2004 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate Series With 36000 Two Owner Miles Full Luxury Pac on 2040-cars

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McConaughey's bizarre new Continental ad is perfect parody material

So let's say you're running a car company and have a luxurious new flagship sedan and need to advertise it. What do you do? Did you answer with "film a commercial with a barely coherent Hollywood actor standing in a pond?" If so, perhaps you work for Lincoln, which brought back Matthew McConaughey to do another bizarre car ad. It starts with McConaughey and a Continental standing on a body of water. He starts talking about staring (or not staring) at the Conti, and then about sitting in the back seat (or not). The ad then cuts to McConaughey in the back who replies to the McConaughey in the front seat. Presumably, there are two McConaugheys at this point, and the front seat one just laughs in a slightly unsettling manner. He then makes a clicking noise, closes the center console and drives away. You can't make this stuff up. It's thoroughly strange, but we can't say we're entirely surprised. When Lincoln first launched some bizarre ads with McConaughey muttering sweet nothings about the MKC, the company got loads of attention. Admittedly a lot of that attention was to make fun of it, but you know the old saying that there's no such thing as bad press. Lincoln even brought him back for an encore in ads for the MKX and MKZ. In truth, we're also glad to see another bizarre Lincoln ad, mostly because we're hoping for another round of great parodies like the classic Jim Carrey spoof that aired on Saturday Night Live. Check out the ad above to see the strangeness. Related Video:

2020 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid range, fuel economy revealed

The range-topping 2020 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid luxury crossover finally has official fuel economy ratings. The electric range is 21 miles, and when the battery is exhausted, gas-only combined fuel economy is 23 mpg. The EPA's combined electric and gas test loop yielded 56 mpg-e. These numbers make the Aviator Grand Touring the most frugal version of the three-row luxury crossover, with the next most efficient one being the rear-drive non-hybrid model at 21 mpg combined. When going by gas-only fuel economy, though, the Aviator Grand Touring's non-plug-in cousin, the Ford Explorer Hybrid, returns up to 28 mpg combined with rear-wheel drive, and 25 mpg with all-wheel drive. It has much less power at 318 horsepower and 322 pound-feet of torque, compared to the Aviator Grand Touring's 494 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque. The luxury plug-in hybrid crossover segment is quite small right now. The closest competitor to the Aviator Grand Touring is probably the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid. It has a shorter electric range of 13 miles, and its gas-only fuel economy is a slightly worse at 22 mpg. The Porsche is less powerful with 455 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, and its base price of $82,450 exceeds the Lincoln's $69,895 price. The Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e splits the difference on efficiency with a worse 10-mile electric range, but a better gasoline fuel economy of 25 mpg combined. This could improve for 2020, as the updated model will have a larger battery. It's cheaper, too, at $51,645, but it's also a full size smaller than the Lincoln.

Ford CEO Jim Hackett reviewing the future of technology, Lincoln, overseas markets

By Paul Lienert and Joseph White Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett is reviewing the automaker's operations in India and other markets, as well as Ford's future product programs including plans to build a self-driving commercial vehicle in 2021. Hackett, who took over as CEO in May, has told investors he is working on a 100-day review of Ford's operations but has so far provided few details of the process, except to indicate that it is looking at the automakers' luxury vehicle strategy, the future of its small vehicles and investments in emerging markets. Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told Reuters in an interview that the review covers a range of issues, including Ford's strategy for India. "We have a lot of work to do (as) we address issues of how to fix India," Shanks said. "Everything is on the table." General Motors in May said it would stop selling cars in India but continue to produce vehicles there for export. Shanks said no decisions have been made and noted that Ford has a larger business in India than GM did. "We are very cognizant that will be the third-largest market in the world," he said. "Some big decisions will be made," Shanks said, but he cautioned Ford may not disclose all those decisions at the end of the 100-day review. Hackett is addressing challenges that have contributed to a nearly 8 percent decline in Ford's share price this year. The review of the Lincoln luxury brand includes whether current plans will meet former CEO Mark Fields' ambitious targets for growth and revenue, people familiar with the process said. Ford has set a target of putting a self-driving shuttle into commercial ride-sharing fleets by 2021. Hackett is reviewing the investment and timing for that project, the sources said. Hackett also assessing whether to reduce and consolidate production of models such as the Fiesta subcompact and two midsized sedans that are built in multiple locations around the world, but are experiencing slowing demand. One proposal would shift production of the next-generation Mondeo midsized sedan from Europe to Mexico, where it would share an assembly line with its sibling, the Ford Fusion, avoiding the cost of retooling two plants. Shortly after he took charge, Hackett approved a proposal to shift production of the next-generation Focus for North America from Mexico to China, saving the company an estimated $500 million by consolidating two factories into one.