2021 Lincoln Navigator Reserve on 2040-cars

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The Zephyr could help Lincoln, seriously

The Zephyr could help Lincoln. The concept car revealed this week at the Shanghai Motor Show is gorgeous and a conversation starter. People noticed Lincoln.  The brand is quick to say the car, officially called the Zephyr Reflection Preview, is only intended for sale in China and what we’re seeing is a concept. In other words, donÂ’t get excited and donÂ’t read too much into the reveal. Why not?  Mercedes, Audi and BMW still do pretty well with sedans. So do Lexus and Cadillac. IÂ’m not saying Lincoln should line up three wide against the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class and try to go head-to-head. Just make one car, maybe complemented by a crossover variant, like the Volvo S60 and V60 Cross Country relationship. Tiptoe into the segment. Price it right, make it electric and see what happens. IÂ’ve argued Chrysler only needs a few models to become relevant again. Lincoln already has more than a few solid models. Lincoln is relevant. The Navigator is the superstar, and the brand has a respectable lineup with attractive design, solid powertrains and clever chassis setups (like the AviatorÂ’s independent rear suspension). Lincolns arenÂ’t more expensive Fords with flashier grilles anymore. Ironically, thatÂ’s exactly what the last Zephyr was — a gussied-up 2006 Ford Fusion — that lasted for one year before being renamed the MKZ. Ford Motor Co., including Lincoln, famously pivoted away from cars. That was a mistake. The Ford brand can compensate with Bronco Sports and Maverick pickups and maybe a crossover-wagon thing that sort of replaces the Fusion. Lincoln could use something beyond crossovers and SUVs. At this point, youÂ’re probably saying, “Uh, Continental, hello — Lincoln tried this." In fact, Lincoln has actually sold 768 Continentals this year as it sells off remaining inventory of the now-discontinued sedan. IÂ’d argue the ContinentalÂ’s demise wasnÂ’t due to its merits. ItÂ’s a pretty good car. It just had the misfortune of launching in 2016 as the market for sedans continued to shrink. The Continental was never going to be a volume play, but the measly sales figures it did achieve didnÂ’t justify its existence, even for a halo car. The Cadillac CT6, the ContinentalÂ’s domestic rival, met the same fate for the same reasons. Why would a new sedan fare any better? Lincoln didnÂ’t reveal the powertrain of the prototype, but an electric Zephyr sedan could bring in a whole new customer to the brand.

New 2020 Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator recalled for minor safety issues

Ford has announced a small recall on 2020 Explorers and 2020 Lincoln Aviators. Select units might be missing a manual park release cover, while others might have instrument clusters stuck in Factory Mode. The recall affects 14,135 SUVs in total.  While a vehicle is in production in a manufacturing facility, Ford might put them in what is known as Factory Mode to help reduce battery drain. Affecting the instrument cluster, this mode disables warning alerts, warning chimes, and does not show the PRNDL gear selector display. Ford says one vehicle was in an accident at a production facility as a result of the issue, but nobody was injured.  Separately, Ford found that some of these Explorers and Aviators might be lacking a manual park release cover. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require a manual park release cover that is only removable with a tool. Without the cover, there is a very minor chance the manual park release could be accidentally actuated, which could allow the vehicle to move on its own.  The recalls affect 13,896 vehicles in the U.S. and 239 in Canada. The Explorers were built between March 27, 2019, and July 24, 2019. The Aviators were built between April 10, 2019, and July 24, 2019. Owners can use Ford's recall number 19C06, and if affected, can take their vehicles in for fixes.

Chief designer for Lincoln Aviator SUV is brand's new design director

The man behind the looks of cars like the 50th anniversary 2015 Ford Mustang, the current-generation Lincoln Continental and the luxury division’s new 2020 Aviator SUV is LincolnÂ’s newest design director. Kemal Curic replaces David Woodhouse, who left earlier this year and is now a vice president overseeing design at Nissan and Infiniti. Curic, 41, was born in Sarajevo and grew up in Germany and Croatia. He began his career with Ford of Europe in 2003 after earning a bachelorÂ’s degree in industrial design and a masterÂ’s in transportation design in Germany. There, he worked on the European version of the Fiesta, the Mondeo (the European version of the Fusion) and the Kuga compact SUV. aviator-4 View 38 Photos In 2010, Curic won a global sketch competition Ford created to pick a designer for the 50th anniversary Mustang. He moved to FordÂ’s headquarters in Dearborn, where he joined the design team for the 2015 Ford Mustang, which won the EyesOn Design award for Best Production Vehicle at the 2014 Detroit auto show. Curic became exterior design manager in 2014 for the reborn Lincoln Continental sedan, then lead the overhaul of the brandÂ’s design language. He became chief designer for the three-row Aviator, which debuted at the 2018 L.A. Auto Show, and he served a lead exterior designer on the all-new 2020 Corsair, LincolnÂ’s compact crossover that was formerly known as the MKC. In an interview earlier this month with Truck Trend, Curic talked about how the midsize Aviator exemplifies LincolnÂ’s new design ethos. “This is the anti-wedge, which is very elegant,” he said. “If you think about cars of the 1960s, they had that exuberant attitude with more anti-wedge than most vehicles today. Think about the angle of attack of an airplane. You have this gliding gesture, sort of leaning back. The anti-wedge, a teardrop shape, is also the most optimized shape for aerodynamics.” Curic has said he was captivated by American cars as a child growing up in Europe, and he told Truck Trend that he grew up doodling cars in his notebooks at school, which sometimes got him in trouble and made his parents worry. HeÂ’ll reportedly split his time between Dearborn and LincolnÂ’s design studio in Irvine, California, where he lives with his family.