1999 Lincoln Town Car Base Limousine 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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Ford extends shutdown, Stellantis confirms layoffs due to chip shortage

Ford and Stellantis this week announced new production cuts due to the global semiconductor shortage, with popular models including the Ford F-150 and Jeep Grand Cherokee facing cuts. Stellantis plans to temporarily lay off workers at one facility as production is curtailed.  According to Automotive News, Ford is extending shutdowns at some of its North American facilities into May. The Blue Oval has been forced to reduce or idle production of both its redesigned F-150 pickup and the popular Explorer due to the chip shortage. The Mustang, Transit, Edge, Lincoln Nautilus and Aviator will also continue to be affected. Stellantis is planning to temporarily lay off workers at a Jeep plant in Detroit during April and May due to a shortage of semiconductor chips. The company will cut two work crews at its Jefferson North plant in Detroit for three weeks starting April 26, then call them back and lay off a third crew from May 17 through the week of May 31, according to a schedule obtained by Bloomberg News. The plant on Detroit’s east side normally operates two shifts with three work crews six days a week to keep it running 20 hours a day. “Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry,” company spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement. “Due to the unprecedented global microchip shortage, Jefferson North will adjust its production schedule through the end of May.” Jefferson North employs about 4,800 hourly workers and makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the top-selling Jeep model last year, and the Dodge Durango SUV. A redesigned version of the Grand Cherokee is scheduled to start production in August, according to researcher AutoForecast Solutions. This article contains reporting from Bloomberg. Plants/Manufacturing Ford Jeep Lincoln Technology chip shortage

2018 Lincoln Navigator vs luxury SUV rivals: How it compares on paper

The all-new 2018 Lincoln Navigator is an impressive, luxury-lined beast. However, while its Black Label interior stood out most during our first drive of the new Navigator, it also seemed pretty clear that much of this full-size SUV was superior to the competition in a number of fundamental ways. Its Raptor-sourced 3.5-liter V6 had class-leading power for one, and its third-row seat seemed as spacious and comfortable as its rivals' are cramped and barely usable. To search for your next new vehicle, try Autoblog' s Car Finder. Yet, I wanted to take a closer look at how the Navigator fully compares on paper to its competitors - especially the Cadillac Escalade with which it most directly competes. The below spreadsheet should tell the whole story, but as you can see, there's an awful lot of class-leading green highlighter in the Navigator's column. The cargo volume and third-row legroom numbers are particularly telling, with the latter actually going up to 42.3 inches when you slide the second-row fully forward. Now, a few things to note about the above spreadsheet. The GLS-Class is also available as the GLS 550, which boasts a 4.7-liter V8 that just comes up short to the Navigator with 449 horsepower but has to deal with only 5,578 pounds. Its $94,950 price tag is comparable to the Navigator Black Label. Much of the LX 570's information is also applicable to the Toyota Land Cruiser, which, badge aside, could certainly be considered a member of this segment given its feature content and still-hefty price tag. It has better ground clearance and approach/departure angles than its Lexus sibling, along with an as-indicated lower price. Much of the Escalade's information also applies to the GMC Yukon Denali, while the Infiniti QX80 is applicable to the Nissan Armada. Related Video: Cadillac Infiniti Lexus Lincoln Mercedes-Benz SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles consumer lincoln navigator

New Lincoln Nautilus teased with massive interior screens

The next-generation Lincoln Nautilus is officially slated for reveal on Monday, April 17, according to a teaser video just released on Lincoln’s social media channels. LincolnÂ’s mid-size two-row SUV is definitely due for a big update, and one look at the teaser suggests weÂ’re getting exactly that. Instead of giving us a glimpse of the exterior, Lincoln trained the camera inside. The video appears to be of a welcome lighting sequence played over multiple massive screens, starting on a central infotainment screen and then transitioning to additional displays further up on the dashboard. The pattern of dancing light then appears to reach out of the screen and onto the door panels where strips of physical LED lights are “lit” by the light transitioning from the screens. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The whole sequence is rather dramatic, but it allows us a glimpse of whatÂ’s happening inside the new Nautilus. For one, the interior is chock-full of screens. The giant display on the dash appears to stretch from one pillar to another, so weÂ’re looking at a full-width display. An oddly shaped steering wheel can be seen by the light of the screen — it looks more square than round, as the top portion is cut off. Below those top screens, a regular-looking infotainment screen is put front and center. We canÂ’t see much else, but the NautilusÂ’ reveal is coming soon enough, so look out for a debut on Monday next week. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.