1995 Cadillac DeVille Concours vs. 1995 Lincoln Continental

Okay, so you've finally arrived; midlife crisis is a thing of the past and a six-figure annual income is a thing of the present. You're shopping for a new car that befits your station in life-preferably one marked "Made in the U.S.A."-but you shudder at the thought of what the term "traditional luxury" implies when it comes to handling and performance. Well, here's a pair of state-of-the-art American heavy cruisers that will help allay those fears. The Cadillac DeVille Concours, introduced for the '94 model year, and the new-for-'95 Lincoln Continental have all the features one associates with the luxo genre, but also offer uncommon levels of dynamic competence.

Spanning 209.7 inches bumper to bumper, with a 113.8-inch wheelbase, the 3985-pound Cadillac holds a slight edge in size over the 3969-pound Lincoln, which measures 206.3 inches nose to tail and 109.0 inches between the front and rear wheel centers. However, both the Concours, with 113.7 cubic feet of interior space, and the Continental, with 102.2 cubic feet, not only qualify as EPA large cars, they embody a megadose of practical technology interwoven with myriad luxury cues.

Each breaks the traditional mold by forsaking rear drive for front, although both deliver V-8 power-and sophisticated V-8 power at that. Another parallel: Both vehicles employ an integrated-systems approach to suspension and powertrain technologies-Northstar in the Cadillac, InTech in the Lincoln. Price of entry starts at $39,400 for the Concours and $40,750 for the Continental. Our typically optioned test vehicles stickered at $42,021 and $45,315, respectively.

Motivating force in both of these stellar four-doors are 4.6-liter all-aluminum DOHC 32-valve V-8s fed by sequential-port fuel injection. Both are designed to be virtually maintenance-free and boast 100,000-mile tuneup intervals.

Cadillac's familiar Northstar receives several tweaks for '95. Heading the list is a new free-flowing thermoplastic intake manifold and revised fuel rails that raise the pony count by five to 275 horsepower at 5600 rpm. Torque remains a healthy 300 pound-feet at 4000 rpm. Not to be outdone, the Continental has Ford's showpiece InTech modular engine (a version of that used in the Lincoln Mark VIII). A close match for the Northstar in smoothness and responsiveness, the InTech develops 260 horsepower at 5750 rpm and 265 pound-feet of torque at 4750 rpm. Each engine is paired with an electronically controlled four-speed automatic transaxle. Full-range traction control is standard in the Concours and optional in the Continental.

Along with powertrain components, an integral part of the Northstar and InTech systems is their suspension design and hardware. The Cadillac, which uses struts up front, unequal-length control arms at the rear, and an anti-roll bar at each axle, features Road Sensing Suspension (RSS), which automatically changes shock-absorber damping from soft to firm as driving conditions dictate. Also on board: vehicle-speed-variable power rack-and-pinion steering and auto-leveling. For '95, the Concours has been upgraded with Cadillac's new Integrated Chassis Control System hardware, which consists of a command module for the ABS and traction-control systems, plus a steering-angle sensor, all of which interface with the RSS to improve handling and braking.

The Continental's Road Calibrated Suspension (RCS) employs a design similar to the Concours' system. In place of conventional coils, however, the Lincoln has air springs with electronically adjustable dampers and adds a variable-ratio dimension to its speed-sensitive power rack-and-pinion steering. In addition to a normal midlevel default setting, the RCS also gives drivers the option to dial in more or less steering effort and ride firmness.