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2019 Lincoln Navigator gets slight price hikes, crosses six-figure mark

As of the end of June this year, all-new Lincoln Navigator sales are up by triple digits over last year. No wonder, as Lincoln's flagship has impressed us on both our initial drive and again recently on a 900-mile road trip. Even if numbers slump some between now and the end of the year, the full-sized luxury SUV should achieve sales not seen since 2007, when it sold 24,050 units. That would help explain why the Navigator's already had one price increase this year, in June, when MSRPs across the range went up $500 and the destination charge rose another $100. According to order guides, prices for the 2019 model year will go up even more. The entry-level Premiere trim gets bumped by another $650, while the Reserve trim climbs by $3,500. After the $1,295 destination fee, the 2019 Navigator Premiere starts $74,500, and the Select trim rises by $1,000 to $78,850. Neither of those trims add additional equipment to offset the additional cost. The Reserve price hike to $86,500 does capture the cost of the Technology Package, which will come standard. On the 2018 Navigator, that package, which bundles aids like adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking, is a $2,640 option, so the net price jump for the trim is $860. The Black Label price drifts upward by $2,190 to $97,690, but the 2019 models will throw in 30-way power seats as standard. Those thrones being a $1,250 option on 2018 models, the net increase is then $940. The long-wheelbase L models will all go up by the same amount as their non-L counterparts, which puts the Navigator over the $100K mark for the first time; the 2019 Black Label L will need $100,890 to put in a suitable driveway. That's just $700 less than the list price of the 2019 Cadillac Escalade ESV Premium, but Cadillac incentives mean the Lincoln would actually cost thousands more. Lease prices have gone skyward, too. Cars Direct found that in the middle of this year, the average monthly cost for a 36-month lease in California was $1,023, a $131 increase compared to lease prices in February. Two months later, the average monthly cost in California has gone up another eight dollars, to $1,031. That's only $14 less per month than the lease for an Escalade Luxury, even though the Cadillac has a list price $9,500 higher. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.

J Mays retiring from Ford design, succeeded by Moray Callum

Ford's highly influential head of design, J Mays, has announced that he'll be retiring from his position after 33 years in the industry, 16 of which were at the Dearborn, MI-based company. Upon departure, he'll be succeeded as group vice president of design by Moray Callum. If that last name sounds familiar, yes, he's the brother of Jaguar's Ian Callum.
It's difficult to explain just how big of a role Mays had on not just Ford's design over the years, but on the entire industry. Before heading to Dearborn, Mays worked for Audi, BMW and then Volkswagen, where he was involved in concept cars that paved the way for design icons like the first-generation Audi TT and the Volkswagen New Beetle. As for his Ford resume, it's extensive.
Mays joined the company in 1997 as design director for Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Mazda, as well as the Premier Automotive Group (Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin). He was heavily involved in the Ford Fusion, Focus, Fiesta, Taurus, F-150 and Mustang, while also contributing to concept cars like the Atlas, Evos, 427, Forty-Nine, Shelby GR-1, Lincoln MKZ and the MKC.