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McConaughey's bizarre new Continental ad is perfect parody material

So let's say you're running a car company and have a luxurious new flagship sedan and need to advertise it. What do you do? Did you answer with "film a commercial with a barely coherent Hollywood actor standing in a pond?" If so, perhaps you work for Lincoln, which brought back Matthew McConaughey to do another bizarre car ad. It starts with McConaughey and a Continental standing on a body of water. He starts talking about staring (or not staring) at the Conti, and then about sitting in the back seat (or not). The ad then cuts to McConaughey in the back who replies to the McConaughey in the front seat. Presumably, there are two McConaugheys at this point, and the front seat one just laughs in a slightly unsettling manner. He then makes a clicking noise, closes the center console and drives away. You can't make this stuff up. It's thoroughly strange, but we can't say we're entirely surprised. When Lincoln first launched some bizarre ads with McConaughey muttering sweet nothings about the MKC, the company got loads of attention. Admittedly a lot of that attention was to make fun of it, but you know the old saying that there's no such thing as bad press. Lincoln even brought him back for an encore in ads for the MKX and MKZ. In truth, we're also glad to see another bizarre Lincoln ad, mostly because we're hoping for another round of great parodies like the classic Jim Carrey spoof that aired on Saturday Night Live. Check out the ad above to see the strangeness. Related Video:

2017 Lincoln Continental: Was this mic-drop moment just a big flop?

The Lincoln Continental may have been our fifth-place pick for Best In Show at this year's Detroit Auto Show, but it's probably the one we argued about the most. In fact, we're still talking about it. And we'll no doubt be discussing it long after we finally get to drive the new sedan later this year. We do this with lots of cars, all the time. The Continental is an especially important, high-profile car right now. It has the task of being a torch-holder for the struggling-to-run Lincoln brand, and that's a tough job these days. But did Lincoln do right by its Continental name? Did its Detroit showcar stop us in our tracks, or were we left feeling cold? In an effort to show you our full discussion, we're trying something different. About a week after the Detroit Auto Show press days concluded, Autoblog's Jonathon Ramsey sent an email around to some editors about the Continental to open a discussion. It got heated, and fast. And while we considered summarizing it, we decided to instead post the whole, largely unedited (adjusted for typos and swear words) chain. From: Jonathon Ramsey To: Autoblog Team Does anyone else think it's a problem that the new Continental looks 85 percent like the MKZ? And another 10 percent of it looks like a Jaguar and a Bentley? Because I think Lincoln screwed the pooch. The German Three plus Porsche can make cars that look alike – they've earned the right, even if I'd rather they didn't. The MKZ looks like a car for regional sales reps. Lincoln broke the glass in case of emergency, grabbed the Continental name, then put it on a car that looks a lot like that sales-rep car, but one for regional VPs. Do we really think this can work? Because I don't. From: Steven Ewing To: Autoblog Team Personally, I'm pretty disappointed in the final execution of Continental. I'm glad Lincoln isn't obsessed with chasing the Germans, but at this point, it's not even chasing Cadillac. I think that introducing the new front end and TTV6 engine on the MKZ before the Continental was a huge mistake. And while I have high hopes for the Conti from a comfort/driving standpoint, my gut instinct is that it's going to be more "better than the MKS" than "best American luxury sedan." Introducing the new front end and TTV6 engine on the MKZ before the Continental was a huge mistake.

Lincoln drops MKX base price to $38,995

Lincoln is giving the 2016 MKX a major improvement in style and tech, and is introducing the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 as an option for the luxury crossover. While all of those changes are significant, the cost might be just as enticing to get customers checking out the new generation. The base price for 2016 falls to $38,995, after an $895 destination charge on all models, compared to $39,795 for the 2015. At this time, there are three trim levels listed on Lincoln's site, but a Black Label version is supposed to come along later to add a bit more opulence. Above the base Premiere trim, the Select model starts at $42,285, and adds features like LED running lights, folding and heated mirrors, leather seats, and a power hatch. Spending $46,050 brings buyers to the Reserve trim with upgrades including a panoramic sunroof, 20-inch wheels, navigation, adaptive headlights, and heated seats. There are a huge number of individual options available, including full LED headlights and a safety suite of tech. Opting for the 2.7-liter EcoBoost pushes the price of any trim up an extra $2,000, and checking the box for all-wheel drive brings with it an added $2,495. As ever, you can spec one out yourself on the official configurator here.