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Lincoln hijacks Cadillac's 'Dare Greatly' tagline

Talk about comedy - not even 24 hours after Cadillac teased its CT6 while inviting us to "Dare Greatly" during the Oscars telecast, Lincoln was doing the same but on Google. An anonymous tipster informed us the day after the Oscars that typing "dare greatly" into Google returned two ads before the search results. When we checked it over the course of a few hours, the first ad was always for Cadillac and either read, "Cadillac - Dare Greatly - Only those who dare drive the world forward," or, "Cadillac - Dare Greatly - It's not the critic who counts, it's the man in the arena." (On a side note, come on, Cadillac - "the man in the arena?" Well. It's a quote. Suppose that's all right, then.) The second result was for Lincoln and read, "Dare Greatly - It's not about making a statement, it's about doing what you love," with the associated URL being www.lincoln.com/dare+greatly. The first time we clicked it, it went to the Lincoln homepage showing the 2015 MKZ Hybrid. The second time, we got a page saying that the Lincoln site wasn't available; the Lincoln site was fine, the link didn't work. There's no reference to the Google joke at the Lincoln site - this was just about getting eyeballs. The English have the perfect phrase for Lincoln's provocation: "You've got some cheek!" We think it cunning, dastardly, and funny, and there's no doubt it worked - they knew people would flock to search the term. One of our competitors, Autotrader, said that within an hour of the first of four Cadillac spots airing during the Oscars, car searches for Cadillac vehicles climbed 53 percent from pre-Academy Award coverage levels. Searches for Cadillac cars were up 120%, they said. If this is Round One of our homegrown scrappy old-timers going at it, we're all for it. News Source: Google Marketing/Advertising Cadillac Lincoln Luxury

Lincoln considering giving cars real names again

Enthusiastic reaction to the Continental concept might be the death knell for Lincoln's alphabet soup of monikers. "Without divulging the future, we're very excited about the Continental name and the attention it's gotten," Ford President of the Americas Joe Hinrichs said to Automotive News. Hinrichs admitted that the current MK names could confuse those not familiar with the models. Hinrichs suggested that one way Lincoln might differentiate itself was to "leverage its heritage." While this is certainly nothing explicit, the talk could be an indication of an upcoming overhaul for the brand's naming scheme. The Continental is set to hit the market next year as a replacement for the MKS as the company makes a major push into China. Lincoln bosses reportedly gave the designers the model name as inspiration for what to create. The brand's health has slowly been improving since former Ford CEO Alan Mulally was ready to completely kill the brand. Last year, a new boss was appointed to the helm, and there were reports of a modular platform under development. Let us know in Comments what Lincoln names you want to see revived. The Town Car is likely the best-known model from the brand after the Continental, and Zephyr has fairly recent history as the brief moniker for the MKZ. Related Video:

Ford expands door-latch recall to 156k more vehicles, nearly 550k total

Ford is being inundated with recalls as of late. Just days ago it called in over 590,000 cars for a variety of issues. Now, the Blue Oval has announced an expansion of its door latch campaign to cover an additional 156,000 vehicles in North America. Counting the original 389,585 cars, this has brought the total to 545,906. Under this expansion, the same models are affected, but Ford is broadening the coverage dates in some cases. The recall covers the 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, and 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ; there are 456,440 units in the US, 50,681 in Canada, and 38,785 in Mexico in need of repair. In these vehicles, a door might not latch because of a broken pawl spring tab. Even if a passenger can successfully close it, the faulty part could unlatch while driving. According to Ford, there are two allegations of doors bounding back and hitting a person. There's also one possible accident from a door opening and striking another vehicle. Dealers will replace all of the latches to fix the problem. Related Video: MAY 1, 2015 | DEARBORN, MICH. FORD EXPANDS DOOR LATCH SAFETY RECALL IN NORTH AMERICA DEARBORN, Mich., May 1, 2015 – Ford Motor Company is expanding a safety recall regarding door latches to include approximately 156,000 more vehicles at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, bringing the total to 545,906 vehicles in North America. The door latch in certain vehicles may experience a broken pawl spring tab, which typically results in a condition where the door will not latch. If a customer is then able to latch the door, there is a potential the door may unlatch while driving, increasing the risk of injury. Ford is aware of a total two allegations of soreness resulting from an unlatched door bouncing back when the customer attempted to close it, and one accident allegation when an unlatched door swung open and struck the adjacent vehicle as the driver was pulling into a parking space. Affected vehicles include certain 2011-14 Fiesta vehicles built at Cuautitlan Assembly Plant, Nov. 3, 2009 to May 31, 2013; certain 2013-14 Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant, Feb. 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013; certain 2014 Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant, April 12, 2013 to April 26, 2013; and certain 2013-14 Lincoln MKZ vehicles built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant, Feb. 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013. There are 456,440 vehicles in the United States and federalized territories, 50,681 in Canada and 38,785 in Mexico.