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2022 Lincoln Navigator revealed with tech updates, hands-free driving, new Black Label themes

Last week, Lincoln Motor Company teased its updated, enhanced and even more upscale Navigator SUV for the 2022 model year. Today, Ford’s luxury brand has unveiled this mid-cycle refresh with improved technology — including the Lincoln ActiveGlide hands-free driving system and over-the-air software updates — plus two new available themes for the line-topping Black Label trim level. Starting with tech, Lincoln launches the first iteration of its ActiveGlide advanced driver assistance tech, which, like FordÂ’s new BlueCruise technology, allows for hands-free highway driving if the right conditions are met. It leverages adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, lane centering and traffic sign recognition to allow for hands-free driving on over 130,000 miles of divided highways across North America. Similar to GMÂ’s Super Cruise system, ActiveGlide monitors the driverÂ’s head and eye positions with a driver-facing camera to unsure their attention remains on the road ahead of them, ready to take over driving functions if need be. The 2022 Navigator also employs Lincoln Enhance, which is the branded name for its over-the-air software update capability. This allows Lincoln to make improvements, install new features and even provide some preventative maintenance without it needing to be brought in for service. Lincoln promises this allows the “Navigator to get even better over time.” This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Lincoln says it has streamlined its Amazon Alexa experience to respond to more natural language. You can use Alexa in the car the way you normally would with the digital assistant, or you can connect the Lincoln Way app for Alexa to control certain car features — locks, remote start, checking on vehicle status — from your Alexa-enabled home or mobile device. The 2022 Navigator also benefits from AmazonÂ’s Fire TV service for the rear-seat entertainment. It even includes 16 GB of built-in storage so you can watch your favorite Prime Video content on the road without connectivity. ThereÂ’s an updated Sync 4 infotainment system with a larger 13.2-inch center screen, improved voice recognition and navigation, and a Constellation design theme that carries over to the digital instrument cluster and the refreshed head-up display. In the second row, occupants now have a digital control module for rear climate and audio settings.

How Lincoln could make itself special again

Things are going better for the Lincoln brand — or, more properly, The Lincoln Motor Company — so far this year, and are likely to continue to do so, comparatively speaking. In the first quarter of 2017, the brand's sales are up 8.7 percent compared with the same period last year. Lincoln delivered 27,083 units in the first quarter. The Continental is certainly a boon, with 3,209 units (almost 12 percent of the total number), something Lincoln didn't have in the first quarter of 2016. Its crossovers, the MKC and MKX, were up 15 and 11.2 percent, respectively, and while the Navigator SUV was down 16.2 percent, the new 2018 model will certainly boost that nameplate. Still, there is undoubtedly a glass — or crystal — ceiling for Lincoln (as well as for Cadillac) that it's not likely to break through regarding total US sales. No matter how you look at it, the US luxury market is dominated by import brands, and there is no reason to think that's going to change. Ever. According to Autodata, for the first quarter of 2017 there were 213,817 luxury vehicles delivered, of which 170,780 were from import brands and 43,037 domestic. While there is a good likelihood that Lincoln will gain some ground, given the lineup extensions that the likes of Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and Lexus are making, as well as the creation of new brands like Genesis and the traction of Tesla, it is going to be all the more challenging for any company to get any significant growth in the luxury category. So growth for Lincoln, yes. Notable growth? No. But there is something the company could do to generate revenue separate from the car and crossover business. It may not make a lot of money in and of itself, but it can provide a distinct edge in the product segment that would cement Lincoln with a unique offering. Kumar Galhorta, president of Lincoln, frequently talks about "experiences." About how the company is working to relieve or eliminate "pain points" from its customers. About how time — or the perceived lack thereof — is something Lincoln is working to address. And it's doing so in a way that gives it a distinctiveness vis-a-vis the competitive set. Lincoln's services are creating a buzz in a way that Matthew McConaughey ads never will. Lincoln is addressing it through service. As in offering pickup and delivery for service appointments for all new 2017 Lincoln models.

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.