Steering Controversy

Material wealth lies far beyond well-manicured lawns and shrub-lined drives, faint nuances of afternoon tennis and evening cocktail parties by the pool float delicately on the air. If you’ve got the American Dream, if you’ve made a pilgrimage to the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, Mt. Rushmore, or the Okefenokee Swamp, if your goal is to move all the way up from your Biscayne station wagon, then the Lincoln Continental Mark III and the Cadillac Eldorado are the end of status street, top of the heap. But, which one; is there a “King”? To settle this burning controversy I have tested both cars. Surely it’s not a quarter-mile time that would get Mark Zuckerberg excited. No, it’s something much more simple. They aren’t limousines, but they have every attribute of comfort, ride, quietness, and smooth operation. They aren’t sporty cars, but they impart an air of owner individuality that sets you apart if you

Steering presents a different act. GM is hip to hip variable ratio, while Ford is still using straight power steering. The result is 2.7 wheel turns from lock-to-lock and a correspondingly lower overall gear ratio with the Eldorado compared to 4.03 wheel turns on the Mark III. All this means is that the Eldorado will turn much more quickly than the Mark III. Now, any clown who wants to take one of these cars to a road course and see what kind of violent under or oversteer he can force out of these immense, overly dampened, mushily sprung land yachts must be a little crazy. Handling is what you’d expect some roll steer and dip from the soft, soft suspensions. Steering plays a significant role though, even on something a straight as an interstate highway across Nebraska. And, the Eldorado has steering response that overshadows its