Introduction

Hi all,
My name is Matt and this is my place to vent about all things Lincoln. God knows that most of the people in my life are sick and tired of listening to obscure facts and figures about those "old person cars", for example the difference between Cartier trim and Executive on a Town Car. Or how Lincoln had the first digital message center instrument cluster in 1980.  I will explain later how I got bitten by the Lincoln bug, and why I think that it has stuck with me.

Some basic background information about me: I'm a young guy who lives in Massachusetts  with mostly mechanical and outdoor based interests. I have always loved anything with wheels, especially things that go fast, although recently I have branched out to nautical stuff as well aka boats.
I enjoy working on my car, learning how the parts work, and most of all working with my dad who is a retired auto mechanic. Instead of watching sports as a kid, I always watched NASCAR and short track races on TV, and I'd always be building crazy stuff out in the shop in my free time. Not a recipe for social success in my area, but being an individual always seemed more fun than following the crowd. I have always enjoyed camping and venturing out into the great outdoors for hikes, as well as biking and boating. History is also a big interest of mine, I like to know how machines/tools work, and U.S. history is pretty interesting to me as well. I find nothing more rewarding than looking at something I take for granted or don't understand, or didn't care about, and saying, "Now I get it."

I'm currently enrolled in a community college taking a 2 year business degree. Currently I have my heart set on working in classic car insurance, or better yet a classic car dealership. For my biggest passion in life is preserving the history of old cars.

So back to Lincolns. The story of how I got the Lincoln bug takes me back to the early 90s. There were no Lincolns in my family at the time, but there was one really nice Mercury, a late 80s Grand Marquis that was known for its (or rather my Grandfather's) ability to take things out, whether it be a metal post at my dad's shop or a boulder in the stone wall in front of my house. But that "boat" was one comfortable, luxurious feeling car, which is what I remember most when riding around with my Grandpa. The car soaked up the bumps, and I sank, repeat, sank, into those Twinkie-soft velour seats, plus there was quite a view over that long hood, which was punctuated by a stand up Mercury hood ornament. That car had plenty of buttons to push which is always great when you're a kid. Did I mention the strong sound of its V8 engine? (even if back then Ford's 302 v8 struggled to make 150 hp:) As a kid this was all the stuff of legends to me, it captured what I had liked in numerous old cars I had seen at shows. Most of the cars my parents drove were nothing special, save for a nice 1993 Ford Explorer Limited. So this elevated the Mercury to a very high place for me. The Marquis just seemed to sum up all that was right about American cars.

Lincolns were the natural next step up from Ford and Mercury cars I had known firsthand, and I gravitated to the Town Car. It was the Grand Marquis only better. I followed them as they went through 3 generations in my youth, along with the Grand Marquis/Crown Vic. I had a "muscle car" phase for quite a number of years, which caused me to forget all about big luxury cars.
Then several years ago I sat in a 79 Collectors Series Continental and I was back on big Fords again. I should mention that I don't like just any Lincoln, its gotta be rear wheel drive and V8 powered otherwise I'm not that interested. I've been a Lincoln enthusiast for about 4 years now, and a Ford enthusiast since I was about 2. I hope to reach out to fellow enthusiasts to learn more about the technical aspects of these cars, projects they are working on, not to mention just having some good natured banter. I don't pretend to know everything about these cars, I just love 'em and want to learn more. And I don't currently own one, unfortunately :( With a daily commute of 60 hilly miles, and no money, I couldn't see piloting a big V8 Lincoln everyday, so I bought myself a nice '89 Volvo 740 which gets me 28 mpg. It's a nice car, but I miss driving big American iron. I had a chance to drive my mom's 2009 Grand Marquis for a while, and it was great. But I prefer the older stuff.

Hopefully when I'm out of school and get a job I can purchase a 1989 Lincoln Town Car to start my collection.
Thanks for checking out my blog. I give you a lot of credit if you read through that whole thing.