1996 Lincoln Town Car Executive Sedan 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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Ford to add Android Auto and CarPlay to 2016 SYNC 3 cars via update

Ford is updating a large number of 2016 model year cars equipped with SYNC 3 infotainment software, adding Android Auto and CarPlay to the vehicles with a free, over-the-air update via Wi-Fi, or using either USB or going through their dealer. The upgrade will be available for around 800,000 vehicles in total, giving a huge number of Ford car owners the chance to get big infotainment improvements without having to buy a newer model car. The OTA update option is also a big step for Ford – it's the company's first for software ever, and it's one of the major reasons that Ford recently hired around 400 new mobile smartphone engineers, the company tells me. For CarPlay, users will still also need to upgrade their vehicle's USB hub to make this work (which will also incur a dealer visit and a cost), but for those on Android, all that's required is a simple software installation. The USB install method is also faster, but the Wi-Fi update option is the start of the company's efforts to really increase its OTA update program, which will be used for security improvements as well as infotainment bumps. Even with a dealer visit and hardware upgrade for CarPlay, this sounds like a worthwhile thing for 2016 vehicle owners to do. CarPlay and Android Auto are huge upgrades vs. most in-car software, offering navigation and entertainment options that follow you from your phone to your car. Retroactively offering this kind of thing to car owners is a definite change in tone for carmakers, since they typically use these kinds of things as incentives to get people interested in vehicle model updates. But as data becomes increasingly important to automakers as a business, it makes sense to encourage greater in-car use of devices.Written by Darrell Etherington for TechCrunchRelated Video: Auto News Ford Lincoln Technology Infotainment android

Lincoln bringing in MKZ Hybrid over rollaway risk

Federal safety standards require that every new car needs to have the brake depressed in order to shift it out of Park. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found fault in the transmission range sensor on certain examples of the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, allowing the car to be shifted out of Park without first depressing the brake. The fear is that with this condition, affected vehicles may be unintentionally pulled out of Park, resulting in a possible rollaway. That safety concern has prompted parent Ford Motor Company to issue a recall.
The issue pertains to 7,153 examples of the MKZ Hybrid built between April 26, 2012 and September 24, 2013, covering the 2013 and 2014 model years. As a result, Ford will notify owners to bring their MKZs into their local Lincoln dealer to have the Powertrain Control Module software updated in order to rectify the problem. See the full recall notice below for details.

GM design boss Welburn says Lincoln isn't a Cadillac rival [w/poll]

General Motors Vice President of Global Design, Ed Welburn, had some dismissive words for a certain cross-town luxury brand during an interview with Car and Driver. When asked about his thoughts on Lincoln, Welburn deflected, before saying, "I don't consider Lincoln to be a competitor for Cadillac."
"They're not a global luxury brand. I don't consider them a competitor. Are they a competitor for Buick? Quite possibly. But not for Cadillac," GM's head designer explained. Welburn, who's been at the helm of GM Design North America since 2003 and is the first to hold the position of VP of Global Design, has been instrumental in the styling renaissance at GM, so predictably, Car and Driver's interview with him focused on the design aspect of cars.
During the interview, Welburn explicitly denied plans for a reborn Cadillac XLR, even as a new Chevrolet Corvette is hitting the market and strides are being made with Cadillac's V-Series performance arm saying, "We have a lot of cars that we're working on for the Cadillac brand. The XLR is not one of them right now."