1998 Lincoln Mark Viii Lsc Sedan 2-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford names Lincoln chief as North American president following Nair's departure

Ford announced yesterday that its North American president Raj Nair would no longer be working for the company due to "inappropriate behavior." As a result, the company needed fill that gaping vacancy. The new North American president and Ford Group vice president will be Kumar Galhotra, and his term in the new role will start on March 1. Galhotra will remain the group vice president and chief marketing officer for Lincoln through March, meaning he's the head of the luxury brand. He's had this position since 2014. Before that, he was vice president of engineering for all of Ford. With Galhotra's promotion, a number of internal promotions follow. Joy Falotico, current chairman, CEO and group vice president of Ford's credit division will fill Galhotra's position, and Dave McClelland, vice president of marketing for Ford Asia Pacific, will fill her role. Other shuffling at Ford includes Stewart Rawley's promotion to vice president for Ford North America and chief operating officer. He is the current vice president for strategy at Ford. Ford China's chairman and CEO John Lawler will take Rawley's old role, and Cathy O'Callaghan will take over Lawler's job at Ford China, but not until June 1. O'Callaghan is currently vice president, corporate controller and chief financial officer for global markets at Ford. Related Video:

2019 BMW X7 vs luxury SUV rivals: Comparing specs and photos

Today we get our first-ever look at the first-ever 2019 BMW X7 crossover. We've actually already had our first-ever drive in an X7 Prototype. And so, we thought it appropriate to follow that up today with the first-ever X7 comparison of specs between BMW's first-ever three-row crossover with legitimate room for seven and its many high-dollar competitors. On paper, the 2019 X7 definitely seems to most closely align with the Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class. Their similar dimensions, interior space, engine choices and price would certainly imply where BMW placed the target when developing X7. We used those same elements to determine three-row vehicles likely to be cross-shopped or that should be cross-shopped. These include the Audi Q7, Land Rover Discovery, Volvo XC90 and Lincoln Navigator. Yes, the latter is a truck-based SUV as opposed to a crossover, but tell that to all the people lining out the door at the local Lincoln emporium. They do not care, and neither shall we. We also included the 2019 BMW X5, which was completely redesigned for this year and therefore not the first-ever. That makes it less appealing? Either way, lining the new X5 up with the SUV that leapfrogs it atop BMW's SUV hierarchy should provide a good idea of just how much more you get by going up a model number. Engines and model lineup Again, the X7 aligns closest with the GLS, offering a base six-cylinder in its xDrive40i model and an upgrade turbo V8 in the xDrive50i. The Mercedes engines have greater output, but the GLS still accelerates slower than the BMW. As the 2019 X5 offers the exact same engines, we would also expect the X7's fuel economy to be superior to the GLS once its estimates are announced. It should be noted, though, that the GLS offers a high-powered AMG model whereas we anticipate the X7 to offer a plug-in hybrid model comparable to the X5 upcoming xDrive45e model. The other luxury SUVs diverge in their engine choices and model lineup. The Audi Q7 offers a base turbocharged four-cylinder, as does the Volvo XC90 in its T5 model, which we left out of the above chart entirely for space reasons. That the Q7 3.0 TFSI supercharged V6 gets the same fuel economy estimates as the four-cylinder is proof positive that engine is purely around for its lower base price.

2004 Lincoln Mark X concept car goes to auction

Twenty years ago, retro design was arguably at its apex (though it's really never gone away, either here or in other markets). And apparently Ford and Lincoln were considering a way to offer even more retro two-door goodness out of the Thunderbird, which was a couple years old in 2004. The result was the Lincoln Mark X concept car, which is pretty much a rebadged Thunderbird with a couple of unique features. It never went into production, but if you really had your heart set on it, this is your chance to make the sole example your own. At a glance, you might not notice the Thunderbird connection, especially with the top down. The Mark X leans heavily on the '60s Continentals with its wide chrome grille and subtle integrated headlights. It also features the distinct chrome trim that runs along each edge of the car from the headlights all the way back to the tailpipes. It also features slender, wide rear taillights, and a dramatically sloping rear fascia with a sharp edge where the tailpipes lurk. The Mark X also has the party piece of the then-trendy power retractable hardtop. It even had glass panels in the roof, kind of like the later VW Eos. But look a little longer, and you can see the similarities. The proportions, and especially the hardpoints around the doors and windshield, are pretty clearly straight off the Thunderbird. And as contemporary reporting showed, everything mechanical in the vehicle was the same as the Thunderbird, from the powertrain to the suspension. It gets the same 280-horsepower 3.9-liter V8 and five-speed automatic as the T-Bird, along with rear-wheel drive. The interior is much more of a departure from the T-Bird, though. It has the retro dual cowl dashboard that would later appear in other Lincoln products including the Zephyr, Navigator, Aviator and MKX. The MKX of course was actually a Ford Edge-derived, front-drive-based SUV, and so hardly related to this Mark X concept, but it did at least have a similar Continental-style grille when it launched. To a certain extent, it's a little bit surprising the Mark X didn't get a green light for production. Since all the mechanical bits were already in production, and not just in the Thunderbird. The platform, called DEW98, was a unique rear-drive platform with fully independent suspension that was used in the Ford Thunderbird, Lincoln LS sedan and Jaguars S-Type and XF. They all were offered with the same 3.9-liter V8, too, with V6 variants of the LS and Jaguars.