Yeah, I think Ford tried to solve the tank problem by putting a rubber bladder around the tank. Not sure how well the fix works, though.

My dad has a Town Car and so do many of my firends (3). They all love them. One friend has one called the "country club edition", white with white leather, heated seats, a great car for road trips. Pick one up you'll probably like it. I don't like those column shifters either but it frees up the floor and the space between the seats and I think thats why they still roll with that style, you can seat 3 up front if you have to, too. Hard to beat for the money and reliable, repairs aren't cheap though.

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1984 300D turbo, 250K
1971 MGBGT, 101K
2007 VW Jetta, 4K