50-to-Dead but Not Dead Yet

Filed in archive on December 30, 2005

Tony Swan is one of those auto writers whose work I always find amusing. He's funny, he's honest, and he doesn't make reading a test drive a chore. Tony's been testing the Lincoln Zephyr and once again hit the mark by complaining about the industry's obssession with youth and ignoring what it calls the "50-to-dead market."

Tony writes in this Detroit Free Press review, "as a 50-to-dead guy myself, I'm a little offended by this attitude toward the gray end of the market spectrum." Write on, Tony! I, too, am in that crowd and not all older folk regard the act of driving as a chore. Some of us still like to have fun and believe it or not, we're still able.

What especially bothers Tony Swan is Lincoln's claim that the Zephyr is "a new luxury midsize sedan that will attract new and younger customers." Not going to work, folks. That's because this car, in the words of the reviewer, "is about as exciting as a bowl of cold oatmeal." He gives it credit for good emergency avoidance maneuvers and braking performance but questions the power output, which is less than the Mercury Milan with the same engine. I suppose Lincoln didn't want us geezers to get nervous with all those horses under our foot. Good review, worth reading.