Lincoln Continental Concept Debuts

The past ten years will undoubtedly go down as some of the worst in Lincoln’s long history as both its sales and its status as a luxury car leader have plummeted. Even Ford’s venerated former CEO Alan Mulally considered euthanizing Lincoln, but the brand managed to hang on, and it might finally be turning a corner with the Lincoln Continental Concept.

The first thing I noticed is how low the Continental Concept rides to the ground, hovering just a few inches over the blacktop. In a nod to the Tesla Model S, Lincoln designers added pop-out “E-Latch” door handles that contribute to the smooth, uninterrupted lines of the Continental Concept, even while the flared wheel wells give it a broad, muscular look. It’s true to the history of the Continental, without being mired in the past.

One of the major knocks against Lincoln is how it’s been light on luxury features that other automakers are offering buyers, adding to the accusation that the brand is little more than tarted-up Fords. But the Continental could change that with options like a smart-tinting sunroof, reclining rear seats, a “tablet tray” that pops out of the rear center console, and even a champagne storage compartment, because only the uber-wealthy should be allowed to enjoy an alcoholic beverage on the road, apparently. There’s even detachable Venetian leather travel cases that plug into the backs of the front seats.

By now you’ve got to be wondering, “What’s under the hood?” Sorry to disappoint plug-in car fans, but the sole source of motivation in the Continental Concept is the 3.0 liter EcoBoost V6 that is almost certianly based off of the 2.7 liter EcoBoost V6 that debuted in the 2015 Ford F-150 last year. The Continental offers three driving modes, normal, sport, and comfort, but nowhere is there any mention of weight-lightening materials like carbon fiber or aluminum. That seems like a missed opportunity to me, as is not integrating more sustainability into the Lincoln dealer network.

On the whole though? I love the Lincoln Continental Concept, and the directional shift it seems to indicate for the brand. Let’s drop the crappy three-letter “names” and bring back monikers like Continental, Town Car, and Zephyr that clearly seperate themselves from the Ford lineup. Maybe that$5 billion makeover is finally working.

The only thing missing from the Continental Concept is a plug, and that can only be fixed later.

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Lincoln To Get $5 Billion Dollar Makeover

Mark Fields, the new CEO of Ford Motor Company, is prepared to invest $5 billion dollars to rescue the ailing Lincoln brand. The goal is to triple Lincoln’s annual sales from today’s anemic 100,000 units to 300,000 units by 2020. But doing so will take far more than slapping a Lincoln badge on the back of existing Ford brands like the Mustang, Edge or Flex and calling it a day. It will take some effort from Lincoln to build excitement among its existing customer base, small as it is. At this year’s Chicago Auto Show, no one from Lincoln even bothered to make the trip over from Detroit to commune with the faithful.

Insider Car News reports the heart of the Field’s initiative is a new modular rear wheel drive chassis known internally as the D6 platform. Fields apparently believes bringing back rear wheel drive is just what Lincoln needs to take on Mercedes Benz and BMW in the uber-sedan market.

Lincoln has a long and proud heritage as a purveyor of fine motorcars going back to the 1930’s. But it has been little more than an afterthought in the American marketplace for at least a decade. Outgoing CEO Alan Mullaly was ready to kill the Lincoln brand completely, according to reports. Lincoln’s last attempt at a bold idea was wrapping a Ford F-150 in about a square mile of leather and calling it the Mk LT. It was the perfect vehicle if you needed to stop at Home Depot for a box of nails on the way to the opera while dressed in a tuxedo. Lincoln sold dozens of the things, some of which will probably end up in museums for their curiosity value.

Over the years, lots of manufacturers have announced their intention to take on Mercedes and BMW head to head. Lexus, Infiniti and Cadillac are a few that come to mind. Even Mercedes tried to out-do itself with its ultra-upscale Maybach brand. But when the road test results are in and the sales figures are tabulated, the traditional German brands always come out on top.

Field’s Folly is sending snickers through the boardrooms of car makers around the globe. Some suggest that Mullaly was right to consider closing down the division and that this new initiative will only postpone the time when Lincoln follows the likes of Plymouth, Pontiac and Oldsmobile into automotive oblivion.

Source | Photos: Insider Car News.

2015 Mustang Gets Rendered As A Lincoln

The day of reckoning for the 2015 Ford Mustang is drawing closer, as is production, and fans have responded enthusiastically to the new design. Yet one question that remains unanswered is if Ford’s luxury division, Lincoln, will finally get a Mustang of its own.

Carscoops has answered the question with an excellent rendering of a Mustang-based Lincoln coupe, possibly powered by the 325 horsepower 2.7 liter “Nano” EcoBoost that recently debuted in the 2015 F-150. But because it’s a rendering, let’s just pretend the more-powerful 3.5 liter EcoBoost is under the hood instead, and perhaps have the 2.3 liter four-cylinder EcoBoost serve as the base engine. EcoBoost all around!

A Lincoln version of the mustang could add loads of technology to the sports car platform, which is already slated to be the most advanced Mustang yet. The clean lines and waterfall front grille make it look distinctly, though there’s no denying the Mustang’s S550 platform beneath the skin. Ford has been keen to use its new global platforms on more than just a single vehicle going forward, which means the new Mustang needs to shoulder the weight of going global and helping lift the languishing Lincoln brand. That said, it’s hard not to notice the Camaro-esque look of this Lincoln.

An EcoBoost-centric drivetrain would be a great way for Lincoln to break into the luxury coupe market, but Ford has also been keen to market its hybrid technology as well. A recent Ford job listing looking for a rear-wheel drive hybrid specialist might be an indicator that the Blue oval is ready to expand it’s hybrid offerings beyond just fuel misers. A plug-in hybrid Lincoln coupe with an electric drivetrain geared towards speed as much as efficiency? Sounds like a winning formula to me; at the very least, it’d get people to talk about Lincoln beyond rehashing how all it’s models are just fluffed-up Fords.

Who knows? It might even get me to change my mind.

Image: Carscoops

2015 Lincoln MKC at Chicago: Good, but Lincoln Needs to Do More

Lincoln announced their new-for-2015 Lincoln MKC crossover at this year’s Detroit Auto Show back in January. I was there with my fellow Gas 2 people Chris DeMorro and Nick Brown, and we all missed it. Every one of us walked by it, and none of us recognized it as a new model, despite the big lazy suzan underneath it and the shiny chrome “Ecoboost” badges on the MKC’s backside. Lincoln, clearly, has a problem … but it’s not the problem you might think.

The fact that this new Ecoboost SUV didn’t catch our eye is probably a good thing. In a show packed with hot new cars, the MKC (unlike its sore-thumb brother, the Navigator) fit in perfectly. The styling, too, is dead-nuts on, and the 2015 Lincoln MKC is every bit as good-looking in person as, say, the 2015 Porsche Macan. Maybe better than the Porsche, if you prefer Ford’s Edge look to Porsche’s “angry jellybean”. Even the interior …

… is a modern-looking piece. Light, airy, and roomy-looking in person- even if my own pictures from the show floor didn’t come out right.

No, Lincoln’s problem isn’t in its product line. Lincoln has a great product line these days, full of both green and go-fast options. The problem, instead, is Lincoln’s attitude.

Last summer, I reached out to Lincoln to pitch a SEMA build to Lincoln through Switzer Performance. The guys at Switzer are big fans of the Ecoboost, as are we, and we wanted to do a seriously high HP Lincoln sedan and, as I gracefully explained to Ford’s Scott Monty, “drive it right up AMG’s ass.” We had a legit engine-builder lined up, a few handshake-deal sponsors, and had the hardware to convert the big, bad Lincoln to flex-fuel for a green angle in place before reaching out. It would have been a huge media hit for Lincoln, we all thought.

No response from Lincoln. Mr. Monty explained that Lincoln “didn’t really do SEMA” anymore.

At the Chicago Auto Show, I tried to ask questions about the upcoming 2015 Lincoln MKC. Nothing fancy, just stuff like: When would it be available? Who could I speak to to arrange a test drive? Was Lincoln planning a hybrid version?

Not only did the fashionable and trendy models at the Lincoln booth not know the answers to the above questions- they told me, on a press day, that there was no one at the show “from Lincoln” for me to talk to.

One of the biggest auto shows in the world. A new product that you could line up next to similar models from Porsche or BMW and look credible with. A prime show location and big-budget display. A storied legacy with tons of gear head cred. Lincoln had all of those things going for it at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, and didn’t even bother showing up.

That’s too bad. Too bad for Lincoln, and too bad for us- that MKC really is a good-looking little car, and it might have had a chance to do something positive for Lincoln in the marketplace, if only the people who made it were willing to pound their own chests a teeny, tiny bit. That’s just my take on it, though- what’s yours?

Original content from Gas 2, interior photo courtesy Lincoln Motor Co.

Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Production To Double

Unlike every other automaker out there, Lincoln doesn’t charge a premium for hybrid models. The 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid costs exactly the same price as the standard MKZ sedan, giving customers an option between fuel economy or performance at the same price point. But apparently Ford didn’t expect so many customers to opt for hybrids, and the Blue Oval is now planning to double production of the hybrid model.

 The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is rated at 45 mpg all around, while the gas-powered versions average between 21 and 26 mpg combined, with the 2.0 liter EcoBoost offering the best standard mileage of 33 mpg on the highway. Ford has sold 3,090 MKZ hybrids so far in 2013, which averages 500 cars a month. But sales have been steadily rising to over 700 cars per month, and this could signal a market shift in this particular segment.

It certainly helps that the MKZ costs as much with a gas engine as with the hybrid, and given the option a surprising number of affluent buyers are going green. With 50% better fuel economy than the most-efficient gas engine option, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid offers an eco-chic alternative to the 2.0 liter EcoBoost or powerful but thirsty 3.7 liter V6. Both the EcoBoost and hybrid MKZ models start at $35,925.

Because of rising sales, Ford will double production for the 2014 Lincoln MKZ to meet this increasing demand. The extra sales have helped Ford increase its overall hybrid market share to 16%, up from 12% last year. More than that though, it demonstrates that given the option between equally-priced hybrids or standard cars, Americans seem to be gravitating towards hybrids in greater numbers.

So how soon before Lincoln MKZ Hybrid sales make up over 50% of total MKZ sales?

Source: The Detroit News

2013 Lincoln MKZ configurator comes alive, hybrid option at no extra cost

Lincoln has officially fired up the configurator for the 2013 MKZ, keeping the option sheet fairly simple with a total of five trim packages. The party gets started with Premiere trim, which includes SYNC with MyLincoln Touch, a huge 10.1-inch LCD information screen and leather seating. Stepping up to Select trim will throw in a rear-view camera, wood steering wheel and new LED accent lighting outside for an additional $1,100. Throw an extra $2,050 at the MKZ and you'll be rewarded with Reserve trim. At $39,450 including destination, the third-most expensive option package includes navigation with voice recognition, a blind-spot information system with cross-traffic awareness and cooled front seats.

Interestingly enough, the MKZ is available with two sunroof options. At $43,330, Preferred trim includes a single-panel sunroof alongside niceties like 19-inch wheels, a heated steering wheel and a THX stereo system with 14 speakers. If you want that fancy retractable panoramic roof we saw when the sedan debuted, you'll have to plunk down an extra $1,795 for the pleasure.

The MKZ offers buyers a total of five drivetrain options, from a 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder or a 3.7-liter V6 in either front- or all-wheel drive configuration to a 2.0-liter hybrid. Interestingly enough, choosing the gas-electric powertrain doesn't add anything to the price, as it's the exact same price as the base engine, the 2.0-liter EcoBoost, for all trim levels. Head over to the configurator to have a look for yourself.



Source: Autoblog Green

Lincoln MKZ may get a plug-in option like its Ford Fusion cousin

Ford may make a plug-in hybrid-electric version of its Lincoln MKZ sedan for the 2013 model year, if there's customer demand for that variant, USA Today reported, citing comments Ford executive Scott Tobin made at the Detroit Auto Show recently. As it is, the 2013 MKZ will include gas-powered and hybrid vesions.

Ford will include a gas, hybrid and plug-in hybrid option for its 2013 Fusion mid-size sedan, which is why it makes some sense to do the same for the Fusions sister Lincoln vehicle. The company didn't disclose further powertrain details for the 2013 Lincoln MKZ.

Ford started selling Lincoln's first hybrid in 2010, and the company boosted sales of the model fivefold to 5,739 vehicles in 2011. The current MKZ hybrid, which pairs a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder gas engine with an electric motor, gets a combined 39 miles per gallon combined. That's almost twice the 21 mpg combined that the conventional six-cylinder MKZ achieves.



Source: Autoblog Green