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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.

2020 Lincoln Corsair gets a price, and there's a wide range

The 2020 Lincoln Corsair configurator is open for business, and that means we also know the luxury compact crossover's price. It starts at $36,940, including the $995 destination charge. If you try your hardest and tick every single box Lincoln lets you, it's possible to get the price above $60,000. We're not suggesting you do that like we did, but it's always interesting to know how high it can go. Read everything we know so far about the 2020 Lincoln Corsair The base price gets you a Corsair "Standard" that is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder making 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque sent to the front wheels. If you want all-wheel drive, Lincoln forces the selection of the "Standard I" equipment package, which ends up resulting in a $3,600 increase. That package consists of ambient lighting, a universal garage door opener, navigation and 18-inch wheels. One of the more expensive boxes you're likely to check on the entry-level trim is the Co-Pilot360 Plus Package for $3,050. That includes a bunch of driver assistance gear like adaptive cruise control, lane centering, sign recognition and evasive steering assist. A $2,500 Premium Package nets premium leather seats, a panoramic roof and 19-inch wheels. 2020 Lincoln Corsair View 12 Photos Of course, you can skip a lot of the option and package jumping by choosing the "Reserve" trim that begins at $43,625 with some premium stuff already included. This also unlocks the ability to get the 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine, which makes 280 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. Selecting this forces the Reserve I package and all-wheel drive onto the table, which gives you a ton of equipment, but also increases the price by $6,740. This makes the cheapest Corsair with the most powerful engine start at $50,365. You can go crazy from there, tacking on the Reserve II Package for features like adaptive suspension, ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, 360-degree camera, wireless charging pad, digital gauge cluster and rain-sensing wipers. Like we said, this thing can get near or over $60,000 without much effort. The Corsair's base price compares favorably to other compact luxury crossovers like the $41,995 BMW X3 and $40,700 Mercedes-Benz GLC. However, adding in a desirable option like the higher-output engine brings the price up considerably.

Genesis cars win accolades, offer value — so why are sales so bad?

My high-school buddy Brent Cormier was so smitten with the Genesis G80 when he saw it at an event I hosted at SXSW in 2016 he bought a used 2013 Hyundai Genesis a short time later and fell in love with the car. "It surpasses my every expectation," said Cormier, a self-described "renaissance man" who owns and runs a real estate agency with his wife Laura, is a food service executive chef and part owner of Austin-based Thin the Herd Guitars. "I was locked into Mercedes and Audi for 10 years," he added. "And felt trapped in an endless pit of maintenance costs." After owning the Genesis over the past two years — including using it as an Uber and Lyft driver to earn extra cash — Cormier learned what some frugal luxury sedan buyers and a handful of car reviewers have discovered: Genesis offers great bang for the buck compared to other premium brands and can compete with the best in terms of performance, features and comfort. Hyundai's luxury brand also earned a prominent third-party endorsement last week when for the first time Genesis topped J.D. Power's 2018 APEAL study, surpassing German luxury-performance icon Porsche. The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) "measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes," ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that bumped it up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche — and past BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking. Last month, Genesis also topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) for the first time this year. And both its models were awarded Top Safety Pick Plus ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, among 11 Plus ratings in all for Korean vehicles. Despite high J.D. Power rankings and great reviews, Genesis U.S. sales were off 50 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to 2017, and in June Genesis sold only 796 vehicles — the first time U.S. numbers dropped below 1,000 in a month. Part of Genesis's APEAL and IQS success can be attributed to its small product lineup: just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, with a third, the 2019 G70, launching later this year. And while those numbers may help in J.D.