The Town Car has long been Lincoln’s bedrock – it is the brand’s highest volume model and it boasts extremely high customer satisfaction and loyalty. Lincoln’s goals for the redesigned 2003 model were to enhance the qualities that define Town Car – room, ride, comfort and safety – and instill new-found precision in the car’s dynamics.

Town Car’s design, package and functional attributes all are improved:

• The exterior design is more formal and refined.
• The passenger cabin is quieter and it has a wealth of new comfort and convenience features, as well as a 44 percent increase in total interior stowage.
• A new frame, steering, brakes and front suspension significantly improve ride and handling.
• The new frame and features such as the Personal Safety System™, which includes dual-stage front air bags, are expected to help Town Car perform very well in U.S. government crash tests.
• New features and options include high intensity discharge headlamps and a power opening and closing trunk lid.

Another Town Car forte – its class-leading trunk – has been redesigned for more useable space and easier loading and unloading of cargo.

A Major Product Initiative for Lincoln
The new Town Car is part of a major product initiative for Lincoln. It is one of four new Lincoln models for the 2003 model year, and one of the 20 all-new or redesigned models Ford Motor Company will introduce in North America each year on average for the next five years.

“Town Car’s abiding strength, together with the success of the Navigator and LS in attracting a new and broad range of customers to the brand, has given the company the confidence to invest in a long-term growth strategy for Lincoln,” Ford Motor Company President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele said at the unveiling of the 2003 model at the Henry Ford Estate on Nov. 26, 2001.

In addition to the new Town Car, the 2003 model year will see the launch of the all-new Lincoln Aviator, a sophisticated new Navigator and a more powerful and refined LS. The Town Car will arrive in dealer showrooms beginning in April, followed by the Navigator this summer. The Aviator will arrive in late summer and the LS in the fall.

“Lincoln is making good progress on quality and customer satisfaction and the 2003 model year will give consumers a real appreciation for what this brand can accomplish as it builds more luxury, comfort, refinement, safety and sophistication into its vehicles,” says Lincoln Mercury President Brian Kelley.

A Large and Loyal Customer Base
For 2003, the Town Car will be offered in Cartier, Signature, and Executive series, as well as long wheelbase Cartier L and Executive L models. The Cartier models, which are the ultimate Town Cars, are expected to account for 20 percent of sales. The extremely well-appointed Signature is expected to account for 55 percent of sales. The Executive series, which is popular with commercial customers, including livery and limousine companies, is expected to account for 25 percent of sales.

Prices for the 2003 Town Car begin at $41,040 for the Executive model. The Signature models begin at $45,015 and the Cartier at $46,010. The Cartier L begins at $51,470. All prices include a $770 destination and delivery charge.

Town Car is built in Wixom, Mich.

The Lincoln Commitment
All Lincoln Town Car customers receive the Lincoln Commitment, which is one of the most comprehensive customer care and warranty packages available.

The Lincoln Commitment includes:

• Four-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty
• Complimentary maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles (including wear and tear items)
• Transportation assistance and 24-hour roadside assistance
• Emergency travel expense reimbursement
• Destination assistance and trip planning services
• A customer assistance center dedicated to Lincoln owners

Refinement, Comfort and Convenience
For 2003, the Town Car has more formal bodywork, including a redesigned hood, fenders and quarter panels. The passenger cabin is exceptionally roomy and more refined.

Up front, a new chromed Lincoln signature grille stands more upright and is flanked by quad-beam halogen headlamps that are 60 percent brighter than last year’s dual-beam design. High intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, which generate twice the light of conventional halogen bulbs, are optional on Cartier models and standard on the Cartier L. Both Cartier models feature halogen fog lights integrated into the front fascia below the bumper. A stand-up Lincoln star hood ornament returns on all models.

At the rear of the car, the fascia, taillamps and the chrome license plate surround have been redesigned to present a clean, uncluttered appearance. There are 11 rich exterior colors, as well as three available two-tone color combinations.

All Town Car models are now fitted with standard 17- by 7-inch “Euroflange” aluminum wheels, which replace last year’s standard 16-inch aluminum wheels. Euroflange wheels have a distinctively clean appearance because the wheel balancing weights are mounted out of sight on the inside rim. Executive and Signature series cars have a 14-spoke design. Cartier models are fitted with nine-spoke chrome-finished wheels.

The interior of the Town Car mixes traditional and contemporary elements to create a warm, inviting atmosphere. The soft-touch instrument panel and doors are subtly grained with a milled pebble texture and are available in three palettes: a two-tone light parchment and espresso finish, a light stone and gray combination or monochromatic black.

The upper and lower reaches of the instrument panel and doors are divided by panels of walnut burl appliqué with subtle accents finished in low luster satin nickel. A distinctive new element is a simple, yet elegant analog clock with chrome chaplets mounted above the climate and audio controls.

A combination wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel is standard on Signature and Cartier models. The seating surfaces in the Signature and Cartier series are faced in soft, supple premium leather, and the carpet and mats are a plush 20-ounce Shiva pile. The Cartier seats and mats have unique embroidered logos. The headliner and roof pillars are trimmed in an attractive textured fabric.

The interior volume of the Town Car is unchanged at 132.9 cubic feet, but a 1.5-inch increase in front seat travel and a host of other design changes to the seats, instrument panel and door trim panels improve overall comfort and usable stowage space.

Town Car’s front seat hip room of 57.3 inches and legroom of 45.8 inches are superior to the Cadillac DeVille and Lexus LS430.

The sheer spaciousness of the Town Car, in combination with an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, power lumbar support, standard power-adjustable brake and accelerator pedals and a tilt steering column, allow almost any person to find a supremely comfortable driving position. The outboard front passenger seat (the three-passenger front seats are split 40/20/40) also features the extended seat travel, eight-way power adjustment and power lumbar support.

Front seat stowage includes:

• A new center armrest storage bin that is hinged on both sides to allow easy access by the driver and the front seat passenger
• New pouches sewn into the leading edges of the driver and passenger seat cushions
• Covered bins with padded, hinged lids built into the front door armrests
• Long, deep bins built into the bottoms of the doors
• A map sleeve added to the driver’s sun visor
• A 20 percent larger glovebox
• Sturdy, redesigned cupholders that now fold out from the leading edge of the center seat
• A larger ashtray that slides out of the instrument panel

Rear seat stowage includes large, atlas-sized map pockets built into the front seat backs, two cup holders located in the rear seat armrest, a storage bin in each door and door-mounted ashtrays. A reshaping of the front seatbacks provides an additional 10 millimeters, or nearly half an inch, of knee room for rear seat passenger comfort.

The Cartier L and Executive L models, which ride on a six-inch longer wheelbase than standard Town Cars, boast more rear seat legroom than any other regular production car or truck on the road today – a total of 47 inches. The long wheelbase cars are not “stretched” versions of the standard cars. The frame side rails are fabricated as a one-piece unit, and the roof, body sides and doors are unique stampings. The rear glass fills the door and is 17 percent larger than the previous long wheelbase Town Car for improved visibility.

The overall utility of Town Car’s best-in-class 21.1-cubic foot trunk is significantly improved. The relocation of the mini-spare tire to the right-hand wheel well has freed up a large parcel shelf behind the rear seat backs.

On Cartier models, the deep well in the center of the trunk is now fitted with a removable covered bin ideal for stowing grocery bags, a first aid kit and other items. The trunk organizer is optional on other models.

The decklid opening is 7.8 inches wider and the liftover height is slightly lower. A power trunk pull-down, which securely latches the trunk with minimal effort, is standard on all Town Cars. Cartier models are fitted with a convenient full-power trunk lid that can be opened or closed using the key fob or key pad.

Beyond the sheer luxury of space, Town Car provides an impressive array of standard and optional features to make driving or riding comfortable, convenient and refreshing.

Among the features standard on all models:

• A new dual-zone climate control system that allows the front seat passengers to select different temperature and fan settings
• Center console-mounted heat and air conditioning vents for rear seat passengers
• Remote keyless entry system, illuminated entry with theater lighting and driver’s door-mounted keyless entry keypad
• Steering wheel-mounted speed control, climate and audio controls
• Headlamps that automatically turn on at dusk and when the wipers are activated

Signature and Cartier models also include a memory system that recalls the seating, mirror and adjustable pedal settings for two drivers, as well as heated front seats and windshield wipers that automatically turn on when they sense precipitation. A glass power-sliding moonroof is optional.

A rear seat amenities package is standard on both the Cartier L and Executive L. The package offers an even more comprehensive array of comfort and convenience features including redundant audio and climate controls mounted in the armrest, two additional powerpoints, an ashtray and cigar lighter in each door and a redundant control to adjust the fore and aft position of the front passenger seat. Heated rear seats are included on the Cartier L. For 2003, Town Car continues to offer an extensive array of entertainment and information systems. The standard audio system for Signature and Cartier models is a 145-watt Alpine dual media AM/FM stereo system with cassette and single disc CD player, four Audiophile speakers and an eight-inch subwoofer. A trunk-mounted six-disc changer is optional. The sound system in Executive models includes an AM/FM receiver, as well as cassette and single-disc CD players.

The Lincoln Vehicle Communication System (VCS), a telematics system first offered on the 2002 Town Car, is available on all series. Lincoln VCS is a mobile wireless communication system built around a fully transportable Motorola digital/analog Timeport phone and Sprint PCS services.

Lincoln VCS includes voice-activated calling, automatic air bag activation notification, occupant-initiated emergency assistance, roadside assistance, route guidance, and personal information services (news, sports and stock updates).

All models are equipped with an overhead console that includes controls for optional equipment, including Lincoln VCS and the moonroof, as well as standard features such as the Homelink™ universal garage door opener, a digital compass and map lights. Town Car’s Electronic Message Center is located in the vehicle’s main instrument cluster. It displays average fuel economy, distance to empty, oil life, engine temperature and various fluid levels. A new feature is a secondary digital speedometer in the instrument cluster that can be programmed for English or metric units.

The Lincoln Addictive Driving Experience
The driving personality of the 2003 Town Car, along with the 2003 Navigator, Aviator and LS, are products of a dedicated Lincoln engineering organization established in 2000 and led by Product Development Director Al Kammerer and Engineering Director Mike Renucci. During the past two years, Kammerer, Renucci and their team have been developing and refining an engineering discipline to deliver consistent steering, handling, braking and NVH for all present and future Lincoln vehicles. “Today’s Lincolns are successful products but they have vastly different driving characteristics and personalities. We’re preparing to enter new segments and grow again by establishing consistent – and sophisticated – dynamics standards for all Lincolns,” says Kammerer. “Achieving this will lay important groundwork for our next generation of vehicles, due mid-decade.”

“Having a consistent driving experience across the Lincoln brand is very important because once we get a customer, we want that customer to believe that the experience they get from driving a Town Car is the same driving experience they’ll get from driving an Aviator, Navigator or LS,” adds Lee Gorman, Town Car chief engineer. To develop this new driving dynamics “DNA,” Lincoln’s engineering team conducted one of the most thorough and rigorous attribute and target setting projects ever undertaken by a Ford Motor Company engineering organization. The first step included driving an extensive collection of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Lexus, Cadillac and Lincoln vehicles over several months in 2000 and 2001.

“We drove more than a dozen of the best luxury products available, but not with an eye to copy any particular model or brand,” Renucci says. “Rather, we set out to identify and measure individual vehicle attributes such as steering, ride, handling, brakes and NVH to assist us with identifying the exact positioning needed to deliver our vision for Lincoln. Our search was for characteristics that, when added up, would create an ‘addictive’ driving experience, unique for Lincoln.”

Adds Mike Reed, Town Car vehicle engineering manager: “We studied some of our best-in-the-world competitors and found that throughout their ranges, they had more uniformity from one of their low series cars to one of their high series cars – they had basically similar driving attributes, and we felt that we needed to get more of that uniformity in our product line.”

In-depth consumer research that showed Lincolns should be responsive and confidence inspiring but exceptionally comfortable at the same time helped focus the effort.

“Consumer research told us not to sacrifice ride comfort for absolute road-holding, and not to allow a smooth ride to compromise steering precision, body control and braking balance,” Renucci says.

Steering, as one example, should have no compliance or friction feel, lash or time delay, Renucci says. But there are special attributes that define Lincoln steering, which include:

• Smooth transitions
• “Creamy” on-center feel that is noticeably free from friction
• Low efforts around town to enhance maneuverability
• Higher efforts at speed to enhance a feeling of stability
• Isolation from noise, vibration and other disturbances, including road surface imperfections and wheel impacts

Ultimately, the subjective consumer targets were translated into objective engineering targets for braking, ride, NVH and steering. The targets were set in fairly narrow bands and then shared with all of the Lincoln vehicle teams who adopted them across the board. Bands, rather than rigid targets, were set to accommodate customer preferences. For example, Town Car customers tend to prefer lower cornering efforts than LS customers.

Implementing consistent steering and other driving attributes across the Lincoln range was not a trivial matter, as Town Car is a rear-wheel-drive, body-on-frame sedan, LS is a rear-wheel-drive, monocoque sedan and Navigator and Aviator are body-on-frame SUVs. At the onset, the 2002 LS already met or was close to meeting most of the targets, particularly for steering, and the Town Car and Navigator were substantially outside the bands. But the frame, body, suspension and other chassis upgrades planned for the entire 2003 Lincoln range gave engineers the necessary underpinnings to meet nearly all of the targets.

For Town Car, those improvements included a new frame, steering system and front suspension, brake system upgrades and rear suspension refinements.

“We decided the opportunity to get very close to our new targets for the 2003 model year was too good to miss,” Renucci says. “A combination of several key component and system upgrades, together with fanatical attention to detail in our dynamics and NVH tuning, enabled us to get very close to our visionary targets with our existing platforms. The overall improvements are substantial and are particularly dramatic in the Town Car and Navigator.”

New Frame: The Town Car’s front frame rails are now fully boxed sections of hydroformed steel, which is lighter, stronger and more uniform than the welded steel channels of the old frame. The new rails are filled with structural foam in key locations to help control the dissipation of crash energy through the frame for improved offset crash performance.

Key frame crossmembers also are all new. The critical number two crossmember, which serves as the mounting surface for the steering rack, engine mounts and the suspension’s control arms, is now a cast aluminum piece. This strong, lightweight crossmember provides a more precise mounting surface and better alignment tolerances than the previous welded steel crossmember.

The steel number three crossmember, which ties the frame together behind the A-pillar, is a more robust design that improves the frame’s resistance to torsion and bending forces.

This new member is designed to help manage side impact crash forces by transferring energy across the frame structure into the opposite rail. All told, the frame’s torsional rigidity has been increased by 24 percent and its resistance to vertical bending has been improved by 20 percent.

Ride quality, body control and isolation – an inherent benefit of body-on-frame-construction – is optimized by new body mounts, including new rear mounts that are very stiff laterally but relatively soft in the fore and aft directions.

New Steering and Front Suspension: The new frame allowed Lincoln engineers to make major changes to the independent short- and long-arm front suspension to improve ride quality. They also replaced the older model’s recirculating ball steering gear with a new rack-and-pinion system that offers greater precision, less friction and weighs 22.5 pounds less.

The new steering rack is a variable ratio design. In the on-center range, the steering gear ratio is relatively slow for good straight-ahead controllability. As the driver feeds in more steering wheel angle – in a parking maneuver for example – the steering gear ratio increases for improved responsiveness. A new speed-sensitive, variable assist power steering control module complements the new rack. Steering efforts are low at parking lot speeds and efforts rise progressively with vehicle speed.

The steering geometry has been squared up to improve turn in, overall steering feel and straight-ahead controllability. The scrub radius has been reduced from 60 millimeters to 10 millimeters and the kingpin offset has been reduced from 120 millimeters to 68 millimeters.

Other steering changes include a new intermediate steering shaft design called a swing link, which helps reduce operating friction in the system by 24 percent. The steering knuckle is now cast aluminum for an additional weight saving of five pounds.

The front suspension’s upper and lower control arms are a new, more robust design and the lower arm is now made of aluminum instead of steel. Ride motions are controlled by steel coil springs and monotube dampers.

Town Car’s monotube dampers are more tunable than the previous car’s twin tube shock absorbers because the damping pistons have more than twice the effective working area. Nitrogen gas is used to pressurize oil in the dampers to eliminate cavitation (foaming) of the fluid, which reduces operating efficiency. The oil itself is specially compounded to minimize viscosity changes regardless of temperature for more consistent damping in hot and cold weather.

A new front stabilizer bar with “gripper” bushings helps to improve steering center feel and reduce lateral compliance for crisp turn in with reduced body roll. This tight-fitting design prevents the stabilizer bar from twisting in its bushing under load, so forces build up quicker and the response rate is more linear.

Revised Rear Suspension: The Town Car’s live-axle rear suspension is located by upper and lower control arms and a lateral Watt’s linkage. The rear monotube dampers are mounted further outboard than the previous design to better manage the unsprung mass of the axle and reduce the transmission of road impacts into the car’s structure.

This design change, coupled with a 14-millimeter increase in track width, is designed to keep the rear of the vehicle firmly planted during cornering on rough roads or washboard surfaces. A rear stabilizer bar is now fitted to all Town Cars. Load-leveling air springs maintain a constant ride height regardless of vehicle load.

More Powerful Brakes: All 2003 Lincoln Town Cars are fitted with a four-wheel anti-lock disc brake system (ABS) and a new dual-rate brake booster that provides a “panic assist” in emergency situations. Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) is used to dynamically proportion braking forces. EBD effectively raises the threshold for ABS engagement by optimizing front-to-rear brake bias.

In a panic stop, the new brake booster with panic assist automatically supplies full braking power even if the driver doesn’t initially apply enough pedal pressure to engage the anti-lock braking system.

Twin-piston calipers that are 16 percent stiffer than the previous design grip the Town Car’s 305 mm vented front rotors. Stiff rotors are less susceptible to brake roughness. The rear brakes use 295 mm vented rotors and single piston calipers.

More Power, More Refinement: For 2003, all Lincoln Town Car models are powered by a 4.6-liter, single overhead cam V-8 engine with two valves per cylinder and dual exhaust that produces 239 horsepower at 4,900 rpm and 287 lbs.-ft. of torque at 4,100 rpm. This represents an increase of 19 horsepower and 22 lbs.-ft. of torque for the Signature and Executive series.

The Town Car’s four-speed automatic transmission has been recalibrated to increase the speed of downshifts by 0.2 seconds to 0.3 seconds. The rear axle ratio is 3:27:1. All-speed traction control, which uses the ABS system and throttle intervention to manage wheelspin, is standard on all models.

A Safety Leader
The Town Car’s robust new frame and industry-leading safety technologies developed by Ford Motor Company help protect Town Car drivers and passengers if a collision is unavoidable.

Personal Safety System
The 2003 Town Car is equipped with Ford Motor Company’s Personal Safety System, which is one of the most comprehensive driver and front seat passenger restraint systems available. It includes dual-stage air bags and safety belts with retractor pretensioners and energy management retractors.

The system monitors belt usage and uses a front crash severity sensor and a driver’s seat position sensor to tailor the force of air bag deployment for a variety of front-impact situations for enhanced occupant protection. In low-speed collisions, the front air bags may not deploy at all if the system determines that the safety belts alone can provide appropriate protection, or if the front passenger seat is empty.

The pretensioners tighten the front safety belts in the first milliseconds of a severe impact to help keep occupants in front of the air bags. The risk of chest injury is reduced because the energy management retractors release small amounts of belt webbing to manage the forces created by the vehicle’s sudden deceleration.

Town Car continues to feature BeltMinder™, which chimes to remind the driver to buckle up. According to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study, BeltMinder improves belt usage by 5 percent, which they described as “significant.”

A Solid Foundation
The 2003 Town Car is expected to perform well in U.S. government crash tests, thanks in part to frame improvements and safety features like the Personal Safety System.

The new hydroformed front frame rails are filled with structural foam in key locations to help control the dissipation of crash energy for improved frontal and offset crash performance.

The steel number three crossmember, which ties the frame together behind the A-pillar, is a more robust design that helps manage side impact crash forces by transferring energy across the frame structure into the opposite rail.

The front roof rails and rocker panels are reinforced for improved offset and side impact protection.

A new 5-mph front bumper system improves high-speed crash performance by providing additional crush space. Repair costs also should be lower because the system has fewer parts.

Town Car’s side-impact beams in all four doors and standard driver and front passenger side air bags further enhance side-impact crash performance.