What older sedan is the epitome of class?

Steve Chryssos wrote: Look! It's the first Lincoln town car on 30's. This must be the epitome of class.

Lessee, front door opens upwards...check. Rear door opens upside-down...check. Wait! What the hell is wrong with the trunk?!!

MadScientistMatt wrote: It wouldn't have been seen this way when new, but I think a lot of early Dodge Darts have it. I think 1964 was the high water mark for the early styling - like it better than the way they'd squared off the front of my '66. Volvo 144s have it too.

WTF are you smokin' MadScientistMatt?

Neither, in anyway are classy, attractive maybe, classy, no.

now this volvo

Stay classy GRM!

Gotta say 50s era Mercedes sedans turn me on, too, like this '53 300.

'70's Pimp-tastic.

http://www.madle.org/ecorvorado.htm

Oozing with Class!

Related, it is hard not to have a commanding presence when you arrive in a stock, mint Eldorado Convertible.

Wherever you go, people will stop and look.

Those of you who voted for a Jag were close, but any variant of an XJ6 to me means you are ready to be stranded on the side of the road at anytime. The real classy sedan is the Mk1.

You still may end up stranded on the side of the road, but you will look a lot more classy than you would standing next to your XJ6.

Audrey Hepburn would vote for the Lancia Flaminia

Not affordable though...

Taiden wrote: Ones you could actually afford to drive. My vote:

What an awesome way to drain a wallet:-)

Naw. E28s are solid old things, and parts are cheap. (M5 excepted).

My vote goes to the W108 Merc.

Getting old

A better era

Maybe a little over the top

I think the XJ and the Turbo R definitely have it, and I actually agree with the Dart and the Volvo, there is a n appropriateness to the designs that are restrained and "classy". I think the W123 is a little classy, not so much as many other models but for the dollar its a good ratio.

Old BMW parts are scary cheap IMO, they do have the rare big ticket items though... like if you need to replace a front strut housing. Good luck with that.

Definitely the Jaguar. Twenty or thirty years ago, the Benz's were classy, but now, just about anyone on food stamps has one with big chrome wheels and a Carmax sticker on the back. BMW's are almost as bad. Downright common.

1947 Cadillac Series 62...

I think Japan got it right around the turn of the millennium ... ...Understated, COmfy, performance oriented...says class to me

and one last stateside contender

FlightService wrote: WTF are you smokin' MadScientistMatt? Neither, in anyway are classy, attractive maybe, classy, no. now this volvo

I ain't saying, but it used up most of my budget...

Seriously, got a really long commute and a couple financial goals that are temporarily crimping my budget, so the "cars you can afford" rule would mean not just a car with a low price, but one that wouldn't kill me with fuel costs or repair bills for putting hundreds of miles on it a week. A 7 series BMW, Lincoln, or Imperial might have fit the initial purchase, but the operating costs might be a killer. The Mercedes W123 or W124s, maybe.

The P1800 is a really great example of classy styling, just doesn't fit the rules for this thread.

Classy:

Well... it may not win any "affordability" awards, but you gotta hand it to the Commies!

I cringe imagining the maintainence costs, but Audi A8s always seem to imply, ever so subtly, something like "I'm better than you and it's so obvious I have no need to shout."

Old Crowns are very nice as well.

Then there's the Citreon DS, which I would most like to be seen in.

MadScientistMatt wrote:

FlightService wrote: WTF are you smokin' MadScientistMatt? Neither, in anyway are classy, attractive maybe, classy, no. now this volvo

I ain't saying, but it used up most of my budget... Seriously, got a really long commute and a couple financial goals that are temporarily crimping my budget, so the "cars you can afford" rule would mean not just a car with a low price, but one that wouldn't kill me with fuel costs or repair bills for putting hundreds of miles on it a week. A 7 series BMW, Lincoln, or Imperial might have fit the initial purchase, but the operating costs might be a killer. The Mercedes W123 or W124s, maybe. The P1800 is a really great example of classy styling, just doesn't fit the rules for this thread.

older 7series could be had in 735 guise.. leading to decent power and decent fuel costs.. especially when compared to the 750 with it's v12

Mazda? Toyota? The "epitome" of class? No way! I am willing to consider a Lexus, being biased by having one myself, but not an ES... I think Bentley, Rolls, Jag, are all contenders. But not the pedestrian Japanese brands. They might be classy but not enough so to be in contention for the "epitome" of class.

Affordable .. oh. Never mind.

Yeah, the day somebody calls a Lexus "classy" is the day that Webster's needs to change the definition. I'll give them "competent", and "comfortable", but "classy"? I think NOT!

dculberson wrote: But not the pedestrian Japanese brands.

How about non-pedistrian Japanese brands...

Lexus can be classy. Some of the cars shown are little...aged. Not quite classics, and trying too hard.

Classy Lexus: