2003 Lincoln Cartier on 2040-cars

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Lincoln Sync 3 Infotainment Review | Clean and eminently usable

Many of the newer Lincoln products might be vastly different in design and experience than their Ford counterparts, but infotainment software is still heavily shared between the two brands. That said, Lincoln has made a great effort to make its version of Sync 3 feel more upmarket and premium compared to Ford’s. If you can think of it in terms of Android smartphones, Sync 3 in Ford vehicles is like stock Google software. Sync 3 in Lincoln products is akin to SamsungÂ’s UI, which amounts to a totally new look and added features. The core interface remains the same across the two brands. LincolnÂ’s snazzy new look can be customized with a few different color combinations, but they generally all consist of muted tones that exude old-world luxury more than the heavy-handed blue hues on Ford's version of Sync. One convenient commonality between the two is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, both of which require wired connections. Some may find the functionality of the Apple/Android interfaces to be compromised as detailed in our Ford Escape interior driveway test). Sync 3 has a bottom bar of quick toggle, commonly-used apps, and a Home button in the top left corner. It makes getting to any particular set of menus quick and painless. Squared-off icons are used within menus with large font and intuitive scrolling functionality. There are no redundant scroll wheels or touchpads to control the screen interface in any of LincolnÂ’s vehicles, so youÂ’ll need to be comfortable with a touchscreen. Thankfully, there are hard buttons on the dash for the climate controls and common audio functions.  Lincoln Sync 3 Infotainment View 10 Photos In the Lincoln Navigator weÂ’re using to demonstrate the technology, Sync 3 is smooth and generally free of hiccups. However, itÂ’s not infallible and tablet-smooth as plodding through BMWÂ’s or MercedesÂ’ latest infotainment systems is. Lincoln uses Sync 3 on all of its current models, and in the Navigator, itÂ’s playing on a large 10-inch screen. The added luxury features for Lincolns tends to dictate all of the extras you see in the software. There are settings for a vast array of ambient lighting, hugely complex seat controls (for the 30-way massaging seats) and a number of customization options for the excellent Revel audio system (optional). Lincoln differentiates itself even further with the fully digital instrument cluster flanking the big screen.

Landau yachts: The history of Lincoln's Designer Series

The Lincoln Designer Series was introduced in 1976, at the end of the imposing Mark IV Continental generation. Four big-name fashion designers of the era – all-American country clubber Bill Blass, psychedelic Italian pattern-maestro Emilio Pucci, venerable French jewelry-maker Cartier, and a la mode French fashionista Hubert de Givenchy – were asked to slather their elegance on LincolnÂ’s personal luxury coupe. This experiment was a wild success. According to documents uncovered in the Lincoln archives – with the incomparable guidance of official brand historian Ted Ryan – the Designer series “accounted for more than 27% of Mark IV sales” shortly after its introduction. It was such a runaway hit, that it continued on throughout the even larger Mark V generation (incidentally, the longest coupe ever produced by Ford Motor Company), and didnÂ’t really peter out on these big two-doors until the early 1990s.   But the true history of the series well predates the era of opera windows, crushed velour and wire wheel covers. “If you take a step back even further, when Ford purchased Lincoln in 1922, Edsel Ford was put in charge of the company. But more than that, he helped establish the first design studio at Ford,” said Ryan. The basic Model T didnÂ’t take much design. Lincoln was different. Edsel is famed for his quote. “Father wanted to make the most popular car, I wanted to make the best.” The specific genesis of the Designer Series, however, came along as a result of a long-term personal connection with the marqueÂ’s first chairman. “Edsel Ford had a relationship with Cartier, and correspondence going throughout the 1920s and '30s,” Ryan said. “His personal cards and stationery were always ordered from Cartier.” This enduring link wasnÂ’t formalized until the late 1960s. “I found in product development files, in 1967, that Ford had gone to Cartier for a special 1970 Cartier Continental coupe,” Ryan said. According to internal documents, this package would include unique interior leather/cloth/vinyl surfaces and trim, modified dials, and a Cartier jewelry box, as well as golden plating on the steering wheel ornament, dial face ornaments, keys, C-pillar ornaments, door monograms, and dashboard plaque. “Think of that. A car that never was, that could have been,” Ryan said, wistfully. Some Cartier magic did get glossed on Lincolns in the late 1960s.

Lincoln Aviator backup camera failure spurs recall

Ford Motor Company has announced a recall of certain Lincoln Aviator SUVs to fix faulty rearview cameras. The recall is for 2020 and 2021 model-year Aviators. A total of 34,975 vehicles in the U.S. and another 3,053 in Canada and 379 in Mexico are affected. The image processing module can fail, resulting in the loss of the camera feed when in reverse. Ford says it knows of no accidents or injuries related to the defect. Owners of the affected Aviators will be notified beginning May 19. Dealers will update the software in the modules. In the meantime, Autoblog reminds drivers that if they experience backup camera failure, they can revert to the old-fashioned method of turning in their seat and looking out the back window when reversing. Auto News Recalls Lincoln SUV Luxury