1998 Lincoln Mark Viii Lsc Premium Luxury Sedan A Real Jewel Of Sport Coupe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2018 Lincoln Navigator Black Label Drivers' Notes Review | American luxury

For years, the Lincoln Navigator played second fiddle to the Cadillac Escalade. Even with a refresh a few years back, the big ute couldn't quite match what Cadillac (or anyone else in the class) offered. The design looked dated, and the interior felt a full generation behind. Things sure have changed, as the new Navigator might just be the first Lincoln in years that gets near-universal praise from the Autoblog staff. This class of SUV may not be everyone's cup of tea, but Lincoln deserves credit for doing more than just phoning it in. Our tester this week is a Chroma Crystal Blue short-wheelbase Navigator Black Label. That's the top-trim model, so features like heated and ventilated leather seating, full-LED lighting, a panoramic moonroof, a 20-speaker audio system and adaptive suspension are all standard. The only options on our 2018 model were the $1,750 paint and the $1,250 perfect-position seats. At $98,320, it isn't cheap, but it's right on the mark for the segment. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: The Lincoln Navigator is a demonstrative improvement in luxury, power and design. It's more sophisticated and elegant than ever before, but it remains true to itself. The interior is gorgeous — the best-looking cabin I've ever seen in a Navigator — and it's the best in the segment. The Cadillac Escalade, which is still great but is due for a freshening, feels dated and less user-friendly inside, by comparison. Our Navigator, outfitted in the Black Label trim, looks like something out of a 1960s Camelot photo spread. The powder blue materials remind me of old pictures of Jackie Kennedy. The way the Lincoln crest appears above the glovebox also feels very Jet Age. The knobs, switches and buttons for the controls add to the retro look, but they're also tactile and functional. People don't want to navigate four touchscreens to adjust the heat. Lincoln and other carmakers are wisely going back to simplicity for interior features. That being said, the interior has all the modern features and amenities you would expect. Sync 3 is solid. The large touchscreen is easy to read and use. It's colorful and intuitive. Finally, it's a Sync system I can get on board with. The seats are comfortable, supportive, and the front ones can be positioned 30 different ways. There's so much variety I never found the perfect spot in my two nights in the Navigator. The exterior touches from the most recent redesign accentuate the Navigator's luxurious feel.

What will the next Presidential limo look like?

With recent news that the Secret Service has begun soliciting proposals for a new armored limousine, we've been wondering what the next presidential limo might look like. The current machine, nicknamed "The Beast", has a design based on a car that's no longer sold: the Cadillac DTS. If General Motors gets the job again, which wouldn't be a surprise considering the government still owns a chunk of the company, the next limo's shape would likely resemble the new XTS (below, left). But Cadillac hasn't always been the go-to car company for presidential whips.
Lincoln has actually provided far more presidential limousines throughout history than Cadillac. In fact, the first car modified for Commander-in-Chief-carrying duty was a 1939 Lincoln K-Series called "Sunshine Special" used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the last Lincoln used by a president was a 1989 Town Car ordered for George H.W. Bush. If President Obama wanted a Lincoln today, it would likely be an amalgam of the MKS sedan and MKT crossover, as illustrated above.
And what about Chrysler? The only record we could find of a President favoring the Pentastar is Nixon, who reportedly ordered two limos from the company during his administration in the '70s, and then another one, known today as the "K-Car limo," in the '80s after he left office. Obama, however, has a personal - if modest - connection to Chryslers, having owned a 300 himself before he took office. A 300-based Beast (above, right) would certainly earn the U.S. some style points.

Preposed class-action lawsuit targets 'defective' MyFord Touch

A national law firm, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, has filed a proposed class action lawsuit whose presupposition is that MyFord Touch is defective. Specifically, the complaint states that the system - as well as the MyLincoln Touch and MyMercury Touch clones - often freeze, fail to respond to voice or touch commands and have issues connecting to mobile phones.
According to Hagens Berman managing partner Steve Berman, MyFord Touch is a theoretically "brilliant idea" that falls short in actual execution. Said Berman in a press release, "In reality, the system is fundamentally flawed, failing to reliably provide functionality, amounting to an inconvenience at best, and a serious safety issue at worst."
Other MFT issues enumerated within the 41-page filing include problems controlling the window defroster, rear-view camera and navigation system. The suit maintains that Ford is aware of the problem but has yet to submit a workable and acceptable solution to MFT customers. Scroll down if you'd like to read the full press release.