1970 Lincoln Continental Mk Iii on 2040-cars

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Lincoln Aviator debuts as stylish 3-row crossover with a surprise

NEW YORK — At a studio in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, after a walk through an "art gallery" full of inspiration for Lincoln's newest midsize, three-row Aviator crossover, we saw the company's future. That's not breathless hyperbole, either. Lincoln's huge Navigator is selling like gangbusters, but the aging MKT is a sad vestige of the company's last attempt to reinvent itself. The company needs an attractive, well-proportioned three-row with contemporary powertrains to complement the MKC and the larger Nautilus (nee MKX). For those wondering, the MKC is likely to get renamed at its next refresh, and the lousy MK__ naming convention will finally die. But while the names are refreshing, that's not the reason the Aviator is so important. For one, it'll almost certainly lend its underpinnings, which are rear-wheel-drive based, to the next Ford Explorer. The other is that it's an all-important three-row, a conventionally-shaped one rather than the awkward MKT's long, lumpy look. The Aviator — the vehicle we saw is a preview, not a production model, but is extremely close to production — has style and presence. There's more than a bit of Range Rover Velar in the look, but it's not a clone. And the interior is a wonderful interpretation of the larger Navigator's bold, distinctive and purely American look. View 20 Photos While many, many details are unspecified at this stage — including exact engine details, dimensions, and the like — there's enough there to draw some conclusions about the new Aviator. For one, it's got a version of the Navigator's elegant interior. Those Perfect Position seats, also seen in the Continental, covered with soft leather, are central to the Aviator's interior experience. When's the last time beautiful seats were such a selling point? Other than Volvo, no one's put enough attention on unique and particularly comfortable seats. It's a unique selling proposition and, also, a nice aesthetic detail. You could say the same for the dash design: It's low and sleek, with solid but not bulky elements and the sort of tastefulness normally reserved for Scandinavian industrial design. Back to the rear-drive platform and what little else we know of the powertrain. For one, it'll feature a twin-turbocharged EcoBoost engine with an available plug-in hybrid option. As far as we can tell, both versions will use the same engine, and there are no optional engines outside of this.

BMW reclaims US luxury sales crown from Mercedes

The numbers, they are in: BMW has reclaimed the luxury-sales crown from Mercedes by a margin of 9,347 cars. Mercedes donned the king's headgear in 2013 after a strong final quarter of 2013 when the new CLA and S-Class poured out of dealerships. This year, led by the 3 Series/4 Series and X5, BMW sold 339,738 units – a 9.8-percent increase year-on-year. Mercedes, led by the C-Class and M-Class, saw its sales go up by 5.7 percent to 330,391 units. We'll have to wait a bit to see if there's another registrations-vs-sales challenge as in 2012, when BMW was anointed US luxury ruler. Behind them, a dark horse named Lexus nudged closer to the leading Teutons, selling 311,389 cars. The Japanese luxury automaker also had the biggest gain among the top three, its sales rising by 13.7 percent compared to 2013. Audi had the biggest sales of anyone among the top five, though, with a 15.2-percent gain to 182,011, which moved it a spot ahead of Cadillac; the Wreath-and-Crest brand dropped 6.5 percent to 170,750. Acura (167,843), Infiniti (117,300), and Lincoln (94,474) took the final positions. Speaking of Lincoln, sales at the once-mighty luxury marque stand as the mightiest jump of any on this list, up 15.6 percent. That's the power of Matthew McConaughey... and better cars and a new crossover, sure. So now that we're back to Round One of 2015, in case no one else has said it yet: "Ok, fight!"

Surprise! More Ford and Lincoln cars found with marijuana

Ford is starting to have a serious problem on its hands. Today, ABC 7 in Detroit reported that another batch of Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ cars were found packed with 227 pounds of marijuana. This is a little over a week after Fords in Ohio were found stuffed with marijuana and only about two months after Fords in Minnesota were found full of weed. All of the cars traveled on train from Mexico to their destination. All in, several thousand pounds and several million dollars worth of marijuana has been discovered. According to the report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement found the cars at the Ford Rail Distribution Facility in Woodhaven, Michigan, just south of Ford's world headquarters in Dearborn. ICE became involved after a Ford employee reported the cars to Woodhaven police. It's unclear when and where the cars were packed with marijuana. With the cars in Minnesota, it's believed that the weed was added after leaving the factory but before being loaded on the train. Spare tires were removed and the space was used to smuggle the marijuana. Related Video: