looks like one of the best looking cars I’ve ever seen.
Seriously, this guy ^ knows from experience. If you want a cheap,
reliable, easy to fix (because so many parts), comfortable, large,
American sedan with a load of potential for upgrades to the engine, the
panther is your best bet.
Well I don’t care much about engine upgrades the rest of that sounds pretty much exactly like what I’d want, honestly I dont know why I didn’t come up with that first…
yeah, still prefer the look of the Lincoln to that BMW and Porsche(?)
Oh please… pimps need a lot more chrome than that.
I know the look that you’re talking about, and I don’t like that look either… but I also don’t think that the Lincoln I posted has anything to do with it.
As for your choices on 80’s cars… one of my most disliked, honestly. The boat-face BMW era never appealed to me, and while the Porsche 928’s ass end is very attractive… those headlights take my cake for the ugliest ever conceived of.
My favorite 80’s car has to be the Nissan DR30 “Iron Mask”
Second place is probably the Porsche 944
Third… probably Nissan Silvia S12
I’d hate to turn this into a debate on taste and preference though… there are many different concepts of aesthetics, and I respect most of them… though obvious exceptions are “Stance” (15 degrees of camber) and “Donk” (30in wheels), and “Lowrider” (scrape the ground, then hop until the wheels break off)
I also think that the Town Car looks well only if your standard of attractiveness is “pimp”.
For the record, I like the styling of the Jag XJS (but hate the E-type), Lamborghini Urraco and Espada, McLaren 650S, BMW E34, 2012 and on new BMW models (save for the i8 and i3), Porsche 911 Targa, Dodge Challenger and Fiat 124 Spider (original).
Here’s a thing you all forget to considered. Assuming the guy asking is living in United States of MURICA. Then parts availability of a Panther Body (Even in Lincoln form) is going to shoot through the roof. You can buy parts for it from Walmart ffs.
Lexus LS400 is going to be reliable, yes. But parts availability will never be as good as a Panther. Hell, Town Car air suspension system is known to be THE cheapest such system to fix. And they do shared the engine with the ubiquitous Fox-Body and SN95 Mustang. Cars that have by far the biggest aftermarket part availability… in the world.
All cars are great. Even if the Lincoln makes you look like a pimp, it does have extremely low maintenance cost (what with sharing platform with Crown Vic and engine with Mustang). And while the Lexus is just staggeringly reliable and a very good car overall, they are NOT invincible. They WILL go wrong. And when that happens, won’t be as cheap to fix.
Let MURICA be MURICA. They have the rights to their FREEDOM. Let them have it.
If i wanted a luxobarge, I’d definitely get either a Ford Panther body or a GM B-Body. Nothing against the LS400, but they didn’t make nearly as many parts as Ford or GM did (as Conan pointed out). There are countless parts for both the 4.6/ 4R70W and 5.7/ 4L60E.
This whole ugly styling and pimp-ness is really a non-issue if the OP likes the look, now isn’t it?
The worst idea, except if you are from the Mafia xD.
Well, parts are less available, and the car is not that much more reliable, but it beats the Panthers in most, if not all areas. More refined motor, suspension, better interior materials, better sound system, better performance, better gearbox refinement and on and on…
In other words, you get what you pay for. And that extra $1-2k will be well-spent cash.
In the end, there less than 150k LS400s ever made, so good luck with repairs, parts or just about anything that goes wrong.
If you’re talking about the 80s-early 90s Panther bodies you’re correct as Fox Body Mustang GTs came with the Windsor 302.
The 4.6L didn’t find it’s way into a Mustang until 1996 and the last year of the Fox Body was 1993.
Anyway, I am assuming that @lukerules117 lives in North America because the topic asks about a Cadillac DeVille.
All things being considered, I think the Panther is a good choice because of its reliability, cheapness, and low repair costs. Yes, it will not be the nicest car you will ever own, but I consider it to be much better than any beat-up, multi-owner Accord or Corolla when it comes to sedans. Not to mention, you could have a heap of fun with it if you ever wanted to turn it into a project car later down the road.
That’s my 2¢.
Well a 80’s-early 90’s panther is what I prefer the body style of so there’s a decent chance I’d end up with the windsor which could possibly be a good thing?
Why do you prefer a Panther?
I would say so. They started building the Windsor 302 in 1969 and it lasted in regular production until the mid-90s. It was sold in everything from the Mustangs, to the Bronco, to the F-Series trucks, and, of course, the panther bodies.
The parts availability for that engine is very high, especially with all of the aftermarket applications and the modding community surrounding Fox Body cars. You’re also going a little lower tech with an OHV engine instead of the SOHC 4.6 design.
Also, because it was produced for so long, you can get it with carburettors, various versions of fuel injection, and several transmissions will mount up to it. The boxy panthers were pretty simplistic cars, and weren’t as popular as their late 90s and 00s counter-parts, but it would still serve you well, cost you probably next-to-nothing in insurance, and be even cheaper to buy.
