1993 Lincoln Mark Series on 2040-cars

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Lincoln Navigator facelift only has to last until 2016 replacement

The Navigator is not only Lincoln's longest-serving nameplate - dating back to 1998 when the final Town Car was introduced - but it's also the oldest model still in the brand's portfolio. The current Navigator arrived on the market in 2007, and underwent a refresh just a few months ago for the 2015 model year. The updates were subtle, but if you're waiting for an all-new model, it's just a couple of years down the road.
According to Automotive News, Lincoln is already working on an all-new replacement for the current, long-serving Navigator, which will be revealed two years from now in the middle of 2016 as a 2017 model. At that point, we're expecting it could switch (alongside the Expedition) to the new aluminum architecture introduced on the Ford F-150, seeing as how the current model is based on the old F-150.
In the meantime, the refreshed Navigator ditches the big 5.4-liter Triton V8 in favor of a more economical 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, and wages war in two wheelbase lengths against the V8-powered competition in the form of the Cadillac Escalade (and Escalade ESV), the Land Cruiser-based Lexus LX and the Infiniti QX80, which is based on the overseas Nissan Patrol.

2020 Ford Escape, Lincoln Corsair ace crash tests, earn Top Safety Pick from IIHS

The redesigned 2020 Ford Escape and its platform-mate, the 2020 Lincoln Corsair, have both just completed their bout of crash tests at the hands of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and while they did not emerge unscathed, they did come away with the agency's Top Safety Pick Award. One caveat: The rating only applies to the Escape equipped with the available LED headlights, which were deemed Acceptable. Similarly, the Corsair needs the available curve-adaptive LED headlights, also rated Acceptable, in order to achieve Top Safety Pick. The Escape's standard halogen headlights scored only a Marginal rating, while the Corsair's base LED headlights were deemed Poor due to glare. Those low headlight ratings knock the vehicles out of contention for Top Safety Pick. Had either vehicle offered headlights able to achieve a Good rating, that would have been enough to get them the agency's Top Safety Pick+ rating. Outside of their headlights, the 2020 Escape and Corsair acquitted themselves well. The Escape saw a big improvement in the difficult small-overlap front crash test, going from a Poor result in the previous generation to Good with the new one. The Corsair performed identically, and both achieved Good ratings in all six crash tests. The IIHS also tests automatic emergency-braking systems, and the standard and optional systems in the Escape and the Corsair both earned Superior ratings.

More head-up displays are coming to a dashboard near you

With the exception of Apple products — $1,000 for a freakin' smartphone? — one great thing about tech is you typically get more for your money with each passing year. This is particularly true with automotive tech: Features like driver assists and surround-view cameras that were once exclusively available in luxury vehicles now come standard even on some economy cars. The same thing is slowly happening with head-up displays (HUD). For example, the 10-inch HUD in the 2018 Toyota Camry is one of the largest and best HUDs I've seen in any car. And a big improvement on the much smaller HUD in the latest Toyota Prius. Mazda is another mainstream brand that offers HUDs in several of its vehicles. But instead of embedding expensive components in the dash and using a special windshield, the HUDs in the Mazda3 and Mazda6 use a thin plastic lens that folds down when not in use. MINI has a similar solution, but this low-cost approach has limits in terms of size and position of the images compared to traditional HUDs that use the windshield as a screen. We're also starting to see similar lens-based aftermarket options that can be added to any car. Last year I tested a portable HUD called Navdy that taps into a car's OBD-II port to provide info on speed and RPM and uses built-in GPS and Google Maps to show the surrounding area, display speed limits and route you to your destination. Navdy also connects to an Android or iOS smartphone via Bluetooth to display data from phone calls, texts and music playing on a connected device, and it's simple to use and easily visible in almost any lighting condition. While Navdy is still available online, late last year the company ran into financial difficulties, and product support has been halted. I recently tested a new portable HUD called Hudly that's not quite fully baked and falls short of Navdy because it doesn't tap into an OBD-II port. Since a companion smartphone app for Hudly isn't scheduled to launch until next month, for now it only mirrors what's on a smartphone. So it can be used for nav and other apps, and its features are very limited. Between automakers adding HUDs in more reasonably priced cars and the aftermarket filling in the gaps for existing vehicle owners with add-ons, the technology is becoming more prevalent and affordable. And it's also getting better.