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Stolen Lincoln Town Car stars in wacky GTA-like airborne crash

  If we can believe our eyes, a carload of people is lucky to be alive. What we know is what's on the videos stitched together above — in the first POV, a white Lincoln Town Car busts through a barrier at the end of Cumberland Street in San Francisco, a dead end road. Looks ridiculous, not crazy. The crazy part comes in the second POV, taken from a Nest camera across Sanchez Street. The Town Car was going fast enough to jump-launch itself over the concrete berm at the base of the barrier, nosedive into the hill below, flip over end-over-end into a tree below that, then slide down the tree to land on its roof at the base of a set of steps going down to Sanchez Street below Cumberland.  The kind bit is when a Good Samaritan runs to the Town Car and opens the front passenger door. The wacky bit is when four people slowly emerge from the town car while engaging in quite a bit of oddball banter — one woman who was in the back seat says "I'm sorry" and "I love you" to someone named Kevin numerous times — then walk away. The silent couple runs up the steps, Kevin and his apologetic, loving associate sashay down Sanchez Street. A report from local channel KTVU (full report below) via Carscoops, says, "Witnesses told KTVU the incident started with a carjacking." Compiling comments on the second YouTube vid alleges the car's occupants carjacked a DoorDash driver — a situation that's far more common that we'd have guessed before looking into this story — and that the man who opened the door "noted several bottles of open liquor, two Tasers, and the police reported a gun was found in the car." If the second bit is true, that and copious amounts of adrenaline would explain why the crew was eager and able to skedaddle. The occupants haven't been found; of course police are looking for them. KTVU writes, "Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the San Francisco Police Department at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD."

Lincoln's $5B revival bid hinges upon new D6 chassis

It's no secret that Lincoln has received short shrift from the Ford Motor Company for years, and former CEO Alan Mullay even wanted to kill the whole thing off when he ran things. Today, things appear to be trending in a different direction. Fresh investment has helped enable a sizable marketing push for its well-regarded MKC compact crossover, a couple of awards for the company and plant the seeds for a major expansion into China. While the situation is still in the early going, it looks like Lincoln is on a tentative (if long) path towards a turnaround. If new reports are accurate, the brand is poised to build on that momentum with its largest investment in new products in years thanks in large measure to a new modular platform codenamed D6.
According to four unnamed insiders speaking to Reuters, FoMoCo is investing over $5 billion over the next five years, partially to create a new modular platform to underpin multiple Lincoln vehicles - and possibly some Ford products, too. Development is reportedly being overseen by the division's new boss, Kumar Galhotra. At the moment, specific details about the D6 chassis aren't yet known, but it's rumored to have the flexibility to support front-, rear- and all-wheel drive vehicles. According to Reuters, the first model using the framework could be an MKZ replacement and seven-passenger MKT successor in 2019.
Until the D6-based models hit, expect to see continued expansion from Lincoln. Ford management isn't trying to turn around the division overnight and is planning "in terms of generations of products," according to current CEO Mark Fields. The strategy unsurprisingly includes a production version of Lincoln's recent MKX Concept, as well as an all-new Navigator using aluminum-intensive architecture. Reuters also claims the MKS is due for renewal in the meantime, including with a longer-wheelbase version to appeal to the brand's new Chinese buyers.

Lincoln MKC crossover headed for Detroit

Fresh off the launch of the stylish new MKZ sedan, the newly named Lincoln Motor Company is reportedly preparing for a lineup expansion. According to TheDetroitBureau.com, the first new product joining the Lincoln brand is a small crossover based on the Ford Escape said to be called the MKC. We saw this machine testing a few months ago, and while we were hoping the name might be reserved for a future two-door model or even the diminutive Concept C hatchback, it looks like the "C" will stand for compact crossover instead.
The report also says that this crossover will be making its debut next month at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, so we'll have to wait until then to see what the new model looks like. Unlike the MKX, which is based off the Ford Edge, we would expect there to be a lot more differentiation between the MKC and the Escape like Ford managed to do with the newest Fusion and MKZ.
In addition to the new MKC, the article states new MKS and Navigator designs are expected to debut by 2014.