2012 Lincoln Mkz Hybrid Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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2020 Lincoln Navigator cut to three trims, starts at $77,120

Lincoln has reworked the Navigator lineup for 2020, a brand spokesperson telling Cars Direct it wants to make ordering the luxury SUV "even more effortless for clients." That means shedding one of the four current trims, the Select, and rearranging pricing for the three remaining variants. The entry-level Navigator Standard starts at $75,825 before the $1,295 destination charge, the total coming to $77,120. The figure represents a $2,620 increase over the 2019 model year, but as we reported earlier, Lincoln added a number of new features for 2020. Convenience items such as power running boards, heated and cooled front seats, wireless phone charging, and Lincoln's Phone as Key system are standard throughout the range. Every 2020 Navigator will also get the driver safety suite CoPilot360. That technology isn't available on the 2019 Navigator Standard, and requires the $2,640 Technology Package on the Select trim, which is already $4,000 more expensive than the base trim. With the Select gone, the next trim up is Reserve. Lincoln says 90 percent of customers choose the Reserve or Black Label trims, and any buyers planning on the former will think 2020 a good year. The Reserve could only be had as a 4x4 in 2019, but adds a 4x2 powertrain for 2020 and lowers its price. It will start at $82,660 in two-wheel-drive guise, making it $3,830 less than the 2019 model with all-wheel drive. The Reserve 4x4 will cost $85,330, for a discount of $1,170 compared to 2019. The 2020 Navigator Reserve will also add the option of a Monochrome Package, which eliminates chrome on trim like the grille and side vents, making them body color instead. It also paints the mirror caps in the body color and swaps out for 22-inch, 12-spoke black painted wheels. We don't know pricing on that yet, but the package will only be available in Pristine White, Ceramic Pearl (gray), or Infinite Black.   The extended Reserve L in 4x2 form starts at $85,860. Cars Direct didn't break out a price for the Reserve L 4x4, but assuming the $3,200 price difference between the 4x2 models holds, the price would be $88,530. That's the same $1,170 discount as on the non-L Reserve trims.    The top-shelf Black Label sticks to a 4x4-only formula, and goes up by just $375 for both regular and L versions. The regular 2020 Black Label trim will cost $98,065, the Black Label L will cost $101,265.

Lincoln poised to double MKZ Hybrid production

The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid has been something of a hit for Ford since the beginning, exceeding the company's modest projected 15-percent take rate for more than two years (we say "modest" because that still means an overwhelming majority of Lincoln customers are passing up on the gas-electric powertrain even though it costs the same as the standard model). Either way, Lincoln builds 700 MKZ Hybrids at its plant in Mexico each month, but has sold 715 of them in each of the past three months. That's why, according to a report in The Detroit News, when the restyled 2014 MKZ Hybrid arrives (non-hybrid pictured), Ford is doubling production compared to 2013. Instead of the hybrid model being 20 percent of production, the new hybrid will make up 40 percent.
Ford is doing well with hybrids in general - its portion of the electrified vehicle segment jumping 12 points in a single year to 16 percent. Assuming Ford doesn't change the pricing strategy (along with the changes Ford is making to calibration to improve fuel economy), the sedan could continue to "[show] other luxury hybrids how it's done" when it goes on sale later this year.

2016 Lincoln MKX spied in production form

We're getting our first quality look at the next-generation Lincoln MKX in production guise thanks to these fresh spy shots, and they suggest styling that hews very closely to the concept from earlier this year. Compared to the showcar, the headlights aren't quite as well integrated into the grille, but these LED units still attempt to nicely wrap the split-wing grille across the entire face of the vehicle. Beyond that, the two vehicles quite similar, though. The shape of the lower air dam is practically identical – just with some extra plastic for the production version. The hint of a character line running down the side also makes the resemblance easy to spot, despite this tester's polka-dot camouflage. At the rear, the taillights stretch across the hatch with integrated exhaust outlets below. Even the twin-spoke wheels are comparable to the concept. Also, look carefully at these spy shots, and you can notice Lincoln apparently testing two different trims. One has LED headlights with front and rear parking sensors (pictured above), and the other shows projector lights with the sensors only at the rear. The next-gen MKX will launch in 2015 and will be the first model in Lincoln's lineup to benefit from the deal with Harman to use its high-end Revel audio system. Check out the gallery to get a mildly camouflaged sneak preview of the company's future luxury crossover.