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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.

2017 Lincoln Continental spied inside and out

Lincoln certainly made us stand up and take notice when it unveiled the Continental concept at the New York Auto Show this past March. Showcars, however, are only worth so much if they never reach production. But as these latest spy shots indicate, Ford's luxury division is hard at work taking the new Conti from show floor to showroom. The team from Dearborn has clearly gone to great lengths to disguise this prototype, wrapping it in a new type of camouflage with trompe l'oeil bulbous-looking shapes to keep us from seeing just how close the production version will keep to (or how far it may stray from) the concept's design. Our spy photographers did, however, manage to snap some shots of the inside through the side glass, and though it's still evidently some ways off from reaching production, some key details give us an idea of what to expect. Look closely and you can make out the buttons for the transmission running down the side of the infotainment screen, just like on other new Lincolns. The chromework appears to have been toned down some from the blinged-out dashboard of the showcar, but it may be too early to say how much shine there will be to the production model. The overall design of the center console looks pretty darn close to the version we saw in New York, though. The Continental is expected to replace the MKS, as Lincoln moves away from alphabetical nomenclature back towards actual nameplates. Assembly is slated to be undertaken in Flat Rock, MI. There are a great many more details yet to be uncovered, but as far as early indications go, it looks like Lincoln is well on its way to making its concept a reality. Related Video:

Ellen DeGeneres sends up Matthew McConaughey's Lincoln ad

Lincoln had to have known that when it released its new ad campaign for the new MKC with Matthew McConaughey, it would open itself up to a bit of good old fashioned ridicule. The television commercial was, after all, good for a laugh or two. And true to their mission, talk show hosts haven't missed the opportunity to have a little fun at Lincoln's and McConaughey's expense.
Conan O'Brien was first to send up the television spot, but now Ellen DeGeneres has taken a stab at it too, superimposing herself in the back seat of the compact luxury crossover, downing some pot brownies and generally playing Costello to McConaughey's Abbott. It's worth a watch, if only to see Ellen getting down in her usual, offbeat style.