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Lincoln goes sedan-free after sending the Continental into the sunset

Lincoln has ended production of the 10th (and, presumably, final) generation of the Continental, according to a recent report. Built in Flat Rock, Mich., the flagship model was the last sedan in the company's range. We can't say the guillotine dropped without warning; the writing has been on the wall for months. Introduced in 2016 for the 2017 model year, the Continental found about 12,000 buyers in America during its first full calendar year on the market, but sales quickly dropped. 8,758 units were sold in 2018, followed by 6,586 in 2019. 3,872 examples found a home through September 2020, and Ford Authority learned production ended on October 30. It's a shame, because the Continental stood proud as Lincoln's best effort in the luxury sedan segment in decades. It was built on a Ford platform, but it didn't exude an overpowering whiff of Blue Ovalness. Upmarket variants benefited from 30-way adjustable front seats, all-wheel drive and a 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbocharged to 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Lincoln even built a handful of Coach Door Edition models with a longer wheelbase and suicide rear doors reminiscent of the fourth-generation Continental released for 1961. These were stunningly expensive at $115,470 plus destination, yet they were all spoken for in record time. Lincoln hasn't announced plans to replace the Continental; the odds of seeing an 11th-generation model in the near future are extremely low. Nothing suggests another flagship sedan is in the works, either. Like its parent company, the brand is pivoting away from sedans and towards crossovers and SUVs, which sell in far greater numbers and tend to be more profitable. Sending the Continental to the pantheon of automotive history leaves the Navigator as the Lincoln brand's sole flagship, though an electric model might slot above it in the 2020s. America's take on the luxury sedan isn't dead, however. Arch rival Cadillac recently replaced the ATS and the CTS with a pair of sedans named CT4 and CT5, respectively. Both will spawn high-performance variants in 2021. Related Video:

Lincoln taps Serena Williams to pitch all-new Navigator

Lincoln is turning to a new star to help it pitch the hot-selling Navigator SUV alongside Matthew McConaughey: Tennis megastar and businesswoman Serena Williams. She'll help pitch the Navigator in a social media campaign that launched Thursday. Lincoln released four short spots that will appear on Lincoln and Williams' social channels. In one, the longest at 41 seconds, Williams recalls buying her first Navigator as a teen and says she's come full circle as a mother. She dubbed the vehicle "Ginger." "Ginger was all white, she had 22s and she had rims," she says in the spot. "I felt like, you know, I was kind of balling in a way. It was like my first huge purchase." Another shows Williams talking on a tennis court about being a mother and how the vehicle functions as a kind of bedroom for her daughter, Olympia, who was born last September. "For me that's what's most important." Like the McConaughey spots before them, the new spots hew to the Lincoln script of mostly not focusing on the vehicle but rather on experiences. (Williams' experiences seem a lot less ethereal than McConaughey's.) View 4 Photos Williams is known for her tennis exploits, having won a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles and four Olympic gold medals. She has fashion deals with Puma and Home Shopping Network and launched her own fashion brand called Aneres. And she operates the Serena Williams Fund to emphasize education and help victims of gun and domestic violence, plus the Williams Sisters Fund, which she launched in 2016 with her sister, Venus. Serena Williams is also a member of the Oath Board of Advisors. Oath is the parent company of Autoblog. "Serena is an amazing athlete who has won 23 Grand Slams, but she also has a family, she has her own clothing line, she sits on major boards, she's philanthropic — she has all these competing demands on her time," Lincoln Group Marketing Manager John Emmert said in a statement. "We know that time is our Navigator client's ultimate luxury as they balance everything in their busy lives, and Serena exemplifies that balance with poise and grace." It's not the first time Williams has endorsed an automotive brand, notes AdAge. Mini featured the tennis star in a Super Bowl ad in 2016. The Navigator is all-new for 2018. It won North American Truck of the Year last month at the Detroit Auto Show. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ford recalling 850,000 cars and SUVs for airbag issues

Ford has announced a major recall of 850,000 vehicles from model years 2013 and 2014 due to a problem with the "restraints control module."
According to Ford, a short circuit could develop in the module, causing the airbag warning light to illuminate. In more severe cases, dependent on where the short develops, the airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners may not work in the event of an accident. The problems can be more wide-ranging than that, too, as systems that rely on information from the control module, such as the stability control can be affected.
With 850,000 vehicles affected, it's no surprise that some of Ford's volume leaders are covered. That includes the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans, as well as the incredibly recall-prone Escape and the C-Max MPV.