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Ringbrothers shows off Coyote-powered 1968 Mercury Cougar

We'll openly admit that not every SEMA build is our cup of tea. But this? A tastefully resto-modded 1968 Mercury Cougar with a 460-horsepower Ford Mustang V8? Yeah, this is right in our wheelhouse. Sadly, there was no in-pwerson SEMA show in 2020, so we missed out on gems like this one. SEMA or no SEMA, the aftermarket carries on, and co-owners Jim and Mike Ring of Ringbrothers (get it?) saw no reason to let their time and effort go to waste.  When they're not building wild customs (see: 1,100-horsepower 1972 AMC Javelin AMX) or more subtle showcases (such as this Cougar or their 1971 K5 Chevy Blazer build from 2018), the folks at Ringbrothers crank out factory reproduction parts, whether for old-fashioned restoration or modification purposes. While '60s muscle cars are recurring build subjects for the two, the Cougar was the first of its kind they tackled.  Keeping it in the family, Ringbrothers sourced a Ford 5.0-liter "Coyote" V8 and a 10-Speed Automatic (lifted from an F-150 Raptor, incidentally) for the build. They didn't stop with the driveline, of course. The suspension was overhauled with a little help from DSE and a set of HRE Series C1 C103 Forged 3-Piece wheels were thrown over upgraded brakes.  "We put our heart into each car we build, and this Cougar is no exception," Jim said. "The finished product is mild and classy, yet any enthusiast instantly knows it's not stock. I imagine this is what Mercury designers would have come up with if they were building the Cougar today." "While we couldn't bring the car to the SEMA Show, we hope it can be shown to the public soon," Mike said. "We had never done a Cougar before, so this was a fun build. I love working with new shapes and coming up with new ideas." There's plenty to appreciate about this Cougar apart from the mechanicals, too. The finish is Augusta Green Metallic (courtesy of BASF), which was a factory color in 1968. You may know it by another name: Highland Green. There are a few custom exterior touches, but they're quite subtle and styled to be period-correct. The interior was also restored and updated, and it's where you'll find the only thing we're not fond of: that big, fat truck shifter. Gearbox choices notwithstanding, it's a bit of an eyesore. But considering how gorgeous the rest is, we'll give it a pass.  Related Video:

2022 Lincoln Navigator buyers can get $5,000 to convert to the 2023 model

Ford Motor Company is doling out more money to try to keep its chickens in the coop. Last August, when the automaker couldn't fulfill every order for the 2022 F-150 Lightning electric pickup then levied price substantial price increases on the 2023 F-150 Lightning, the automaker created a "Transition Private Offer." The program gave 2022 reservation holders without trucks a rebate to buy a 2023 Lightning that effectively nullified the price increase. Earlier this month, Ford did it again with the 2023 Bronco. The "2023-Model Bronco Cancel Order & Purchase Replacement Offer" dangled $2,500 to 2023 Bronco buyers without SUVs to either change their Bronco order to a configuration that could be built sooner, or cancel their order and buy another Ford. Now it's Lincoln's turn. CarsDirect says another dealer bulletin outlines a "2023-Model Navigator Connect Model Year Transition Private Offer" for those who didn't get their 2022 Navigator built. "Select customers" who close a deal before April 2, 2023, can get $5,000 off the price of a 2023 Navigator or have the money applied to a 2023 Navigator lease. Akin to the Lightning offer, the Navigator incentive nearly eats up all of the price increases on the new Navigator. The latest version of Ford's most luxurious SUV had MSRPs bumped from about $5,000 for the middle trims to $6,475 for the Black Labels. At the entry-level end, a customer might have some money left over for more options like the brand new Diamond Red Tricoat paint on a 2023 model, depending on how Ford conducts the offer. The base Navigator trims went up by $3,215 for the Standard and $4,730 for the Reserve. If a 2022 Black Label buyer were to take Ford up on the offer, that buyer would be paying $1,475 for the same vehicle; the changes applied to the 2023 Navigator other than price didn't make it to the Black Label.  The folks out in the cold are the few 2022 Navigator L buyers. Lincoln discontinued that trim for 2023, so those folks will need to make another choice or find another roost. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Detroit 3 and UAW set for showdown over tiered wages

This week, thousands of United Auto Workers will converge on Cobo Center in Detroit for the Special Convention on Collective Bargaining, an every-four-year event that lets members tell UAW leaders what the negotiating priorities should be during contract negotiations. This is where a lot of sand and a lot of lines start coming together in preparation for contract negotiations between the UAW and the Detroit 3 automakers, which will happen later this year. Number one on the UAW agenda is the end of the two-tier wage system created in 2007 to help the automakers get through bankruptcy; veteran workers are paid the Tier 1 rate of around $29.00 per hour, new hires are paid the Tier 2 rate of between $15 and $20 and get about half the benefits of Tier 1. Tier 2 hiring has been an undoubted success for the automakers, allowing them to keep factories in the US and hire more workers. By agreement, it is capped at a certain percentage of each automaker's workforce, and while the union's ultimate position is to get rid of the dual-scale system entirely; one leader said Ford could easily afford the $335 million it would take to convert all its workers to Tier 1 out of its $6.9 billion in 2014 North American profit, and General Motors could do the same out of the $5 billion it is handing to investors through the (admittedly forced) share buyback. Other delegates say that at the very least they'd be happy with enforcement of the current caps in the new contract. The automakers, conversely, would welcome expansion of the Tier 2 ranks. Including benefits, import automakers pay workers "in the high $40 range" per hour, according to an analyst, while Ford and GM pay about $59 in wages and benefits per hour. More Tier 2 workers on the rolls would let those two companies get labor cost parity with the competition. Fiat-Chrysler pays wages closer to the imports because of special exceptions in its UAW contract that allow unlimited Tier 2 hiring; those exceptions will end on September 14 and bring FCA into line with the other domestics, unless the new contract maintains them. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne is opposed to the two-tier system, having called it "almost offensive." One analyst says the UAW might win a sizable pay raise for Tier 2 and a small increase for Tier 1, but the keystone issue will be how the hiring matrix can help the automakers keep overall wages in line with the imports.