2004 Lincoln Navigator Awd on 2040-cars

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2020 Ford Explorer nabs IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating after updates

The 2020 Ford Explorer has been named a Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the agency's best rating. The redesigned Explorer initially fell short of that mark, however, only making the grade after Ford introduced a running change to the vehicle's design starting in May 2020 — a change made to the 2020 Lincoln Aviator as well. To achieve a Top Safety Pick+ award, a vehicle must have a Good performance rating in all six of the agency's crash tests. It also must have Acceptable or better ratings for all of its available headlamps and must earn Advanced or Superior ratings for its automated collision avoidance systems in tests of their performance against pedestrians and other vehicles. The 2020 Explorer initially achieved only an Acceptable performance in the IIHS's driver's-side small-overlap crash test, as the agency found a risk of injury to the driver's left foot due to intrusion into the footwell. Ford subsequently modified the design of the front subframe in a running change to Explorers and to Lincoln Aviators built after May 2020. The modified Explorer was re-tested, and this time the model achieved a Good performance in the driver's small-overlap test. That, combined with a Superior performance in both tests of the standard collision-avoidance system plus Acceptable ratings for both headlight systems, pushed the 2020 Explorer over the goal line to Top Safety Pick+. The Aviator, which shares the Explorer's platform, has received the same modification and achieves the same crashworthiness ratings. However, its standard headlights are judged Marginal, and therefore the 2020 Aviator achieves only the Top Safety Pick rating (even though its optional curve-adaptive LED headlights are judged Good). Related Video:

2023 Lincoln Navigator makes changes to trim lineup and color menu

Lincoln has been doing its thing out of the way of the big headlines at Ford. The brand hasn't put out an official press release for the Navigator since August 2021, the 2023 Navigator whispering into the new year so quietly we barely noticed. The big SUV got refreshed for the 2022 model year, gaining the brand's ActiveGlide hands-free driving system, Lincoln Enhance over-the-air update capability, a larger 13.2-inch infotainment screen, two new themes for the top-tier Black Label trim called Central Park and Invitation, tweaked front and rear fascias, and a few other bits. For 2023, the changes are mostly decorative and financial. The base extended model known as the Navigator L is gone. The stretched Navigator now comes in Reserve and Black Label only. Flight Blue is no longer on the exterior palette, but Diamond Red Tricoat can be ordered for the base Standard trim as well as the Reserve and Reserve L. The sole powertrain is unchanged, that being a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 with 440 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque sending power through a ten-speed automatic to either the rear wheels or all four. 2023 Navigator prices after the $1,895 destination charge, and their increases from 2022, are: Standard: $81,620 ($3,215) Reserve: $93,830 ($4,730) Reserve L: $96,860 ($5,090) Standard 4WD: $84,620 ($3,215) Reserve 4WD: $96,530 ($5,090) Reserve L 4WD: $99,555 ($5,090) Black Label 4WD: $111,150 ($6,475) Black Label L 4WD: $114,195 ($6,475) As you can see, there are some healthy bumps compared to launch pricing for the 2022 model year. In 2022, the base model dropped by $5, three other trims rose by a few hundred, one trim rose by $1,760, and five climbed by almost $5,000. For 2023, a $5,000 increase is effectively the norm. Getting a Navigator seems to be a little easier than around this time last year when Lincoln made the model custom order only. Now the warning text reads, "Some models, trims and features may not be available. Please contact your local Lincoln Retailer for updates and assistance." Bring money. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2004 Lincoln Mark X concept car goes to auction

Twenty years ago, retro design was arguably at its apex (though it's really never gone away, either here or in other markets). And apparently Ford and Lincoln were considering a way to offer even more retro two-door goodness out of the Thunderbird, which was a couple years old in 2004. The result was the Lincoln Mark X concept car, which is pretty much a rebadged Thunderbird with a couple of unique features. It never went into production, but if you really had your heart set on it, this is your chance to make the sole example your own. At a glance, you might not notice the Thunderbird connection, especially with the top down. The Mark X leans heavily on the '60s Continentals with its wide chrome grille and subtle integrated headlights. It also features the distinct chrome trim that runs along each edge of the car from the headlights all the way back to the tailpipes. It also features slender, wide rear taillights, and a dramatically sloping rear fascia with a sharp edge where the tailpipes lurk. The Mark X also has the party piece of the then-trendy power retractable hardtop. It even had glass panels in the roof, kind of like the later VW Eos. But look a little longer, and you can see the similarities. The proportions, and especially the hardpoints around the doors and windshield, are pretty clearly straight off the Thunderbird. And as contemporary reporting showed, everything mechanical in the vehicle was the same as the Thunderbird, from the powertrain to the suspension. It gets the same 280-horsepower 3.9-liter V8 and five-speed automatic as the T-Bird, along with rear-wheel drive. The interior is much more of a departure from the T-Bird, though. It has the retro dual cowl dashboard that would later appear in other Lincoln products including the Zephyr, Navigator, Aviator and MKX. The MKX of course was actually a Ford Edge-derived, front-drive-based SUV, and so hardly related to this Mark X concept, but it did at least have a similar Continental-style grille when it launched. To a certain extent, it's a little bit surprising the Mark X didn't get a green light for production. Since all the mechanical bits were already in production, and not just in the Thunderbird. The platform, called DEW98, was a unique rear-drive platform with fully independent suspension that was used in the Ford Thunderbird, Lincoln LS sedan and Jaguars S-Type and XF. They all were offered with the same 3.9-liter V8, too, with V6 variants of the LS and Jaguars.