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Lincoln hijacks Cadillac's 'Dare Greatly' tagline

Talk about comedy - not even 24 hours after Cadillac teased its CT6 while inviting us to "Dare Greatly" during the Oscars telecast, Lincoln was doing the same but on Google. An anonymous tipster informed us the day after the Oscars that typing "dare greatly" into Google returned two ads before the search results. When we checked it over the course of a few hours, the first ad was always for Cadillac and either read, "Cadillac - Dare Greatly - Only those who dare drive the world forward," or, "Cadillac - Dare Greatly - It's not the critic who counts, it's the man in the arena." (On a side note, come on, Cadillac - "the man in the arena?" Well. It's a quote. Suppose that's all right, then.) The second result was for Lincoln and read, "Dare Greatly - It's not about making a statement, it's about doing what you love," with the associated URL being www.lincoln.com/dare+greatly. The first time we clicked it, it went to the Lincoln homepage showing the 2015 MKZ Hybrid. The second time, we got a page saying that the Lincoln site wasn't available; the Lincoln site was fine, the link didn't work. There's no reference to the Google joke at the Lincoln site - this was just about getting eyeballs. The English have the perfect phrase for Lincoln's provocation: "You've got some cheek!" We think it cunning, dastardly, and funny, and there's no doubt it worked - they knew people would flock to search the term. One of our competitors, Autotrader, said that within an hour of the first of four Cadillac spots airing during the Oscars, car searches for Cadillac vehicles climbed 53 percent from pre-Academy Award coverage levels. Searches for Cadillac cars were up 120%, they said. If this is Round One of our homegrown scrappy old-timers going at it, we're all for it. News Source: Google Marketing/Advertising Cadillac Lincoln Luxury

Want a new 2022 Lincoln Navigator? You'll have to custom order it

Lincoln showed the refreshed 2022 Navigator in August of last year, but the luxury SUV only entered production on January 18 of this year. After just three months of rolling down the line at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant, Lincoln has closed the doors on pumping out inventory units. Ford Authority noticed the Navigator page at Lincoln's consumer web site now reads, "The 2022 Lincoln Navigator is only available for custom order. Some models, trims, and features may not be available. Please contact your local Lincoln Retailer for updates and assistance." It's a small bit of sub-optimal news for shoppers who want to hit the dealer lot and shop for an SUV like choosing a pet at a shelter. It hasn't been such a bad thing for Lincoln, though. Ford has made it intentions clear about the future of dealer inventory and custom orders, emphasizing that it wants less of the former and more of the latter. With the Navigator, that part of the plan appears to be working out, FA reporting that retail orders in February were up 291% over February 2021. Threads on the Blue Oval Forums show buyers willing to wait for their orders as well, one buyer who placed an order on January 20 still holding out for a VIN and tentative production date at the time of writing. It doesn't appear the move to custom orders is the result of overwhelming demand, however. Rather, it seems that Ford just can't make enough Navigators to satisfy what demand there is. Production issues at the Kentucky Truck Plant that also builds the Ford Expedition and Super Duty pickup have crimped output for all three models. Expedition and Navigator sales in the U.S. are both down more than 56% through the first three months of this year. Navigators that do make it out the plant doors are leaving without Active Park Assist 2.0, a standard feature on the Lincoln that is constrained on a number of Ford vehicles as well thanks to you know what. Ford is at least able to do the next best thing, which is installing an Active Park Assist 2.0 Prep Kit that screws in the sensors and hardware. When chips are available, which the automaker believes could be 12 to 18 months, an owner can stop by a dealer to have that chip installed free of charge. It's a nicer solution than a Semiconductor Shortage Package for everyone involved. Order books for the 2023 Lincoln Navigator are expected to open in two months, with production slated to start in September. Maybe things will be better then. Or not.

Is Lincoln working on a Continental concept?

The Lincoln Continental wasn't included in our post on the list of trademarks we'd like to see turned into production vehicles – the only Lincoln mention was our idea of transferring its Aviator name to a special edition Ford Mustang. But, like you, the idea of a resurrected Continental is always with us, especially when we read articles about the brand's efforts to redefine American luxury. Ford applied for the Continental trademark in 1953 and renewed in 2005, and it appears they might have something to show for it soon. A web snooper found a development site at the Lincoln domain that introduces us to the "elegantly styled and boldly distinctive Lincoln Continental Concept." There are no images, but we've combined all the text into a single image, above, and the hints we get in three blurb texts inform us that "It represents who we are as a carmaker," that it's an "envisioning of what's to come," that "No question went unanswered" and "No answer went unchallenged," and that it "is everything we know about cars, and everything we understand about people." We also found the tagline "Follow us forward," which doesn't appear on any published Lincoln site page at the moment, and the public is invited to get involved (eventually) by tweeting Continental stories and photos. Could this be the next step in the turgid drama Lincoln Rising? We look forward to finding out. Related Video: