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How the demise of Lincoln's Town Car has kick-started a limo revolution

The deaths of the Ford Crown Victoria and the Lincoln Town Car have meant overhauls of three high-profile American fleets: police, taxi and livery car. Just as police fleets are more open to considering other options and a Nissan van is the new face of the NYC taxi, livery car companies are looking at replacements for the Town Car beyond The Blue Oval. Ford, via Lincoln, has made an MKT Town Car (pictured), but an article in the Detroit News claims "it has failed to win over most of the big limousine companies." The upstarts trying to move in include livery and limo editions of the Cadillac XTS, and livery specifications of the Toyota Avalon and Chrysler 300.
Each of those challengers, however, faces challenges. The Town Car was a workhorse, American, rear-wheel-drive sedan with plenty of rear legroom. Cadillac has been in the livery space before but with decontented models that were about selling the brand, not its luxury. It is taking the opposite approach with the XTS, pointing out that its livery edition is "contented in the upper half of the XTS range." Still, the CEO of Michigan's largest livery company says "it's quite a bit smaller than what we're used to," and he also prefers rear-wheel drive.
The Chrysler 300 is rear-wheel drive, and American, which matters to some companies, but Chrysler hasn't yet revealed the livery package for it. The livery Avalon marks Toyota's first time getting into that business in the US, a natural step after having done so well with taxi clients and with the Town Car out of the way. Still, the livery client is a different to taxi buyers, so the Avalon could face other soft-touch hurdles.

7 major automakers to build open EV charging network

A new joint venture established by BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis will build a new North American electric vehicle charging network on a scale designed to compete with Tesla's industry-benchmark Supercharger network. The 30,000-plus planned new chargers will accommodate both Tesla's almost-standard North American Charging System (NACS) and existing automakers' Combined Charging System (CCS) options, effectively guaranteeing compatibility with the vast majority of current and upcoming electric models — whether they're from one of the involved automakers or not.  "With the generational investments in public charging being implemented on the Federal and State level, the joint venture will leverage public and private funds to accelerate the installation of high-powered charging for customers. The new charging stations will be accessible to all battery-powered electric vehicles from any automaker using Combined Charging System (CCS) or North American Charging Standard (NACS) and are expected to meet or exceed the spirit and requirements of the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program." Critically, the automakers involved will have a say in how the charging tech is implemented, guaranteeing that the hardware will play nicely with each automaker's in-house charging systems. Hyundai and Kia, for example, were hesitant to jump on board the Tesla NACS bandwagon earlier this year over concerns that the Supercharger network is insufficient for powering the two automakers' 800-volt charging systems; similar tech is used by Volkswagen and Porsche.  In addition to providing much-needed capacity and high-output charging for America's growing fleet of electric cars and trucks, the new network will integrate seamlessly with each automaker's in-app and in-vehicle features, rather than forcing customers to use third-party tools and payment systems, as is the case with some existing public charging infrastructure.  "The functions and services of the network will allow for seamless integration with participating automakersÂ’ in-vehicle and in-app experiences, including reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management and more. In addition, the network will leverage Plug & Charge technology to further enhance the customer experience," the announcement said.

Lexani Motorcars unveils plans for 2021 Cadillac Escalade Mobile Offices

Lexani Motorcars is an aftermarket shop that specializes in high-end luxury customizations for a variety of large SUVs and vans. The Corona, Calif. company aims for business-class-type vehicles, rather than "Pimp My Ride" hack jobs, and has recently been working on 30-inch extended mobile office conversions, among other projects. Up next: the 2021 Cadillac Escalade. Lexani Motorcars, not to be confused with Lexani wheels, took to Instagram to show off a vision for a custom office setup for the new-generation 2021 Escalade. Cadillac's large SUV would be extended by 30 inches and outfitted with a plethora of over-the-top luxury options. Lexani's most extreme additions include armoring, but their toys don't have to be that serious. The most immediately noticeable feature in the Escalade is the starlight headliner. Similar to what's seen in certain modern Rolls-Royces, the starry ceiling is not necessarily a new feature for Lexani Motorcars, but the design has evolved. This most recent interpretation looks like it has a specialized design, possibly one that mimics a real part of the sky.  The Mobile Office includes four massive captain's chairs, each of which has motorized functionality and quilted leather. In between each set of seats is an integrated iPad tablet, and more are seen built into the walls of the SUV. Each seat also has a fold-out desk and foot rests for reclining.  Furthermore, the Mobile Offices include hideaway big-screen TVs that pop up behind the rear seats. Other options include satellite, curtains or shades for the windows, custom trim pieces made out of high-end materials such as carbon fiber or real metals, cooled storage for drinks, and storage compartments for libation stemware. Lexani Motorcars does not list a price, as each car is configured per the customer, and it does not mention when the new Escalades will become a reality. The Escalade was originally estimated to launch in late 2020, but it's unclear whether or not that will be affected by the current production stoppages due to coronavirus.           View this post on Instagram                   Now accepting pre-orders on 2021 Escalade Mobile Offices ? Inquiries: info@lexanimotorcars.com A post shared by Lexani Motorcars (@lexanimotorcars) on Mar 23, 2020 at 3:22pm PDT           View this post on Instagram                   Look forward to rush hour?