Pristine Private Collector Lincoln Town Car Stretch Limo 31,000 Original Miles on 2040-cars

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Lincoln revival bypasses rear-wheel drive for now

Ford execs had the axe ready for Lincoln just a few years ago, but the luxury marque is on a hot streak these days. Annual sales are up 7.5 percent through October, and the recently unveiled, refreshed 2017 MKZ previews the company's improved styling. In a great piece about the brand's growth strategy, Automotive News finds the division's bosses want to focus on the core vehicles before taking a big step and building a rear-wheel drive niche model. "Luxury coupes and sports cars are not the first place we need to go," Global Lincoln Director Matt VanDyke said in the story. The division's bosses want to use the updated MKZ as an opportunity to distance Lincoln's identity from Ford, and the powertrain will carry the 3.0T badge rather than Ford's EcoBoost name as part of that approach. The model also injects excitement into the range thanks to an all-wheel drive version with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 with 400 horsepower and an optional Driver's Package with a torque-vectoring rear differential. Lincoln will launch at least three new models by 2020, too. One of those will be the production Continental that will reportedly debut at the Detroit Auto Show. The company will also allegedly revive the Aviator to fit below the Navigator. The third vehicle remains a mystery but likely isn't a compact. Automotive News' story further examines the previously languishing brand's work to climb up the luxury ranks in the US. It's well worth a read. Related Video:

2018 Lincoln Navigator ad has more weird Matthew McConaughey

Now that new 2018 Lincoln Navigators are on their way to dealers, it's once again time for Matthew McConaughey to be weird behind the wheel in a new commercial. Things start out normally enough with the actor sitting in the SUV at a railroad crossing. But don't worry, it gets strange soon enough because for the rest of the commercial, McConaughey just drums on the Lincoln's steering wheel, a bit like in that disconcerting lunch scene in The Wolf of Wall Street. And the whole time, the actor doesn't say a word. He just drums along to the train and the crossing bells. Then he drives away. And that's it. It's just McConaughey drumming. The ad actually doesn't even show much of the Navigator, and obviously there isn't a word said about it. The most you might be able to learn about the Navigator from this commercial is that it's an SUV, it has an interior that has chrome and leather, and it has those "piano key" buttons for the shifter. We get that the first McConaughey commercials went viral and were frequently parodied for how bizarre they were, and the last Continental ad was also pretty off-the-wall. That was all good for getting attention from younger buyers, but we wonder if these ads are losing their punch and effectiveness. And if they have, then this ad doesn't do anything else to give buyers a sense of what the Navigator is. That's a shame, because the newest Navigator has a lot going for it. Instead, we get McConaughey drumming. Enjoy. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Celebrities Marketing/Advertising Lincoln SUV Luxury Videos lincoln navigator

Ford and Lincoln design honcho leaves to head Nissan North America design

Last Friday, David Woodhouse suddenly resigned from his dual positions as Ford's director of global strategic design and director of Lincoln design. In a post not long after leaving, he praised the efforts of his former team over the past six years he headed design at Lincoln. Among other products, that crew gave us the redesigned Navigator, the Continental concept and production sedan, and the Aviator concept and production crossover. Car Design News reports Woodhouse traded Michigan for California, taking the role of VP at Nissan Design America in San Diego. He officially assumes the position July 1, and will also serve on the Japanese automaker's Global Nissan Design Management Committee. Woodhouse has spent more than 25 years in the design department, starting with BMW and work on the Mini and Range Rover brands, followed by a brief stint with Cadillac of Europe. For the past 20 years he's been with Ford, coming on board with the Ford's former luxury arm known as the Premier Automotive Group — Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Volvo and Lincoln. He became Lincoln's design director in 2013, introducing the world to the design language labeled "quiet flight." He described the language's details as "anti-wedge body gestures, S-curves wherever possible, and an emphasis on horizontal lines at every opportunity to create leaner, longer, wider emphasis on the exteriors, and create equilibrium, balance, and calmness on the interiors." A much shorter way to describe it is: revitalized Lincolns. The U.S. luxury maker's new and overhauled products have been praised for their lines by critics and by paying customers. The brand's done so well it's hard to remember when the MKC concept was a revelation, and that goes on Woodhouse's resume, too. That's some special juju to take to Nissan, where Woodhouse will lead both Nissan and Infiniti design focused on the North American region. Nissan has a solid if uninspiring lineup that sells well here, while Infiniti, as the luxury brand, is the bigger issue. Infiniti sedans glide on the contrails of a design language more than 10 years old. The money-making crossovers and SUVs haven't made a splash in about the same time, since the long-ago FX45. Nissan's plan to update 70 percent of its lineup over the next few years and Infiniti's transition to an all-electric brand makes right now the perfect time to break into riveting designs for the street. Woodhouse replaces Taro Ueda, who moves into a global role with Nissan.