Lincoln Aviator 2005 on 2040-cars

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2023 Lincoln Corsair First Drive Review: Gimme back my buttons!

While 2023 brings only a refresh to the Lincoln Corsair, it’s a fairly robust one. It loses an engine, gains BlueCruise and receives an interior overhaul featuring a new infotainment screen running the latest version of Sync 4. Corsair may be LincolnÂ’s best-seller, but it competes against a variety of big-sellers in terms of both size and price. Take your pick from the likes of the Cadillac XT4, Audi Q3, Lexus NX or the BMW X1, just to name a select few; and soon they will be joined by Alfa RomeoÂ’s new Tonale, which lines up surprisingly well with the baby Lincoln. Like virtually everything in its class, the 2023 Lincoln CorsairÂ’s standard engine is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which in this case produces 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque.  Gone is the previously available 2.3-liter upgrade that apparently wasnÂ’t popular. For 2023, the only other option is therefore the returning plug-in hybrid model, which produces a reasonable (and carry-over) 266 horses. Unlike the Escape PHEV on which itÂ’s based, the plug-in Corsair comes standard with all-wheel drive. With just 16 more horsepower compared to the 2.0T and more than 560 additional pounds to motivate, it relies on the instant torque of its electric motors to get off the line with authority. Lincoln gave us the choice of sampling either the standard turbo-four or PHEV for our quick outing in the Corsair; we opted for the plug-in for symmetry with our 2021 outing. As with virtually all midcycle updates, some exterior styling elements were updated or deleted. The grille is taller (and consequently larger) and is framed on the bottom by a new horizontal protrusion. PHEV models get a metallic foiling effect on the grille mesh. In the rear, itÂ’s business as usual. Inside, the dash is redesigned around a new 13.2-inch touchscreen running Sync 4.0. Besides an updated user interface (more on that later), the screen now houses virtually all of the media and climate controls that were previously located as buttons and knobs on the LincolnÂ’s center stack. All that remains on the consequently shrunken stack is a single volume knob and various vehicle controls like max defrost, auto stop/start and the hazard lights. The start/stop button has also been relocated next to the piano-key transmission controls. Through all of that, Lincoln managed to make access to the enlarged media storage bin easier. Yay?

Ford extends shutdown, Stellantis confirms layoffs due to chip shortage

Ford and Stellantis this week announced new production cuts due to the global semiconductor shortage, with popular models including the Ford F-150 and Jeep Grand Cherokee facing cuts. Stellantis plans to temporarily lay off workers at one facility as production is curtailed.  According to Automotive News, Ford is extending shutdowns at some of its North American facilities into May. The Blue Oval has been forced to reduce or idle production of both its redesigned F-150 pickup and the popular Explorer due to the chip shortage. The Mustang, Transit, Edge, Lincoln Nautilus and Aviator will also continue to be affected. Stellantis is planning to temporarily lay off workers at a Jeep plant in Detroit during April and May due to a shortage of semiconductor chips. The company will cut two work crews at its Jefferson North plant in Detroit for three weeks starting April 26, then call them back and lay off a third crew from May 17 through the week of May 31, according to a schedule obtained by Bloomberg News. The plant on Detroit’s east side normally operates two shifts with three work crews six days a week to keep it running 20 hours a day. “Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry,” company spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement. “Due to the unprecedented global microchip shortage, Jefferson North will adjust its production schedule through the end of May.” Jefferson North employs about 4,800 hourly workers and makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the top-selling Jeep model last year, and the Dodge Durango SUV. A redesigned version of the Grand Cherokee is scheduled to start production in August, according to researcher AutoForecast Solutions. This article contains reporting from Bloomberg. Plants/Manufacturing Ford Jeep Lincoln Technology chip shortage

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Lincoln Zephyr

The Lincoln Motor Company went all-truck for its North American offerings in the 2021 model year, announcing the death sentence for the Continental and MKZ sedans in 2020. The MKZ was the sibling to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan (the latter car discontinued in 2011 when the entire Mercury Division got the axe), but it wasn't called the MKZ for its first model year of 2006. For that one year, it was given a name with deep resonance in the Ford Empire: Zephyr. Here's one of those cars, found in a Denver boneyard recently. Ford's first use of the Zephyr name came when Edsel Ford spearheaded the creation of the futuristic-looking Lincoln-Zephyr for the 1936 model year. The Lincoln-Zephyr packed a flathead V12 engine under its hood, which is the same engine that turned a Model A Ford into a Cadillac-passing hot rod in the 1955 Charlie Ryan song "Hot Rod Lincoln" (the better-known 1971 cover version by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen inaccurately refers to the Lincoln engine as a V8; ex-Commander Cody frontman—and Iggy Pop's high school classmate—Bill Kirchen still makes the V8 claim but he's earned the right by now). The Zephyr name disappeared from the Lincoln lineup after 1942. In 1950, Ford of Britain revived the Zephyr name for use on a Dagenham-built saloon; British Zephyr production continued through 1972, and left-hand-drive versions of the Ford Zephyr were sold in the United States from the 1952 through 1964 model years. Mercury finally got the use of the Zephyr name, for the 1978 through 1983 model years, on the Mercury-badged sibling to the Ford Fairmont. A Chinese-market midsize luxury sedan built by Changan Ford was given the Zephyr Reflection name prior to launch, but it hit showrooms last year as the Lincoln Z. So much history in the junkyard! The saga of the name change from Zephyr to MKZ didn't end with the 2007 model year, though. Members of the Lincoln top brass spent some months insisting stubbornly that the new name should be pronounced "Mark Z" (apparently in reference to the great Lincoln Mark cars of the past or perhaps the brand-new Mark LT pickup), but finally acquiesced to the "Em-Kay-Zee" pronunciation used by everybody else in the United States and the "Em-Kay-Zedd" pronunciation used by the rest of the English-speaking world. The interior of the 2006 Zephyr was quite similar to what you got inside the Fusion and Milan, but with real wood (maple or ebony) trim and standard leather.