I recall that at one time there was a Lincoln which was essentially a cloned, gussied-up Ford Taurus. Does anyone remember the name of the Lincoln model, and what years it had that role?
I don’t recall any Lincoln based on the Taurus chassis. There was a Mercury Sable that was based on the Taurus and shared virtually all the sale mechanical parts.
You’re not thinking of the Lincoln LS are you? That was not anywhere near the same car as a Taurus but it was downsized and from a distance could pass for a Taurus at a casual glance.
Yes, the Lincoln MKS.
The '88-'92 Continental was based on a lengthened Taurus/Sable chassis.
Nope, it was the '88-'94 version of the Continental that was built on a stretched version of the Taurus/Sable chassis. This was the one with the abominable air suspension that broke down so frequently that Ford came out with a solid coil retrofit for them. This was also the first Lincoln to have a V-6.
The '88-'94 Continental was essentially a glorified Taurus, albeit a not very reliable version.
I stand by my statement.
"Underneath it all, though, is essentially a re-skinned Ford Taurus. "
This is far from my only source for this…
I am not saying that you are wrong.
However, if you re-read the OP’s question, he is not referring to a current model.
He is referring to a Lincoln that he recalls from the past.
The MKS is indeed a re-skinned Taurus.
The first Lincoln that was essentially a Taurus under the skin was the Continental of the '88-'94 era.
Yes, I was referring to a car of the past.
Then the Continental of the '88-'94 era it is!
Incidentally, I don’t suggest that you buy one of them.
So, are they less reliable than the Taurus of that era?
Since we are on this topic, is the Sable reliability same as Taurus? And, are there many more “luxury” features?
They were far less reliable that Taurus/Sable, mostly owing to that air suspension system, but also as a result of more automated “gimmicks” (luxury features?) that have a much higher malfunction rate than things like engines and transmissions.
If you do find one on the used car market, there is a good chance that it was already converted to steel coil springs, to replace the air suspension, and this would eliminate one very troublesome area. If you find one with the original air suspension, then you definitely want to walk away.
The Sable had the same reliability record as the Taurus. They were made on the same assemblyline, from the same parts–with the exception of some body panels, upholstery, and dashboard.