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Is it Mark VIII already?

It seems like just yesterday that I was borrowing my girlfriend’s dad’s Mark IV, a fire-engine-red behemoth with an impossibly long hood and white-leather seats.

Thankfully, styles change. And so does consumer demand.

Posh personal-luxury coupes, exclusive in price and deliciously impractical, no longer command the market they once had.

Such things as sport-utility vehicles and boomers-having-babies took much of the wind out the sails of cars whose glamorous styling and lavish appointments defined the motoring aspirations of several generations of American drivers.

The newly refurbished Lincoln Mark VIII, with more power, more features and even more panache, bucks the trend. And it does it so well.

Upgraded with some new body-sculpting and jazzy features (including really strange headlights), the Mark VIII has managed to move up a notch on the desirability scale. At the same time, it holds the line on prices–the Mark VIII and other Lincolns are down a bit for ’97.

Much of the newfound appeal is in the realm of performance.

Ford’s 4.6-liter overhead-cam V-8 provides the motivation, upgraded for ’97 to 290 horsepower of smooth, seamless pull. The high-performance exhaust note adds an element of schizophrenia–this hot-rod Lincoln can’t decide whether to cruise the country club or show off at the drag strip.

No matter. It’s fast and it’s responsive, thanks to the trick suspension that irons out the rough stuff while keeping this heavy cruiser remarkably level on curves, thanks to computer-adjusted air springs. You can get places in a hurry without mussing your hair or disturbing the tranquillity of your pampered passengers.

Handling for this heavyweight is very well-sorted. Perched on a stretched Thunderbird chassis, the rear-wheel driver feels poised and balanced.

The steering is sports-car quick, but it’s also way overboosted. Much too light to the touch and numb to the senses, the steering setup obviously plays to the luxury-car side at the expense of performance.

The relatively firm suspension, on the other hand, has a definite sporting edge. Still, there are no harsh edges here, and smoothness and refinement are foremost.

As befitting a luxury coupe, the Mark VIII comes heavily laden with a full cargo of features, some of them pretty unusual.

A short list:

Outside mirrors that tilt down when reverse is engaged and with built-in turn signals to warn nearby drivers of lane changes.

When the doors are unlocked by remote control, the mirrors illuminate the flanks of the car and the ground alongside it. Lincoln calls them ”puddle lamps.”

Neon lighting on the rear deck.

Those wild headlights, that glow bright on low beam and, on high beam, could double as aircraft-landing lights.

A steering wheel that glides out of the way for entry and exit, then motors back into place when the ignition key is inserted.

An absolutely am azing stereo system with 10-disc CD changer.

A computer system that, with the touch of a button, will analyze major mechanical systems, compute gas mileage, check the oil, display the date and time, and tell you which way you’re going.

The interior is lush without being too plush. Supportive leather seats are set in a wide, roomy cabin, all nicely appointed, with an uncluttered dashboard that steps down in a nicely flowing shape.

The gauges are simple and straightforward.

But the small chrome clasps that hold closed the spring-loaded cupholder and console lid have got to go. I can’t tell you how often I inadvertently hit one with my elbow and popped open the lid or holder.

The enormous doors are obviously made to ease entry to the back seat, but they’re a pain in parking lots and just plain unwieldy.

The back seats could use more room for legs and heads. The trunk is cavernous.

Touting power and prestige, the Lincoln is aimed at an old er crowd, empty -nesters and such, who desire some spark and style.

In doing so, the Mark VIII faces formidable competition from the likes of Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti, Jaguar, Mercedes-

Benz, Volvo and sport-utility vehicles driven by a legion of former luxury-car buyers.

1997 Lincoln Mark VIII

Vehicle type: Five-passenger, two-door coupe, rear-wheel-drive. Base price: $39,950. Price as tested: Not available. Engine: 4.6-liter V-8, 290 horsepower at 5,750 rpm, 295 pound-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm. Transmission: Four-speed automatic. Curb weight: 3,778 pounds. Length: 207.3 inches. Wheelbase: 113 inches. Safety features: Dual air bags, anti-lock brakes. EPA fuel economy: 18 mpg city, 26 mpg highway. Highs: Sharp performance. Gorgeous styling. Nice interior. Lows: Overly light steering. Soft suspension. Huge doors. Poor back-seat space.