1961 Lincol on 2040-cars

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Lincoln hopes month-by-month leasing will woo luxury clients

Lincoln is launching a new subscription-based service that will allow customers to lease any of its vehicles on a month-by-month basis as part of a new suite of services aimed at offering flexibility and converting buyers. The luxury brand has also been operating a pilot program in which dealers bring Lincoln vehicles to consumers' homes for them to test drive on their own time — and sometimes even complete the entire sales process at their homes. Lincoln also announced on the heels of the L.A. Auto Show a new collaboration with Clear, a company that provides expedited screening at security gates at airports and sports arenas, plus an expansion of its Lincoln Personal Driver service, formerly known as Lincoln Chauffeur, to Dallas. Kumar Galhotra, Lincoln's president, said the company is trying to create a brand experience for consumers that is warm, human and effortless, and that the new services are based on consumer research that equates time with luxury. "We take this philosophy of warm, human and effortless, and we really embed it" in the vehicles and ownership experience, he said. Lincoln plans to launch its vehicle subscription service early next year, likely in "a couple California cities," Galhotra said, that allows consumers to lease any Lincoln vehicle on a monthly basis. While Lincoln did not announce pricing, the program is based on Ford Credit's Canvas program, which offers monthly subscriptions to pre-owned Ford vehicles and come with insurance, maintenance and warranty coverage. The service is so far offered only in the Bay Area and parts of Los Angeles. The service appears to be similar to the $1,500-a-month Book by Cadillac service and Care by Volvo. Robert Parker, Lincoln's global director of marketing, sales and service, said the service will allow consumers the option of upgrading to larger-size vehicles without being locked into a traditional two-year lease. "We acknowledge the fact that we are a challenger brand. We're not at the scale of the Germans," Parker said. "We certainly aspire to continue to grow, that's not our No. 1 focus.

Lincoln teases a new Continental with suicide doors

Lincoln posted a photograph of its Continental from the 1960s on its social media channels today with a cryptic message to go along with it. Here's the post below: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The last line, "#TBT ... or is it?" sounds like Ford's luxury arm is trying to tell us something about what's to come for its current Continental. If we use Lincoln's post as an opportunity to speculate, one might presume that a Continental with suicide doors is coming our way soon. Beyond planting the idea in our heads, Lincoln doesn't appear to have anything else to say for the time being. Right now, the only car you can buy with suicide doors is a Rolls-Royce, most recently in Wraith form. If Lincoln decides to offer suicide doors again, you can bet the car is going to get some attention. The question would be if a special car like this could draw any of that attention away from Lincoln's SUVs such as the Navigator and new Aviator. We've seen reports that the Continental would not be moving on past this generation, so maybe Lincoln is trying to get as much play out of this car as possible. A more recent report calls it dead after the 2020 model year, meaning that if we do see a suicide-door Continental, it wouldn't be in this world for very long. Lincoln says to "stay tuned" at the end of its post caption, so watch out for Continental news dropping in the near future. We can all hope it's going to be good news ... View 20 Photos Related video:

Ford hybrid sales rebound following MPG controversy

Ford hybrid customers apparently have very short memories. With two EPA fuel economy reratings in the last year, sales of the C-Max, Fusion Hybrid and Lincoln MKZ haven't been too terribly dented, Ward's Auto reports.
All three vehicles saw sales dips following the August 2013 rerating, although sales of the MKZ Hybrid had begun to rebound as early as November of that year. C-Max sales, meanwhile, took slightly longer, with sales on a steadily improving course as early as February of this year.
The second rerating, in June of this year, has had an even smaller effect on the Blue Oval's hybrids. The C-Max has actually been subject to a sales increase, while both the MKZ and Fusion saw minor sales drops (less than 400 units between the two in the month following the rerating).