2011 Lincoln Town Car Executive L on 2040-cars

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The 1965 Ford Mustang could have looked a lot different

The 1965 Ford Mustang is unquestionably an automotive design icon, and nearly every generation of Mustang has some connection to that original car. Because it's such a universally-known vehicle, we were amazed to see all the different designs that were being considered. Head of Ford's archives Ted Ryan recently shared photos of design proposals for the original Mustang on Twitter that he and Jamie Myler found, and we reached out to them to find out more. As Ryan initially noted, the photos were taken on August 19, 1962, and they are proposals for the Ford Mustang. Apparently Ford had committed to doing a Falcon-based youth-oriented car at this point, and it did have plans to launch the car in 1964 for the 1965 model year. But after having little success with early design proposals, the company asked all of its design studios — the Advanced Studio, Lincoln-Mercury Studio and Ford Studio — to submit proposals. With only about two years before the planned launch, Ford was understandably short on time, and it's believed that the studios only had a month to create and present these designs. Lincoln-Mercury design proposal View 8 Photos The majority of the designs, a total of five, came from the Advanced Studio, and part of this was because they already had a couple of concept designs in reserve it could present. Two other models representing three design possibilities came from Lincoln-Mercury, and just one model with two options came from Ford. The Advanced Studio proposals are shown in the gallery at the very top of this article, and the Lincoln-Mercury and Ford proposals are in the gallery directly above this paragraph. The Advanced Studio's most radical design is the one that was clearly related to the Mustang I concept that would be shown later that year with huge wraparound rear glass, turbine-inspired bumpers and enormous side scoops. The other proposals from the studio were more conservative, featuring simple lines, grilles reminiscent of the Falcon, and one even borrowing the jet-thruster-style taillights made famous on the Thunderbird. Lincoln-Mercury had some impressively bold designs, particularly its fastback that had buttresses to extend the shape all the way to the tail. This car had two different side trim possibilities. The other Lincoln-Mercury design was toned down a bit, but had two interesting possibilities for side detailing, as well as some crisp, low-profile tail fins.

Honda, Volvo, Lincoln are North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year

The Detroit Auto Show has officially kicked off, as it always does, with the announcement of the North American Car, Utility Vehicle and Truck of the Year winners. For 2018, those are the Honda Accord, Volvo XC60 and Lincoln Navigator, respectively. The Honda Accord beat out two other finalists, the Toyota Camry and the new Kia Stinger. The Accord stood out for its styling, drivability and standard equipment. The Volvo XC60 came out ahead of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Honda Odyssey minivan. It was chosen for its luxury, ride and value when equipped well. The Lincoln Navigator, a heavily updated model that remained true to the concept car on which it was based, beat the Ford Expedition, as well as the only pickup in the list, the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 (which was a finalist for Autoblog's own Technology of the Year Award). NACTOY juror Ron Sessions complimented the "more dramatic update" compared to the Expedition. "With its design now aligned with the Continental, the Navigator becomes an even more important image — and the profit-maker for Lincoln," he said. The NACTOY Awards have been around since 1994. A panel of 60 judges, all automotive journalists, whittle the list down to three finalists in each category before announcing the winners in January. The Utility Vehicle category was added for 2017. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2018 Honda Accord Touring 2.0T View 106 Photos Related Gallery 2018 Volvo XC60: First Drive View 22 Photos Related Gallery 2018 Lincoln Navigator: First Drive View 53 Photos News Source: NACTOY Auto News Detroit Auto Show Honda Lincoln Volvo Truck Crossover SUV Luxury Sedan 2018 detroit auto show north american car of the year NACTOY north american truck utility of the year

2020 Lincoln Aviator 450-hp PHEV will get its own exterior visual cues

Lincoln will brand its powerful plug-in version of the new Aviator crossover as a GT hybrid package with a few distinguishing visual cues when it goes on sale next summer. The luxury PHEV crossover will do battle with competitors like the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, Volvo XC90 T8 and BMW's (incredibly long-winded) X5 xDrive45e iPerformance. The "GT" designation harkens to the golden era of grand touring and is meant to convey the combination of high performance and comfort over long distances. "It's really trying to get at how Lincoln is redefining luxury performance," said Brad Jager, the Aviator brand manager. The hybrid system will deliver 450 horsepower and a whopping 600 pound-feet of torque, which are increases of 50 hp and 200 lb-ft over the pure combustion version powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6. Lincoln isn't releasing expected electric-only range or fuel economy, and it's keeping most of the details of the hybrid system under wraps for now. It has said you'll also be able to hold the charge to be deployed later, such as for short trips in town. Lincoln is, however, making a few subtle exterior changes to designate the GT hybrid setup, which will be offered in the higher-end GT and Black Label trim models (the entry-level Aviator and Reserve models will be available only in gasoline combustion versions). First are changes to the Lincoln star badge on the grille and Aviator badge on the side flanks, which fill in with a blue color borrowed from the original Lincoln V12 badge from the 1930s and '40s — a neat touch on a vehicle that is reviving a nameplate. The grille itself is also an inversion of the new Lincoln treatment appearing on models like the Navigator and Nautilus. So where the grilles on those models have cutouts, the GT hybrid grille has protruding shapes that dissipate the further away they are from the center badge. Lastly, the PHEV will come with 21-inch wheels instead of the 22-inchers that equip non-hybrid versions. Lincoln says it designed the rear-wheel-drive architecture with the Aviator in mind, allowing the battery to go underneath the passenger-side second-row seats and maximizing interior space. Engineers also fit an electric motor between the V6 engine and the 10-speed automatic transmission. Lincoln hasn't announced pricing on the Aviator, which goes on sale next summer, and the plug-in hybrid versions will obviously command a premium.