1979 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe Aaca & Lcoc Senior Award Winner on 2040-cars

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Lincoln Continental production likely to shift to Flat Rock

Lincoln production may be returning to Michigan, according to a new report from Automotive News. While the brand's current big sedan, the MKS, is built alongside the Ford Taurus, Ford Explorer, and their Police Interceptor counterparts at the Blue Oval's Chicago, IL factory, the production version of the Continental won't be screwed together in the Windy City. According to AN, "industry sources" claim the Continental will join the Ford Mustang and Ford Fusion – on which the big Lincoln is loosely based – at the company's Flat Rock, MI factory. The move isn't just based on convenience, though. Ford is selling a lot of Explorers, and shifting Lincoln production away from Chicago Assembly frees up production capacity for the popular SUV. "Chicago Assembly Plant is vital to our global manufacturing footprint and will continue to manufacture the Ford Taurus, Ford Explorer and Police Interceptor vehicles even after we phase out production of the MKS in 2016," Ford told Automotive News. "We will continue to match production to demand." Looking at the numbers further backs up the argument against Lincoln production in Chicago. Last year alone, Ford built nearly 285,000 Explorers and over 73,000 Taurus sedans, compared to just 8,300 Lincolns. Finally, as AN tells it, Ford is almost telegraphing the Continental's arrival in Flat Rock. The facility has a four-week shut down scheduled from June 15 through July 13, which is twice as long as the typical summer vacation, while there's another two weeks off slated for September. Related Video:

2022 Lincoln Aviator MSRP discounted from $5 to $1,085

Price changes continue apace over at Lincoln. The 2022 Navigator received price boosts from the single figure to four figures, the 2022 Corsair came down in price by anywhere from three to four figures. The penultimate crossover in the four-strong lineup, the Aviator, gets one price increase of $105 to go along with discounts ranging from $105 to almost $1,100. As with the Navigator and Corsair, though, the Aviator's destination price is up by $100, from $1,095 to $1,195, trimming those discounts slightly. Prices for the new Aviator and the changes from the last 2021 pricing are: RWD Standard: $52,660 ($5 less) Reserve: $58,550 ($130 less) AWD Standard: $55,160 ($5 less) Reserve: $61,080 ($110 less) Grand Touring: $69.555 ($1.085 less) Black Label: $80,545 ($105) Black Label Grand Touring: $89,100 ($980 less) Another pricing quirk is that AWD has got more expensive on the Reserve trim. Sending power to the front wheels cost $2,510 in 2021, now it costs $2,530.  The Aviator doesn't appear to pair the price drops with punishments. The only big change for the 2022 model is former Monochromatic Package being given even more black-out trim and a name change to the Jet Package. The Monochromatic Package left bits of chrome on the car, such as the grille surround, fender badges, and window surrounds. The Jet Package abolishes those shiny bits in favor of gloss black trim. The body-colored mirrors also go black, as do the grille centers and the 22-inch wheels. It's meant to be available early this year, but at the time of writing, it's still not on the Lincoln configurator. When it does arrive, it can be optioned with the exterior colors Infinite Black, Pristine White, Silver Radiance, and Burgundy Velvet. The Monochromatic Package cost $2,000, the Jet Package will likely push that number up a bit. Ford Authority reports that Ford engineers have also reduced the latest Aviator's tow rating from 6,700 pounds with the Class IV Trailer Tow Package to 5,600 pounds. That package is standard on the Black Label Grand Touring trim, a cost option on other trims. The 2022 model isn't long for this world, GMA saying the 2023 enters production on May 30th.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lincoln confirms the MKZ only has a few months left to live

Lincoln confirmed it will put the MKZ out to pasture in 2020. The sedan is based on the Ford Fusion, which is also scheduled to retire in the coming months as the company pivots towards high-riding models. Introduced at the 2012 New York Auto Show, the MKZ is the oldest member of the Lincoln portfolio by a wide margin, so its demise hardly comes as a surprise. The firm quietly broke the news as it announced plans to release an electric SUV built using technology borrowed from Rivian. The 2020 model is already out, and Lincoln tells Autoblog production will end in mid-2020, with sales continuing through the rest of the year. There will be no 2021 model.   Though never a home run, the MKZ will be remembered as a significant car because it ushered in the design language that characterizes every model Lincoln sells in 2020 when it received a mid-cycle update for the 2017 model year. And, with up to 400 horsepower on tap, it also stood out as the most powerful production Lincoln ever released. Power and an elegant design weren't enough to give the nameplate a significant boost, and annual sales dropped to 17,725 units in 2019 from a peak of 34,009 cars in 2014. Even the Navigator outsold it. In recent years, the MKZ perplexingly became the autonomous car world's darling. Faraday Future, Didi Chuxing, Aurora, and Qualcomm are among the companies that tested their technology with MKZ-based prototypes. Lincoln explained the Hermosillo, Mexico, factory that makes the MKZ and the Fusion will "prepare for production of new Ford vehicles," but it didn't specify which ones. There's absolutely no evidence the company is developing a direct replacement for its entry-level sedan, so the Continental will carry the torch on its own. Its days might be numbered, too, because several unverified reports claim Lincoln will again consign the nameplate to the attic in the coming years to free up the production capacity it needs to build electric cars in Flat Rock, Michigan. Once it goes, Lincoln's range will be entirely sedan-free for the first time since the company was created in 1917. Some automakers still believe in the sedan, like Audi, but Lincoln seems to be a student of Ford's philosophy. Related Video: