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2024 Lincoln Nautilus First Drive Review: Lincoln's moonshot (with nits to pick)

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – It was only a decade ago when Lincoln seemed destined to go the way of Oldsmobile and Mercury. Odd styling, cheap retro interiors and blatant parts sharing with supporting Ford vehicles had this storied American luxury brand trailing the competition by a significant margin. Then things started turning around with the reborn Continental sedan in 2017, followed by the massive and massively improved Navigator the following year. In hindsight, I equate those to the Mercury and Gemini space programs that led to Apollo and the game-changing moonshot. After driving the all-new 2024 Lincoln Nautilus throughout the Palm Springs area, it could very well deserve the accolades and ticker tape parades bestowed upon NASA in 1969. Starting with the new styling, this second-generation Nautilus manages to stand out from the crowd without shouting. There's a quiet resolve in the rounded-over corners and subtle sculpting. The appropriately sized grille has suggestions of woven Bentley rods while a distinctive horizontal bar connects the Lincoln emblem to the narrow LED headlights. Below, two brushed metal accents anchor the fascia with a classy foundation. Down the sides, a distinctive flourish spans almost the entire length of the front doors, and the absence of traditional door handles gives the profile an unusually clean look. Those door handles are integrated into the window frame in the same manner as the Continental, further emphasizing the way reflections and shadows dance across the gentle curves of the bodywork. Around back, there are echoes of Audi or Porsche, but not in a derivative way since it integrates well with the rest of the Nautilus. To my hyper-critical styling eye, I can only find the slightest of nitpicks in a series of horizontal stripes present in the rearmost side window that are repeated in the edges of the headlights and taillights. My nitpicking is typically a good omen, as it means there isn't anything significant to fault it for, and that could very well be the theme of this review. While the exterior is suitably attractive, the interior is downright stunning. The biggest attention-getter is the 48-inch curved panoramic display that spans the entire length of the dashboard. It's the type of design element expected of a concept or prohibitively expensive luxury vehicle, not a production SUV starting in the low $50,000 range. Even better, it works.

Junkyard Gem: 1978 Lincoln Continental Town Car

Just before Ford downsized the Continental for 1980 and made the Town Car a separate model for 1981, the biggest and plushest new sedan in the Dearborn universe was the mighty Continental Town Car. Here's one from 1978, the second-to-last model year of the two-and-a-half-ton Continental Town Car, found in nice condition in a Denver car graveyard last month. This car rolled out of the Lincoln showroom loaded, with the landau-style "Coach Roof" and just about every additional option. Base price on the 1978 Continental with the Town Car package started at $11,606 (about $48,350 in 2020 dollars), but this car cost much more than that. A new Mercedes-Benz S-Class cost better than twice as much that year (and it was worth it), but you still had to be a heavy-duty high-roller to buy a new '78 Town Car. The base engine in the 1978 Continental was a 400-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) V8 making a grim 166 horsepower, a truly horrific ratio of 25.2 horsepower per liter of displacement (torque came to a respectable 319 lb-ft, though). If the new Navigator got 25.2 horses for each liter in its turbo V6, it would have a mere 88 horsepower to haul its nearly three tons, rather than the 450 horses that 21st-century engine technology gives us. The good news with this car is that it came with the optional 460-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8, rated at 210 horsepower and 357 lb-ft. That was sufficient to get this car's 4,660 pounds moving well enough. Still just 28 horses per liter, but a significant upgrade. These cars weren't about performance, however. They were about a silent, cushy ride and poofy seats that swallowed you in velour comfort. When did Detroit stop making these pillow-top seats? And opera lights? And snazzy "coffin-handle" door pulls? Yes, even the wire wheels (a $333 option, or $1,385 today) stayed on this car to the very end. Why get a Rolls-Royce when you could have this, the grille of this behemoth seems to ask us. Though it remained in good condition when it arrived in its final parking space, a Malaise Era Continental sedan just isn't worth much in the enthusiast world. Even a 1978 Mark V in nice shape would be hard-pressed to find a forever home nowadays. At least it had a chance to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts before the end. In what came to look like a very smart move by Ford, in light of certain geopolitical events in 1979, the Panther-based 1980 Continentals weighed nearly a half-ton less than this car.

Most reliable cars and trucks of 2022

Related: Least reliable cars and trucks of 2022   For years now, Consumer Reports has been one of the most prolific sources of vehicle reliability data around. The organization tests a number of vehicles each year and surveys its members on various automotive topics, including reliability. The results of its 2022 annual auto survey are in, and the list of most reliable vehicles has been revealed. Unsurprisingly, Toyota and Lexus dominated the list of most reliable vehicles, but BMW and Mini snuck into the top 10 as well. The list includes: Toyota Corolla Hybrid: 93 Lexus GX: 91 Mini Cooper: 89 Toyota Prius: 89 Mazda MX-5 Miata: 85 Lincoln Corsair: 82 Toyota Corolla: 81 Subaru Crosstrek: 80 BMW 3 Series: 80 Toyota Prius Prime: 77 In terms of the most reliable vehicle type, Consumer Reports says that sedans remain the best choice. Their average score is 58, which is notably better than SUVs’ average score of 51. Minivans and pickup trucks are lower, at 44 and 39, respectively. As Consumer Reports notes, many sedans are older models that have allowed their manufacturers to iron out the wrinkles, making them more reliable. Domestic automakers' SUVs and trucks performed better in the survey than their imported counterparts, with scores of 45 and 41, respectively. The study also showed that hybrids and plug-in hybrids are becoming more reliable, and have climbed the score ladder to the tops of their segments in many cases.  Consumer Reports says its study includes 17 trouble areas, including small stuff like creaks and rattles and much larger problems like drivetrain failures. The organization states that it weights each issue based on its severity to create its predicted reliability scores, with 100 being the best. A car must be in production for at least two model years to be considered for the list. Related video: Green BMW Lexus Lincoln Mazda MINI Subaru Toyota Car Buying Maintenance Ownership Convertible Coupe Crossover Hatchback SUV Hybrid Sedan Consumer Reports reliability