If you wanted to take one lap of luxury then you could do far worse than to do so in today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Mk VII. We’ll have to decide if you should also be lapping up its price.
In the movie Bridesmaids, Melissa McCarthy’s character “overcommits” by adopting nine party-gift puppies rather than the one per guest the host had allotted.
I’m sort of feeling like that might also have been the case with yesterday’s SBC-powered 1985 Mazda RX7as well. The impression given by the car is one of the builder having gotten in way over his head. The evidence? It was a car so rough it could have been a neighborhood on Chicago’s Southside. As an unrealized a vision it was almost as alarming as this terrifying Lucille Ball statue (yikes!). It seems that no price could compensate for these failings.
Of course it did have a price—$2,500 to be exact. That modest sum was seen as too much for 65-percent of you, and the car fell in a Crack Pipe loss. The comments on the car leaned to the “none too kind” neighborhood as well.
You know what we need? Something sedate and without polarization, that’s what. Hmmm, how about this 1988 Lincoln MK VII LSC?
The MK VII, especially in LSC (Luxury Sport Coupe) guise, was Ford’s first attempt at a sporty Mark model since the ’56 Mark II. The car built on the successes of its less aspirational sibling the aero-imbued Thunderbird, sharing its doors, windshield, and central structure with the ninth generation of Ford’s personal coupe.
The MkVII upped the aero ante over the lessor Ford with flush composite headlamps, and notably was the first Mark model with exposed lights since 1968. The vestigial spare tire hump in back pays homage to those previous Mark models, however.
Why don’t we have Mark-Roman Numeral models any more? Well, because none of you yaboos really want to buy big coupes these days, preferring instead hulking rides like the Navigator.
Honestly though, while the Mark series was known for uncompromising luxury, there’s nothing luxurious nor dignified about trying to climb out of the back seat of a big two-door coupe, especially for the ladies in fashionably short skirts. You know who you are.
Still, there’s something elegant about a big coupe like this, and the MK VII impresses to this day with its killer style.
This one, in what I think is Vermilion Glamour Metallic over a similarly color-keyed interior is presented as a one-owner car, and looks to be in fine shape based on the pictures. The 121,000 mile coupe sports the LSC package, which included 16-inch turbine alloys, an analog gauge cluster, and the Mustang GT’s 225-horsepower/300 lb-ft of torque 302-cubic inch V8. All of the MK VIIs rocked a finicky air suspension, but this one has had that headache eliminated by a switch to steel springs. The ad claims that the car has been well maintained, and “[R]uns & drives nice.
The transmission here is the four-speed AOD, a derivation of Ford’s long-serving C-series. A console mounted shifter for that gets you in gear.
The rest of the interior come across as reasonably tidy, with only some crazing on the aggressively bolster seats and a sun-warped instrument binnacle trim piece to detract from the flashback. The color is unique, but not as lurid as some ‘80s American iron.
Now, I should note that... well, the seller isn’t interested in your bullshit. He notes in the ad that “[R]ather than price it higher then have to haggle down, the price is $1995 firm.” I must say, I like the cut of his jib.
You’ll now need to decide if you like that $1,995 price tag for this still luxurious but out of fashion coupe. What do you say, should somebody pick up this old Lincoln for that $1,995? Or, is this clean Mark just missing the mark?
You decide!
Denver, CO Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to FauxShizzle for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your Kinja handle.