1946 Lincoln Continental Coupe on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1982 Lincoln Continental Mark VI Bill Blass Edition

From the 1976 through 1992 model years, Lincoln sold Designer Edition members of the Mark Series personal luxury cars. At one time or another, the Givenchy, Versace, Pucci, Cartier, and Bill Blass brands partnered with Lincoln to make snazzed-up Marks IV, V, VI, and VII. I'm always on the lookout for these blinged-out land yachts as I patrol for Junkyard Gems, and I've managed to find a handful over the years. Today, we've got a tattered-but-still-glorious Bill Blass Mark VI from the waning days of the Late Disco Period. Bill Blass got his start in the United States Army, designing phony inflatable tanks to fool the Nazis prior to the D-Day invasion in World War II. After that, his company became a major player in the fashion world, and Ford put the BB anchor design on plenty of Lincoln Marks. This Bill Blass Mark VI got red body pinstripes and red decorative belting on the leather-upholstered seats. A faux-convertible "diamond grain carriage roof" went on the Designer Edition Mark VI coupes (you could buy the '82 Mark VI Pucci Edition as a sedan). This roof is on the tattered side, but you get the idea. The "wire spoke" aluminum wheels on the Designer Edition cars look much nicer than the wire-wheel-influenced hubcaps that went on lesser Mark VIs. The Mark III through Mark V were siblings of the Ford Thunderbird, but the 1980-1983 Mark VI lived on the new Panther platform and its closest relatives were the regular Continental and Town Car. Yes, this car is a not-so-distant cousin to the Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptors that stayed in production through 2011. Under the hood, we see the good old Ford Windsor 302 engine, also known as the 5.0 V8. Power wasn't so great— 140 horsepower and 231 lb-ft— but the curb weight of the Mark VI came in at well under two tons, a 700-pound weight reduction compared to the vast Mark V. The Mark VI seems to be the forgotten Mark, overlooked between the rococo V and the speedy Fox-based VI. A digital-tuner AM/FM radio with four speakers and cassette player was heavy-duty audio stuff in 1982. A digital instrument cluster showed the world that you were ready for… the future.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. What's not to love about the Mark VI?

Car subscription services: A slow, expensive start — but the potential is huge

Americans are used to paying for subscriptions — to magazines and cable television, for instance — but experience shows they'll cancel when the price of admission gets too high, or there are more tempting alternatives. Cord cutters ditched nearly 1.5 million pay-TV subscriptions in 2017, according to a survey by Leichtman Research Group. Cable TV started out cheap with basic offerings, and then got expensive. The auto industry's subscription offerings are new, but they're starting out costly, and not price-competitive with traditional leasing. The upside is that they take the hassle out of car ownership for busy people by letting the service take care of maintenance, insurance, licensing and taxes. And they give consumers choice, often allowing relatively painless switches between different cars in the automakers' lineup. Subscription services also point the way toward an ownership-free auto experience, and offer an easy transition to a potential world where ride- and car-sharing will be dominant. Subscriptions are here to stay, but consumers may take a while to "get" them. Lincoln's subscription service for lightly used 2015 to 2017 models, offered through the Ford-owned Canvas beginning this year, got off to a slow start. Many early subscribers canceled. Last month, Cadillac announced it would " temporarily pause" its $1,800-per-month Book subscription service for "adjustments" as of December 1. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Snags with the back-end technology used to support the service made some customer-service functions tedious and time-consuming, adding costs for the company." The challenge for automakers is to come up with a strategy that offers consumers a compelling, affordable option to regular ownership, and one that can also make a profit. I think they'll find that sweet spot, but they're not there yet. Jack Nerad, former executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book and author of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car," points out that "A lot of people expected that subscriptions would be very valuable for people who wanted inexpensive transportation, but the reality is quite the opposite. Subscriptions are offering more choices for the wealthy.

Lincoln Chauffeur service will drive you around and do your shopping

Lincoln is launching a unique service in Miami this year called Lincoln Chauffeur, and it does exactly what you'd expect. Any Lincoln owner can request someone via an app to come to their house and drive him or her wherever they'd like. That driver will then drive the car back. Lincoln pointed out this will allow other household members to use the car, and even helps avoid having to pay for parking when going to the airport. A representative said that a driver could be sent to a bar or restaurant to pick up a car left in favor of a cab after drinking. In addition to driving you to a location, the driver can also go and fill up your Lincoln with fuel and run other errands. Need some groceries? Your Lincoln driver can do that. And the Lincoln drivers are employed and vetted by Lincoln. If you find a driver you like, you can also request that person and Lincoln will try to accommodate your request. The service is currently in the pilot stage and only available in Miami. The next city that will get access to the service is San Diego. However, the plan is to continue expanding. It's also available for all Lincoln owners, new and old, not just members of Lincoln Black Label. Buyers of any new Lincoln will be given the equivalent of eight hours free in the service. This is a significant perk, since Lincoln said the estimated cost is $30 per hour of use at the current pilot pricing. Related Video: