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Lincoln Continental production likely to shift to Flat Rock

Lincoln production may be returning to Michigan, according to a new report from Automotive News. While the brand's current big sedan, the MKS, is built alongside the Ford Taurus, Ford Explorer, and their Police Interceptor counterparts at the Blue Oval's Chicago, IL factory, the production version of the Continental won't be screwed together in the Windy City. According to AN, "industry sources" claim the Continental will join the Ford Mustang and Ford Fusion – on which the big Lincoln is loosely based – at the company's Flat Rock, MI factory. The move isn't just based on convenience, though. Ford is selling a lot of Explorers, and shifting Lincoln production away from Chicago Assembly frees up production capacity for the popular SUV. "Chicago Assembly Plant is vital to our global manufacturing footprint and will continue to manufacture the Ford Taurus, Ford Explorer and Police Interceptor vehicles even after we phase out production of the MKS in 2016," Ford told Automotive News. "We will continue to match production to demand." Looking at the numbers further backs up the argument against Lincoln production in Chicago. Last year alone, Ford built nearly 285,000 Explorers and over 73,000 Taurus sedans, compared to just 8,300 Lincolns. Finally, as AN tells it, Ford is almost telegraphing the Continental's arrival in Flat Rock. The facility has a four-week shut down scheduled from June 15 through July 13, which is twice as long as the typical summer vacation, while there's another two weeks off slated for September. Related Video:

1979 Dodge Li'l Red Express in Generation Gap showdown with 1933 Ford Pickup

Auto enthusiasts love a good debate, whether it's Mustang versus Camaro or Ferrari against Lamborghini. But how about a battle between two very different vintages of classic pickup trucks? In this case, the fight is between a 1979 Dodge Li'l Red Express and a 1933 Ford Model 46 truck with a flathead V8.
The shootout comes courtesy of the internet series Generation Gap, and its concept is super-simple. One guy prefers classics, and the other likes newer rides. They choose a category, pick two vehicles and put them head to head. In this case, neither is exactly modern, though. The Ford is more than old enough to receive Social Security checks, and the Dodge is hardly a young whippersnapper.
Other than both being pickups, these two models were made to serve very different functions. The Li'l Red Express was basically the progenitor of today's muscle trucks, with a big V8 that made it one of the quickest new models in its day (admittedly, 1979 was a rough time for automotive performance). On the other hand, the '33 Ford was just meant to work, with little pretense for anything else. One of the hosts describes it as "the simplest, most difficult" vehicle he's driven because of the tricky double clutchwork necessary to shift gears. Scroll down to watch the video and try to decide which of these two American classics you would rather have in your garage.

Ford Q1 profits dragged down by warranty costs

General Motors isn't the only Detroit automaker posting falling profits in the first quarter. Ford just released its Q1 2014 financial data, and it reported a net income of $989 million, down $622 million from Q1 2013. The drop is partially blamed on higher warranty and recall expenses than the company had anticipated.
Financially, Ford suffered a rough quarter almost across the board. Its pre-tax profit of $1.4 billion was also down $765 million from a year ago. Things were even worse in the North American market where operating profit fell significantly to $1.5 billion, down from $2.392 billion in Q1 2013. However, its global revenue ticked up slightly to $35.9 billion, from $35.6 billion in this period in 2013.
Ford admitted that it spent about $900 million on expenses that it hadn't planned for during this quarter. According to Reuters, the company paid about $400 million in additional warranty and recall costs in North America. The automaker didn't explain why the costs were so much higher than expected. However, in the last three months, Ford has had several recalls, including on the 2001-2004 Escape for rust, Explorer for its steering, Edge for its fuel line and others.