1979 Lincoln Mark V Collectors Edition 33,648 Original Miles on 2040-cars

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Two limos used by President John F. Kennedy are going up for auction

Two Lincoln limousines last used by President John F. Kennedy are being auctioned by Bonhams in New York. As reported by fordauthority.com, the cars are part of The American Presidential Experience sale. Neither Lincoln is the infamous open convertible in which Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas (that car is on display at The Henry Ford museum in Michigan), but one of these was used by the president on that fateful trip. The white 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible carried the President, Mrs. Kennedy, and Texas Governor John Connally, on the morning of November 22, 1963 in Fort Worth, Texas. They rode in this Lincoln from the Texas Hotel, where the President and Mrs. Kennedy had spent the night, to a breakfast where JFK gave a speech. From there, they drove through Fort Worth, on streets lined with crowds, to Carswell Air Force Base for the flight that would take them to Dallas. The car was a loaner from local dealer Bill Golightly, and was sold in 1964. It spent time in several different museum collections and has been partially restored, receiving a new engine and a repaint in its factory Ermine White. The red leather interior, however, is said to be original. The pre-sale estimate for this Lincoln is $300,000–$500,000. The second Lincoln is a 1960 Continental Mark V Executive Limousine. It was modified by Hess and Eisenhardt and features bulletproof doors, a divider window, a two-way telephone, and rear-seat climate controls. This car was leased to the White House and was used by President Kennedy for personal trips around Washington, as opposed to official trips for which the larger presidential limousine would be used. After President Johnson took office, this Lincoln returned to the Ford Motor Company and was purchased by a private individual who had a contact at Ford's Washington office. It, too, later spent time in various historical collections, and its body has been restored but the interior remains original. The pre-sale estimate is $200,000 to $300,000. History buffs who miss out on either of the cars might raise their paddles for some of the other items offered. There's a full-scale facsimile of the Oval Office, a partial fuselage of a Boeing 707 retrofitted as a replica of the Kennedy-era Air Force One, as well as numerous smaller items. The auction takes place on October 14.

BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.

2018 Ford Expedition spied looking stylish

The Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator got a cool reception for their 2015 warmed-over redesign. But with big, high-riding vehicles once again in vogue, Ford is pushing ahead with a ground-up redesign of its biggest SUVs. Based on these spy shots, the Expedition will continue to serve as the Navigator's more affordable twin. Yes, that's a bold prediction, considering we still haven't spotted Lincoln testing the new Navigator, but study the greenhouses on this Expedition prototype and the Navigator Concept from New York – from the arrow-straight belt line to the extra-long rear window to the aggressively raked windshield, this Expedition's overall profile is broadly similar to what Lincoln previewed earlier this year. While our spies claim the new Expedition will look to the F-150 for design inspiration, we see a departure from past Expedition tradition. Unlike the supposed Expedition spy shots we showed you nearly a year ago – which was nothing more than an SUV with an F-150's nose grafted on, this prototype's front-end styling looks softer and more aerodynamic, with a smaller grille and headlights, almost like an Escape or Edge. This kind of change would explain the additional front-end camouflage. In back, our spies rightly point out that Ford fitted a faux rear end to disguise the rear window's rake – expect the real thing to feature the angled rear window previewed on the Navigator Concept. Look at the last image in the gallery for a better idea of how the Expedition's rear window will actually look. We can't say a lot about the taillights, because of the camo, but non-LED taillights are present. We'd expect Ford to offer LEDs on higher trim levels. While the F-150's styling might not make the transition to the Expedition, its powertrains and emphasis on lightweight aluminum will. Our spies report the biggest SUV will ride on a new T3 platform and feature an aluminum body, with the F-150's 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Expect a ten-speed automatic transmission and start/stop tech for sure, while the smaller 2.7-liter, twin-turbo V6 could slot in as the Expedition's base engine – we're less sure on that one. And we're even more uncertain of the rumors of an Expedition Hybrid. Our spies report it could mate a 3.5-liter V6 with an electric motor(s) and battery packs for a more economical full-size SUV. Expect to see the 2018 Expedition debut in January, at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show.