2003 Lincoln Town Car Signature Sedan 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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Lincoln Continental death looms with changes at Flat Rock Plant

Ford's Flat Rock Assembly plant just south of Detroit produces the Ford Mustang and the Lincoln Continental. Automotive News reports that the automaker plans to produce two battery-electric crossovers at the facility, the EVs scheduled for sale in the 2023 model year. The EVs were previously meant to be built in Ford's Cuautitlan Stamping and Assembly plant in Mexico, which builds the Fiesta. According to the AN piece, moving the EVs to Michigan means the end of Lincoln Continental production in the U.S. Sunset is expected in "late 2021" for a sedan that is just three years old, and that never got the momentum to assert itself and reassert the Continental nameplate. The Continental has been on death watch since at least March 2018, when Ford Authority reported that the luxury sedan wouldn't get more than one generation. The changing of several guards in the top ranks scotched a plan to move the Continental onto the CD6 platform for rear- and all-wheel-drive vehicles. In September 2018, Jalopnik put more meat on those crossbones, saying Flat Rock workers alleged the big Lincoln could bid adieu as soon as this year, and automaker insiders had seen production merely scheduled — not approved — for 2020, with nothing beyond that. Then, as now, Ford appears to be leaving open the possibility for Continental production to continue in China, and just maybe be exported here. The two twinned midsized EVs, using the codenames CDX746 and CDX747, would come in Ford and Lincoln flavors. Said to be roughly the size of the Ford Edge/Lincoln Nautilus platform siblings, the automaker has requested suppliers gear up for annual production of up to 65,000 units between the two models. When they arrive, they'll form part of the 16 EVs Ford plans to have on the market worldwide by 2022. The others we know of so far are the crossover that will channel the Mustang, an electric F-150 pickup, and an EV project with Rivian.

Lincoln prepping MKZ re-launch?

Launching an all-new car is no easy task. Case in point is the 2013 Lincoln MKZ, introduced with the fanfare of a major nationwide marketing campaign, including expensive Super Bowl ads, just as Ford was curbing production over potential quality issues. The resulting mess was nothing short of a nightmare for any automaker - customers visiting dealerships looking for cars that hadn't been delivered yet. Disappointed buyers walked out of Lincoln retailers without new keys in their hands, or switched to a competing brand to fill empty spaces in their driveways.
The impact was painful, as Lincoln's sales in January and February of this year were among the lowest it has recorded in more than a quarter century. Even though March looked a bit brighter, with the supply crisis reportedly over (there are 3,000 units in transit and production is approaching 200 units per day) the automaker is reportedly studying the feasibility of giving its pivotal MKZ the launch it originally deserved.
According to TheDetroitBureau.com, putting the MKZ back on consumer's radar could cost Ford tens of millions of dollars, but that kind of investment may be warranted if potential buyers have forgotten about the new model... or worse, if they have forgotten about Lincoln.

2021 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring brings plug-in hybrid tech to the small crossover

LOS ANGELES — When the new Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair were launched, the Corsair was strangely lacking a hybrid variant like the cheaper Ford. The reason for this is that Lincoln was preparing a slightly more advanced hybrid for the small luxury crossover. The 2021 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring elevates itself over the Ford by bringing plug-in capability and a different kind of all-wheel drive. At the front of the Corsair, the powertrain is the same as the Ford Escape. It's a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter inline-4 and an electric motor powering the front wheels. But at the back, Lincoln has added another electric motor with a single-speed transmission to power the rear wheels, just like Toyota has been doing in the all-wheel-drive versions of the Toyota Prius, RAV4 Hybrid and Lexus UX250h. In addition to giving the Corsair four driven wheels, it brings total horsepower up to 266 ponies, an increase of 66 over the Ford. Having this rear motor opens up lots of freedom for how much power is given to the rear wheels, and a Lincoln representative said that the rear can go into a coasting or free-wheeling state when cruising for efficiency. Supplying electricity to the Corsair Grand Touring is a floor-mounted 14.4-kWh battery pack. Lincoln estimates it will provide enough power for the Corsair to drive about 26 miles on a charge. Neither the battery nor the rear motor take up any interior space, so rear passenger and cargo capacity remain the same as the regular Corsair. Charging can be done at Level 1 or Level 2 chargers, with the former taking 10 to 11 hours and the latter taking 3 to 4 hours. DC fast charging is not available, something that's featured on the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Hybrid mechanical bits aside, the Corsair Grand Touring is just like any other Corsair. The only indicators that it's a hybrid are the unique grille, 20-inch wheels, blue badging and additional door for the charging plug. The Grand Touring comes standard with Lincoln's cell-phone key system, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist and automatic high-beams. Automatic parking, a head-up display and adaptive cruise control are all options. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but will likely revealed closer to the on-sale date in the summer of 2020. Looking at the price structure for the Aviator, which also has a Grand Touring plug-in hybrid variant, the Corsair Grand Touring could be priced above the current range-topping Reserve trim.