2002 Lincoln Town Car Cartier L Sedan 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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2015 Ford F-150 named Truck of Texas, Lincoln and Jeep also awarded at Truck Rodeo

The Ford Motor Company has a lot of reasons to celebrate after winning eight categories in this year's Texas Auto Writers Association's annual Truck Rodeo. Most important among them, the Blue Oval's latest 2015 Ford F-150 earned the prestigious Truck of Texas award, ending the Ram 1500's two-year winning streak. The 2015 Lincoln MKC also grabbed the honor as the CUV of Texas, and Ford was named Truck Line of Texas.
FoMoCo even took trophies for best technology with its extensive use of aluminum on its latest F-Series and best commercial vehicle for the new Transit 250. It wasn't a total sweep, though, because the Jeep Grand Cherokee grabbed the title of the SUV of Texas for the fifth straight time.
This year's event put 60 auto writers in 75 pickups, SUVs and crossovers and challenged them to find the best in a plethora of categories. All of the winners are listed below, and scroll down to read the full announcements from the Texas Auto Writers Association and Ford.

Lincoln Corsair reportedly on track for 2020 as replacement for MKC

Last month we told you how Lincoln was considering renaming the MKC crossover as the Corsair. Now, a report suggests that the MKC replacement is on track for 2020, a year ahead of schedule. Ford Authority reports the accelerated timeline, citing unnamed sources. Ford reportedly told dealers at a meeting this spring in Orlando it was considering Lincoln Corsair as the crossover's new name, but that it could change its mind before it went into production as a 2021 model. The accelerated development of the Corsair — or whatever its final name may be — might be a result of Ford's recent decision to do away with sedans and double down on hot-selling crossovers, SUVs and pickups. Ford Authority's sources tell it that Lincoln is borrowing elements including the mirrors, front fenders, tail lights and wide stance from the Aviator Concept that it unveiled in March in New York City. The Aviator was teased with a plug-in hybrid powertrain option, and given Ford's plans to electrify its lineup, it's entirely possible the Corsair will follow that path as well. Lincoln is slowly moving away from its MK alphanumeric naming system, adopting instead exotic travel-themed nomenclature (think Continental, Nautilus and Navigator). In this case, an actual "corsair" was a pirate ship popular along the southern Mediterranean from the 16th through the 18th centuries. Ford also already owns the name Corsair, so that helps. The MKC is Lincoln's strongest-selling vehicle in China, where the brand has seen explosive growth tapping into the droves of newly created wealthy carbuyers. In the United States, Lincoln sold 27,048 MKCs in 2017, making it the brand's third-best selling model behind the MKZ sedan and MKX crossover ( soon to be renamed the Nautilus). For the first half of 2018, it had sold 12,289 units, which was down 8.7 percent from the prior-year period. Related Video: Image Credit: Lincoln Lincoln Crossover Luxury PHEV lincoln mkc lincoln aviator

2015 Lincoln MKC

Back in 2012, Lincoln claimed its comeback bid was finally underway with the new-for-2013 MKZ. But don't you believe them - the renaissance won't actually begin in earnest until the shapely compact crossover seen here reaches showrooms in big numbers. That's because while the four-door MKZ was indeed a proper step toward rebirth, the 2015 MKC is the first wholly conceived vehicle under Lincoln as a standalone brand, a move first announced back in 2012.
That's an important distinction, because Lincoln's newfound emancipation from Ford's design and development processes has given the struggling marque both the corporate wherewithal and the will to develop a more fully formed product. The four-wheeled result seen here is a surprisingly cohesive luxury CUV, one with significantly more aesthetic and dynamic separation from its Ford Escape sibling than the MKZ and its Fusion counterpart. Said another way, after flogging Lincoln's latest for hundreds of miles over canyon roads outside of Santa Barbara, we've come to understand that this is far from a re-grilled Dearborn special with luxury tinsel - it's a bona fide standalone product that readily displays the sort of clear differentiation seen in platform cousins like the Audi Q5 and the Volkswagen Tiguan. It's the real deal.