Back in '96 we took my wife's then new Ford Crown Victoria to Montana back when they had no daytime speed limit. We drove at about 100 mph for well over an hour at a time, and at that time I thought the Crown Vic was pretty quiet and competent driving at that speed. In '99 I picked up an old '73 450 SEL for fifteen hundred bucks. The ancient 450 feels much more comfortable at 100 mph than the Crown Vic. In fact I just drove the 450 from Sacramento to LA and back and it was pleasureable spending 7 hours behind the wheel flogging the antique. It begs to be driven fast. Since then I've picked up two other W116 cars, a 1980 450 SEL and a 1980 300 SD. I can drive three neat old Benzs for the price of a new stripper Escort. Talk about a bargain!

Steve Forscutt