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Lincoln Continental to end after one-and-done generation?

After only 18 months on sale, the vultures of rumor have begun circling above the Lincoln Continental. Ford Authority says "sources intricately familiar with Ford Motor Company's future product plans" for the domestic luxury brand say the Continental won't get another chance at life after this generation. Those sources didn't detail Ford's reasons for dispatching the executioner on another sad task, but if this is true, even the reasons we can only guess make enough sense to justify the move. The Continental launched into a crossover mania still mushrooming in strength like some Marvel villain, the equivalent of a new dinosaur hatching a few months before the Chicxulub Impact Event. In 18 months, the Continental sold 18,846 units, 12,012 of those sales happening in 2017. In the U.S. this year, sales amounted to 1,573 units through February, about 25 percent down on the annualized monthly rate. It could be worse: The Lexus GS has found 1,009 U.S. buyers so far this year, the Acura RLX, 285. Conversely, the Cadillac XTS — yes, a fleet darling — secured 3,163 sales in the same period. And the German kingpins live in another dimension, with BMW scooting 5,641 5 Series models off dealer lots, and the Mercedes E-Class boasting 8,411 sales of all three variants. Even the much more expensive and much more profitable Lincoln Navigator rang up 2,351 sales in the first 60 days of 2018. That's disheartening reading, especially after Ford reportedly spent more than $1 billion to bring the Continental to market. Sedan segment woes look to have killed the Continental's platform siblings, too, making the Lincoln's demise simply part of the cull. The CD4 architecture also underpins the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ. Ford canceled the Fusion redesign and won't commit to making either vehicle after 2020. Lincoln's passenger car sales declined more than 30 percent last month; meanwhile, Lincoln needs to spend its money on the crossovers that are selling, and investment in the coming three-row Aviator that will replace the MKT. Ford has a CD6 platform in development that suits front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive vehicles. Under previous CEO Mark Fields, a new Fusion, Mustang, and MKZ would ride on the CD6, as well as the new Explorer and a Lincoln brother. Those plans left with the previous administration, and company sources told both Ford Authority and The Truth About Cars not to expect a Continental revival on that architecture. Related Video:

2015 Ford Mustang GT [w/video]

At 50 years old, the object of fantasies, a tuner's dream, a movie star and more than nine million strong, it couldn't be truer to say that the Ford Mustang needs no introduction. This newest Mustang, however - making the biggest changes we've seen to the pony car since perhaps 1964.5 - is something Ford has been introducing all year.
We went on a Deep Dive, covered the way it looks when it was revealed, detailed the engine specs, got a ride in the EcoBoost and listened to the V8, got rolling footage and watched it do a standard-feature burnout.
The only thing left to do? Drive it. Having now done so for a few hours around Los Angeles, what we can tell you is to forget everything you know about the Mustang. This new car shames the old, redefines the model and gallops far ahead of anything else in the segment.

Weekly Recap: GM posts solid profits, not looking for partners

General Motors is not looking for partners. It's big enough already. So says CEO Mary Barra, who shot down overtures from outspoken Fiat-Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne this week. Barra said GM will look to find scale within its operations, rather than through outside partners. "We think there's tremendous opportunity for us within the business as we look at efficiency measures, as we look at truly achieving the scale that we should have, because we're already in that top tier of the auto industry among the largest OEMs," she said. Barra added: "We have a very well-articulated plan. We're in the middle of executing that, and we're not going to entertain anything that might distract us from accomplishing that." Her remarks came in the wake of Marchionne's provocative comments in March. He expects a wave of industry consolidation and said he's open to teaming with Ford or GM, calling it "technically feasible." Because of its smaller size, FCA would likely stand to gain more from a partnership than GM or Ford. The Blue Oval isn't interested in teaming with Fiat-Chrysler, either. "We have no other plan or interest then to continue to accelerate our One Ford plan, deliver product excellence and drive innovation in every part of our business," a spokesperson said. GM, the largest US automaker, announced a $945-million first-quarter profit on Thursday and posted its best earnings performance in North America since 2009. Earlier in the week, GM confirmed it had sold 2.4 million vehicles around the world in the quarter, ranking behind Toyota (2.52 million) and Volkswagen (2.49 million). Other News & Notes SUVs, EVs shine at Shanghai Motor Show SUVs and electric vehicles grabbed the spotlight at the Shanghai Motor Show this week as companies vied for attention in the world's largest car market. Notably, Honda's Concept D previewed the company's future flagship SUV that's being developed for China, Mercedes rolled out a BMW X4-fighting GLC Coupe concept and Chinese company Qoros debuted its 2 plug-in SUV concept. Nissan, Volvo and several others also showcased utility vehicles in Shanghai. Automakers are rushing to take advantage of the crossover craze in China. The market for locally-produced SUVs grew 50 percent in the first quarter, according to IHS Automotive research, which called the show a "launch pad" for new utility vehicles. Even though SUVs are popular, IHS predicts their growth rate will slow, and sedans account for more sales volume in China.