Motorweek 1998 Full Size Sedan Comparison Test

Motorweek 1998 Full Size Sedan Comparison Test. I don't own this video.

[@benjochs]

Junkyard scene: “It was here we took a closer look at the LeSabre” lmao

[@CB-sr5jp]

It was soon to end up in there too.

[@phantom0456]

@@CB-sr5jp​​⁠​⁠Nope. The 3800 V6 is one of the most prolific and dependable engines ever made. I still see plenty of GM cars of this era that used this H body (or other closely related) platform(s) and the 3800 V6/4 speed automatic power train on the road. They were very dependable cars, from a mechanical standpoint.

[@WesternReloader]

@@phantom0456facts. The venerable 3800 IS still the best engine in the V6 category… I’m looking for a 1998 Olds Intrigue that initially had that engine

[@fakejeepman06]

​@@phantom0456I see a lot of them here in Texas still driving, but I'm sure if you go north you will see less LeSabres of this year range on the road, and more in junkyards from rust.

[@barsaf9989]

They should bring these types of reviews back. The show was nice to watch when they would tie in cars with landmarks and destinations.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

It would be great if people still wanted such cars! What people want now is pretty sorry!

[@MyGuyJustinH]

I agree, I love these types of reviews, too. They do need to bring these types of reviews back.

[@briantorres7339]

The Concorde would be the only one in the Junkyard. All the others, esp the Avalon, would still be on the road today.

[@Krzrrazrrokr]

It’s possible the Concorde could still be going. Especially if it didn’t have the 2.7 v6

[@johnjones393]

Agreed. If the engine didn't junk the Concorde the crappy transmission would have. Total junk.

[@SuperBooboo02]

there are a huge amount of Buicks from that era still rolling around too

[@ChatterboxFM]

You just can’t kill a Panther, it was the last of the breed and I miss it.

[@jayburris6252]

My parents still have a concord and drive it regularly.

[@ic1815]

I like when John would give his interior review in the interior, not the voiceover!!

[@MyGuyJustinH]

I liked that too

[@jblyon2]

Funny enough, the first of any of those likely to end up in the junkyard, by a huge margin, was the Concorde

[@OldDood]

Yes, they were mostly sizzle and very little steak. I always like Chrysler design but they’re fit and finish and engineering were horrible.

[@Butchcub75]

Ill take the Mercury then the Buick followed by the Avalon, you can keep the Concorde and its fragile 41TE transmission. The others last forever if you care for them. I own my grandmothers Grand Marquis, 1998 with 88,000 miles on it. Got it in 2014 when she passed with 55,000 miles ion it ;) another great find from this channel

[@Butchcub75]

troll alert. troll alert. whoop whoop whoop. Go back under your bridge. Ill forget more about cars than youll ever know. Danger danger cant have an opinion, Karen doesnt like it. LOL. All three transmissions have their own issues, but not as many or as serious as you do child..HA. Grow up. @JDns-we4fw

[@1983jblack]

Of them all, I call the Mercury a true large car. At ~ 214", it was prolly a foot longer than the rest

[@davewilson7602]

That’s true but due to the body on frame design the interior was about the same volume

[@exxusdrugstore300]

@@davewilson7602 Yeah the back seats are pretty sad in any of them short of the Town Car and the extra-length Taxi.

[@chrislong8986]

Not really the Concorde was 209.1" only about 5in shorter compared the LeSabre 200.8 in and the Avalon's 191.9 in length

[@gavinvalentino6002]

"prolly" ???? When you're too stupid to be embarassed...

[@johnjones393]

The Grand Marquis is beautiful and is built like a tank. The Toyota, while a bit boring is a great choice for years drama free driving. The Buick and its 3800 is peak GM though the transmission is a weak point. The Concorde was total junk from day one. Can't remember when I last saw one on the road.

[@engineer_alv]

Agreed. Everyone talks about how great the 3800 Series II engine is but most people fail to mention the 4T60E/4T65E was a weak point. Not as bad as the Ultradrive but it wasn't a match for the engine. And it was even worst on the supercharged cars despite being the HD version.

[@cavalierliberty6838]

​@@engineer_alvand when they put the ls4, literally the worst LS, to it... I've heard of those getting ruined in 30k miles.

[@chrisheisey9654]

Its a shame that dodge and Chrysler from this era where so plagued by planed obsolescence. They look good both in and out and they seem to preform well. I cant even think of the last time i've seen a Concord, 300, or Intrepid on the road

[@hottew_twat3963]

ALL bad transmissions to the point of extinction

[@swainer8014]

​@@hottew_twat3963 also the water pump failures on those transverse FWD cars. Such good look cars too.

[@carlasghost656]

A coworker has a Concord. It looks every bit of its 20+ years old. Chrysler never seemed to get paint/clear coat down to a science.

[@peachyclean93]

It was when Daimler bought Chrysler Daimler sucked out everything they wanted to start putting mandatory ABS and side impact airbags on all the cars as standard equipment and Daimler said no! It's very true. If you look back when the Intrepid and Chrysler Concorde came out they were loaded with standard features towards the end when Daimler took over when Lee iacocca left everything went to shit! That is the truth. I still have an Intrepid and I still see older Chrysler vehicles on the road compared to most others!

[@aaronwilliams6989]

@@peachyclean93 Lee Iacoca left Chrysler years before Daimler took over in 1998. He retired from the company around 1993.

[@jkeelsnc]

I would have the Avalon first and then the grand marquis second. Those had some staying power and reliability especially the Avalon. Some say the lesabre but they had a weak transmission and a subpar intake gasket that failed and led to spun rod bearings. I would trust the Avalon first.

[@TeeroyHammermill]

Those 4.6 Fords from this era would bust open their intake gaskets spilling coolant everywhere. Also they're known for chronic "Check Engine" lights as that Mercury already had it on at only 4000mi. Either way I'd take the Ford. RWD V8 with LSD is better than FWD in my opinion. Plus it's ready to tow.

[@jblyon2]

The Buick also had a faulty intake manifold. It was plastic but they kept the metal EGR pipe running through it. The hot exhaust gasses melted the intake and also dumped coolant into the oil. That flaw killed many a 3800 Series II if it wasn't noticed quickly enough. They went back to a metal intake manifold on the Series III, rather than redesign the EGR system.

[@RallyLancer95]

I still see all of these but the Concorde lol

[@gavinvalentino6002]

"lol" ? No. *STOP.*

[@theeoddments960]

@@gavinvalentino6002shut up Lol

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

Motorweek really did pick the turkey with the Chrysler. These were ugly in the 90's and mechanically they aged like milk. All the other cars in the test are known to be pretty bulletproof. I'd go for the Mercury though, bit more fun to fool around in with RWD and V8. Plus its got the iconic look to it, as it was used by law enforcement and the tv/movie industry for 20+years now.

[@Butchcub75]

"aged like milk" thats funny. I worked for Chrysler in the early 2000s you couldnt give me one. ANY Mopar with a 4 speed auto fwd had the 41TE or version of the ultradrive tranny was junk. These transmission were horrible.. But the Crapica(Pacifica), PT Loser, Sebwrong(Sebring) and Crapfire(Crossfire) were all junk (our names at chrysler for them) Even the second and third gen GC and Durangos had issues.. I quit just as Fiat was buying them... Mercedes ownership was bad enough..

[@RaymondHaley-bi8lx]

The LeSabre is still on the road, along with the Toyota Avalon,end of story.

[@OldDood]

You are correct, sir

[@MyGuyJustinH]

I went on a field trip to U.S Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL., when I was in Elementary School.

[@carwrtr1]

Grand Marquis is my first choice, but without the “handling & performance package,” which uses more fuel. This is a luxury car, not a sports car. Its rear wheel drive platform gives a superior ride, too, and it’s easier to service. Reliability is a high note as well. The LeSabre or Avalon would be a good second choice.

[@juanpedroglez-murr6599]

The only true car there would be the wonderfull ,elegant, and beautiful Grand Marquis

[@OldDood]

Notice how the dash on the Mercury and the Buick had no hump or cockpit feel. Straight across Dash just like old school cars. I used to own a 1994 Buick LeSabre limited it was a wonderful car to do road trips on. You got very good gas mileage and was very quiet. The problem was rust. Even though I got over 200,000 miles on that wonderful 3.8 L engine the wheel wells in the trunk rusted clean through.

[@skoobijetstone6187]

They chose the Concorde for styling, but in my opinion the styling of that car aged the worst. I get it though; it was the shiny new toy in the group. Here's my styling ranking: Lesabre Grand Marquis Avalon Concorde (slightly smashed melted candy bar body, googly eyed headlights)

[@Fony_turgeson]

i always like the 300m much better

[@Krzrrazrrokr]

When talking about Concordes I liked the first generation better than this one

[@patrickmcgoldrick8234]

I agree with you one to four rating, the sad part is the Concord did not age well and wasn't reliable for the most part.

[@engineer_alv]

I'd put the GM above the LeSabre. IMO the LeSabre looked aging by the time this comparison took place. Very little changes compared to 93MY. Totally agreed about the Concord. The 2002 refresh when they adopted the LHS styling was much better. That's how the car should've looked from the very beginning

[@peachyclean93]

​@@patrickmcgoldrick8234I don't know about that I still see them chugging along on the roads where I live I don't remember the last time I've seen an Avalon on Marquee or a LeSa

[@thatcarguy1UZ]

All three of the non Chryslers are decent cars. I really like the Toyota Avalon but I think back in 1998 I would have gone with the buick. I also really like the grand marquis, but it's not that good on gas. The only downside to the LeSabre is I don't find it to be an ugly car, but I much preferred the way it looked before it had the facelift in 1997. The 96 was an OBD2 car, with the series 2 3800 V6 but still with the better looking front end.

[@christianweston2199]

Now large cars are shrinking beacuse of SUVS.

[@Butchcub75]

NO large cars. ;(

[@christianweston2199]

@@Butchcub75 I know

[@aaronwilliams6989]

Those cars held a lot more appeal for me than today's vastly scrunch up, dull looking, over sophisticated and super overpriced and underwhelming jellybeans on wheels .

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

Man those Concordes were total junk. Much better of just sticking with the Toyota

[@42luke93]

Just like how America trys to compete with imports making small cars I wish it was the same way like the 90s where Toyota tried making full sized American sedans with the front bench seats too!

[@hottew_twat3963]

do it in a park avenue

[@OldDood]

Are used to own a 1994 Buick LeSabre limited and later on we owned a 2000 Park Ave. I thought the Park Avenue would be superior to LeSabre. However, the LeSabre had a much better ride overall, it actually felt faster than the Park Avenue.

[@Qrani]

@@OldDood They stiffened up the Park Avenue for 97, same with the LeSabre for 2000. The 91 Park Avenue and 92 LeSabre would ride about the same, though the Park Avenue does have a little more weight which should help, despite the suspension otherwise being the exact same

[@texan903]

For me, style rankings are as follows: 1. Toyota Avalon 2. Buick LeSabre 3. Mercury Grand Marquis 4. Chrysler Concorde Toyota is the only one that had a sleek, modern look. Buick and Mercury brought classic designs and interior layouts, which is visually appealing. Chrysler looked unusual and lacks cohesion.

[@charlesb7019]

Sorry, Grand Marquis was the best of the bunch.

[@phonecorner1]

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[@peachyclean93]

I'd take the Concord 👋👇

[@john5389]

You'd most likely have to head to the junk yard then!

[@peachyclean93]

@@john5389 there's still quite a few of them on the road!!

[@peachyclean93]

​@@john5389I cannot even remember the last time I saw an old generation Toyota Avalon on the road You know why cuz they're all in the junkyard Japanese junk😂

[@john5389]

@@peachyclean93 You must not do much historic research! It's just a FACT Japanese and most imports are overall more reliable than their domestic counterparts! Especially back when this video was made.

[@peachyclean93]

@@john5389 🤣🤣 I would take an American car over a Japanese any day I have five Chrysler vehicles still running 34 years old 27 years old My grandmother and grandfather's Camrys are both in the junkyard! Toyotas are junk