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Coach Door Everything! This low-volume Lincoln Continental needs to inspire future Lincolns

One of the stranger vehicles that came through the press fleets last year was the 2020 Lincoln Continental Coach Door Edition. And it was strange for a wide array of reasons. It’s an extremely limited-production model; Lincoln only built 150 examples, plus another 80 of the 2019 80th Anniversary Edition that first featured the same rear-hinged doors. ItÂ’s also obsolete, since Lincoln ended production of the base Continental last year. And even if Lincoln kept building Continentals, the model was effectively obsolete in a world dominated by crossovers and SUVs. Plus, as weÂ’ll touch on in a bit, its driving dynamics were rather old-school for better and worse. But after spending some time with this odd car, it became clear that Lincoln managed to make something special, and the coach doors shouldnÂ’t die with the Continental. Before we dig deep into what the car is like and the lesson Lincoln should learn from it, hereÂ’s a quick refresher. The rear-hinged Continental started with the 2019 80th Anniversary Edition as a run of 80 cars, followed by the 2020 Coach Door Edition. To give it the fancy doors, as well as the extra length they required, Lincoln partnered with Cabot Coach Builders in Massachusetts. They took a Black Label model with the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6, made the body modifications, and also added a few custom interior touches. Besides those changes, itÂ’s just like any other Continental Black Label. Well that, and it costs nearly $40,000 more. LincolnContinentalCoachDoors_03_HR View 36 Photos Since nothing really changes mechanically, thereÂ’s nothing about the Coach Door EditionÂ’s driving experience that sets it apart from a similarly equipped Black Label. The 400-horsepower twin-turbo V6 pulls hard all through the rev band and with no waiting. ItÂ’s a bit coarse for a luxury car engine, but the performance makes up for it. The relatively old six-speed automatic is quite smooth, though shifts are slow. Ride and handling change quite a bit depending on whether youÂ’re in the normal comfort mode or sport mode. Comfort mode does a great impression of the floaty, bobbing land yachts of the past, which is accompanied by quite a bit of body roll. Pop it into sport mode, and the body roll is significantly reduced, the steering weights up, and control is massively improved. It almost feels nimble. But the ride becomes stiff and bumpy, not something befitting a mini limo. So itÂ’s a mixed bag.

Lincoln is changing the way it sells cars (for the better)

Tucked inside an outdoor shopping complex in Scottsdale, Arizona, among various trendy stores is something one would’ve thought hilariously out of place not so long ago: a Lincoln dealer. But this isnÂ’t any old dealership, Lincoln or otherwise. This would be the Sanderson Lincoln Boutique, the first of its kind for FordÂ’s luxury brand. Walk through the big glass doors and youÂ’re greeted by a 2022 Navigator on your right, a 2022 Aviator Grand Touring straight ahead, and to your left, an expansive coffee bar. Vintage promotional images from LincolnÂ’s midcentury glory years line the walls, which is a treat to anyone fond of that automotive era. There are smaller seating areas elsewhere, including one enclosed in glass presumably for more privately discussing a sale, but the overall vibe is reminiscent of an airline lounge. There are also no sales people: Those on hand are salaried product specialists who get paid the same whether you buy a car or not. Oh, and baristas, there to whip up some caffeine free of charge whether you buy a car or not. That seems like a recipe for being popular with teenagers, but I digress. Lincoln is planning for other such boutique stores, but the decision to create this one was all on an individual dealer, Sanderson Lincoln, with the full support of Lincoln. And according to Lincoln President Joy Falotico, such boutique stores and their car-buying model could complement radical changes already happening elsewhere in the car-buying realm. In short, the ongoing supply shortage is set to change everything. Customers are not only getting used to waiting for cars, but also ordering them and therefore getting exactly what they want. ThatÂ’s where boutique stores come in. At the same time, Lincoln and its dealers see the value in not keeping huge inventories of cars that will end up discounted or incentivized. Yes, that means being able to keep prices higher, which is a giant part of this, but it also means theyÂ’ll be delivering cars customers actually want. “We donÂ’t intend to go back to the old model of (overabundant) dealer inventory,” Falotico definitively said. She elaborated that moving to a model where customers increasingly order their cars could increase the build possibilities and opportunities for customization.

50 new vehicles by 2025: Ford making big push in China

SHANGHAI — Ford will launch 50 new vehicles in China by 2025, including 15 electrified vehicles, the U.S. firm said at an event in Shanghai on Tuesday, as it looks to rev up sales growth in the market and shift towards cleaner electric cars. Ford's sales in China have been weak in recent months, and the company is scrambling to come up with electric and hybrid vehicles to comply with strict Chinese quotas over production and sales for so-called new energy vehicles, or NEVs. The U.S. automaker is undergoing a broad review of its China operations, part of a strategic re-think under new Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett, which will likely see the company focus on electric commercial vans as well as electric cars. "Between now and 2025, we will launch 50 new vehicles in China, and of those 50 new vehicles, 15 of them will be all-new electrified vehicles," said Peter Fleet, Ford's head of Asia Pacific, pointing to big growth in the "utility" segment. Fleet also said Ford's China revenue would grow by 50 percent over the same period. China is pushing automakers toward electric and hybrid petrol-electric vehicles, setting tough quotas for NEVs that come into play in 2019, and has signaled a longer-term shift away from traditional internal combustion engine cars. The major shift in the world's largest auto market has jolted some automakers, sparking a spate of recent electric vehicle (EV) joint ventures in the market. Ford has announced an EV tie-up with China's Anhui Zotye Automobile Co Ltd. "We've never seen change like we do today," said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford. "Everything is being disrupted" by the development of autonomous vehicles, trends such as ride-sharing and electric vehicles, he added. "It's clearly the case that China will lead the world in EV development, and so we at Ford are investing enormous amounts of money both here in China and globally to bring electrification into fruition." Reporting by Adam JourdanRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Auto News Green Plants/Manufacturing Ford Lincoln Electric Hybrid Shanghai Jim Hackett