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Ford defends plan to shareholders: ‘We're simply reinventing the American car’

Ford's top executives took heat from shareholders over their plan to do away with sedans as we know them in Ford's North American lineup, as the company held its annual meeting Thursday. Critics said the plan to shelve the Fiesta, Focus and Taurus, reduce the Focus to one crossover model, and concentrate on high-margin trucks and SUVs was a shortsighted abandonment of entire market segments of affordable vehicles. "This doesn't mean we intend to lose those customers," Ford CEO Jim Hackett said. "We want to give them what they're telling us they really want. We're simply reinventing the American car." Ford has said SUVs/crossovers and pickups will constitute 90 percent of its North American lineup by 2020. And though only the Mustang and new Focus Active will remain, it plans to add new vehicles going forward that offer better fuel economy and utility, including EVs and hybrids. Hackett characterized the shift not as an abandonment of traditional cars but as a transformation of them. "We don't want anyone to think we're leaving anything," Hackett said. "We're just moving to a modern version. This is an exciting new generation of vehicles coming from Ford." It was Hackett's first annual meeting as CEO, and for the second year it was conducted online rather than in person. The change to Ford's lineup is part of Hackett's overall plan to cut $25.2 billion in costs by the year 2022. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. blamed the negative reaction to the lineup plan on media coverage. "I wish the coverage had been a little different," he said. "If you got beyond the headline, you'll see we're adding to our product lineup and by 2020 we'll have the freshest showroom in the industry. The headlines look like Ford's retreating. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth." While Ford was clear about its plans for the Blue Oval, it has been less clear about the Lincoln brand. Hackett on Thursday said only that the Lincoln Continental, re-introduced just two years ago, would continue "through its life cycle" — but it has been such a slow seller that rumor has Ford killing the Continental again after that, and Hackett made no mention of a new generation. Presumably the MKZ sedan will go away when its twin the Ford Fusion does, but although Ford has outlined end dates for other models, the Fusion's departure is open-ended. The stock price has been a frustration for investors for years and has fallen 12 percent since the first of the year.

Lincoln May Rebadge Its MKZ As Zephyr | Autoblog Minute

Ford Motor Company applied this month to get the rights to the trademark for the word Zephyr. We think the MKZ might be rebadge as the Lincoln Zephyr.

2020 Lincoln Corsair vs 2020 Cadillac XT4 | How they compare on paper

The 2020 Lincoln Corsair compact crossover was introduced this year to replace the aging MKC. Our first impressions are that it's a thoroughly competent luxury machine, but where it fits in the market is interesting. Given its size and price tag, the Corsair basically slots in-between compact segments, with vehicles like the Audi Q3 below and Audi Q5 above. It's a distinctive position to be in, but not a unique one, as there's another comparably sized and priced SUV -- and an American rival, no less. The Cadillac XT4 was launched just last year to be its company's smallest crossover, boasting compelling design and ample technology features.  So which is better? To give you some idea, let's take a look at each vehicle's horsepower, torque, fuel economy, space, pricing and some slightly more subjective aspects about their luxuriousness and feature sets. You'll find all the nitty gritty numbers below, followed by more detailed analysis. And if you'd like to compare other luxury crossovers, be sure to check out our comparison tool. Engines, drivetrains and driving impressions Both the Corsair and XT4 come standard with turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines, but the Corsair's is more potent with 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet compared with the 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of the Cadillac. And to seal the deal, the Corsair has an optional turbo 2.3-liter engine with 280 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. That's not only vastly better than the Cadillac, but one of the most powerful outputs in the compact luxury SUV segment. Both vehicles have standard front-wheel drive with optional all-wheel drive on the base engines. The 2.3-liter Corsair has all-wheel drive standard. The Cadillac does boast an extra cog in its transmission over the Corsair's eight-speed automatic, but there's not necessarily an advantage or disadvantage to be gleaned from that. When it coes to fuel economy, the Cadillac is victorious with a 26 mpg combined rating for the front-drive model, with the front-drive 2.0-liter Corsair coming just behind with 25 mpg combined. It's a three-way tie for third with the all-wheel-drive XT4, all-wheel-drive 2.0-liter Corsair and 2.3-liter Corsair all returning 24 mpg combined. Of course, the all-wheel-drive Corsairs have a small advantage here in that it delivers more power and torque than the Cadillac with the same fuel economy.