2008 Lincoln Town Car, Limo , Executive Built 120" , 5th Door on 2040-cars

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Dealers mobilize to protect their margins from automaker subscription services

Six individual auto brands — Lincoln, Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo — have established or are trialing a vehicle subscription service in the U.S. Three third-party companies — Flexdrive, Clutch and Carma — run brand-agnostic subscription services. And three automakers — Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and General Motors — have also launched short-term rental services. Dealers, afraid of how these trends might affect their margins, are building political and lawmaking campaigns to protect their revenue streams. So far, three states are investigating automaker subscriptions, and Indiana has banned any such service until next year. It's certain that those three states are the first fronts in a long political and legal battle. Powerful dealer franchise laws mandate the existence of dealers and restrict how automakers are allowed to interact with customers to sell a vehicle. On top of that, Bob Reisner, CEO of Nassau Business Funding & Services, said, "Dealers and their associations are among the strongest political operators in many states. They as a group are difficult for state politicians to vote against." In California earlier this year, the state Assembly debated a bill with wide-ranging provisions to protect against what the California New Car Dealers Association called "inappropriate treatment of dealers by manufacturers." One of those provisions stipulated that subscription services need to go through dealers, but that item got stripped out when dealers and manufacturers agreed to discuss the matter further. In Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a moratorium on all subscription programs by dealers or manufacturers until May 1, 2019, to give legislators more time to investigate. Dealers in New Jersey have taken their campaign to the state capitol, asking that the cars in subscription programs get a different classification for registration purposes. Automakers run the current subscription services and own the vehicles. Sign-ups and financial transactions happen online or through apps, leaving dealers to do little more than act as fulfillment centers to various degrees, with little legal recourse as to compensation amounts when they're called on to deliver or service a car. That's a bad base to build on for business owners who've sunk millions of dollars into their operations.

We test Lincoln's 20-speaker Revel Ultima stereo with a rock star

If there's two things Detroiters know, it's music and cars. So when Lincoln approached us with big claims about their latest stereo system, the Revel Ultima System, we sought out a veteran of the Motor City music scene to test it out. First unveiled at the 2015 Detroit International Auto Show in the Lincoln MKX, Revel is bringing its bumping bass to the 2017 Lincoln MKZ. We had Dick Valentine, lead singer of Electric Six and favorite son of Detroit, try out the 20-speaker, 1200-watt system. If you want it on your MKZ, Revel Ultima is part of the $4,400 Luxury Package. Electric Six is perhaps most famous for its early hit, Gay Bar, and the music video filled with shirtless Abe Lincolns in the White House. Since their debut release, Fire, E6 has backed up a regular touring schedule with ten more studio albums, both a live album and live DVD, and an upcoming quasi-reality film titled Roulette Stars of Metro Detroit. We met up with Valentine on the set of the Roulette Stars to explore the depths of his sardonic wit that oozes through every E6 song. Lincoln says that Revel is the best in the biz. And we'll admit, the stats are impressive. But are 20 speakers and marketing terms like Quantum Logic Surround Technology, Clari-Fi Technology and Point Source Architecture enough to impress a Detroit legend? Valentine knows a little something about sound. As the lead singer and frontman of the Electric Six, he's spent over twenty years hearing his tunes played through speakers. While Valentine hasn't owned a car in a while, he does have opinions on jamming inside of them. We played songs from the band's latest album Bitch, Don't Let Me Die to see if Revel truly delivers on it's bold claims. Related Video: Celebrities Lincoln Ownership music audio sound system

Ford to update Sync, MyFord Touch software... again

Ford hasn't had the best luck with its MyFord Touch and Sync systems, as the finicky infotainment system has been subject to a critical whooping while customer issues have helped sink Ford's IQS scores. The automaker has made a concerted effort, though, to try and fix MyFord Touch. And while the results have been mixed, The Blue Oval is hoping its latest free update, set to go live next week, will make things better.
According to a report from The Detroit News, the new system promises streamlined voice commands with fewer levels between opening query and actual result. Ford is also addressing where certain options are selected on the touchscreen. Rather than working one of the four quadrants on the homescreen, users will be able to select anywhere within the quadrant to make adjustments.
While it might only be a band-aid for MFT's problems, the fact that Ford is still trying to improve it is a promising sign. It's going to take more than just this update to address the system's ills, though.