The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice Lincoln calls the car a creampuff and claims many of its still reasonably low miles were racked up driving the 15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Let’s see if its price tag makes this a safe bet for more miles.
Mercedes-Benz and pickup trucks aren’t a combo that naturally goes together like carrots and peanut butter or peas and chocolate. Oh, sure, there have been open-bed versions of the G-wagon, and for a hot minute, the German company offered a rebadged version of Nissan’s Navara pickup called the X-Class. The obvious omission here is an El Camino/Ranchero-style truck that salves the desire for both cargo capacity and a more car-like cabin and ride height.
Fortunately, enterprising individuals stepped in to fill that glaring void, giving us the 1981 Mercedes 300SD pickup we saw here yesterday. Yes, it was a bit ratchet and something of a project, but the bones seemed solid, and all the heavy-lifting had already been done. Unfortunately for the seller, though, there was some added heaviness in the $11,500 asking price. That was evident in the hefty 92% “No Dice” loss you all handed the open-bed Benz.
Car of the year
By my count, there have been nine makes or models of cars that share names with U.S. presidents. That includes the 1929-1930 Roosevelt by Marmon, actually named for Teddy Roosevelt, but excludes makes like Franklin, as Ben was never a White House resident.
The most famous executive-branch-adjacent brands are, naturally, Ford and Lincoln, which share a company but diverge in their acknowledged presidential connections.
Not only does today’s 2003 Lincoln LS V8 have nothing to do with America’s 16th president, but it also, at the time it was offered, had little to do with the rest of Lincoln’s lineup. Intended as a competitor to German luxury offerings like the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class, the LS came about under Ford’s then corporate-leading Premier Automotive Group division. That grouping also included Volvo, Jaguar, and Aston Martin, which Ford owned at the time. The four-door sedan took both styling cues and performance benchmarks from its sister brands and from those German rivals. It was apparently successful, as the LS received Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award for the 2000 model year.
Meh-mobile
Sadly for both the LS and Lincoln as a whole (seriously, can that brand ever catch a break?), the new sedan arrived at the cusp of the era when SUVs and crossovers had taken over like some sort of invasive species and sedans of any ilk were dying on the vine. That’s not to say that the model didn’t find some appreciative owners, as evidenced by this well-kept-looking example.
Painted in an inoffensive and always popular silver over a two-tone beige and gray leather-clad interior, this LS offers not just the optional Jaguar-derived 3.9-liter V8 engine, with its solid 280 horsepower and 286 pound-feet of torque but also the desireable Sport packageChecking that option box upgraded the LS with 17-inch alloy wheels 16s were standard), stiffer suspension than the base car, and a modified gear lever with manual mode that owners of cars like these hardly ever use. Still, it’s there if you want it. That shifter, by the way, operates a five-speed 5R55S automatic.
According to the seller, everything on the car works with the notable exception (seriously, the ad notes it) of the front passenger window, which is stuck in the up position. Make sure occupants there only eat seedless grapes.
Time has been kind
Aside from that frustrating window (the mechanism has already been replaced once), the car appears to be in great shape. It features a lot of recent work, including a new radiator and water pump, a fuel pump, and a power steering pump. It seems that if there’s a pump on this car, it has been replaced. The battery is also new, as are the brakes.
The bodywork hasn’t been ignored either. That’s in really great shape with, remarkably, no scrapes on the corners. It’s been treated to a ceramic coat, which, if you believe YouTube hucksters, is like wrapping it in a superhero-style force field. YMMV.
The interior, which shared its dashboard with the contemporary two-seat Thunderbird, has held up very well, too. The front seat leather shows a mild patina, while the sculpted rear bench looks like it’s never seen a butt. As a Lincoln built with the intention of competing with European luxury cars, it naturally comes with lots of bells and/or whistles.
Third time’s a charm
According to the ad, this LS has 127,000 miles on the clock, a clean title, and a recent smog test. Most recently, the car has been used as a highway hero, commuting back and forth between Los Angeles and the Vegas environs. Prior to that, it was used by an elderly couple, which seems to track with a car like this. The current (second) owner has listed it for sale because the family prefers an SUV. Typical. Their loss will be somebody’s gain as the LS, while not well loved when new, might find a second life at this one’s $6,850 asking price. That’s a lot of car for the money, but we have to consider whether it’s the right car for the money. These cars have a number of fiddly bits (that window, for one; frequent coil failures, for another).
What’s your take on this LS and that $6,850 asking? Does that feel like a deal to get a solid daily driver or a weekend special? Or is this a car whose time didn’t come and now, never will?
You decide!
Nice Price or No Dice:
Las Vegas, Nevada, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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