08 Lincoln Mark Lt Leather Heated Seats on 2040-cars

Auto blog

China-market Ford Edge spotted testing in Spain with a mystery wagon

There are a few threads to put together for this one. The U.S.-market Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus have been rumored to meet their ends during the 2023 model year; contract negotiations pointed to the Oakville Assembly Plant that that builds being converted to build five Ford electric vehicles in 2025. On top of that, we've heard years of rumors about a Ford Fusion Active wagon-esque product that would challenge the Subaru Outback and fill a perceived gap in the U.S. lineup. We're not sure what the Ford vehicles in the spy shots above are, nor were the spy photographers who caught them during hot weather testing in Spain. And we mean vehicles, plural, details like the side mirror attachment points, DRL signatures, rear bumpers and muffler orientations pointing to these being two products. Here are our guesses. One of them is almost certainly the new Ford Edge that will debut soon for the Chinese market (above and below). Motor1 saw that the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published photos of that country's newest Edge in two configurations, a lesser trim that can seat five or seven, and a top trim that seats seven only. The camouflaged car in the gallery above with the mirrors that mount on the door would be the same vehicle. The headlights on the China-market Edge feature the same central, stacked DRLs instead of the single lower and side DRLs of the other vehicle. The taillights are temporary units, but they match the squared vertical design of the new crossover. And the rear bumper of the Chinese Edge features the same slanted cutout in the middle, and beneath that, the same enormous muffler on the driver's side of the car. Look more closely, and one can also spot the way the sheetmetal flicks up at the C-pillar then descends to the D-pillar. Engineers tried to hide it with camo, but it's there. Ford Authority believes the other vehicle, the one with the side mirrors mounted at the base of the A-pillar, could be a new Lincoln Nautilus. Ford's Changan Hangzhou plant in China builds the Edge and its sister Lincoln product for that market. Although both are presumed to be headed for the grave here, one is clearly carrying on over there, so there's no reason to believe the other wouldn't as well.       The big mystery is whether one of these is the Ford Fusion Active. Well, a bigger mystery would be to figure out if the Fusion Active is even a thing anymore, or if we — including Ford — collectively imagined it.

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:

Lincoln MKC configurator comes alive

Lincoln has already announced most of the trim level and option pricing for its upcoming 2015 MKC due out this summer, and now it has launched a configurator allowing prospective buyers to get a better idea of how this new model will stack up against other compact luxury crossovers. We already knew that the MKC will have a starting price of $33,995, but now we know that its price includes a destination charge of $895.
Models equipped with the base 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine come standard with the Premiere package - $33,100 for front-wheel drive and $35,595 for all-wheel drive. Both models offer equipment upgrades from the Select and Reserve packages. The $3,230 Select package adds features like leather seats, power passenger seat, folding and heated door mirrors and painted 18-inch wheels, while the pricier $6,935 Reserve package adds in heated and cooled front seats, panoramic roof, hands-free liftgate, two-tone wheels and an embedded modem (providing features such as remote lock and unlock, vehicle finder and pre-conditioning).
Opting for the new 2.3-liter EcoBoost inline-four raises the base price to $39,965, and it comes standard with all-wheel drive and all of the equipment in the Select package; the Reserve package is still optional. All models can be further optioned up with the $2,235 Technology Package (adding adaptive cruise, active park assist and lane keeping system) and the $580 Climate Package (heated rear seats and steering wheel, auto high beams and rain-sensing wipers). Checking all the options, a fully loaded 2015 MKC with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost will have a total MSRP of $47,715.