Catalyzes the esterification, concomitant with transport, of exogenous long-chain fatty acids into metabolically active CoA thioesters for subsequent degradation or incorporation into phospholipids. a long-chain fatty acid + ATP + CoA = a long-chain fatty acyl-CoA + AMP + diphosphate Lipid metabolism; fatty acid beta-oxidation. Partially membrane-associated. Belongs to the ATP-dependent AMP-binding enzyme family.