A first generation Lincoln Town Car with black license plates, seen in central Beijing in early 2012. The big American sedan was in a perfect shape and looked almost as new. It was painted in pearl white with a dark-red vinyl top, further made pretty with darkened windows and still fitted with the original factory alloy wheels.
I saw this brilliant car in an hutong area not far from Dongzhimen. The parking lot was walled-off with a company entrance nearby. In those days, these central hutong areas were home to many high-end semi-government organizations and lobbying firms. Most don’t like curious laowai snooping around, and indeed a guard told me to go away. So sadly, I only managed to snap a single shot and I never saw the car again.
The first generation Lincoln Town Car was manufactured from 1980 until 1989. It was based on the Ford Panther platform and powered by a 4.9 liter ‘5.0L Windsor V8’ with an output of 155 hp and 250 Nm. Power went to the real wheels via a 4-speed automatic transmission. It was not officially sold in China so these are very rare down here. Some cars arrived via diplomatic channels and some others via the black-plate regulations, like this car.
The famous black license plates were issued to foreign owned companies from the 1980’s to the mid 00’s. These companies could buy a car locally or import one. There were no limits on the number of cars or on price or on engine type. The numbering started at A·00001 and then up. So the lower the number the older the car. Each province and municipality had its own black-license plate program. This Town Car has 京A·07294, so that’s a very early one.
Hopefully, this great Lincoln Town Car is still around somewhere in China, hidden away in a secluded hutong area or serving as a wedding car in a village down in the countryside.