2006 Lincoln Town Car Limousine 120 In With 5th Door on 2040-cars

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BMW, Hyundai score big in JD Power's first Tech Experience Index

While automakers are quick to brag about winning a JD Power Initial Quality Study award, the reality, as we've pointed out before, is that these ratings are somewhat misleading, since IQS doesn't necessarily distinguish genuine quality issues. JD Power's new Tech Experience Index aims to solve that problem. The new metric takes the same 90-day approach as IQS but focuses exclusively on technology – collision protection, comfort and convenience, driving assistance, entertainment and connectivity, navigation, and smartphone mirroring. It splits the industry up into just seven segments, based loosely on size, which is why the Chevrolet Camaro is in the same division (mid-size) as Kia Sorento and the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class is in the same segment as the Hyundai Genesis (mid-size premium). It makes for some screwy bedfellows, to be sure. Still, splitting tech experience away from initial quality should allow customers to make more informed and intelligent decisions when buying new vehicles. In the inaugural study, respondents listed BMW and Hyundai as the big winners, with two segment awards – the 2 Series for small premium and the 4 Series for compact premium, and the Genesis for mid-size premium and Tucson for small segment. The Chevrolet Camaro (midsize), Kia Forte (compact), and Nissan Maxima (large) scored individual wins. Ford also had a surprising hit with the Lincoln MKC, which ranked third in the compact premium segment behind the 4 Series and Lexus IS. This is a coup for the Blue Oval, whose woeful MyFord Touch systems made the brand a victim of the IQS' flaws in the early 2010s. But Ford and other automakers might not want to celebrate just yet. According to JD Power, there's still a lot of room for improvement – navigation systems were the lowest-rated piece of tech in the study. Instead, customers repeatedly saluted collision-avoidance and safety systems, giving the category the best marks of the study and listing blind-spot monitoring and backup cameras as two must-have features – 96 percent of respondents said they wanted those two systems in their next vehicle. But this isn't really a surprise. Implementation of safety systems from brand to brand is similar, and they don't require any input from users, unlike navigation and infotainment systems which are frustratingly deep.

2018 Lincoln Navigator vs luxury SUV rivals: How it compares on paper

The all-new 2018 Lincoln Navigator is an impressive, luxury-lined beast. However, while its Black Label interior stood out most during our first drive of the new Navigator, it also seemed pretty clear that much of this full-size SUV was superior to the competition in a number of fundamental ways. Its Raptor-sourced 3.5-liter V6 had class-leading power for one, and its third-row seat seemed as spacious and comfortable as its rivals' are cramped and barely usable. To search for your next new vehicle, try Autoblog' s Car Finder. Yet, I wanted to take a closer look at how the Navigator fully compares on paper to its competitors - especially the Cadillac Escalade with which it most directly competes. The below spreadsheet should tell the whole story, but as you can see, there's an awful lot of class-leading green highlighter in the Navigator's column. The cargo volume and third-row legroom numbers are particularly telling, with the latter actually going up to 42.3 inches when you slide the second-row fully forward. Now, a few things to note about the above spreadsheet. The GLS-Class is also available as the GLS 550, which boasts a 4.7-liter V8 that just comes up short to the Navigator with 449 horsepower but has to deal with only 5,578 pounds. Its $94,950 price tag is comparable to the Navigator Black Label. Much of the LX 570's information is also applicable to the Toyota Land Cruiser, which, badge aside, could certainly be considered a member of this segment given its feature content and still-hefty price tag. It has better ground clearance and approach/departure angles than its Lexus sibling, along with an as-indicated lower price. Much of the Escalade's information also applies to the GMC Yukon Denali, while the Infiniti QX80 is applicable to the Nissan Armada. Related Video: Cadillac Infiniti Lexus Lincoln Mercedes-Benz SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles consumer lincoln navigator

Dodge Dart falls short of Consumer Reports Recommended, Caddy XTS and Lincoln MKS, too

The Dodge Dart, Cadillac XTS and Lincoln MKS all failed to earn a "Recommended" rating from Consumer Reports. When it came to the compact Dart, the organization's testers thought the vehicle offered a quiet cabin, solid-feeling chassis and nimble suspension, but the new model ultimately fell short of the coveted rating due to powertrain issues. The institute's reviewers found the base 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine to be underpowered and noted "drivability issues" when the available turbocharged 1.4-liter four was paired with the optional dual-clutch transmission (some of our editors disliked it paired with the six-speed manual). CR also dinged the latter powerplant for sounding "raspy." For what it's worth, we think the forced-induction engine offers an excellent and playful exhaust note, but that's just us.
As for the XTS, CR lauded the car for its luxurious cabin, but the vehicle's experience was dulled by its finicky CUE infotainment interface. Overall, the big Cadillac scored much higher than its cross-town rival from Lincoln. While testers found the American luxury sedan to offer a quiet ride and quality fit and finish, they felt the MKS delivered a "cramped driving position, ungainly handling, uncomposed ride, and limited visibility." Ouch. At the end of the day, both cars fell short of rivals from Japan, Germany and Korea. Check out the full press release below with more details, along with CR's musings on the Chevrolet Spark and Lexus ES.