The definition of the classic American luxury sedan preaches bigger is better, rear-wheel drive, plush leather seats for six full-sized adults, and a V8 engine. The Lincoln Town Car remains the most traditional form of that definition still found in new car showrooms.

At 215.4 inches in overall length on a 117.7-inch wheelbase and 221.4/123.7 inches (length and wheelbase) for the extended-length L trim sedans, we are speaking - big. With all that room to play with it's easy to seat six adults in the cabin, swath them in leather, panel them in burl walnut, and top it all off with an analog clock and leather steering wheel. The interior exudes comfort and serenity. Working in conjunction with the suspension - classic American land barge tuned to a mannerly sedan handling level - the occupants travel in a tranquil cocoon. Some slight engine noise and perhaps some wind whoosh over 60 mph might disturb the ambiance, but only as long as it takes to turn on the sound system. The cavernous trunk holds everything, but needs some good back muscles to get things out due to a deep center well.

A V8 engine with 239-hp, hooked to a four-speed automatic transmission dates the Town Car as an American classic highway cruiser. But that's what the Lincoln Town Car was built for and that's why so many limousine and livery services use them to haul people and their luggage back and forth to airports. Private owners buy them for their safety (great crash ratings), smooth ride, luxury comfort, and nostalgic prestige.

All that aside, reviewers understand that the Town Car represents a nostalgic dinosaur when handling and performance enter the equation. V6s and five, six, even seven-speed automatic transmissions are showing up in the competition. Lincoln knows that nostalgia doesn't sell as well as technology.