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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

Does Lincoln Zephyr trademark mean a return to real names?

Lincoln's long history includes many legendary names, and despite its short life, Zephyr retains a spot in that pantheon. Perhaps its will return once again: Ford Motor Co. applied to trademark Zephyr on May 11. Trademark filings can have ambiguous meanings, and often they're legal plays to get or keep the rights to a name. But in the last year, we've seen signs Lincoln is looking to use real names on its vehicles again. Obviously, it's keeping Navigator for its flagship sport-utility vehicle with a new model due next year. Reprising Continental for the MKS replacement was also well received. That said, Lincoln still uses the MKX and MKC "names" for its crossovers. Zephyr is a dustier moniker. It was used in the 1930s and '40s on a mid-level model spearheaded by Edsel Ford. The stylishly aerodynamic model was set between the Ford V8 De Luxe and more expensive Lincolns. It returned in 2006 as the Lincoln version of the Ford Fusion before that model was renamed MKZ. Mercury also used Zephyr on its version of the Ford Fairmont in the late 1970s and early '80s. Ford last held a trademark on the Zephyr name in 2013. The filing says Ford seeks to use Zephyr for "motor vehicles and parts and accessories therefor." That could mean a new car — or just parts. Putting the Zephyr badge back on the MKZ is the most likely bet. Meanwhile, Ford also moved to get the Thunderbird trademark on May 11 for the same vehicles and parts purpose, and it filed for the Mustang trademark for shampoo and lotions on May 4. A Lincoln spokesman said, "In the normal course of our business, we file trademarks for names," but had no further information. Related Video:

2017 Lincoln Continental pricing undercuts Cadillac CT6

For 40,000 people interested in purchasing a new Lincoln Continental, today is the day they've been waiting for. We have the full and complete list of prices and optional extras for the luxury brand's big, new sedan. The Continental will be offered in four trims – Premiere, Select, Reserve, and Black Label. The Premiere starts at $45,485 (including $925 in destination pricing), while the Select kicks off at $48,440. Speaking of the Select, the base 3.7-liter V6 can be swapped for a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6, if you've got $2,250 to burn, driving the price up to $50,690. Going to the Reserve gets you more kit and the 2.7-liter comes standard, but the price increases to $54,840. Finally, the base Black Label starts at $63,840. In the case of both the high-end trims, Lincoln will let you upgrade to the eagerly anticipated 400-horsepower, 3.0-liter V6 for $3,265. All-wheel drive is a $2,000 option regardless of trim or engine. Standalone options include Lincoln's "Perfect Position" seats, a $1,500 feature that adds 30-way adjustability. It's easy to drive those prices up, of course. Lincoln is offering five options packages, spread across the Select, Reserve, and Black Label trims. The Select Plus (blind-spot monitoring and Sync 3) adds $1,255 to the price of the Select. The $695 Climate Pack (automatic high beams, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and rain sensing wipers) and $3,105 Technology Pack (360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, Enhanced Active Park Assist, lane keeping assist, and forward collision warning) can be added to the Select, Reserve, and Black Label. The $4,300 Rear-Seat Pack (heated, cooled, and multi-contour rear seats, inflatable rear belts, and a panoramic sunroof) will pamper backseat passengers on the high-end Reserve and Black Label, while the $5,000 Luxury Package will add LED headlamps and a 19-speaker Revel stereo to the Reserve trim. Standalone options include Lincoln's "Perfect Position" seats, a $1,500 feature that adds 30-way adjustability. That's just silly. More common features include a $1,130 Revel stereo, a $1,750 panoramic sunroof, $750 20-inch wheels, and a $335 CD player. So yeah, don't expect many of those base prices to make it to the showroom without some swelling. By our math, the Conti tops out at a cool $82,400. Lincoln says it's big target for the Conti is Audi A6, and its pricing matches up neatly with that car. The front-drive 2.0-liter turbocharged A6 Premium starts at $47,125.