2014 Lincoln Mkx Base on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lincoln scales back free maintenance

Complimentary scheduled maintenance programs have been great tools for luxury automakers to draw in new customers, but some are starting to scale their programs back considerably. According to Automotive News, Lincoln is joining Jaguar and Volvo on the list of automakers reducing the length of time it will be providing free maintenance to its customers.
Lincoln's four-year/50,000-mile maintenance program first kicked off as an incentive in 2010 and became permanent later that year, but starting with the 2014 model year, this will be cut to just two years and 24,000 miles. This could make short-term leases even more appealing for some consumers, but according to Automotive News, some Lincoln dealers are unhappy with the scaling back. The move admittedly comes at an odd time for Lincoln, with parent Ford seemingly working hard to increase consideration among luxury buyers as it looks to reverse the marque's long decline.

2018 Lincoln Navigator First Drive | From black sheep to flagship

This is Lincoln's flagship. It's the most luxurious, comfortable and expensive vehicle the brand sells. It's quite obviously the biggest and heck, like every Lincoln flagship of yesteryear, it even features body-on-frame construction. Crucially, though, this all-new 2018 Lincoln Navigator is also very good. It's distinctive, capable, and competent in ways that will stand up well in the upper echelon of the SUV hierarchy. And we'll get this out of the way now: it's far superior to its primary competitor, the Cadillac Escalade. And yet, the Navigator's flagship status is a comeback story. It wasn't too long ago that it was a black sheep confined to the distant back row of Lincoln family promotional photos along with the Town Car and a fichus added for decoration. It was never given one of the new-fangled MK names, and its V8-powered, truck-based status made it a thirsty dinosaur at a time of rising gas prices and an increasing number of crossovers. Livery services bought them in black-painted droves, but it was otherwise forgotten even as a substantive refresh for 2015 arguably made it a better, more practical bet than its Caddy nemesis. Like its predecessor, and indeed every Navigator since the second generation dawned for 2007, the third-generation 2018 model features an independent rear suspension rather than the live axle in GM's SUVs. First and foremost, this reaps benefits for those sitting in the third row. Full-sized adults enjoy an abundance of room back there on par (or perhaps even better) than a minivan. There's a USB port on each side, the seatbacks power recline and its three seat belts allow for an eight-passenger max. There's even enough room behind the raised third-row for creatively stacked suitcases. Compare this to a regular-wheelbase Escalade with its third row stuck to the sky-high floor; its occupants' knees jammed against the second row and/or stuck into their own chins. It's a wasteland back there, but to be fair, not much worse than an Infiniti QX80 or Lexus LX 570. Yes, the extended-wheelbase Escalade ESV helps, but there's still less space than the standard Navigator. In fact, the Navigator L model offers the exact same third-row – only the cargo area behind it expands. That rear suspension also pays dividends in the ride and handling department.

The Rolls-Royce Dawn leads this month's list of discounts

If you're one of the few readers of this site who is in the market for a $350,000 Rolls-Royce Dawn, well, first of all, good for you. And you should be prepared to keep some extra money in your pocket, too, as the drop-top Roller leads this month's list of the largest monetary discounts with an average of $14,733 taken off the machine's $359,250 sticker price. That means buyers are paying an average transaction price of $344,517 for the 2020 Rolls-Royce Dawn this month, according to data provided to Autoblog by TrueCar, which equals about 4.1% off the price on the sticker. An intriguing pair of supercars land in second and third positions this month. The 2019 Acura NSX is selling for an average of $145,174 this month, which represents a 9% discount, or $14,373. With an eerily similar 9% discount of $14,079 comes the 2020 Aston Martin Vantage, which has an average transaction price of $142,002 this month. The Maserati Quattroporte is up next with an average discount of $13,634. Another Rolls-Royce model lands in the fifth spot, but instead of the aging Dawn it's the brand-new Cullinan SUV. Although the luxury 'ute boasts a large discount of $12,427, its staggeringly high retail price of $332,750 means buyers are getting a little less than 4% off the sticker. More interesting to most buyers will be the 2019 Lincoln Navigator, which is one of our favorite full-size SUVs in America. Buyers of Lincoln's range-topping vehicle are getting average discounts of $11,761. That represents a 13.4% savings for a final price of $75,940. For a look at the best new car deals in America based on the percentage discount off their suggested asking prices, check out our monthly recap here. And when you're ready to buy, click here for the Autoblog Smart Buy program, which brings you a hassle-free buying experience with over 9,000 Certified Dealers nationwide. Related Video: