Tell me it doesn't look like a mob car! Why do I like gang cars so much? Or do they like the same cars I like? Chicken/egg I guess.
Parts are widely available as well as interchangeable and the cars don't look so bad either. When I was a youngin' fresh off the boat (airplane...), coming here to the US, I quickly found my favorite car that stood for years; the 1990s Lincoln Town Car.
As a side note, I saw a clean one the other day and I was talking to the owner. He said he will never sell it and something that caught my attention was how similar the Town Car (of that era) and the LS400 interiors are. Very close.
2004 Mercury Grand Marquis interior.
I found the Mercury in the picture above on Craigslist. It has 80k miles on it, it's a 2004, and is selling for $2.2k. You read that right. That's a frickin steal if I've ever seen one. You could probably get it for $1.7k, just saying.
That's a very good thing about these cars. A lot of them were bought by old people who used the cars to get groceries sometimes and that's it. You see it still has the plastic that comes from the dealer? It's a one owner car.
And deals like this abound. Try to find one with maximum 175,000 miles or so. They will make it to 3-400k but it's better to get one someone hasn't given up on maintaining yet.
There's also the Ford Crown Victoria which is probably my favorite. You could get and still can get them cheap at police auctions. I wouldn't worry about having an ex-police car because even though they were heavily abused, they were also constantly being maintained and repaired when needed. You're not necessarily going to get a lemon but I would avoid rentals and ex-taxis. Those aren't taken care of as well as the cop cars and it depends on who drove the taxi took.
Rentals, forget about it. Every time I've had a rental, I had no problem flooring it fifty times a day and other people don't either. I was at a rallycross one time when one of the competitors was in a rented Ford... Something. They abused the heck out of that car.
More similarities to the LS400. V8 motor with 32 valves?
The 2001 Crown Vic puts out 220hp using a 4.6l V8. This is a pretty reliable motor, I should mention. It has 265 lb-ft of torque - now that's a good number! I suppose you need torque if you're gonna be chasing people, especially from a dead stop like a cop would.
Imagine how many times these cars were floored every day, driven over curbs, and just generally treated harshly by the Police Department in their work. Yet they keep going. If you bought the 80k mile car above and never floored it... You could get that car to a million miles eventually, I'm sure.
That number has only been reached by eight cars or so but I just feel like no one tried with the Crown Victoria or the Grand Marquis.
The Ford's interior is good but the Mercury's is niiice.
If I'm not mistaken, some of these come with bench seats which I absolutely love. Matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you can just lift those armrests up and have a bench like some Cadillacs do. I think that's such a cool feature. I know bench seats are 100% American no doubt, but I wouldn't mind it in my LS400. With the right modification and vision in mind, it could be great. Of course, the position of the shifter pretty much kills that pipe dream.
Just to go over these two cars in particular again, they're both quick sedans but the Mercury is the luxury one. They get decent mileage for an older V8 - 18/27 mpg city/highway. You can get one in good condition for about $1,500. On top of all that, I think they look good and have the potential to look really good.
They're also reliable and tough. You can work on them yourself.
It's a good car and there isn't much more to it. You can make them fast, too. Writing this has made me realize how much of an all-around car this is. It could be a reliable daily driver, a race car, a cop car, a taxi, or a luxury car. And again, because these cars share parts with each other and other cars as well, most fixes should be easy.
For a daily driver, I would go for this car. We all know old LS400s are usually behind on maintenance so if that wasn't my dream car, I may have just bought a Crown Vic. I'm relatively sure I would have spent a lot less money but on the other hand, it's not my favorite car. Reach for the top even if you feel like it will take you a year. I had my first car within three months for $350. Don't settle!
This is.
Soon, I may be releasing a special product for the LS400. You can't buy it anymore so to produce it again is completely my idea and if it works, many of you will be very happy with it. I've given enough hints but one more; there will be more than one type.
I can also tell you that soon I will have seatbelt pads for sale in different colors and fabrics with the Lexus logo or whatever you want. So that, I can tell you about. In this world, I have met some friends recently but it's mainly me and my wife. To survive, I have to try to make us some money as the man of the house (being disabled). Also, I really don't like sell-outs (although I can see why they do it), so my products will be priced to where I make literally two or three bucks from each one because I want to give them to y'all for cheap.
Speaking of giving, I will also run a raffle. I don't know if it will be for one product right now or if it will have them all. Only time will tell. For that, watch my Instagram.
Instagram
@rokask1
Thank you for reading. Have a great days guys and gals.
PS. These products are NOT going to be shirts or hats or anything unless people want them. No - I'm releasing accesories for the LS400. Closest thing to that may be some stickers priced where I make no money - I just want to spread the word. Later!
- Rokas Kirvelis
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