1966 Lincoln Continental Convertible 45k Orig Miles Survivor on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1978 Lincoln Continental Town Car

Just before Ford downsized the Continental for 1980 and made the Town Car a separate model for 1981, the biggest and plushest new sedan in the Dearborn universe was the mighty Continental Town Car. Here's one from 1978, the second-to-last model year of the two-and-a-half-ton Continental Town Car, found in nice condition in a Denver car graveyard last month. This car rolled out of the Lincoln showroom loaded, with the landau-style "Coach Roof" and just about every additional option. Base price on the 1978 Continental with the Town Car package started at $11,606 (about $48,350 in 2020 dollars), but this car cost much more than that. A new Mercedes-Benz S-Class cost better than twice as much that year (and it was worth it), but you still had to be a heavy-duty high-roller to buy a new '78 Town Car. The base engine in the 1978 Continental was a 400-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) V8 making a grim 166 horsepower, a truly horrific ratio of 25.2 horsepower per liter of displacement (torque came to a respectable 319 lb-ft, though). If the new Navigator got 25.2 horses for each liter in its turbo V6, it would have a mere 88 horsepower to haul its nearly three tons, rather than the 450 horses that 21st-century engine technology gives us. The good news with this car is that it came with the optional 460-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8, rated at 210 horsepower and 357 lb-ft. That was sufficient to get this car's 4,660 pounds moving well enough. Still just 28 horses per liter, but a significant upgrade. These cars weren't about performance, however. They were about a silent, cushy ride and poofy seats that swallowed you in velour comfort. When did Detroit stop making these pillow-top seats? And opera lights? And snazzy "coffin-handle" door pulls? Yes, even the wire wheels (a $333 option, or $1,385 today) stayed on this car to the very end. Why get a Rolls-Royce when you could have this, the grille of this behemoth seems to ask us. Though it remained in good condition when it arrived in its final parking space, a Malaise Era Continental sedan just isn't worth much in the enthusiast world. Even a 1978 Mark V in nice shape would be hard-pressed to find a forever home nowadays. At least it had a chance to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts before the end. In what came to look like a very smart move by Ford, in light of certain geopolitical events in 1979, the Panther-based 1980 Continentals weighed nearly a half-ton less than this car.

2024 Lincoln Nautilus pricing is already out, and it's up

The new 2024 Lincoln Nautilus was just revealed, but now pricing is already out. Not only is pricing available to walk through, but Lincoln opened up its configurator and is allowing you to build and price one. As you might expect from a new generation with a whole lot more features, the base price is up. A 2024 Nautilus Premiere starts at $51,810, including the $1,395 destination charge — weÂ’ll note that the new Nautilus will be built in China now, but the destination fee is the same as the Canadian-built 2023 model. Overall, the new Nautilus is $5,590 more than the outgoing version. Considering that AWD is now standard equipment, and the plethora of additional tech/features now present in this new generation, the increase is no surprise. The Nautilus comes with a gas-only 2.0-liter turbo engine as standard equipment, but you can select the hybrid option for an extra $1,500. LincolnÂ’s mid-level trim is the Reserve at $56,145, which adds “premium” leather seats in the first and second rows, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, unique “jewel” accented grille and 21-inch wheels instead of the 19-inch wheels standard on the Premiere. Both the Premiere and Reserve have very expensive packages that group together a bunch of premium options — weÂ’d recommend reading through them on the configurator to see if theyÂ’re must-haves for your needs. If you want BlueCruise 1.2 (hands-free driver assist system) or one of the available Revel audio systems, though, youÂ’ll need to select one of these packages. Per usual with Lincoln, the Black Label trim is the range-topper. It comes with nearly every option as standard equipment and starts at $75,860. The biggest choices you can make here are powertrain — Lincoln still charges $1,500 extra for the hybrid in the Black Label — and then picking your exterior and interior color themes. Chalet, a cream and brown theme, or Redwood, a reddish-brown and black theme, can be selected on the inside. ThereÂ’s a $3,000 Jet Appearance Package available, too, which comes with unique wheels, fully-blacked-out exterior trim and a unique interior. You can even spend $2,000 on LincolnÂ’s fancy, new Chroma Caviar Dark Grey Metallic paint, the most expensive color in the catalog. Check all of these boxes, and you can get a Nautilus up to $82,360. At that price, you could buy an entry-level Navigator or a well-equipped Aviator.

Made in America | These cars top the most-American list

The car with the most American/Canadian content for 2022 is ... cue the drumroll ... the Lincoln Corsair, in both standard gasoline-fueled and plug-in hybrid guise. Both versions of Lincoln's compact luxury crossover earned a score of 86 — due to 72% of its parts coming from one of the two aforementioned countries — in the American University Kogod Business School's annual "Made in America Auto Index." Last year's leader, the 2021 Ford Mustang GT (when equipped with a manual transmission) fell all the way to 22nd place with a 50% rating due to a switch in transmissions sourced from Mexico. In case you're interested, that puts Ford's red-blooded American ponycar below vehicles like the Kia Sorento, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class SUV and Lexus ES. If you're wondering how an American car that's assembled within the borders of the United States could rank below a model from a Korean, German or Japanese automaker, well, we'll let Kogod explain: "The components of the index are based on research performed by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor Michigan regarding the economic value of different components of auto manufacturing. For example, the highest ranked cars are made by U.S.-based manufacturers using American engines and transmissions, and with a high AALA percentage of U.S. and Canadian parts." There are 25 total vehicles listed in the Top 10 (there are lots of ties this year). Here's the full list: (1) Lincoln Corsair: 86 (1) Lincoln Corsair PHEV: 86 (2) Tesla Model 3 Long Range: 82.5 (3) Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray: 81 (4) Chevrolet Colorado: 80.5 (5) Jeep Cherokee Latitude 4x4: 80 (5) Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk: 80 (5) Tesla Model 3 Performance: 80 (5) Tesla Model Y: 80 (6) Dodge Durango Citadel: 79.5 (6) Dodge Durango Blacktop AWD: 79.5 (7) Honda Passport Trailsport: 78.5 (8) Ford F-150 2.7L, 3.3L, 5.0L: 77.5 (8) Ford Ranger: 77.5 (8) Ford Bronco automatic: 77.5 (8) Tesla Model S: 77.5 (8) Tesla Model X: 77.5 (9) Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 3.6L: 77 (9) Jeep Grand Cherokee L LTD: 77 (9) Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 3.6L: 77 (9) Chevrolet Camaro automatic: 77 (10) Honda Odyssey: 76 (10) Honda Ridgeline: 76 (10) Honda Pilot: 76 There's a whole long list of reasons for the above scores, with seven criteria that include factory location, headquarters location and where its various bits and pieces come from.