1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V Only 58,823 Original Miles Since New on 2040-cars

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Lincoln may add suicide doors to future Continental

There's been plenty of uncertainty surrounding the future of the Lincoln Continental, a nameplate revived only 18 months ago but struggling to move units as sedans submit subduction-style to the techtonic boom in crossovers. We recently shared a report that the Continental won't live to see another generation after selling just 18,846 units in its year-and-a-half back on the market. Now comes a report from Automotive News saying that Lincoln at the 2018 NADA convention in Las Vegas showed a photo of the Continental with rear-hinged doors and said it plans to manufacture it. The publication cited several dealers who were in the room but didn't want to be identified. Lincoln, of course, isn't saying anything about rear-hinged suicide doors except to say that "Continental is an important part of the Lincoln family." The announcement at NADA was reportedly meant to convey a commitment to cars by Lincoln, which has been buoyed by crossovers like the MKC and its red-hot Navigator large SUV. There was no word on timing or other details about the suicide door-equipped Continental. Lincoln sold just 1,573 units of the sedan through February, down about 25 percent on the annualized monthly rate. Still, if Lincoln wants to plant its flag in the car segment, then its flagship is probably a good place to start. The Continental nameplate, which was revived in New York in 2015 as a concept, enjoys a long design lineage, of course, and boasted production suicide doors on the 1961 Continental Mk V. The luxury sedan also inspired one artist to reimagine the Continental as a two-door coupe, true to its original 1939 styling and demonstrating the car's versatility. And the car already has some concept-style futuristic touches, including hidden electric door handles and 30-way adjustable front seats. But suicide doors have mostly been relegated these days to concept vehicles, one-offs like this Rolls-Royca Sweptail and the Tesla Semi truck. So should we see this as a way for Lincoln to draw some attention to a struggling nameplate? Related Video:

2020 Lincoln Aviator crossover is a hot rod with 400 horsepower standard

LOS ANGELES — The 2020 Lincoln Aviator has finally been revealed in production form following its "concept" debut at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. We add the quotes because the production model is identical to the New York model. Appearances aside, the big news is under the hood. At launch, the Lincoln Aviator will be available with two engines. They're both twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6s, and one of them is a plug-in hybrid. The standard engine makes an impressive 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. To help put that into perspective, that's about 40 more horsepower than the top-rung six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 we just drove, and about 65 more horsepower than the entry-level six-cylinder BMW X5 xDrive40i. Moving to the hybrid powertrain brings Aviator output to 450 horsepower and a staggering 600 pound-feet of torque. That's just 6 ponies shy of the V8-powered BMW X5 xDrive50i, but 121 more pound-feet of torque. This plug-in hybrid powertrain will also be able to do the typical plug-in stuff. You can run the vehicle in pure electric mode or hold the charge to be deployed at a more advantageous time such as driving in town at the end of a highway drive. Lincoln did not give estimates for the pure electric range. Fuel economy hasn't been revealed yet, either. Other interesting hybrid notes: The battery fits entirely under the passenger side of the vehicle between the front and rear wheels. The motor is sandwiched between the engine and transmission. Lincoln also mentioned this is a modular hybrid system, so expect to see it appear in other Lincoln and Ford products in the future. This powertrain layout is part of what makes it possible for all versions of the Aviator to use the same 10-speed automatic transmission, which is gradually proliferating through the whole Ford family. From there, power either goes solely to the rear wheels, or through an optional all-wheel-drive system. All of this power can ride on an available adaptive air suspension the company calls Air Glide. It works like many adaptive suspensions, scanning the road with a camera to adjust damping for bumps ahead. It does have some other trick features, though. When the Aviator is parked, the suspension lowers to make the crossover look more attractive while sitting. And when the driver approaches, it lowers itself further for easier ingress. It also raises itself for snow or mild off-road driving, and it lowers down at highway speeds for better aerodynamics.

Best 3rd Row SUVs of 2024

If you plan on using a vehicle's third row a lot, let us at least make the suggestion that a minivan would be a smarter bet than anything you're going to see on this list of best three-row SUVs. Their third rows are bigger, more comfortable and easier to get to. The kids will definitely be happier. Here are our two top choices.  OK, now that that's out of the way, we totally get why minivans are totally depressing and that if the kids want to be happier, they can buy their own darn vehicle. You're buying, you're driving, you're being seen in it and you'd rather have a three-row SUV. Fair enough. Luckily, there are more choices than ever and they're really good. The best do a particularly good job of being family friendly without looking like a drab transportation appliance, although really, you can't go wrong with any of the mainstream three-row SUVs. Now, some of the luxury choices are a bit suspect, including those that are otherwise very appealing but have cramped third-row seats (the Genesis GV80 comes to mind). We're focusing on three-row SUVs here, so having a usable third row is a must.   In this list, we have broken things down into four sub-categories: Best Three-Row Crossover |  Best Full-size Three-Row SUV Best Luxury Three-Row SUV |  Best Flagship Luxury Three-Row SUV Note that we define crossovers as SUVs since most buyers use the terms interchangeably, but acknowledge that "crossover" is literally a vehicle with a car-like unibody structure as opposed to the truck-like, body-on-frame construction that traditionally has defined "SUV." In other words, we consider all crossovers SUVs, but not all SUVs are crossovers (specifically those in the full-size segment and some in the flagship luxury segment). Best Three-Row Crossover SUVs of 2024 2024 Honda Pilot Why it stands out: Exceptional storage and cargo space; unique second-row functionality; refined ride; versatile and capable TrailSport; advanced AWDCould be better: Subpar acceleration with lackadaisical transmission and engine response; so-so driver assistance tech Read our full 2024 Honda Pilot Review The Honda Pilot was completely redesigned for 2023. It maintains its predecessor's family friendly packaging and overall focus, but it has injected a welcome sense of style (especially in the TrailSport pictured above) that makes it stand out much better from the big crossover crowd.