1988 Lincoln Continental Signature 68000 Orig. Miles Rare And Magnificent 26mpg on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

Matthew McConaughey Lincoln pitches drive on with new MKZ ads

You didn't think a few spoofs were going to break up Lincoln and pitch-man Matthew McConaughey, did you? With more than three million extra free views of Lincoln products on YouTube because of the send-ups – and no one is making fun of the car, remember – the brand rightly concludes, "We couldn't ask for better." That's why the pair are back, this time working on behalf of the MKZ and MKZ Hybrid. The two commercials "Balance" and "Diner" are new, but the formula is the same - cinematic, contemplative, channeling more than a bit of True Detective. They'll hit broadcast channels during college bowl games on New Year's Day. You can watch "Balance" above and "Diner" below, and the press release further down has more details. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Matthew McConaughey Gets Behind Wheel of 2015 Lincoln MKZ in New Ads Airing Jan. 1 - The Lincoln Motor Company teams up again with Academy Award™ winner Matthew McConaughey to create Lincoln MKZ and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid ad campaign that will begin airing during high-profile New Year's Day college football bowl games - Two new TV and online ads will promote Lincoln MKZ and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid midsize sedans, which have given a new direction to the brand with their introduction two years ago - Lincoln's previous collaboration with McConaughey, the "Live in Your Moment" campaign, fueled early sales success of 2015 Lincoln MKC small premium utility DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 29, 2014 – In the bright spotlight of New Year's Day college football bowl games, The Lincoln Motor Company will launch its newest ad campaign promoting the 2015 Lincoln MKZ and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid and featuring Matthew McConaughey. Filmed in a style and tone consistent with last summer's much-talked-about "Live in Your Moment" ads for the first-ever Lincoln MKC, the new campaign brings the attention back to the premium midsize sedan that has been Lincoln's best-selling vehicle since arriving in showrooms two years ago. "The overwhelming response to the MKC campaign sparked truly great awareness for Lincoln," said Andrew Frick, Group Marketing Manager Lincoln. "Matthew's natural storytelling ability perfectly complements the Lincoln story as we continue to raise awareness and drive conversation in creative and unexpected ways.

May 2016: FCA wins, Ford and GM stumble on weak car volumes

The May 2016 sales numbers are in, and it looks as though FCA is getting some vindication for boldly cancelling two slow-selling car models. Meanwhile, Ford saw overall sales dip and GM's May volume took a big dive versus the same month in 2015. While Marchionne's decision to axe the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart has drawn criticism as being short-sighted, it's working for FCA so far. Although the Dart and 200 aren't out of production yet and no capacity has been shifted to crossover or trucks, May's numbers show that the emphasis on Jeep and Ram models makes sense right now. FCA's US sales rose 1 percent last month compared to May 2015, putting the year-to-date total at 955,186 vehicles, an increase of 6 percent compared to the same period last year. Standouts included the Jeep Renegade, Compass, and Patriot, and the Fiat 500X. Ram pickup sales were down 3 percent. And your fun fact is that Alfa Romeo sales were up precisely 10 percent, for a total of 44 4Cs sold versus 40 in the same month last year. At FoMoCo, the Ford brand took a hit to the tune of 6.4 percent from May 2015 to 2016, registering 226,190 sales last month. Lincoln showed improvement on its modest numbers, going from 9,174 to 9,807, a 6.9 percent increase. Overall, Ford was down 5.9 percent for the month to 235,997; despite the slump, year-to-date total Ford sales are up 4.2 percent to 1,112,939. Strong sellers included Escape, Expedition, F-Series, and Transit - big stuff. Most small and/or efficient models (Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, C-Max) saw sales slides. Fusion sales were also down, likely due to effects of model changeover to the freshened 2017 model. Ford has promised four new crossovers and SUVs by 2020 and if things keep trending this way the company will be able to sell them, but things could change in the next four years. GM saw the worst of it for domestic brands. Retail and fleet sales were down for each of the four divisions, with the May 2016 total dropping 18 percent to 240,450 vehicles. GM's year-to-date sales are down 5.0 percent in 2016 to 1,183,705. Both the Sierra and Silverado were down significantly, and the majority of Chevy, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac nameplates saw sales decreases, with both small cars and larger utilities included. Not even big stuff could help GM this month, it seems. We'll have more on the rest of the industry's May sales as those figures trickle in.