2005 Lincoln Town Car Signature L Sedan 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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Lincoln may add suicide doors to future Continental

There's been plenty of uncertainty surrounding the future of the Lincoln Continental, a nameplate revived only 18 months ago but struggling to move units as sedans submit subduction-style to the techtonic boom in crossovers. We recently shared a report that the Continental won't live to see another generation after selling just 18,846 units in its year-and-a-half back on the market. Now comes a report from Automotive News saying that Lincoln at the 2018 NADA convention in Las Vegas showed a photo of the Continental with rear-hinged doors and said it plans to manufacture it. The publication cited several dealers who were in the room but didn't want to be identified. Lincoln, of course, isn't saying anything about rear-hinged suicide doors except to say that "Continental is an important part of the Lincoln family." The announcement at NADA was reportedly meant to convey a commitment to cars by Lincoln, which has been buoyed by crossovers like the MKC and its red-hot Navigator large SUV. There was no word on timing or other details about the suicide door-equipped Continental. Lincoln sold just 1,573 units of the sedan through February, down about 25 percent on the annualized monthly rate. Still, if Lincoln wants to plant its flag in the car segment, then its flagship is probably a good place to start. The Continental nameplate, which was revived in New York in 2015 as a concept, enjoys a long design lineage, of course, and boasted production suicide doors on the 1961 Continental Mk V. The luxury sedan also inspired one artist to reimagine the Continental as a two-door coupe, true to its original 1939 styling and demonstrating the car's versatility. And the car already has some concept-style futuristic touches, including hidden electric door handles and 30-way adjustable front seats. But suicide doors have mostly been relegated these days to concept vehicles, one-offs like this Rolls-Royca Sweptail and the Tesla Semi truck. So should we see this as a way for Lincoln to draw some attention to a struggling nameplate? Related Video:

2019 Lincoln Nautilus replaces MKX crossover as new naming system takes hold

Goodbye, Lincoln MKX, hello Nautilus. And while you're at it, you can start saying goodbye to Lincoln's arcane alphanumeric nomenclature altogether. Lincoln unveiled the 2019 Nautilus midsize crossover in Los Angeles, taking the wraps (literally) off a ceramic gray version that had been hoisted to the rooftop penthouse of the Dream Hollywood hotel via crane ahead of its formal introduction Wednesday at the L.A. Auto Show. Latin for "sailor," the Nautilus joins the Continental and Navigator to establish a travel theme in the luxury brand's lineup. Robert Parker, global director of marketing, sales and service for Lincoln, said the significant changes made to the midsize SUV made this the right time to switch to a more traditional model name. "We'll do it with other products in the future, we're gonna do it one at a time," he said, without committing to a timetable. The company said nothing about renaming the recently refreshed 2019 MKC compact crossover, for example, nor the MKZ midsize sedan. Parker said the letter-based nomenclature was particularly challenging for customers in China, which has emerged as a key market in Lincoln's third year selling vehicles there. "There's an old adage that the name doesn't make the car, the car makes the name. So there's a degree of that that's played into this," Parker said. "This kind of connection that consumers have, especially with American brands and names, we felt like, is something that Lincoln could own, it's something we've owned in the past, and bringing those two back together, it does make it a bit more effortless for customers." The Nautilus gets its siblings' new signature grille and sidebody badging, welcome lighting from the undercarriage and cabin, and a choice of five new wheel options (out of six total) and three premium Black Label interior trim themes and other perks. It boasts an all-new front end, with everything redesigned from the A-pillar forward, plus a suite of driver-assist technologies like a lane-centering feature that pairs with adaptive cruise control; evasive steering assistance, which uses radar and cameras to lower the risk of rear-end collisions and can help the driver steer around the vehicle if needed; pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection; and active park assist. Inside, there's dark-stained wood trim on the console and minimal controls, with Lincoln opting to keep the cabin spacious, quiet and uncluttered. The rear seats offer best-in-class head and legroom.

2013 Lincoln MKZ [w/video]

Rebranding When Reinvention Is Requisite
Lincoln - pardon us, the Lincoln Motor Company - assures us that Ford is committed to its success. The awkwardness of the statement (which feels vaguely like your mother telling you that she loves and supports you regardless of what everyone else thinks) was hard to escape when we recently spent a few days with the all-new second-generation 2013 Lincoln MKZ.
Launched earlier this year at the 2012 New York Auto Show, the MKZ is a midsize premium sedan that shares platforms with the Ford Fusion (also all-new for 2013). The sedan's primary competitors, according to Lincoln, include the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Cadillac CTS and Lexus ES Series sedans - each an established, accomplished player.