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Ed Welburn leaves a lasting legacy at GM design

General Motors design chief Ed Welburn retired July 1, and the soft-spoken stylist is leaving a lasting legacy at the automaker and on the industry. He became the first African American to lead design at a carmaker when he took over GM's top spot in 2003. Just six people have overseen the company's design, and Welburn followed in the footsteps of icons like Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell. When Welburn was given expanded global oversight in 2005, it wasn't ceremonial. He helped unite the company's sprawling design empire, and today is in charge of 2,500 people who have a hand in designing GM cars. "He nurtured a creative, inclusive, and customer-focused culture among our designers that has strengthened our global brands," Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO, said in a statement." Welburn took the helm when GM and the industry were shaking off a general styling malaise that pervaded the 1980s and 1990s. During his 13 years in charge, he took risks, produced a wide range of styles for everything from hybrids to sports cars to big trucks, and leaves GM design in a better place. Welburn's replacement, Michael Simcoe from GM's international design unit, has big shoes to fill. News & Analysis News: Tesla attracted more than 325,000 preorders of the Model 3 in about a week. Analysis: If anything, the Model 3 is more popular than many expected. Elon Musk tweeted that surprising figure on Thursday, and he said just five percent ordered the maximum number of two. That seems to indicate actual owners rather than speculators are fueling the demand. With a starting price of $35,000 before incentives and an electric range of 215 miles, the Model 3 is the Tesla that's attainable for a lot of people. Clearly, that notion is resonating. News: Lincoln has drawn 40,000 hand-raisers for the Continental. Analysis: Okay, that's not a Tesla figure, but it's still an encouraging sign for Lincoln that one of its most famous and historic names still resonates in 2016. It also demonstrates using a real, albeit slightly dusty name, was the right call for the MKS replacement. "No other Lincoln vehicle has generated this much interest in this little time," Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra said in New York last month. The concept that debuted a year ago put Lincoln back on the map, and the production version remains true to that promise. It will stand out on the road when it arrives this fall, and ultimately, that kind of style will determine Lincoln's future.

2021 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring First Drive Review | Efficient, stylish and value-packed

With the introduction of the compact Corsair Grand Touring, Lincoln adds its second plug-in hybrid model. Like its bigger Aviator sibling, the plug-in Corsair shares technology with a Ford, but provides additional performance and a substantially improved interior that make it a credible luxury vehicle. And compared to other small plug-in SUVs, the Lincoln has pluses and minuses, but still is an attractive package for the right buyer thanks to strong value, efficiency and style. The Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring, like its internal-combustion counterparts, is based on the Ford Escape. Up front, it uses the same naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder and electric motor as the Ford Escape PHEV, not to mention a motor-based CVT. But it picks up a rear-mounted permanent-magnet motor to provide additional power and all-wheel drive. It makes 266 horsepower combined, an increase of 46 ponies over the Ford. Compared with other Corsairs, it's just 16 horsepower more than the base Corsair with its turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, and it's down 26 horsepower from models with the optional turbo 2.3-liter engine. It's low on power compared to other slightly larger plug-in competitors such as the 304-horsepower Lexus NX 450e as well as the Audi Q5 E-Tron and BMW X5 xDrive45e, both of which make more than 350 horsepower. On the other hand, the Lincoln offers strong fuel efficiency. On a full charge, it can go an EPA-rated 28 miles on electricity. Running in gasoline-only mode, it gets 33 mpg. The aforementioned BMW can go 31 miles on a charge, but gets a paltry 20 mpg on gasoline only. The Q5 only goes 19 miles on a charge and gets 27 mpg on gas. The Lexus is the only one to top the Lincoln with 37 miles of EV range, and a gas-only fuel economy of 36 mpg. In practice, the Lincoln is, as you would expect of the numbers, no sports car, focusing instead on smoothness and reasonable refinement. Power delivery is extremely smooth, and there's no noticeable vibration added when the gas engine comes into play. You will hear it when it comes on, though, and it's not especially smooth. Thankfully, Lincoln has added more sound deadening as well as active noise cancellation to the Corsair in comparison to the Escape, so overall engine volume is low. Also, while the Corsair isn't fast, the torque from the electric motors means it's nippy around town. Being a plug-in hybrid, some of the Corsair's appeal is the ability to drive on full electric power.

2015 Ford F-150 named Truck of Texas, Lincoln and Jeep also awarded at Truck Rodeo

The Ford Motor Company has a lot of reasons to celebrate after winning eight categories in this year's Texas Auto Writers Association's annual Truck Rodeo. Most important among them, the Blue Oval's latest 2015 Ford F-150 earned the prestigious Truck of Texas award, ending the Ram 1500's two-year winning streak. The 2015 Lincoln MKC also grabbed the honor as the CUV of Texas, and Ford was named Truck Line of Texas.
FoMoCo even took trophies for best technology with its extensive use of aluminum on its latest F-Series and best commercial vehicle for the new Transit 250. It wasn't a total sweep, though, because the Jeep Grand Cherokee grabbed the title of the SUV of Texas for the fifth straight time.
This year's event put 60 auto writers in 75 pickups, SUVs and crossovers and challenged them to find the best in a plethora of categories. All of the winners are listed below, and scroll down to read the full announcements from the Texas Auto Writers Association and Ford.