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Lincoln's first shipment of cars arrives in China

It has been two years since Lincoln first announced its plans to expand into China, and the first models destined for sale in the giant automotive market just came off the boat in Shanghai on September 10. It's going to be a few weeks before Chinese buyers actually have the chance to get behind the wheel, though.
The first two models being offered to China are the MKZ and MKC, as seen arriving in these photos, and they are going to be sold at dealers that look more like hotels than traditional showrooms. The first four are opening in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou in October, with a grand unveiling of the new brand to Chinese consumers later that month. By the end of the year, Lincoln wants to have eight dealers operating in seven cities. By 2016, the automaker wants to have a lineup of five models available in the People's Republic.
"This is the culmination of months of teamwork and collaboration both in North America and here in China," said Robert Parker, President of Lincoln China, in the company's release.

Lincoln debuts MKC ads starring Matthew McConaughey

Lincoln is making the decisive commitment that it wants to improve its brand perception going forward. It can't be cheap to hire A-list talent like Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey and director Nicolas Winding Refn, best known for Drive, for its new ad campaign for the 2015 MKC crossover, but the company is showing that it's serious about the new vehicle and its future. The first three of these five commercials are just hitting YouTube, and they begin airing on television on September 6.
The Live in Your Moment campaign is all about Lincoln trying to sell not just the MKC to customers but also explain the brand's philosophy. It's one of the oldest luxury automakers around, but hasn't exactly had a glorious history, especially recently. Based on these first ads, we can see that there's a definite focus on philosophizing rather than focusing on the crossover. At times, McConaughey seems just a mustache and a mangled beer can away from reprising his role from True Detective.
The first ad (above) is simply titled Intro and sets the mood and concept for the whole campaign. Bull has McConaughey talking to a longhorn in the middle of a road, and I Just Like It has him explaining his affinity for the brand. Lincoln's full release is available below, and you can view the other ads by flipping through the playlist in the video player above.

Lincoln bringing in MKZ Hybrid over rollaway risk

Federal safety standards require that every new car needs to have the brake depressed in order to shift it out of Park. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found fault in the transmission range sensor on certain examples of the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, allowing the car to be shifted out of Park without first depressing the brake. The fear is that with this condition, affected vehicles may be unintentionally pulled out of Park, resulting in a possible rollaway. That safety concern has prompted parent Ford Motor Company to issue a recall.
The issue pertains to 7,153 examples of the MKZ Hybrid built between April 26, 2012 and September 24, 2013, covering the 2013 and 2014 model years. As a result, Ford will notify owners to bring their MKZs into their local Lincoln dealer to have the Powertrain Control Module software updated in order to rectify the problem. See the full recall notice below for details.