I used to be a non-generic brand guy thinking I had to have the best. I became the controller of a tag and label manufacturer. We had a lot of huge accounts. We did a LOT of pharmaceutical companies (Print had to be perfect on aspirin bottle and big profit margin.) Cumberland Swan is a huge company. When they would order labels for their products they would order half that said Cumberland Swan and the other half for in-house brands. For example Equate the big Wal-Mart brand for their pharmaceuticals. All of Wal_marts Equate brands were made by the big boys. I toured some of these plants and what was odd was that none of the generics were seconds or overstocks, just a different label. Every thing Purity Dairy makes has a mirror imaged Kroger brand. I asked the guy at Purity why and how they could sell the exact same two products to Kroger with two different prices and the only difference was the label. He said a jug of Purity milk with a Kroger label on it has no advertising dollars in it.

I buy Wal-Mart and Kroger brand stuff all the time now and save money. When you think about it, it's not like Wally World has an aspirin plant some where (yet) so someone has to make it. I know that some of their equivalents are Scope, Cumberland Swan, Listerine, Plax, Tylenol, Bayer - could probably think of a few more, but ya get the gist.

Brad

 

Chevy cavaliers to Cadillacs? You talking bout the J Body platform?

 

He is talking about the Cadillac Cimmeron it is built off of the Cavalier platform. Its a cheap way for Cadillac to attract young buyers and create a fuel efficient model.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Cimarron

 

That's the one. Shortly after they were introduced in 82, a rebuilder friend of mine bought one that wasn't badly damaged at a salvage auction. He foolishly assumed it was a typically equipped Cadillac. When he got it home, he looked at it closely and discovered it was a 5 speed, 4 cylinder with manual windows and door locks. It was simply a tan Cavalier with leather seats and a different front and rear end treatment. He took a beating when he finally sold it and he lived rough with our teasing. That is the only plain Jane Cadillac I have ever seen.

 

I bought an 06 F150 KR black / Tan, the reason I went with it over the Lincoln was comfort believe it or not. When I sat in the Lincoln I was very disapointed with the seats, when I sat down it felt like I was sitting on the base of the seat "not enough padding" when I sat in the KR it was a night and day difference the seats were much better. Also I did not like all that plastic crome on the bottom of the Lincoln, felt it looked cheesie in my opinion. I'm sure the Lincoln might ride a little better, but I like the looks of mine much better. The price was 2k difference.

 

You got that right! Buying a new Town Car doesn't make much sense to me (leasing: different story), but I guess someone has to do it. For sheer VALUE, I don't think there's a better buy out there than a nice used Town Car. Roomy and luxurious, unbelievably reliable and long-lasting, and relatively cheap to fix. The '92 I just bought has 155,000 miles, and I'm not hesitating to drive it to Florida. Technically sophisticated? Hell no, not even close to what anyone else is building (not even Cadillac), but someone looking for a high-tech luxury car wouldn't be caught DEAD looking at a TC, so I guess it doesn't matter.

BTW, when the Versailles first came out, Road Test Magazine did a review, and the headline said "Lincoln Versailles: Louis XIV would NOT be pleased..."

 

I checked the specs for 1998 Ford Crown Vic, Lincoln Town Car, and Lincoln Continental, and they all have different wheel base (114.7, 117.7, 109"). Do not appear to be based the same model. Or are they? I am confused. Always thought Town Car and Crown Vic are different models.
den25.

 

The Town Car and Crown Vic are very similar mechanically. The Continental is FWD and was based on the Taurus Chassis. The wheelbase may be different as it is on a pickup truck (short bed, long bed, extended cab, crew cab, etc.). The Town Car also has an L (for long) option that adds another 6" vehicle for more legroom in the rear (and look at some of the stretches). The shocks and spring rates are different and the Town Car has air suspension and auto leveling in the rear. There are also differences in horsepower due to diffeent exhaust systems, computer programing, etc. They are different but the basic vehicle is the same under the skin.

 

I can tell you about my experience, I do most of my own work on vehicles (body, paint, uholstry, etc. and am currently designing and started building my own bed cover), by the time I added up what i could really buy a p/u for and do the mods I want versus buying the Mark LT and doing a few minor things I want, I saved about $3,000 with the LT.

 

That's mainly correct. The Town Car/Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis are all built on the panther platform. The Town Car is 3" longer than the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis. The Town Car and the Crown Vic can both be had in the extended wheelbase model that adds 6" to their respective wheel bases (although the extended wheelbase Vic is fleet only). However, all three models can be had with rear air suspension, not just the Town Car. All come with a 4.6L v8 and can be had with dual exhaust to up the power.