which looks better: MarkVIII or SC?

Thinking of trading in my SC for a Mark8 but I can't decide if I like the styling of the Marks. I love the way my SC looks, especially with the 97' head lights. My girlfriend keeps on telling me that the Mark is an "old man's car" and how ugly they are. I love my SC, but I am tired of all of the grief it has put me through; or should I say I have put myself through in repairing it. Anyhow, it runs great now and doesn't have any problems at the moment....but that could change tomorrow or any time at the rate it has been going at which is why I am considering giving it up. Also my MPG sucks. I get 250 miles to a tank. Others on this board have reported up to and over 300 to a tank. So what do you guys think of the MarkVIIIs?

keep the SC

I have always liked both! They are different cars on a similar chassis. If you are interested in the Mark VIII, there is a very good Mark VIII board, Lincolns of Distinction. Here is the link:

Lincolns of Distinction

the best mileage I have gotten with my SC is 300 per tank. The best with my 93 Mark VIII has been 512 miles per tank.

Gas mileage aside, they are two very different cars to drive. The Mark VIII is much quieter, smoother, and comfortable. The SC has much more torque, "feels faster", and gives you better handling.

Style wise, if you get a 97-98 Mark VIII and you are young, you just look like a pimp (okay by me). The 93-96's are nice, especially in black, and especially if you upgrade to the 96 HID lights.

the SC's are nice too. If you go from a Mark VIII to an SC, you will miss the Mark VIII ride. If you go from an SC to a Mark VIII, you will miss the SC torque.

Brian

I had a 98 LSC before I got my 92 SC... Personally, if you get a 97 or 98 LSC you will not miss the SC. There is enough power with manner to make every SC bows its bumper as the LSC passes.

I love my SC, but when you drive that $45,000 ('98 brand new) Mark you will know exactly why you chose it. At 140mph down the highway around bends and curves with the XGT Z4's holding to the ground like rails to a train, and with the 'somewhat' quiet hum as you push the pedal to the floor and walk (no run) away from anything that MAY have been able to keep up with you at that point, mmm,.... Sorry, got lost on one of my ol'driving stories.

Silly me, after the accident I chose an SC thinking "It's only $4,000, I can own it and save money." Mind you my payment on the Lincoln was $650/month. If I only knew that the SC just 7 months later would cost me $12,000 on top of the price I paid. If I knew that ahead of time, I would have just bought another 98 LSC.

But now we are pressed into the 13.xx time frames which equivocates to Lots of Fun On The Street. But still not as much fun as the style and respect that the 98 LSC earns as it cruises down the road.

Just my opinion of course,
Anthony

Look like a pimp...

Hey that shouldn't even be considered a disadvantage, I actually paid money to make my car look like "pimp". I get a strange feeling of satisfaction when the car gets called "pimpmobile". Now if I could only get a fur coat and some wholesale gold...

Stas.

gas mileage

Well I have a 89 SC auto and I get around 250 miles per tank. I drive almost all intown and one trip or too on the highway. I got the exact same mileage on my 90 Cougar LS n/a 3.8 V6. That's around 15.5 miles per gallon. When I first got my Cougar in 97 I drove a more mixed city/highway average and always got around 19 miles per gallon. When my job was righ in town before I bought the SC I was getting 250 miles per tank on the Couagr. It all depends on how much highway you drive. The Cougar had a trip computer and when running on flat highway at 60 mph instant economy showed 26 miles per gallon.

I check my mileage all the time so I can tell if anything wrong with the engine. I lot of guys brag on there mileage after a long trip. Well running 1800 rpms on flat ground for hours will get you good economy.

heh, my last trip to indy was two weeks ago. It was me all by myself, 100% hiway, and I cruised at 80, never stepping over 90. I got 294 miles to a full tank... it's pretty depressing.



Brian

93MARKVIII, does your Mark have 3.08 gears? The Marks I drove didn't feel that fast around town from stoplight to stoplight with the salesman in the pass seat. I would think if you wanted to hustle the Mark around in town with a heavy right foot gas mileage would be no better than an SC. The 4.6 might have a much superior fuel economy on the highway, but intown?

What was your avg mileage per tank on the Mark?

Something of interest, both the Lincoln LS and the new T-Bird have the same EPA rating city / highway mpg of 17 and 23. That's exactly what my 89 SC was rated at.

The new LS might be faster haven't seen any numbers, but the new 2003 T-Bird performance numbers are exactly the same as an auto SC. Evidently you can't have fuel economy and performance on a 3700 lb platform.

Yep, stock mark VIII's come with 3.08 gears. I believe it's the same gearing as my 94SC.

If you are getting 18mpg with your SC in the city, that is awesome. I can't seem to get anything over 15mpg in the streets and 19-20 on the hiway. I don't think any of the V6 tbirds I have owned have done any better than that.

Brian

The Great Delima

Tis a very classic case of styling vs. power. You have two very similar cars, two door luxo sport coupes, with two EXTREMELY different agendas, flat out sporty speed and manuverability and luxurious ride and road presence. It's not quite as bad as comparing apples to oranges, but you just aren't gonna look at these two cars to do the same thing for you. The SC is gonna flat out run HARDER...you'll get more performance and manuverability out of it. The Mark has better road manners and it looks good rolling up to a restaurant (or a concert, or next to a BMW 850, or next to a Benz 500SL) w/your better half (be it male or female). It just so happens that the Mark is a bit of a beast as well.

I've had FIVE SCs and only one Mark..I loved them all, but when I needed to make a quick run...the SC got the draw. On long trips, called on the Mark ( and it is far FAR better on gas). So I say GET THEM BOTH!!!!