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2021 Lincoln Navigator Review | The new land yacht

The 2021 Lincoln Navigator is true American luxury done in a distinct and proper fashion. It’s LincolnÂ’s flagship product with the highest level of opulence and glamour that a truck can possibly offer. The Navigator isn't just a dressed-up F-150 or Expedition with makeup on, either. ThereÂ’s still mechanically related to that pair with a truck chassis riding on an independent rear suspension hiding underneath, but everything above is pure, luxe bliss. YouÂ’d be hard pressed to find elements missing from the NavigatorÂ’s formula in this latest generation of the SUV that came out in 2018. The interior is elegance turned up to the max with a design that evokes old-world charm while fully embracing modernity. ItÂ’s not trying to be youthful or edgy. Instead, the Navigator exudes a quiet, grown-up confidence that looks expensive and high class. It brings the guests to the table by adopting its own language of classical luxury, then keeps them there with the tech and capability we expect in a truck approaching a six-figure price. Three rows, two different lengths, one seriously powerful engine and truck-level towing capacity makes the Navigator a heady choice for the luxury truck buyer who wants to do everything with one big vehicle. WhatÂ’s new for 2021? Changes for 2021 consist of new paint colors and minor equipment adjustments. Lincoln has added Asher Gray, Flight Blue, Green Gem and Signature Navy to the paint options. But itÂ’s also deleted Iced Mocha, Silver Jade, Blue Diamond and Rhapsody Blue. Both the limited-slip differential and heavy-duty trailer tow package have also been made standard on the Black Label. WhatÂ’s the interior and in-car technology like? The standard and Reserve Navigators are mighty luxurious on their own (including the interior shown in the top two photos above), but if you step up to an expensive Black Label trim, youÂ’re in for an absolute treat. Its interior offers a choice of “Themes” that go far beyond the usual color choices of black, beige and gray, with maybe a different wood type or two. Of the three, "Chalet" is the most conventional with its blend of tan and black, but the oxblood red "Destination" (above bottom-left) and cool blue "Yacht Club" (above bottom-right) are unlike anything offered by another brand (OK, maybe you could special order a Bentley or Rolls-Royce).

BMW, Hyundai score big in JD Power's first Tech Experience Index

While automakers are quick to brag about winning a JD Power Initial Quality Study award, the reality, as we've pointed out before, is that these ratings are somewhat misleading, since IQS doesn't necessarily distinguish genuine quality issues. JD Power's new Tech Experience Index aims to solve that problem. The new metric takes the same 90-day approach as IQS but focuses exclusively on technology – collision protection, comfort and convenience, driving assistance, entertainment and connectivity, navigation, and smartphone mirroring. It splits the industry up into just seven segments, based loosely on size, which is why the Chevrolet Camaro is in the same division (mid-size) as Kia Sorento and the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class is in the same segment as the Hyundai Genesis (mid-size premium). It makes for some screwy bedfellows, to be sure. Still, splitting tech experience away from initial quality should allow customers to make more informed and intelligent decisions when buying new vehicles. In the inaugural study, respondents listed BMW and Hyundai as the big winners, with two segment awards – the 2 Series for small premium and the 4 Series for compact premium, and the Genesis for mid-size premium and Tucson for small segment. The Chevrolet Camaro (midsize), Kia Forte (compact), and Nissan Maxima (large) scored individual wins. Ford also had a surprising hit with the Lincoln MKC, which ranked third in the compact premium segment behind the 4 Series and Lexus IS. This is a coup for the Blue Oval, whose woeful MyFord Touch systems made the brand a victim of the IQS' flaws in the early 2010s. But Ford and other automakers might not want to celebrate just yet. According to JD Power, there's still a lot of room for improvement – navigation systems were the lowest-rated piece of tech in the study. Instead, customers repeatedly saluted collision-avoidance and safety systems, giving the category the best marks of the study and listing blind-spot monitoring and backup cameras as two must-have features – 96 percent of respondents said they wanted those two systems in their next vehicle. But this isn't really a surprise. Implementation of safety systems from brand to brand is similar, and they don't require any input from users, unlike navigation and infotainment systems which are frustratingly deep.

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Lincoln Zephyr

The Lincoln Motor Company went all-truck for its North American offerings in the 2021 model year, announcing the death sentence for the Continental and MKZ sedans in 2020. The MKZ was the sibling to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan (the latter car discontinued in 2011 when the entire Mercury Division got the axe), but it wasn't called the MKZ for its first model year of 2006. For that one year, it was given a name with deep resonance in the Ford Empire: Zephyr. Here's one of those cars, found in a Denver boneyard recently. Ford's first use of the Zephyr name came when Edsel Ford spearheaded the creation of the futuristic-looking Lincoln-Zephyr for the 1936 model year. The Lincoln-Zephyr packed a flathead V12 engine under its hood, which is the same engine that turned a Model A Ford into a Cadillac-passing hot rod in the 1955 Charlie Ryan song "Hot Rod Lincoln" (the better-known 1971 cover version by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen inaccurately refers to the Lincoln engine as a V8; ex-Commander Cody frontman—and Iggy Pop's high school classmate—Bill Kirchen still makes the V8 claim but he's earned the right by now). The Zephyr name disappeared from the Lincoln lineup after 1942. In 1950, Ford of Britain revived the Zephyr name for use on a Dagenham-built saloon; British Zephyr production continued through 1972, and left-hand-drive versions of the Ford Zephyr were sold in the United States from the 1952 through 1964 model years. Mercury finally got the use of the Zephyr name, for the 1978 through 1983 model years, on the Mercury-badged sibling to the Ford Fairmont. A Chinese-market midsize luxury sedan built by Changan Ford was given the Zephyr Reflection name prior to launch, but it hit showrooms last year as the Lincoln Z. So much history in the junkyard! The saga of the name change from Zephyr to MKZ didn't end with the 2007 model year, though. Members of the Lincoln top brass spent some months insisting stubbornly that the new name should be pronounced "Mark Z" (apparently in reference to the great Lincoln Mark cars of the past or perhaps the brand-new Mark LT pickup), but finally acquiesced to the "Em-Kay-Zee" pronunciation used by everybody else in the United States and the "Em-Kay-Zedd" pronunciation used by the rest of the English-speaking world. The interior of the 2006 Zephyr was quite similar to what you got inside the Fusion and Milan, but with real wood (maple or ebony) trim and standard leather.