8 Passenger Limo on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lincoln putting perfume on its sales

Lincoln has a scent. But unlike those from Mustang, Lamborghini or even Shark by Tara, you can't buy it and you have to visit a Lincoln dealership to inhale its notes of jasmine hedione, mate tea leaves and tonka beans. Essence of Lincoln - that's what it's called - is being piped through the ventilation systems at some showrooms to help "create an emotional connection between the luxury brand and its customers," and olfactorily promote the idea of "luxury and warmth." Where it's not run through the ducts, visitors can sample it on scent cards.
Master perfumer Rene Morgenthaler worked with aroma house SensoryMax to design Essence of Lincoln. Also including traces of Earl Grey bergamot and green tea, whenever you encounter it you're meant to enjoy "a feeling of belonging to an exclusive, forward-thinking group that values style and success." And then buy an MKC. There's a press release below with details and an image to explain more, if you're still having a little trouble smelling the orange blossoms.

Ford defends plan to shareholders: ‘We're simply reinventing the American car’

Ford's top executives took heat from shareholders over their plan to do away with sedans as we know them in Ford's North American lineup, as the company held its annual meeting Thursday. Critics said the plan to shelve the Fiesta, Focus and Taurus, reduce the Focus to one crossover model, and concentrate on high-margin trucks and SUVs was a shortsighted abandonment of entire market segments of affordable vehicles. "This doesn't mean we intend to lose those customers," Ford CEO Jim Hackett said. "We want to give them what they're telling us they really want. We're simply reinventing the American car." Ford has said SUVs/crossovers and pickups will constitute 90 percent of its North American lineup by 2020. And though only the Mustang and new Focus Active will remain, it plans to add new vehicles going forward that offer better fuel economy and utility, including EVs and hybrids. Hackett characterized the shift not as an abandonment of traditional cars but as a transformation of them. "We don't want anyone to think we're leaving anything," Hackett said. "We're just moving to a modern version. This is an exciting new generation of vehicles coming from Ford." It was Hackett's first annual meeting as CEO, and for the second year it was conducted online rather than in person. The change to Ford's lineup is part of Hackett's overall plan to cut $25.2 billion in costs by the year 2022. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. blamed the negative reaction to the lineup plan on media coverage. "I wish the coverage had been a little different," he said. "If you got beyond the headline, you'll see we're adding to our product lineup and by 2020 we'll have the freshest showroom in the industry. The headlines look like Ford's retreating. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth." While Ford was clear about its plans for the Blue Oval, it has been less clear about the Lincoln brand. Hackett on Thursday said only that the Lincoln Continental, re-introduced just two years ago, would continue "through its life cycle" — but it has been such a slow seller that rumor has Ford killing the Continental again after that, and Hackett made no mention of a new generation. Presumably the MKZ sedan will go away when its twin the Ford Fusion does, but although Ford has outlined end dates for other models, the Fusion's departure is open-ended. The stock price has been a frustration for investors for years and has fallen 12 percent since the first of the year.

2017 Acura NSX #001 is finally here | Autoblog Minute

The first 2017 Acura NZX rolls off the line in Ohio and Lincoln may be ditching some initials for a classic nameplate. Senior Editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] The first 2017 Acura NSX rolled off the assembly line this week in Marysville, Ohio. Marking the return of the iconic supercar. VIN #001 went to Nascar Owner Rick Handpick. He paid $1.2M at auction for the first NSX. The proceeds went to charity. The 2017 NSX uses a twin turbo V6 teamed with three electric motors to make a total of 573-hp and 476-lb.ft of torque. The supercar also runs a nine speed dual clutch transmission and AWD. The starting price is $157,800 but you can option this thing out to well over $200k. Ford Motor Company applied this month to get the rights to the trademark for the word Zephyr. Lincoln is using some real names again aside from these MKC and MKX things that don't mean a lot to the general public. The Navigator is going strong and a new one comes on next year. Plus it brought back the Continental which was a well revived move. So Zephyr should ring a bell it was used in the 1930s and 40s, it was also used a little less memorably in 2006 on a Lincoln model that was essentially a rebadged Ford Fusion. Here's the take away: we think the MKZ might be rebadge as the Lincoln Zephyr. For Autoblog I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Acura Lincoln Coupe Luxury Performance Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video trademark Lincoln Zephyr