1941 Lincoln Continental on 2040-cars

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2017 Lincoln Continental brings 'quiet luxury' to Detroit

Following the concept that debuted in New York the better part of a year ago, the production Lincoln Continental promises to usher in a new era for the Lincoln division and put up a better fight against Cadillac. (Or so, at least its parent company Ford would hope.) To that end, Dearborn's luxury brand promises "an elegant, effortlessly powerful, serene fullsize sedan that delivers quiet luxury to the industry's most discerning customers." That effortless power comes from a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 that will produce up to 400 horsepower. Other features include exterior ambient lighting that activates when the driver approaches, hidden electric door handles, and an available panoramic glass panel covering the entire roof. The new Conti also boasts a three-mode suspension and steering system, torque vectoring, adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera system, and collision assist with pedestrian detection. Meanwhile the interior offers such amenities as 30-way adjustable front seats, reclining, massaging and climate-controlled rear seats, a Revel audio system, and active noise cancellation. All the features, in short, you'd expect from a luxury sedan, and then some. Only this one will be made in Flat Rock, not imported from overseas. Following its debut at the Detroit Auto Show this week, it will reach dealers in the fall – at which point import and Caddy dealers alike may need to start taking notice. All-New Lincoln Continental Delivers Quiet Luxury: Elegant, Effortlessly Powerful, Serene - Lincoln Motor Company introduces its elegant new flagship – the all-new Continental – coming this fall - Effortless power comes from new 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine that produces a projected 400 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque1; advanced safety technology is also featured - Serene interior offers the comfort of Lincoln's innovative Perfect Position Seat, spaciousness, rear seat amenities, Revel® audio system and top-grade materials DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2016 – Lincoln Motor Company heralds the return of its flagship – the all-new Lincoln Continental – an elegant, effortlessly powerful, serene full-size sedan that delivers quiet luxury to the industry's most discerning customers. Beginning this fall, Continental offers first-class travel for clients in America and China, bringing warm, human touches and a contemporary design.

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.

Five cursed and haunted cars

Any kid lucky enough to grow up in Detroit is familiar with the Henry Ford Museum. It's huge, full of shiny things and a great place to take a child and let them burn off some energy. After several field trips and weekend outings however, the dusty concept vehicles and famous aircraft tend to lose their punch for youngsters. As a fifth grader, I was already gazing on the museum's many gems with glassy eyes. On yet another school trip, we made our way to John F. Kennedy's death car, a gleaming black Lincoln limo. The aging volunteer docent told our little group something I had never heard before. "You know, this car is haunted. Several employees have reported seeing a gray presence right here," he said, pointing to the back passenger side seat. I perked up. Now here was something I had never heard before. A haunted car? Sure, it happened in Goosebumps, but this was real life. It made sense, in a way. Cars can be violent, emotional places. That's certainly the case with JFK's limo, as well as the other four cars on this list. And maybe those gut-wrenching deaths can permanently doom a car. 5. Archduke Franz Ferdinand's Graf & Stift Death Limo World War I tends to be a forgotten war, despite being pretty terrible in its own right and setting the stage for the entire 20th Century. The French forces, for instance, lost more lives in the first month of WWI than the US did in the entire Civil War. Everyone who has been through a freshman world history course knows the conflict started when Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot by a Bosnian anarchist. The crazy thing is, Ferdinand had already avoided an attempt on his life that day, and was actually on his way to the hospital to comfort those who had been injured in the crossfire. One of the would-be assassins simply walked out of a cafe and saw his intended target sitting in front of him where the open-air limo had stalled. The archduke and his wife were shot through their heads and throats. Their deaths would not be the last caused by the limo. Throughout the war and into the 1920s, the limo was owned by fifteen different people and involved in six accidents and thirteen deaths, not counting the 17 million or so killed in the war triggered by the Archduke's assassination. The first person to own the car after the Archduke was an Austrian general named Potiorek, who went insane while riding in the car through Vienna.