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May 2016: FCA wins, Ford and GM stumble on weak car volumes

The May 2016 sales numbers are in, and it looks as though FCA is getting some vindication for boldly cancelling two slow-selling car models. Meanwhile, Ford saw overall sales dip and GM's May volume took a big dive versus the same month in 2015. While Marchionne's decision to axe the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart has drawn criticism as being short-sighted, it's working for FCA so far. Although the Dart and 200 aren't out of production yet and no capacity has been shifted to crossover or trucks, May's numbers show that the emphasis on Jeep and Ram models makes sense right now. FCA's US sales rose 1 percent last month compared to May 2015, putting the year-to-date total at 955,186 vehicles, an increase of 6 percent compared to the same period last year. Standouts included the Jeep Renegade, Compass, and Patriot, and the Fiat 500X. Ram pickup sales were down 3 percent. And your fun fact is that Alfa Romeo sales were up precisely 10 percent, for a total of 44 4Cs sold versus 40 in the same month last year. At FoMoCo, the Ford brand took a hit to the tune of 6.4 percent from May 2015 to 2016, registering 226,190 sales last month. Lincoln showed improvement on its modest numbers, going from 9,174 to 9,807, a 6.9 percent increase. Overall, Ford was down 5.9 percent for the month to 235,997; despite the slump, year-to-date total Ford sales are up 4.2 percent to 1,112,939. Strong sellers included Escape, Expedition, F-Series, and Transit - big stuff. Most small and/or efficient models (Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, C-Max) saw sales slides. Fusion sales were also down, likely due to effects of model changeover to the freshened 2017 model. Ford has promised four new crossovers and SUVs by 2020 and if things keep trending this way the company will be able to sell them, but things could change in the next four years. GM saw the worst of it for domestic brands. Retail and fleet sales were down for each of the four divisions, with the May 2016 total dropping 18 percent to 240,450 vehicles. GM's year-to-date sales are down 5.0 percent in 2016 to 1,183,705. Both the Sierra and Silverado were down significantly, and the majority of Chevy, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac nameplates saw sales decreases, with both small cars and larger utilities included. Not even big stuff could help GM this month, it seems. We'll have more on the rest of the industry's May sales as those figures trickle in.

Production Lincoln Continental will debut at Detroit Auto Show

The Lincoln Continental concept that debuted at the 2015 New York Auto Show was an absolute star of the event thanks to its handsome lines and sumptuous interior. At the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, we'll get to see how well those fantastic looks transition to the road, as Lincoln will debut the production version there, according to Car and Driver. A market launch will reportedly come later in the year. The stately styling, including the mesh grille, is expected to move largely unaltered to production, but Lincoln is still being vague about the luxury sedan's mechanical parts. The brand's marketing manager Imran Jalal tells Car and Driver the Continental is based on a front-wheel drive platform but an all-wheel drive version in assured. Based on details from the New York show, it reportedly uses a Lincoln-exclusive 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 for power. There are no plans for a hybrid, either, according to Jalal. Assembly of the Continental is expected to happen at Ford's Flat Rock, MI, factory alongside the Mustang and Fusion. The MKS, which the new Lincoln replaces, is built in Chicago along with several other models. Freeing up the space there, could let the Blue Oval keep up with demand for the Explorer. While the Continental ushers in styling changes for Lincoln, the shift doesn't extend to model names. Contrary to earlier rumors, the brand doesn't intend to abandon the MK model names in the lineup anytime soon, according to Jalal. Related Video:

Oh look, it's the 2017 Lincoln Continental

Sorry about the super-low-res photo, but what you're looking at here is the 2017 Lincoln Continental ahead of its official debut at the Detroit Auto Show next week. The image appeared online courtesy of Ford Inside News, showing the production version of Lincoln's new 400-horsepower sedan. The front fascia certainly looks different than the gussied-up concept we first saw in New York last year, but as the Ford forum suggests, this could just be a lower-spec model. Seems weird to us that Lincoln would introduce some snazzy, full-LED headlights and then just slap projector beam units on the actual production car. But you never know. We'll know for sure when the car is revealed at Cobo Hall next week. Expect it to have all-wheel drive with the company's new 400-hp, 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 (that debuted in the MKZ in Los Angeles). Let us know what you think of the production-spec Conti, in Comments. Related Video: