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Weekly Recap: Lincoln Continental serves up the style, Cadillac CT6 delivers the substance in New York

Lincoln and Cadillac grabbed the spotlight this week at the New York Auto Show in a dramatic fashion that evoked the brands' glory days. America's two luxury carmakers went toe-to-toe with their glittering reveals and plans for ambitious expansion. Both were selling their technology, style and the promise of a better future. Cadillac vs. Lincoln. At the Javits Center, 2015 seemed a lot like 1956. Neither company was interested in drawing comparisons with the other, which is fair, and accurate. They're in vastly different places in terms of sales and the pace of their turnarounds, but they hope to reach the same eventual destination at the pinnacle of the luxury-car world. Lincoln used the element of surprise to great effect with the Continental concept. A production version is still at least a year away, and the company was vague on details. Officially, we don't even know if it is front- or rear-wheel drive, though speculation abounds. Who cares? The seats can be adjusted 30 ways! The Continental also showed off a bold chrome grille that will be the new face of Lincoln. The blue bomber also rolled on blinged-out 21-inch polished aluminum wheels, used a 3.0-liter EcoBoost engine and had huge LED head lights with "laser-assisted" high beams. All of this resulted in almost blinding attention. The concept drew rave reviews, stirred controversy with Bentley designers who argued Lincoln ripped them off, and most importantly, pointed a way forward for the newly determined brand that hopes to compete with Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Cadillac and Lexus. View 32 Photos Meanwhile, Cadillac showed the CT6, a finished product that will top its range and is loaded with the best and latest technologies General Motors has at its disposal. With production starting late this year, Cadillac had more specifics at the ready. Engines? Cadillac has a couple V6s and a turbo four for sure. It's working on a hybrid, and has considered a V-Series variant. It's based on a new rear-wheel-drive, aluminum-intensive chassis called Omega, features an advanced collision-mitigation system with automatic braking and has a cabin that's laden with "leathers, exotic woods and carbon fiber." It will be assembled at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck factory and goes on sale next year. At this point, Cadillac is more than willing to talk about every except for the price. The devil was not in the details for Cadillac, as evidenced by the CT6. But it wasn't for Lincoln either.

The 2020 Chrysler Voyager is a cheap Pacifica minivan

The Voyager is back, baby. Yep, you read that right. FCA is leaning hard on the nostalgia button right now, and the age-old minivan nameplate has rowed its way back from its long voyage (sorry) out to sea. We'll be seeing the Voyager name on a familiar vehicle, though, not a totally new minivan. You're looking at photos of a Pacifica with a Voyager badge on it, because that's essentially what the new Voyager is. Chrysler took the lower trim levels of the Pacifica and decided those would now be Voyagers. Higher trim levels of the Pacifica are still the Pacifica. To quell confusion, just consider the Voyager a budget-conscious Pacifica with a different name. Specifically, both the L and LX trims of Pacifica will be Voyagers, and Chrysler is introducing a fleet-only LXi model with a leatherette (vinyl) interior for mass appeal to rental car companies and businesses with similar needs. Pricing for the 2020 Voyager hasn't been announced yet, but the non-fleet version will probably start right around where the Pacifica L starts now at $28,730. That makes this more of a marketing play than an actual reduction in price. The Voyager is the cheap one, while the Pacifica is the expensive one. Simple as that. Interestingly, FCA still sells significantly more Dodge Grand Caravans than they do Pacificas every month, and it's all down to price. Despite the Pacifica being leagues better than the old Dodge, the average transaction price for the Pacifica in 2019 is over $13,000 more than a Grand Caravan — $38,540 for the Pacifica, versus $24,972 for the Grand Caravan. That makes the Dodge much cheaper than any comparably sized vehicle it competes with and results in the Dodge doubling the Pacifica up on sales regularly. Maybe the introduction of the Voyager could sway some folks in the direction of the new car, rather than being turned off by the high prices of the Pacifica. The feature set for the Voyager is similar to that of the Pacifica-badged models it's replacing. You'll only be able to tell it's a Voyager on the outside from the badge on the liftgate. Chrysler added satellite radio, second-row quad seats and in-floor storage bins to the interior. You'll still get the same Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 and nine-speed automatic transmission in the Voyager, but no plug-in hybrid model will be available. We'll be interested to see how this ultimately affects sales of the excellent Chrysler minivan.

Next Chrysler minivan to get optional AWD, nine-speed auto

"The minivan package has always been a sacred thing ... it's basically a life tool" - Ralph Gilles
The stalwart duo of Chrysler minivans will be reduced by half in the vehicle's next generation, with the Dodge Grand Caravan likely going away in favor of a new people-mover-type vehicle. And while the reworked Chrysler Town & Country shouldn't radically shake up the usual minivan formula, a new report from Automotive News suggests that some new technologies and thoughtful updates are in the cards for our Canadian-built van.