By Ray Chartrand
Dubbed as a “BMW Beater,” I eagerly looked forward to the arrival of the new Lincoln LS back in 2000. Yet I discovered the software engineers seemed confused about how soft or aggressive the automatic transmission should engage and shift. They erred on the side of a soft engagement.
Because of that, when you were parked on a downhill incline and placed the car in reverse, the car would roll forward for five feet before deciding to engage reverse. No matter how much gas you gave it, it kept rolling. I was so preoccupied in having it move backwards that I never thought of pressing on the brakes until I was mere inches from the car in front that I was rolling toward and about to hit.
Another software glitch in the original Rev 1 non-sport LS came with the non-high-speed tires that maxed out at 145 mph. My next sport model with high-speed rated tires maxed out at 132 mph.
Overall however it was a terrific car that was poorly marketed by Lincoln. It died an untimely death.
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