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Lincoln Aviator's Air Glide Adaptive Suspension knows when it'll hit potholes

Lincoln is set to release its all-new three-row 2020 Aviator this summer. It will become the fifth SUV in Lincoln's lineup and the second-most expensive of the bunch, behind its Navigator big brother. One of the vehicle's stand-out features is the available Adaptive Suspension with Road Preview, which adjusts to the road using cameras and sensors. Lincoln detailed the modern tech in a new video seen above.  Selling vehicles in the luxury space requires various impressive characteristics, but above all, the most important might be the ride. Engineers design everything to maintain a comfortable experience, and today, the preparation for rough roads doesn't stop in the development and production facilities. Modern technology allows cars adapt to the surfaces they're driving on rather than applying a one-size-fits-all setup to all roads.  The 2020 Lincoln Aviator will use Air Glide Suspension and Adaptive Suspension with Road Preview in attempts to provide the best ride possible. The Air Glide Suspension uses air springs instead of coil springs, and the air bladders will stiffen or soften based on the road conditions, driving speed, and drive mode.  The Adaptive Suspension uses 12 sensors placed throughout the vehicle to monitor all sorts of vehicle conditions. It collects information on body motion, steering, acceleration, and braking and adjusts accordingly. Lincoln says the system reads the road about 500 times per second and can change settings up to 100 times per second. For example, the Aviator will know when a pothole is incoming and will stiffen the shock absorber to reduce the harshness of the hit. Road Preview, which uses a built-in forward-facing camera near the rearview mirror, helps understand the road up to 50 feet ahead and aids in informing the adaptive suspension of incoming bumps between two to eight inches.  Buyers interested in the Aviator will be able to choose between two powertrains: a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 or a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 hybrid. The Standard model starts at $52,840, while the Black Label Grand Touring starts at $89,540. Look for the Aviator to pop up at dealerships soon. 

Ex-GM VP LaNeve takes over Lincoln ad agency

Those of you that caught yesterday's op-ed about Lincoln will have heard already, but Mark LaNeve has taken the helm at Team Detroit. Once the North American vice president of sales, service and marketing for General Motors, LaNeve will now head up the agency that handles all of Ford advertising. LaNeve will also run the account for Lincoln. While at GM from 2001 to 2009, the exec oversaw ad campaigns like Cadillac's Breakthrough and sales initiatives like "Employee Pricing for Everyone."
He left in 2009 to join Allstate as chief marketing officer, oversaw the creation of the Mayhem ad spots and was moved into the role of VP of agency operations overseeing Allstate's 10,000 agents. He resigned from the insurer in February 2012 for personal reasons and joined Team Detroit in August 2012 as chief operating officer, in charge of satellite offices in New York and internationally. He replaces ex-CEO Cameron McNaughton, and will continue to hold the title of COO.
Lincoln is trying to get its 2013 back to rights after putting big dollar commercials for the 2013 MKZ on television then having production glitches preventing cars from getting to dealerships. With rumors of a relaunch in the works, it's no surprise LaNeve has been given the reins - and from here it looks like the brand is desperate for the kind of magic he's proved he can marshal. Perhaps he can start by calling a mulligan on the renaming exercise that gave us the hoary "Lincoln Motor Company" and go back to oh, say, "Lincoln." Then he can ask the product folks to get to work on the MKC concept...

Lincoln Aviator could make a comeback

The idea of Lincoln dropping its alphanumeric scheme in favor of real names was welcomed by fans of the marque and even appeared possible after the rousing reception to the Continental concept. Now, rumors suggest that the next of the luxury brand's nameplates to see a possible revival just might be the Aviator. Don't get your hopes up quite yet, though. The Truth About Cars admits that this tip comes from a second-hand source, but the person reports that Lincoln has a project codenamed Aviator as a model based on the Explorer. There's evidence to give the rumor some shaky support, though. Ford already has the trademarks for the name and AV8R. Also, an Explorer-based vehicle in 2019 is included for the brand's predictions in the recent Car Wars forecast. Autoblog reached out to company spokesperson Sam Locricchio, but he would not speculate about future products. The same source claims to The Truth About Cars that the Blue Oval might not replace the Ford Flex or Lincoln MKT when the current generations come to an end. Also, the next-gen Expedition and Navigator could use 10-speed automatics and follow the F-150 to get aluminum bodies, which is also already rumored. Although, all of this should be taken with a big grain of salt until anything more official has arrived. Lincoln spokesperson Stephane Cesareo gave The Truth About Cars no comment on the rumor, but said, "By 2020, we expect to expand the segments that we participate in by adding two new nameplates to the Lincoln brand. We have not provided any indications about the products or their names." Related Video: