Why Was The Lincoln Town Car Discontinued?

The Lincoln Town Car, like its siblings the Mercury Grand Marquis and Ford Crown Victoria, was an ever-present part of the Lincoln lineup, from the inception of its Ford Panther platform underpinnings in the late 1970s to its final death in 2011. All told, the Lincoln Town Car existed for 30 model years, from 1981 to 2011. While the power plants and mechanical parts changed a little bit over its three-decade life, and it wasn't a lot more aesthetically than a nicer police cruiser by the end, the Town Car was always one thing: A huge and comfortable V8-powered four-door.

To this day, Lincoln Town Cars are still buzzing around, even 13 years after the last one rolled off the line. Luxury never really goes out of style, after all. It's still popular with limousine companies and you could bet that a large number of funeral homes, executive transport services, and retirement communities still have a number of Town Cars in their fleet. So why did Ford pull the plug on one of the most recognizable Lincolns ever? As with its more blue-collar brother, Ford was looking at the bigger picture.

In the grand scheme of things, the Lincoln Town Car saw the same fate as other four-door sedans in American lineups, just much earlier than cars like the Ford Fusion or Focus. As early as 2006, Ford was thinking of parting ways with not only the Lincoln Town Car but the Panther platform in totality, as enumerated in a press release. A full-size V8-powered sedan with technology that dated back to the late 1970s, frankly, didn't have a place in a company that was moving towards selling SUVs, trucks, and hybrid vehicles. Compared to the rest of Ford's portfolio, the Town Car was a dinosaur.

In the same 2006 press release, titled "Ford Fights Back," The Ford St. Thomas Assembly, which served as the birthplace of the Lincoln Town Car, was cut to a single shift. In 2011, it was shuttered entirely. Heartbreakingly, Ford also announced that between 25,000 and 30,000 people would lose their jobs as Ford tried to figure out its future. In the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, the Lincoln Town Car was only one of a number of automotive casualties. Now, in 2024, with Ford going full-steam ahead with expanding its electric options and Lincoln so far firmly committing to an SUV-only portfolio, it's unlikely the automotive world will see a spiritual successor to the Lincoln Town Car anytime soon.

Ultimately, Ford didn't kill the Town Car because it was outdated (although it was) or because it was too expensive ($47,000-plus for a car that was riding on a 30-year-old platform isn't the best deal). Ford axed the Town Car in a sweeping move towards modernization, and old-school American luxury was an unfortunate casualty.