1995 Lincoln Towncar Stretch Limo With Rolls Royce Excalibur Body Kit on 2040-cars

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From Expedition to Navigator: our predictions for Lincoln's SUV

In the midst of all the buzz surrounding the new aluminum Ford Expedition and Expedition Max, we remembered the other large SUV the Ford Motor Company showed last year, the Lincoln Navigator concept. And since the Navigator has historically been built on the Expedition platform, we figured there's no better time to focus some of our predictions for the big Lincoln. First off, let's take a look at design. Having seen the new Expedition, we're fairly confident that the Navigator will look almost exactly like its concept. The strong similarities between two mean the Expedition serves as a preview of what a production Navigator will look like. For example, both vehicles' greenhouses we can see that the shape of the C-pillars are nearly identical. The only difference is that the Expedition's are painted body color, while the Navigator's are painted black. Additionally, the character line running along the top of the doors on both vehicles is roughly the same height. The same goes for the more subtle crease near the bottom of the doors. We also see no reason why Lincoln wouldn't use the full width taillights, fender vent, and grille treatment it used on the concept. Those are all easy design changes to create differentiation, and they're all right inline with the cues set by the Continental. View 15 Photos For powertrain, we're pretty certain the 400-horsepower 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 previewed on the concept is a certainty now. The Expedition and Expedition Max will be offered with a 3.5-liter EcoBoost as well, so we know it will fit. We expect the Expedition's engine will produce 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque as it does in the F-150. That's less power than the Navigator concept, but it would be reasonable to make the production Navigator a bit more powerful than its lowly Ford brethren to help justify the increased price tag. Towing capacity will probably be about the same between the Ford and Lincoln, which should be something over 9,000 pounds. The Navigator will probably use the same two-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive drivetrains, too. Inside is where the Expedition and Navigator will likely differ the most, particularly in seating. The Expedition offers seating for up to eight with an available second-row bench seat, and the Navigator concept had captain's chairs for every row. We're expecting the Navigator will only offer second-row captain's chairs since the cramped third row would be a waste of nice buckets.

Lincoln scales back free maintenance

Complimentary scheduled maintenance programs have been great tools for luxury automakers to draw in new customers, but some are starting to scale their programs back considerably. According to Automotive News, Lincoln is joining Jaguar and Volvo on the list of automakers reducing the length of time it will be providing free maintenance to its customers.
Lincoln's four-year/50,000-mile maintenance program first kicked off as an incentive in 2010 and became permanent later that year, but starting with the 2014 model year, this will be cut to just two years and 24,000 miles. This could make short-term leases even more appealing for some consumers, but according to Automotive News, some Lincoln dealers are unhappy with the scaling back. The move admittedly comes at an odd time for Lincoln, with parent Ford seemingly working hard to increase consideration among luxury buyers as it looks to reverse the marque's long decline.

Lincoln previews new Navigator with illuminated grille, new interior

While it's not the best-selling Lincoln, the Navigator stands proud as the company's flagship and one of its most important models in terms of image. The current-generation SUV made its debut for 2018, and it will soon receive what sounds like a round of far-reaching updates. Full details about the new-look Navigator aren't available yet, but a short preview video published by Lincoln gives us several hints. We already know that the front end gets a redesigned grille that's seemingly wider, and the teaser confirms that the central slat and the Lincoln emblem will be illuminated. Earlier spy shots suggest that the big SUV's overall proportions won't significantly change, however. Another detail revealed by the video is that the updated Navigator receives a redesigned interior. In the current model, the ignition button is located on the right side of the steering column (near where you'd expect to find the ignition barrel in an older car) and the buttons used to shift the transmission into gear are below the air vents on the center stack. In the updated SUV, the ignition button and the piano key-like shift buttons are on the center console. The steering wheel gets a cleaner-looking design, and it looks like the dashboard is new as well. There's no word on what's under the hood. For 2024, the Navigator comes with a 3.5-liter V6 that's twin-turbocharged to 440 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. It spins the four wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel-drive is no longer offered. An unverified report claims a hybrid system will join the portfolio; the 10-speed automatic was developed with electrification in mind, after all. Lincoln will unveil the Navigator on August 15, and the model should land on dealer lots for the 2025 model year. The Ford Expedition that the Navigator is closely related to is expected to receive a major round of visual and tech updates for the 2025 model year as well.