2000 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series Sedan 4-door 4.6l Very Clean on 2040-cars

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2020 Lincoln Corsair vs 2020 Cadillac XT4 | How they compare on paper

The 2020 Lincoln Corsair compact crossover was introduced this year to replace the aging MKC. Our first impressions are that it's a thoroughly competent luxury machine, but where it fits in the market is interesting. Given its size and price tag, the Corsair basically slots in-between compact segments, with vehicles like the Audi Q3 below and Audi Q5 above. It's a distinctive position to be in, but not a unique one, as there's another comparably sized and priced SUV -- and an American rival, no less. The Cadillac XT4 was launched just last year to be its company's smallest crossover, boasting compelling design and ample technology features.  So which is better? To give you some idea, let's take a look at each vehicle's horsepower, torque, fuel economy, space, pricing and some slightly more subjective aspects about their luxuriousness and feature sets. You'll find all the nitty gritty numbers below, followed by more detailed analysis. And if you'd like to compare other luxury crossovers, be sure to check out our comparison tool. Engines, drivetrains and driving impressions Both the Corsair and XT4 come standard with turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines, but the Corsair's is more potent with 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet compared with the 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of the Cadillac. And to seal the deal, the Corsair has an optional turbo 2.3-liter engine with 280 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. That's not only vastly better than the Cadillac, but one of the most powerful outputs in the compact luxury SUV segment. Both vehicles have standard front-wheel drive with optional all-wheel drive on the base engines. The 2.3-liter Corsair has all-wheel drive standard. The Cadillac does boast an extra cog in its transmission over the Corsair's eight-speed automatic, but there's not necessarily an advantage or disadvantage to be gleaned from that. When it coes to fuel economy, the Cadillac is victorious with a 26 mpg combined rating for the front-drive model, with the front-drive 2.0-liter Corsair coming just behind with 25 mpg combined. It's a three-way tie for third with the all-wheel-drive XT4, all-wheel-drive 2.0-liter Corsair and 2.3-liter Corsair all returning 24 mpg combined. Of course, the all-wheel-drive Corsairs have a small advantage here in that it delivers more power and torque than the Cadillac with the same fuel economy.

Lincoln again asking dealers to move out from under Ford's roof

Lincoln is once again looking at ways to stand out from parent company Ford and establish itself as a credible player in the luxury segment. The company has returned to its plan for standalone showrooms to give its sales and image a boost. In 2018, Lincoln asked 150 Ford-Lincoln dealerships in its 30 biggest American markets to make plans for a standalone showroom by July 2019, and inaugurate it by July 2021. Of those stores, 72 signed on — but the others resisted, partly because the move requires investing millions of dollars. Lincoln put the campaign on hiatus in December 2018, and now Automotive News has learned it's ready to relaunch the plan after finding a middle ground that satisfies both executives and store owners. The publication said dealers gained more freedom to choose how big of a store they build; square foot requirements are no longer tied to the market size. Lincoln also agreed to treat dealers who don't comply more fairly, notably by reducing financial penalties, and it made the aforementioned deadlines more flexible. Standalone Lincoln stores must now be completed by July 2022. The move makes sense, at least on paper. As Autoblog reported in 2018, research shows dealers with standalone showrooms sell more cars. The handful of Lincoln retailers that sell cars in purpose-built showrooms have seen their sales increase considerably faster than those who display the firm's models next to Ford-badged vehicles. Customers "want to buy a luxury product in a luxury environment," explained Robert Parker, Lincoln's head of marketing, at the time. Lincoln was historically tied to Mercury, though the Continental also incongruously shared showroom space with the De Tomaso Pantera during the early 1970s. Lincoln moved under Ford's roof when Mercury was done away with in 2011, and it began experimenting with standalone stores in the early 2010s. Auto News Lincoln

The 1965 Ford Mustang could have looked a lot different

The 1965 Ford Mustang is unquestionably an automotive design icon, and nearly every generation of Mustang has some connection to that original car. Because it's such a universally-known vehicle, we were amazed to see all the different designs that were being considered. Head of Ford's archives Ted Ryan recently shared photos of design proposals for the original Mustang on Twitter that he and Jamie Myler found, and we reached out to them to find out more. As Ryan initially noted, the photos were taken on August 19, 1962, and they are proposals for the Ford Mustang. Apparently Ford had committed to doing a Falcon-based youth-oriented car at this point, and it did have plans to launch the car in 1964 for the 1965 model year. But after having little success with early design proposals, the company asked all of its design studios — the Advanced Studio, Lincoln-Mercury Studio and Ford Studio — to submit proposals. With only about two years before the planned launch, Ford was understandably short on time, and it's believed that the studios only had a month to create and present these designs. Lincoln-Mercury design proposal View 8 Photos The majority of the designs, a total of five, came from the Advanced Studio, and part of this was because they already had a couple of concept designs in reserve it could present. Two other models representing three design possibilities came from Lincoln-Mercury, and just one model with two options came from Ford. The Advanced Studio proposals are shown in the gallery at the very top of this article, and the Lincoln-Mercury and Ford proposals are in the gallery directly above this paragraph. The Advanced Studio's most radical design is the one that was clearly related to the Mustang I concept that would be shown later that year with huge wraparound rear glass, turbine-inspired bumpers and enormous side scoops. The other proposals from the studio were more conservative, featuring simple lines, grilles reminiscent of the Falcon, and one even borrowing the jet-thruster-style taillights made famous on the Thunderbird. Lincoln-Mercury had some impressively bold designs, particularly its fastback that had buttresses to extend the shape all the way to the tail. This car had two different side trim possibilities. The other Lincoln-Mercury design was toned down a bit, but had two interesting possibilities for side detailing, as well as some crisp, low-profile tail fins.