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22K views 114 replies 31 participants last post by  thebigjimsho 
#1 ·
i was curious to see what you guys had noticed were some differences between Lincoln and Cadillac. heres what i've got:
1- Lincolns have a plusher ride and a more luxurious interior.
2- Cadillac has always had a wider model range
3- Lincoln shares their motors with Ford, Cadillac for the most part uses exclusive motors.
4- Cadillac has always seemed more ready to go into more modern designs & Ideas (1959 all models, 1967 Eldorado, they downsized first in 1977, 1976 Seville, 1980 Seville, 1992 STS, CTS, XLR, V Series)
5- Lincoln borrows some of cadillacs' ideas (1977 Versailles, 1988 Continental)


thats all i've got now.
 
#2 ·
And the largest irony is that they were both spawned by the same creator many many years ago.

But yes, for the most part Lincoln has always trailed Cadillac, and really most of the luxury industry for that matter. Either in power, features or design but that doesnt mean they havent had some very desirable cars over the years.

I really wouldnt say that Cadillac's engines are necessarily any more exclusive than Lincoln's though. I mean the LSV8 has a relatively exclusive engine which was also used by Jaguar for a time, the Navigator has a smoothed over version of the 5.4 Triton and the Escalade has the same 6.0L corporate Vortec motor as some of the other truck line (and the exact same 5.3L in the 2WD models), also with some refinements of its own. The Northstar has had various iterations also used in vehicles like the Oldsmobile Aurora and the Bonneville GXP (which is basically the same G Chassis as the DTS and previous STS anyway). The CTS 3.6 is somewhat exclusive for now, but its going to be shared soon with Saturn and of course the CTS-V has the corporate LS Vette engine. So I'd say a good 80 percent of the engine designs within Caddy are in fact in some way or another used in other brands.
 
#3 ·
The general differences...... between the companies......Ford is starving Lincoln, putting money into Jaguar as their priemiere luxury division and GM wisely re-invested in Cadillac and the investiment is paying off!

Lincoln hasn't had much of anything new in a long while. How long has the LS been around with the Same styling? :yawn:

There is a Cadillac offered for everybody to suit their needs, but I don't feel the same about Lincoln. :boring: Cadillacs have more powerful engines, in general.

I used to love the styling of the 2000 Town Car but now they got rid of the big chrome "toothy" waterfall grille and they look like Grand Marquis now!

Cadillac is actually building cars to compete with the European vehicles like BMW and MB, with advanced technology, etc. And with vehicles like the new supercharged STS-V, I'm sure they will be successful and re-gain that status once lost in the 1980's. (if they haven't already)
 
#4 ·
The Northstar is above all a Cadillac engine. It's shared with 2 low volume vehicles, one of which is no longer made and wasn't even a full northstar anyway. The LS8 3.9 is also used in the Thunderbird isn't it? Either way the Mark VIII uses a Cobra motor, the Town Car uses the 4.6... so I'd say Cadillac engines are significantly more exclusive.

Not that being exclusive is really important.
 
#5 ·
davesdeville said:
The Northstar is above all a Cadillac engine. It's shared with 2 low volume vehicles, one of which is no longer made and wasn't even a full northstar anyway. The LS8 3.9 is also used in the Thunderbird isn't it? Either way the Mark VIII uses a Cobra motor, the Town Car uses the 4.6... so I'd say Cadillac engines are significantly more exclusive.

Not that being exclusive is really important.
Not to mention the 4.9 was never used in any other type of GM car. Exclusively "Cadillac."

I like how my air cleaner housing proudly proclaims this.

The Mark VIII should have never been killed.
 
#6 ·
ive owned a 1990 continental and currently a 1990 deville. in my opinion the exterior styling of the deville puts the lincoln to shame. the interior is a different story...and the way the two cars ride is like night and day to me. ill take the cadillac any day.

but, since im in the market for a new car now, id be lying if i said i hadnt considered a fairly new town car.
 
#7 ·
chuckdobbins said:
ive owned a 1990 continental and currently a 1990 deville. in my opinion the exterior styling of the deville puts the lincoln to shame. the interior is a different story...and the way the two cars ride is like night and day to me. ill take the cadillac any day.

but, since im in the market for a new car now, id be lying if i said i hadnt considered a fairly new town car.
Sorry to say but whoever designed and engineered the 1988 to 1994 Lincoln Continental should have been drug out back and shot. That was one of the biggest automotive abominations in history. A V6 to start with, an UNRELIABLE and problem prone (head gaskets etc.) V6, and numb steering and above all else the worst airbag suspension I have ever seen. Id be curious to hear Sandy's opinion of these year Continentals. I havent met a single person who owned one that actually enjoyed their time with it.

As far as the Northstar. The way the point was posed it was as if the engine had never been shared and that simply isnt true. And based on what Im seeing out on the road the Aurora's were not low volume vehicles. I would not be surprised to see it pop up elsewhere as well. The 4.0L version in the Aurora was just a smaller displacement version. The T-Bird was developed off the same DEW98 platform as the LS and I would consider that a limited run vehicle. The Bonnie GXP is also limited run.
 
#9 ·
yah, but was the '88-94 Continental worse to Lincoln than the 78-85 Diesels, or the HT4100 V8 was to Cadillac. Now this may be a pro cadillac site, but lets not forget some of cadillacs's screw ups: 1982-88 Cimmarron, 350 Diesel, 4.1, V8-6-4, the allante (it was a great car, it just never sold well or got good reviews) see, just because Lincoln has played 2nd fiddle to Cadillac for most of the 20th century doesnt mean Lincoln is bad. IMO Lincoln could never catch up in the sales race because they didnt have as many models as Cadillac does.
 
#54 ·
I gotta agree with you, I LUV Caddys8792,

Cadillac has had its' share of blunders. All car companies have made mistakes throughout their histories. I think Cadillac had the edge over Lincoln in the style/looks department during the 60's, but Cadillac and Lincoln had equally good looks during mid 70's. Once Cadillac downsized, Lincoln's looked better through the end of that decade. I had a '79 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe with the factory deep dish aluminum wheels. I loved that car and it was classy. I wish I could get it back. The '84 - '89 Town Cars were good looking, dependable cars, and Cadillac RWD cars were classy cars as well, no doubt. Now, however, I love my '91 Brougham, and loved my '92 Sedan DeVille, prior to selling it.

Lincoln and Cadillac both have produced great cars throughout their histories. I just don't care for the newer styling of either the Lincolns or the Cadillacs. :crying:

JRau
 
#13 ·
Jesda said:
Ugh. That Continental not only ruined the Continental nameplate (the proper V8 version that followed was decent but not enough to save it), and it offset all the gains Lincoln made with the rock solid Town Car, Mark 8, and the 32v 4.6L V8.
I remember you referring to it as the Lincoln Taurus, and I agree. They shared all mechanicals, the only thing that was different was the body and interior. My dad bought one in 94 for 36k and I was wondering why he didn't get a STS at the time.
 
#14 ·
theres nothing wrong with body on frame, i think caddy should bring back a body on frame fleetwood, make it compete with the town car, but have the 6.0L escalade V8 or the 5.3 V8 used in the impala SS and Grand Prix GXP, or maybe even that 395hp 6.0L V8 used in the 06 SSR! It would be awesome! but where would they get a chassis for a body on frame car? could they use the Trailblazer Platform or another light truck platform?
 
#15 ·
HOLD IT!!!!! The Mark VIII does NOT use a cobra motor. The Cobra uses a Mark VIII motor. Lincolns are usually quicker than Cadillacs, but give off a rougher ride. Cadillac uses a more "European Luxury" Lincoln goes for more "Sporty Luxury". Caddy and Lincoln both have cool gadets that usually don't work and cost a lot to fix. Lincoln has more comfy intereior, but Caddy has more class on the inside. Lincoln has better styling than Caddy, but the caddy gets better gas milage. These are the best comparisons I can come up with.
 
#19 ·
caddydaddy said:
Just read the engine cover of the first few years of Northstars! "Made exclusively for Cadillac by General Motors".

Hey! It says the same thing on the air cleaner sitting atop the Chevy 350 in my Brougham! Wow! :duck:

Brian
 
#24 ·
Hmm, not sure about the ETC and Mark. It would be interesting to run a 96 LSC Mark vs a 96 ETC and see who would win. I know the ETC would whoop a Gen2 mark. Deville beating a Towncar I would agree with this as the town cars are slow as shit. According to the consumer guide, a 96 Connie will beat a seville SLS and match a STS. And the new towncar styling blows.
 
#26 ·
ben72227 said:
Lincoln was IMO at Cadillac's level in the 70s, but since then they've been 2nd when it comes to American Luxury. Lincolns (and Ford in general) always seemed so bland, while Cadillacs were flamboyant and flashy.
Actually until around 1950 Lincoln did better that Cadillac and Cadillac has been on top since then.

Cadillac was on top of the game in the 1970's.
 
#27 ·
Blackout said:
The Northstar was originally from what company........begins with Olds and ends with mobile.....
No the Northstar was actually conceived by Cadillac. If you remember the 1988 Voyage engine was the prototype for the Vin Y NorthStar(4.5HO producing 275hp). Olds used the smaller variation of the engine for the Aurora 4.0ltr.
 
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