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Weekly Recap: Revisting the BBC report that ended Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear run

Jeremy Clarkson's long run as a Top Gear host has come to an end, and the reason is clear: His physical assault on one of the show's producers crossed a line, and the government-owned BBC couldn't tolerate it. The incident between Clarkson and Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon was initially described as a "fracas," and Clarkson was suspended. But his popularity and widespread support – even British Prime Minister David Cameron weighed in – suggested that the controversial Clarkson might be given yet another chance. The BBC put this to rest Wednesday when it sacked Clarkson and revealed the findings of its investigation. The report spelled out how Clarkson struck Tymon on the patio of a North Yorkshire (UK) hotel, leaving him with a bloodied, swollen lip. It was severe enough that the producer sought medical treatment. During and after the attack, Clarkson shouted expletives at Tymon and threatened to fire him. The noise carried into the hotel's dining room and even to a bedroom. Local police investigated the incident, but Tymon isn't pressing charges. The huge audience numbers, Clarkson's popularity and the high-octane excitement of Top Gear all melted away in the eyes of BBC director-general Tony Hall, who saw an attacker and a victim. "For me a line has been crossed," he said in a statement. "There cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another dictated by either rank, or public relations and commercial considerations." In that moment, Clarkson was the bad guy, though he was actually the one who reported it to the network and made repeated attempts to apologize to Tymon. He's also urged the media to leave the producer alone. Hall voiced regret in the statement that announced Clarkson's contract would not be renewed, but the BBC decided to move on. Rumors are swirling about possible replacements for Clarkson. The network says it wants to continue Top Gear in 2016 and is looking to air the rest of this season's episodes. Despite the controversy, the show has a global audience of 350 million viewers and is one of the BBC's most valuable properties. It's unclear what Clarkson's co-hosts, James May and Richard Hammond, will do, as their contracts were also reportedly up to be renewed. Other News & Notes 2016 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid charges up with Volt technology Chevrolet is taking some of the learnings and technologies from the 2016 Volt and dropping them into the reborn Malibu hybrid.

Lincoln Continental to end after one-and-done generation?

After only 18 months on sale, the vultures of rumor have begun circling above the Lincoln Continental. Ford Authority says "sources intricately familiar with Ford Motor Company's future product plans" for the domestic luxury brand say the Continental won't get another chance at life after this generation. Those sources didn't detail Ford's reasons for dispatching the executioner on another sad task, but if this is true, even the reasons we can only guess make enough sense to justify the move. The Continental launched into a crossover mania still mushrooming in strength like some Marvel villain, the equivalent of a new dinosaur hatching a few months before the Chicxulub Impact Event. In 18 months, the Continental sold 18,846 units, 12,012 of those sales happening in 2017. In the U.S. this year, sales amounted to 1,573 units through February, about 25 percent down on the annualized monthly rate. It could be worse: The Lexus GS has found 1,009 U.S. buyers so far this year, the Acura RLX, 285. Conversely, the Cadillac XTS — yes, a fleet darling — secured 3,163 sales in the same period. And the German kingpins live in another dimension, with BMW scooting 5,641 5 Series models off dealer lots, and the Mercedes E-Class boasting 8,411 sales of all three variants. Even the much more expensive and much more profitable Lincoln Navigator rang up 2,351 sales in the first 60 days of 2018. That's disheartening reading, especially after Ford reportedly spent more than $1 billion to bring the Continental to market. Sedan segment woes look to have killed the Continental's platform siblings, too, making the Lincoln's demise simply part of the cull. The CD4 architecture also underpins the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ. Ford canceled the Fusion redesign and won't commit to making either vehicle after 2020. Lincoln's passenger car sales declined more than 30 percent last month; meanwhile, Lincoln needs to spend its money on the crossovers that are selling, and investment in the coming three-row Aviator that will replace the MKT. Ford has a CD6 platform in development that suits front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive vehicles. Under previous CEO Mark Fields, a new Fusion, Mustang, and MKZ would ride on the CD6, as well as the new Explorer and a Lincoln brother. Those plans left with the previous administration, and company sources told both Ford Authority and The Truth About Cars not to expect a Continental revival on that architecture. Related Video:

2022 Lincoln Nautilus Review | What's new, price, mpg, photos

The 2022 Lincoln Nautilus is the middle child of Lincoln’s excellent crossover and SUV lineup. It fills the space between the three-row Aviator and compact Corsair, competing with other two-row midsize SUVs. Up until a year ago, it was also the odd one out in that it lacked Lincoln's mid-century-modern-inspired interior design that's wowed since it originally showed up in the Navigator. That changed last year as the Nautilus finally got its makeover and it instantly made the Nautilus a more viable option in a stacked class of excellent choices from BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Volvo, just to name a few. And if youÂ’re only considering American options, it walks all over CadillacÂ’s XT5 in both luxury and drive experience. DonÂ’t expect it to handle or drive like the German luxury options, though. Lincoln knows its target market is much more concerned with things like ride quality than they are skid pad ratings. WeÂ’ll give them credit for not trying to make this crossover something it shouldnÂ’t and can't be, too. While the twin-turbo V6 will still hustle you down a road, the isolated interior and eye-catching technology makes the argument for why you should come home with a Nautilus. Should you? It's hard to say it's a better SUV than a BMW X5 or Mercedes GLE, but then it's also priced lower than those and other European contemporaries, which at least makes up for its various deficiencies. Interior & Technology  |  Passenger & Cargo Space  |  Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive  |  Pricing & Features  |  Crash Ratings & Safety Features   WhatÂ’s new for 2022? Very few things are changing for the 2022 Nautilus, since the model was treated to a fairly notable refresh for 2021. That said, Lincoln is adding two new colors: Bronze Smoke Metallic and Gilded Green Metallic. ItÂ’s also gaining another Black Label interior option with Flight (dark tan and black combo) joining the Alpine White that was the sole Black Label interior for 2021. Beyond the colors, Lincoln made some minor packaging changes. It's also important to note that this could be the final year for the Nautilus, as Lincoln is reportedly turning its attention to other crossover concepts.  2021 Lincoln Nautilus Reserve View 24 Photos WhatÂ’s the Nautilus interior and in-car technology like?