For the second time in less than nine months our technical editor, Scott Memmer, had the pleasure of driving our long-term Lincoln LS. For those of you who may not know, Lincoln made a big splash in the sport sedan segment last year (model year 2000) with a sleek and stylish entry called the LS. While not quite the BMW-killer they had hoped for, it's a far cry from the land yachts upon which Lincoln built its reputation. The car has garnered a lot of accolades and caught the eyes of enthusiasts on several continents.

Our technical editor had a full month in the Lincoln LS this time, and has plenty to report.

First, though, we have a few comments from Memmer's wife, Mrs. Technical Editor. She had a chance to drive the Lincoln for an extended period of time, and was enthralled with the vehicle's comfort and performance.

"I really enjoyed driving this car," she states. "First of all, it's gorgeous. Other drivers can't help but look at this vehicle. One reason they notice is because you can merge in and out of traffic with unbelievable responsiveness. The amount of power available at a moment's notice is initially startling."

Memmer couldn't have said it better himself. Our long-term Lincoln LS, equipped with the larger, optional V8, cruises down the highway with nary a care. (Here's a conundrum for you. Lincoln lists the engine at 3.9 liters, while Jaguar calls the exact same block in their S-type a 4.0. Geez, can't these guys agree? We thought the metric system was supposed to eliminate this.)

Anyway, we love the engine. It does indeed, as the wife says, "merge in and out of traffic" with ease. It also exhibits a pleasing growling sound while performing its duties, not too mean and loud, but enough to enjoy.

Our tech editor found the appointments in the cabin luxurious and enjoyable. A few nice touches: the very handy cruise control on the steering wheel, all-around night-time illumination, logical air conditioning controls (unlike BMW), rear air vents, and extremely comfortable seats with a myriad of adjustments.

On these various features, Mrs. Tech Editor chimed in again.

Luxury and seat comfort: "The luxury and comfort of this car is unmistakable. Being short myself, I am able to make the adjustments necessary for visibility, and the seat contours to my individual needs with all the switches."

The air conditioner: "The temperature control system allows my husband to have cooler air, while I am in a warmer temperature, which is always an issue when driving longer distances."

Roominess: "There is spaciousness and yet the exterior can fit well in an average parking space."

Our technical editor concurs. The cabin of the Lincoln offers a full array of life's pleasures, most of them right at your fingertips. One of the biggies: the great-sounding Alpine stereo system. Memmer does all of our Edmunds.com stereo evaluations for our road tests and comes from an extensive background in the car audio business, and he was pleased (and surprised) to find such a nice stereo in a relatively inexpensive car. Here are his comments....

"I don't mean that the car is inexpensive, but this is a stereo you will find in cars at twice this price, or more. Not only does it sound great, but the controls are extremely user-friendly. The digital LED readout is large, luminous and easy to read. The faceplate is at a perfect height in the dash. One of the nicest touches: the six-disc CD changer in the glove box, which allows the user to change CDs without having to pull off to the side of the road and open the trunk."

On this last point, Memmer's wife complained that, while she enjoyed having the CD changer, her small stature made it impossible for her to reach it while driving. In her case, she still had to pull over to switch CDs, unless her husband was along for the ride, in which case he served as CD jockey.

Other editors have complained that the CD changer takes up too much room in the glove box and that they'd prefer to have it located somewhere else, even the trunk. Our technical editor didn't have a problem with it. As an avid sound fanatic, he wants the CD changer front and center. "Besides," he argues, "this car has huge map pockets and lots of storage space. And there's still enough room in the glove box for your registration, insurance forms, and other important documents."

Speaking of storage space, our technical editor was slightly miffed by the cell phone occupying the space under the center armrest. However, once he used the phone, he appreciated its handiness, and especially the hands-free feature, which allowed him to talk safely while keeping both hands on the wheel. Prospective Lincoln LS buyers might want to check out this option. True, it may be a little more expensive than a hand-held from the local cell-phone store, but rumors continue to float out there about possible brain cancer risks from extensive use of hand-held cell phones. That danger, plus the peril of driving in heavy commuter traffic with only one hand on the steering wheel, may tip the scales enough in that direction. Lincoln lists the hands-free cell phone option at $705 MSRP.

Of course, no long-term write-up would be complete without a few negatives. We haven't met the perfect car yet.

Memmer's main complaints about the vehicle, since Lincoln has made its intentions clear that they're going after BMW, Lexus and the like, was the cheap build quality and some questionable material choices in the interior. For instance, he noticed that the upper portion of the driver's door is covered with a cheap vinyl material that makes a popping sound like one of those metal crickets whenever he rubbed his elbow against it. Very annoying. He tested the front passenger door and it does the same thing. Also, the whole center console is kind of wobbly and cheap, made with sub-grade materials and apparently not anchored down very well. The cupholders are likewise cheap and too small. Granted, the targeted customer for this car is probably not into Big Gulps, but there should be a provision for something larger than a mocha latte.

Other negatives: a small rear window, with large headrests and very limited visibility; a rearview mirror partially blocked by the ceiling-mounted console; side mirror controls that are hidden and hard to use.

Memmer also found the steering feel and suspension, although excellent, not as crisp or responsive as our long-term BMW 328i. He senses this is probably by design, as the Lincoln engineers probably don't want to scare away potential cross-over buyers coming across the product line to the LS from, say, the Town Car (hard to imagine, but it could happen). To Memmer's taste, the ride was a tad too "Lincolnish" for his preferences, but he likes a very stiff suspension as a rule.

No update of the Lincoln LS would be complete without at least a few words about the transmission, a subject upon which all our editors have expounded. If you've read our updates from the last few months, you know that we've had problems with the tranny almost from day one and that we eventually had to have it replaced.

Memmer still finds it a strange one. From minor annoyances, such as the tortoise-slow shift time from neutral to reverse, to major faux pas like an indecisive downshift that searches for long seconds for the correct gear; this thing needs some rethinking. Memmer suggests that the Lincoln engineers go back to the drawing board.

Consider Memmer doing a three-point turn in a residential area in Los Angeles and waiting a full five seconds (it seemed like an eternity) for the transmission to shift from neutral to reverse, and then an almost equally long time shifting from reverse to drive. Picture impatient drivers shaking their fists and beeping their horns at him, and this will give you an idea of the inconvenience of this transmission. Also, flooring the car and then, around 45 miles per hour, releasing the accelerator pedal causes the transmission to go into conniption fits; it searches for a gear like a nomad searching for an oasis. Puzzling.

On the whole, Memmer loved this car, but he worries about long-term reliability and build quality. Time will tell. Keep checking back here as the vehicle ages.

Lastly, our Lincoln LS went in for its 12,000-mile service at 11,669 miles. We took it to Santa Monica Lincoln Mercury and dealt with a service advisor named Jerry Hicks. Everything went smoothly.

The owner's manual calls for an oil and filter change at 12,000 miles, as well as lubing of the front lower control arm balljoints with zerk fittings (we have the car on a severe duty maintenance schedule, with service intervals of 3000 miles). Santa Monica Lincoln Mercury did us one better, though, by also checking tire tread depth, brake pad thickness, hoses, fluids -- the works.

Or so we thought. This dealership routinely staples a multi-colored "Report Card" to the service invoice detailing all these free services. Memmer was initially enthused, until he took a closer look at the tire pressure readings and compared them with his own, made just 10 days earlier. Not only were the tire pressures off by as much as three pounds (which might be accounted for by some warming during driving), but they also said "32 pounds" straight across. This did not jibe at all with Memmer's own readings, and he strongly suspects this is a cursory check done more for PR window dressing than actual data collection. Not appreciated.

Anyway, he brought the car in at 8:00 a.m. and had it back by noon. Total cost for oil, filter and grease: $26.36.

We'll leave the last word on the Lincoln LS for Mrs. Memmer, "It didn't surprise me that this car has been an award winner."

Total Odometer Reading: 13,507
Best Fuel Economy: 21.6
Worst Fuel Economy: 17.4
Running Average Over Life of Vehicle: 16.9
Body Damage: None.
Maintenance Costs: $26.36 (12,000-mile service)
Problems: None