1986 Lincoln Town Car Signature Sedan 4-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

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2016 Lincoln MKX First Drive [w/video]

The Lincoln Motor Company was one of America's great luxury symbols of the 20th Century. It grew from an aircraft engine maker during the First World War to become the car of presidents. The jaw-dropping Continental concept revealed earlier this year is a clear indication that Lincoln plans to build on its history and recapture some of that luxury magic. While the image of a powerful Continental thundering over a tony Westchester road is certainly romantic, it does little to sell cars today. Enter the 2016 Lincoln MKX. Flagships like the Continental are great, but Americans buy way more crossovers, and Lincoln's redesign of the MKX focuses on the needs of modern luxury customers. That means more and better safety features, a quiet interior with attractive materials, and classy exterior design. The potent 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 pushes out 335 horsepower, outperforming V6 offerings from Lexus and Acura. There's also a new engine – Ford's potent 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 pushing out 335 horsepower – that outguns V6 offerings from Lexus and Acura. All told, it's a tasteful redesign with some spotlight features that might turn a few more customers Lincoln's way. The updates are intriguing, yet many of them (aside from the V6's 380 pound-feet of torque) are rather subtle. So we grab the key fob to an attractive all-wheel-drive model decked out with the Reserve package and set out for a long weekend to absorb the new MKX. Several days of running errands around town, commuting, and a three-and-half-hour drive from metro Detroit to the northern tip of Michigan lay ahead of us. We're going to be spending a lot of time in the MKX, so naturally, we take stock of the interior. Our tester (we photographed a different one) is done up in a cappuccino leather theme, which means brown leather for the steering wheel, armrests, and the tops of the door panels. Another chocolately strip bisects the dashboard. The rest of the cabin – the headliner, the seats, the sides of the doors, etc. – is a creamy white. We sink into the seats, which are cushy yet supportive. The headrest is like a pillow, and the plush floormats feel made for bare feet. The touchscreen works well, and it's complemented by redundant buttons and switches, which we like. The MKX is generally user friendly. The touchscreen works well, with little poking or jabbing. It's complemented by redundant buttons and switches, which we like.

Car subscription services: A slow, expensive start — but the potential is huge

Americans are used to paying for subscriptions — to magazines and cable television, for instance — but experience shows they'll cancel when the price of admission gets too high, or there are more tempting alternatives. Cord cutters ditched nearly 1.5 million pay-TV subscriptions in 2017, according to a survey by Leichtman Research Group. Cable TV started out cheap with basic offerings, and then got expensive. The auto industry's subscription offerings are new, but they're starting out costly, and not price-competitive with traditional leasing. The upside is that they take the hassle out of car ownership for busy people by letting the service take care of maintenance, insurance, licensing and taxes. And they give consumers choice, often allowing relatively painless switches between different cars in the automakers' lineup. Subscription services also point the way toward an ownership-free auto experience, and offer an easy transition to a potential world where ride- and car-sharing will be dominant. Subscriptions are here to stay, but consumers may take a while to "get" them. Lincoln's subscription service for lightly used 2015 to 2017 models, offered through the Ford-owned Canvas beginning this year, got off to a slow start. Many early subscribers canceled. Last month, Cadillac announced it would " temporarily pause" its $1,800-per-month Book subscription service for "adjustments" as of December 1. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Snags with the back-end technology used to support the service made some customer-service functions tedious and time-consuming, adding costs for the company." The challenge for automakers is to come up with a strategy that offers consumers a compelling, affordable option to regular ownership, and one that can also make a profit. I think they'll find that sweet spot, but they're not there yet. Jack Nerad, former executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book and author of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car," points out that "A lot of people expected that subscriptions would be very valuable for people who wanted inexpensive transportation, but the reality is quite the opposite. Subscriptions are offering more choices for the wealthy.

Lincoln Aviator returns, VW ponders pickups, and Subaru Forester endures

NEW YORK – Volkswagen is taking a hard look at a pickup truck, the Lincoln Aviator is back, and you love old Subarus (we'll explain). The New York Auto Show returned last week with flair and a wide range of promising reveals. Let's break down some of the big news, plus a few things you might have missed. News: Ford is fortifying Lincoln with the Aviator SUV Views: Doing a mid-size SUV is obvious. Calling it the Aviator wasn't. I like it. Using Navigator design cues, this thing looks the part and should give Lincoln some energy and sales volume. Not playing in the midsize SUV segment has been a mistake for Ford's luxury brand, and the Aviator should fill a much-needed hole. Props to Lincoln for dusting off the Aviator name, most recently used on a rebadged Ford Explorer built in 2003-2005. It sounds classy and historic, like something from 1930s, even though it only dates to the tail end of the " Friends" era. Speaking of names, when the MKC gets a new one, Lincoln should dust off Zephyr, a moniker it actually used in the '30s and then briefly in the early 2000s. Why use the Aviator name? Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets, said it's about reminding consumers that Ford has traditionally built strong SUVs. "I think in a way the legacy is falling in love with what we do best," he said. "We wanted to go back to our roots. We know how to do this well." Farley also said the Aviator could prove to be Lincoln's bestseller. The Aviator was well-received in New York, earning our Best in Show award and garnering cautiously optimistic reactions from some analysts. "Lincoln ran this experiment once before ... differences in the market conditions, stronger differentiation and appetite for utility vehicles may prove a different story for this Aviator," IHS analyst Stephanie Brinley said. View 19 Photos News: VW surprised the car world with the Atlas Tanoak pickup concept Views: Good move. VW should build this. The concept is based on a longer version of the Atlas platform and would take aim at the midsize truck segment. VW is using this prototype to "gauge the reactions" of automotive influencers, but make no mistake, the Tanoak is totally doable. Using Atlas bones and mechanicals punched up with rugged styling and some soft-road capability, the Tanoak would grow VW's portfolio in a smart way. The Atlas Cross Sport concept, also revealed in New York, signals that Atlas expansion is already underway.