1998 Lincoln Mark Viii Base Sedan 2-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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GM design boss Welburn says Lincoln isn't a Cadillac rival [w/poll]

General Motors Vice President of Global Design, Ed Welburn, had some dismissive words for a certain cross-town luxury brand during an interview with Car and Driver. When asked about his thoughts on Lincoln, Welburn deflected, before saying, "I don't consider Lincoln to be a competitor for Cadillac."
"They're not a global luxury brand. I don't consider them a competitor. Are they a competitor for Buick? Quite possibly. But not for Cadillac," GM's head designer explained. Welburn, who's been at the helm of GM Design North America since 2003 and is the first to hold the position of VP of Global Design, has been instrumental in the styling renaissance at GM, so predictably, Car and Driver's interview with him focused on the design aspect of cars.
During the interview, Welburn explicitly denied plans for a reborn Cadillac XLR, even as a new Chevrolet Corvette is hitting the market and strides are being made with Cadillac's V-Series performance arm saying, "We have a lot of cars that we're working on for the Cadillac brand. The XLR is not one of them right now."

Never mind the naysayers; Lincoln is worth saving

In the case of Henry Leland, naming his new car brand after the first President he cast a vote for in 1864 seemed a jolly good idea, on paper.
You should always be careful about the name you choose to give your new baby. The power of association can work in many ways, not always positive.

2018 Lincoln Navigator First Drive | From black sheep to flagship

This is Lincoln's flagship. It's the most luxurious, comfortable and expensive vehicle the brand sells. It's quite obviously the biggest and heck, like every Lincoln flagship of yesteryear, it even features body-on-frame construction. Crucially, though, this all-new 2018 Lincoln Navigator is also very good. It's distinctive, capable, and competent in ways that will stand up well in the upper echelon of the SUV hierarchy. And we'll get this out of the way now: it's far superior to its primary competitor, the Cadillac Escalade. And yet, the Navigator's flagship status is a comeback story. It wasn't too long ago that it was a black sheep confined to the distant back row of Lincoln family promotional photos along with the Town Car and a fichus added for decoration. It was never given one of the new-fangled MK names, and its V8-powered, truck-based status made it a thirsty dinosaur at a time of rising gas prices and an increasing number of crossovers. Livery services bought them in black-painted droves, but it was otherwise forgotten even as a substantive refresh for 2015 arguably made it a better, more practical bet than its Caddy nemesis. Like its predecessor, and indeed every Navigator since the second generation dawned for 2007, the third-generation 2018 model features an independent rear suspension rather than the live axle in GM's SUVs. First and foremost, this reaps benefits for those sitting in the third row. Full-sized adults enjoy an abundance of room back there on par (or perhaps even better) than a minivan. There's a USB port on each side, the seatbacks power recline and its three seat belts allow for an eight-passenger max. There's even enough room behind the raised third-row for creatively stacked suitcases. Compare this to a regular-wheelbase Escalade with its third row stuck to the sky-high floor; its occupants' knees jammed against the second row and/or stuck into their own chins. It's a wasteland back there, but to be fair, not much worse than an Infiniti QX80 or Lexus LX 570. Yes, the extended-wheelbase Escalade ESV helps, but there's still less space than the standard Navigator. In fact, the Navigator L model offers the exact same third-row – only the cargo area behind it expands. That rear suspension also pays dividends in the ride and handling department.