Lincoln Town Car Executive L Black On Black on 2040-cars

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From Expedition to Navigator: our predictions for Lincoln's SUV

In the midst of all the buzz surrounding the new aluminum Ford Expedition and Expedition Max, we remembered the other large SUV the Ford Motor Company showed last year, the Lincoln Navigator concept. And since the Navigator has historically been built on the Expedition platform, we figured there's no better time to focus some of our predictions for the big Lincoln. First off, let's take a look at design. Having seen the new Expedition, we're fairly confident that the Navigator will look almost exactly like its concept. The strong similarities between two mean the Expedition serves as a preview of what a production Navigator will look like. For example, both vehicles' greenhouses we can see that the shape of the C-pillars are nearly identical. The only difference is that the Expedition's are painted body color, while the Navigator's are painted black. Additionally, the character line running along the top of the doors on both vehicles is roughly the same height. The same goes for the more subtle crease near the bottom of the doors. We also see no reason why Lincoln wouldn't use the full width taillights, fender vent, and grille treatment it used on the concept. Those are all easy design changes to create differentiation, and they're all right inline with the cues set by the Continental. View 15 Photos For powertrain, we're pretty certain the 400-horsepower 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 previewed on the concept is a certainty now. The Expedition and Expedition Max will be offered with a 3.5-liter EcoBoost as well, so we know it will fit. We expect the Expedition's engine will produce 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque as it does in the F-150. That's less power than the Navigator concept, but it would be reasonable to make the production Navigator a bit more powerful than its lowly Ford brethren to help justify the increased price tag. Towing capacity will probably be about the same between the Ford and Lincoln, which should be something over 9,000 pounds. The Navigator will probably use the same two-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive drivetrains, too. Inside is where the Expedition and Navigator will likely differ the most, particularly in seating. The Expedition offers seating for up to eight with an available second-row bench seat, and the Navigator concept had captain's chairs for every row. We're expecting the Navigator will only offer second-row captain's chairs since the cramped third row would be a waste of nice buckets.

2019 Lincoln MKC crossover dials up the luxury perks

Lincoln is taking the wraps off its 2019 MKC, which hits showrooms next summer, revealing a substantially refreshed, more stylish compact luxury crossover that adds new driver-assistance and connectivity technologies and a host of premium ownership perks and options. They include new Black Label personalized trim themes and the ability to pick an exclusive dinner from a curated list of chef-driven restaurants. As we previously forecast, the MKC gets the new Continental-style grille, plus new LED headlamps and a neat touch in a Lincoln welcome mat illuminated on the ground from underneath both front doors to welcome driver and passenger. It also adds new driver-assist features including a pre-collision assist warning and braking system that can detect pedestrians, plus available options like lane-keeping alerts, parallel-parking assistance and a blind spot information system. Owners can also opt for the Lincoln Black Label treatment, which includes premium trim upgrades but also a roster of membership perks: annual vehicle detailing, anytime carwashes and access to a curated list of restaurants where feted chefs will prepare a special dining experience. There are three Black Label themes, each inspired by the arts, travel, fine food and culture: Modern Heritage, defined by a clean, modern aesthetic and Vianca White Venetian leather Indulgence, which lives up to its billing with surfaces trimmed in Venetian leather and Alcantara and accents from Ziricote wood And Center Stage, inspired by the world of theater, featuring a diamond-L perforation pattern on the Alcantara cloth inserts finished with precisely stitched Foxfire Red piping, exotic wood accents and Jet Black Venetian leather with Firefox Red accents. In addition, the Reserve trim features a Rialto Green cabin with black ash wood accents, which Lincoln says reflects a current theme popular in high fashion. Other options include a panoramic roof and heated and cooled seats. As part of what the Ford sub-brand calls the "effortless ownership experience," the MKC will come with standard pickup and delivery service to and from dealerships for service visits, plus the use of a loaner Lincoln while the car is being worked on. Lincoln says it's the only luxury brand that offers such a service standard.

Tesla leads and Infiniti bleeds in Consumer Reports' satisfaction survey

According to Consumer Reports, Tesla owners are more likely to rave about their vehicles than any other brand. And we're not surprised — Tesla has performed very well in past customer satisfaction surveys, despite the fact that the electric cars themselves tend to have more problems than most other automobiles. Second place went to Lincoln, which interestingly had a higher cumulative score than Tesla in individual category measurements like comfort and storage space. Ram, a truck-only brand, rounded out the top three. The consumer-focused magazine bases its owner satisfaction score on responses to a very simple question: Would you buy this exact car again? The higher percentage of owners who answer "definitely yes" to that question, the higher the satisfaction score. Further breakdowns are scored for other parts of the ownership experience, which is why brands that rank poorly in Consumer Reports' own reliability charts — like Tesla and Lincoln, for example — can still earn top marks for satisfaction. The lowest-ranked brands for satisfaction are Cadillac, Nissan and Infiniti. Interestingly, Cadillac performed better than average in Driving and Comfort and middle-of-the-road in the In-Car Electronics and Cabin Storage, but like most other brands, scored poorly in Value. In fact, only Subaru, Mazda and Volkswagen scored better than average in Value. Nissan and especially Infiniti earned comparatively low marks across the board to go along with the bottom-of-the-barrel satisfaction score. Here's the full list of automakers from Consumer Reports' satisfaction survey, ranked in order from best to worst: Tesla Lincoln Ram Chrysler Subaru Hyundai Porsche Dodge Mazda Toyota Kia Mini BMW Ford Audi Honda Volvo Volkswagen Lexus Jeep GMC Chevrolet Mercedes-Benz Buick Cadillac Nissan Infiniti It's worth diving into the individual category scores in addition to the official finishing order for a full look at the results. For instance, despite the fact that automakers like Lincoln and Ford use similar infotainment systems, their In-Car Electronics scores don't quite match up. Also, some automakers have full lineups with multiple cars, trucks and SUVs while others offer just a couple of nameplates. Head on over to Consumer Reports for all the details. Looking for a reliable car, truck or SUV? Check out the top 10 vehicles that owners keep the longest.