You have to be joking. Dont buy the NL, they are a big bog of a car. Go the XR8 anyday, resale value etc.

The NL looks like a cheap lincoln, you cant park it anywhere as you need a 12 metre long carspace and what luxury?

Id go for the fairmont ghia, good mix of the two. best of both worlds

If you turned up in an NA fairlane V8 to any hotel and said to the usher "park it for me son" he would laugh and say its not a bently mate. By the way is that your roof lining hanging down a metre?? hehe

NL 5.0L is the s**t, power (once unleashed) luxury and a sleek lookin machine. i would have one of these over a xr8 any day, just for the fact it had same engine but with all the little luxury bits the XR dont get.

Dont get me wrong if i was given or found a cheap xr8 i would jump at it, but if they were lined up side by side same price and klms i would def go the lane.

IMO anyhows

if your're only cruising with it go the fairlane, the XR8 is a drivers car where the steering- suspension etc are not designed for a comfy ride, but don't they handle unreal!
where the fairlane has the same basic engine/driveline which MUST be enhanced just as the XR8 requires.

i say drive them,i tried 12 xr-6s and 5 xr8s,i bought xr8-95 A chaser,if it fits wear it!

yeah good call. the only person who can make the decision is you because both cars have positives and negatives.
They're both great cars, and appeal to different tastes. Drive the two and see which one puts the bigger smile on your face.

whats the go with bagging out fairlanes? how are NL's cheap lincolns? at least they look like a luxury car, the fairmonts look like a falcon with ghia badges.... as for performance, its not hard to buy parts that will rip a TE50... its up to the individual. I never have trouble parking and it looks the s**t on its a** with rims, my mate has a nice EF fairmont ghia so i wont bag them too much. Just remember a fords a ford, better than a smolden...

As for EL XR8 manuals, they are damn fun, specially with a 3.73 gear ratio. The AUs cop a revised motor but they look a bit bulkier, not too sure if they weigh more than an EL.

I made the switch from an EF Falcon to an NL Fairlane with the V8... no it won't handle as good and probably isn't even as quick but who cares, I wanted a sweet looking ride and luxury interior. I now have tons of legroom, leather interior, climate control, the comfort of LWB, and a heaps quieter cruisin' car. They're not as common as the short wheelbase EF/EL series and IMO look far better lowered with rims. A lot of my mates thought I was crazy buying a "grandpa's car" cause they didn't see the potential... I'm having the last laugh...

If you're serious though about following the suggestions posted here, sit down and think about what you really want. With the fairlane you're never going to have the performance potential of the short wheelbase (SWB) falcons/fairmonts, but, depending on your opinion, you will have nicer comfort and looks. I am posting some pics of both my current cars...make up your own mind, perhaps some others might want to do the same, LWB vs SWB, allow you to make some comparisons...

 

 

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I fail to understand how you think my car (NL lane, like all urs here) looks like a cheap lincoln! All lincoln look cheap anyway, they are the "mainstream" in the US and have basically no presence here in AUS.

And as for parking, do you have any idea how much longer it is; its not like its 2cars long, 5.122m long, yes its long but have you looked how long your std falcons are? Exactly, not that much of a difference, most of it being boot length which is in no way hard to park.

If you cant park a NL fairlane you cant park period IMHO, nothing to be ashamed of but dont go blaming the car, i drive a SWB just as often as my "bog NL" and I honestly dont find them any different. Carpark issue is width/door banging, which is the same.

Looks, thats personal but a fairmont ghia just looks "gli/chrome/rims" to me, not saying they ugly by any stretch, but they dont have the unique look of the fairlane, which is noticable till the BA range.

Yer, go buy an xr8, people this day n age dont care about creature comforts/space... makes sense to me.

I kinda dont agree with people not being interested in creature comforts.
An XR has aircon, same as the fairlanes, just not climate control.
It has power windows, front only, (to me thats good, its two less windows to stuff up).
Sure the fairlane has a few extras, but they dont really mean anything, unless you need or have to have climate control, leather, etc.
I'd still take either, but i wanted a manual, so...