1988 Lincoln Town Car Base Sedan 4-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

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Bentley designer calls Lincoln Continental concept a Flying Spur 'copy' [w/poll]

When you first laid eyes on the new Lincoln Continental concept, we'd wager you were likely impressed, because it's an impressive design. But if you also thought it looked familiar, you're in good company. According to Car Design News, design chief Luc Donckerwolke over at Bentley thinks the Lincoln concept bears more than a passing resemblance to another Continental: Bentley's own Flying Spur. "This behavior is not respectable. Building a copy like this is giving a bad name to the car design world," Donckerwolke told CDN, after posting some disparaging comments on Facebook and offering in jest to send over the tooling. "It is very disappointing, especially for an exclusive brand like Lincoln," added Sangyup Lee, his deputy for exterior design. The irony is further entrenched by the name, which Bentley only dropped from its Flying Spur in its latest iteration but still uses for the coupe and convertible models. Both automakers have a deeply routed history with the nameplate, but Lincoln's stretches back further, having first used the handle in 1939 before Bentley did in 1952. However it's not the nameplate that's the subject of controversy here, rather the design of the vehicle to which it's applied. So what do you think, did Lincoln borrow too heavily from its British counterpart? Related Video:

Did Neil Young just spill the beans on a 2016 Lincoln Continental? [w/video]

Neil Young may be better known as a singer-songwriter and rock n' roll icon than he is for his involvement with cars, but the Canadian-born musician is not without his automotive credentials. His latest book, after all, is titled "Special Deluxe: A Memoir of Life & Cars," and one of his most famous songs, "Long May You Run," was written about his old station wagon. But does that mean he's got an inside line on new cars coming out? In an appearance on CNBC's Mad Money with Matt Cramer this week, the Y in CSNY was plugging Pono, a portable music player and service he developed. During the segment, which you can watch in the video clip below, Young mentioned that his company was working on a new in-car audio integration with Harman, which as we know just signed a deal with Lincoln. Here's where it gets interesting: The Godfather of Grunge mentioned that Pono and Harman were preparing to put the system in the 2016 Lincoln Continental. The thing is, Lincoln hasn't made a Continental for a dozen years now. Does Neil know something we don't, or did he simply misspeak? He is, after all, working on an electric-converted '59 Continental he calls the LincVolt, so it wouldn't be hard to imagine he got mixed up. But maybe, just maybe, it was the first bit of leaked info that Ford's luxury division is planning on shifting away from its MK-based naming scheme and reviving at least one iconic nameplate. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lincoln prepping MKZ re-launch?

Launching an all-new car is no easy task. Case in point is the 2013 Lincoln MKZ, introduced with the fanfare of a major nationwide marketing campaign, including expensive Super Bowl ads, just as Ford was curbing production over potential quality issues. The resulting mess was nothing short of a nightmare for any automaker - customers visiting dealerships looking for cars that hadn't been delivered yet. Disappointed buyers walked out of Lincoln retailers without new keys in their hands, or switched to a competing brand to fill empty spaces in their driveways.
The impact was painful, as Lincoln's sales in January and February of this year were among the lowest it has recorded in more than a quarter century. Even though March looked a bit brighter, with the supply crisis reportedly over (there are 3,000 units in transit and production is approaching 200 units per day) the automaker is reportedly studying the feasibility of giving its pivotal MKZ the launch it originally deserved.
According to TheDetroitBureau.com, putting the MKZ back on consumer's radar could cost Ford tens of millions of dollars, but that kind of investment may be warranted if potential buyers have forgotten about the new model... or worse, if they have forgotten about Lincoln.