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2020 Lincoln Aviator crossover is a hot rod with 400 horsepower standard

LOS ANGELES — The 2020 Lincoln Aviator has finally been revealed in production form following its "concept" debut at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. We add the quotes because the production model is identical to the New York model. Appearances aside, the big news is under the hood. At launch, the Lincoln Aviator will be available with two engines. They're both twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6s, and one of them is a plug-in hybrid. The standard engine makes an impressive 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. To help put that into perspective, that's about 40 more horsepower than the top-rung six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 we just drove, and about 65 more horsepower than the entry-level six-cylinder BMW X5 xDrive40i. Moving to the hybrid powertrain brings Aviator output to 450 horsepower and a staggering 600 pound-feet of torque. That's just 6 ponies shy of the V8-powered BMW X5 xDrive50i, but 121 more pound-feet of torque. This plug-in hybrid powertrain will also be able to do the typical plug-in stuff. You can run the vehicle in pure electric mode or hold the charge to be deployed at a more advantageous time such as driving in town at the end of a highway drive. Lincoln did not give estimates for the pure electric range. Fuel economy hasn't been revealed yet, either. Other interesting hybrid notes: The battery fits entirely under the passenger side of the vehicle between the front and rear wheels. The motor is sandwiched between the engine and transmission. Lincoln also mentioned this is a modular hybrid system, so expect to see it appear in other Lincoln and Ford products in the future. This powertrain layout is part of what makes it possible for all versions of the Aviator to use the same 10-speed automatic transmission, which is gradually proliferating through the whole Ford family. From there, power either goes solely to the rear wheels, or through an optional all-wheel-drive system. All of this power can ride on an available adaptive air suspension the company calls Air Glide. It works like many adaptive suspensions, scanning the road with a camera to adjust damping for bumps ahead. It does have some other trick features, though. When the Aviator is parked, the suspension lowers to make the crossover look more attractive while sitting. And when the driver approaches, it lowers itself further for easier ingress. It also raises itself for snow or mild off-road driving, and it lowers down at highway speeds for better aerodynamics.

More than 800,000 Fords recalled for faulty Takata airbags

The Basics: Ford is recalling about 816,000 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles built in the US for faulty passenger-side Takata airbags. The affected vehicles were all built in North America, with 654,695 recalled vehicles in the US and 161,174 vehicles in Canada. A wide variety of cars, trucks, and SUVs are affected. This is a planned expansion of an earlier recall. 2005-09 and 2012 Ford Mustang 2005-06 Ford GT 2006-09 and 2012 Ford Fusion 2007-09 Ford Ranger 2007-09 Ford Edge 2006-09 and 2012 Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ 2007-09 Lincoln MKX 2006-09 Mercury Milan The Problem: Like every other Takata recall, the problem rests with faulty airbags that can potentially expel shrapnel, injuring or killing vehicle occupants. Millions of vehicles from dozens of automakers are affected, so don't think that Ford is alone on this one. Injuries/Deaths: Ford stated in a press release that there have been no injuries or death linked to the vehicles in this recall. All in all, 11 deaths and 180 injuries across a variety of automakers have been linked to these Takata airbags. The fix: Ford will contact owners soon, and the affected vehicles will have their airbags replaced by a dealer at no additional charge. If you own one: Wait for contact from Ford, then head to the dealer to get a replacement. If you're wondering if your vehicle is affected, go to this Ford website and enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The recall reference number is 17S01. Related Video: News Source: FordImage Credit: Associated Press Recalls Ford Lincoln Mercury Auto Repair Ownership Safety Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Sedan airbag Takata airbag recall

A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.