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Lincoln teases a new Continental with suicide doors

Lincoln posted a photograph of its Continental from the 1960s on its social media channels today with a cryptic message to go along with it. Here's the post below: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The last line, "#TBT ... or is it?" sounds like Ford's luxury arm is trying to tell us something about what's to come for its current Continental. If we use Lincoln's post as an opportunity to speculate, one might presume that a Continental with suicide doors is coming our way soon. Beyond planting the idea in our heads, Lincoln doesn't appear to have anything else to say for the time being. Right now, the only car you can buy with suicide doors is a Rolls-Royce, most recently in Wraith form. If Lincoln decides to offer suicide doors again, you can bet the car is going to get some attention. The question would be if a special car like this could draw any of that attention away from Lincoln's SUVs such as the Navigator and new Aviator. We've seen reports that the Continental would not be moving on past this generation, so maybe Lincoln is trying to get as much play out of this car as possible. A more recent report calls it dead after the 2020 model year, meaning that if we do see a suicide-door Continental, it wouldn't be in this world for very long. Lincoln says to "stay tuned" at the end of its post caption, so watch out for Continental news dropping in the near future. We can all hope it's going to be good news ... View 20 Photos Related video:

Here's our best look yet at the production Lincoln Continental

The team at Lincoln continues to strip off camouflage from the Continental in each new round of spy shots, and the latest set presents a luxury sedan that looks nearly ready for a debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January. This one doesn't even need a tow truck to get around. The production Continental takes the handsome concept's design and translates its cues to the road with tiny alterations. The rectangular, mesh grille doesn't shine with chrome on this one, but that would be an easy addition for the Detroit show. The LED headlights look nearly the same with running lights that sweep upward at the corners. The bottom of the lower fascia sees the biggest tweak the company drops the thick chrome strip in favor of a thinner lip. Lincoln doesn't put any camo on the pillars, so these shots provide a great view of the roofline in profile. Look carefully along the beltline and you can spot where the designers incorporated the high-mounted door handles from the concept. This minor styling touch greatly helps to clean up the lines along the side. The rear sees bigger changes from the concept. For example, these undisguised taillights share the same shape but now have more visible red in them. The production version also wears a fairly simple integrated exhaust rather than the more complicated design before. The Continental will reportedly be available with the Lincoln-exclusive 3.0-liter EcoBoost and front- or all-wheel drive. Unlike the MKS that it will replace, the model's production will likely occur at the Flat Rock, MI, factory. Related Video:

Ford cuts production at 5 plants, has big backload of cars including Mustang

DETROIT — Ford said on Tuesday it plans to idle five North American vehicle assembly plants for a total of 10 weeks to reduce inventories of slow-selling models. The plants affected include three assembly plants in the United States and two in Mexico, the company said in a statement. The vehicle models include the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ midsize sedans, the Ford Focus compact car, the Lincoln Continental and Ford Mustang, Ford Fiesta and the Ford Transit van. Ford said the Cuautitlan assembly plant that builds the Fiesta would be idled for three weeks. The Hermosillo, Mexico plant that builds the Fusion and MKZ and the Flat Rock, Michigan, factory that assembles Continentals and Mustangs will be idled for two weeks each. The Michigan Assembly plant that builds the Focus will be idled for one week, and the Kansas City assembly line that builds Transit vans will be down for two weeks. Ford did not give dates for the temporary shutdowns. The factories involved employ more than 15,000 people, according to Ford's website. The company did not say how many of those workers would face temporary layoffs. As of Sept. 1, Ford had 111 days' worth of unsold Mustangs, 87 days' supply of Fusions, and a 103 days' supply of Transit vans, according to Automotive News. Dealers had enough unsold Lincoln Continentals to last 162 days. Automakers aim for 65 to 70 days of inventory of most models. Ford and rival General Motors have wrestled most of this year to rein in high inventories of passenger cars as consumers have shifted to buying pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Production cuts slice into revenue, but also could help the automakers avoid deeper price cuts on vehicles they can sell. Reporting by Joe WhiteRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Plants/Manufacturing Ford Lincoln Convertible Coupe Minivan/Van Sedan ford transit inventory flat rock kansas city assembly plant hermosillo