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2019 Lincoln Nautilus First Drive Review | A refresh that's more than skin deep

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Its name is new, but the 2019 Lincoln Nautilus is really a rebranded, restyled and updated version of the second-generation Lincoln MKX, which has been on sale since 2016. Renaming your bestselling vehicle is risky, but Lincoln has been struggling, and it feels the names of its vehicles are partly to blame. Recall that since 2007, Ford's luxury brand has used letters to name some models, including MKZ and MKX, and traditional names on others like Navigator and Continental. Well, now it's ditching the letters and renaming those vehicles. The MKX is now the Nautilus. The smaller MKC is rumored to become the Corsair, which was a name used by Edsel back in the 1950s. The seven-passenger Aviator will go on sale in 2019, and the MKZ's new name is anybody's guess. Zephyr again, maybe? NordicTrack is already taken. Lincoln has also been rolling out a new grille design, which debuted on the Continental in 2017 and replaces the unloved winged look that was supposed to remind luxury buyers of the elegance of the 1939 Lincoln Continental — but didn't. Fitting the new grille to the 2019 Nautilus completes that rollout, and the five-passenger SUV is certainly more handsome than before. Its mesh is a repetition of the Lincoln Star logo, and it works. The SUV's front fascia, headlamps and hood are new as well, and the hood has grown a sizable and attractive center peak. Underneath that hood is a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with direct injection. It's the same engine used in the smaller MKC and the Ford Edge, which shares the Nautilus' chassis, but Lincoln doesn't use the name EcoBoost for this and its other powerplants. The 2.0-liter replaces the naturally aspirated 3.7-liter V6 as the standard engine, and it's rated 250 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque at 3,000 rpm on 93 octane fuel. Those numbers are down from the V6, which was rated 303 hp at 6,500 rpm and 278 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. But Lincoln has also replaced the antiquated six-speed automatic transmission with an eight-speed, so overall performance is comparable, and city fuel economy is up significantly. With the V6 and front-wheel drive, the MKX was rated 17 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. The new combination has a 21 mpg city rating. The considerably more powerful twin-turbo 2.7-liter V6 remains optional, rated 335 hp at 5500 rpm and 380 lb-ft of torque at 3250 rpm.

Ford recalls 1.3 million Fusions, MKZs: Steering wheels could come off

When driving a car, the steering wheel is only expected to move in a rotational fashion, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. When it moves in some other direction, something is wrong, and when it moves the wrong way enough that it is no longer attached to the steering column, that's a really, really bad thing. And apparently, according to a recall issued by Ford, there are over 1.3 million Ford Fusions and Lincoln MKZs that are at risk of this happening. And at least two accidents and one injury have been attributed to the issue. Ford says the problem is that the steering wheel bolt that keeps the wheel attached to the column might not provide enough torque, resulting in the bolt slowly loosening and working its way off the column. The good news is that the fix is really simple. Ford will install a larger bolt with more threads along with a larger nylon patch to keep it all locked down. The fix is completely free to owners. Cars affected by the recall include 2014 to 2017 Fusions built built at the Flat Rock plant in Michigan between August 6, 2013, and February 29, 2016. Model year 2014-2018 Fusions and MKZs built at the Hermosillo factory in Mexico are also affected. So if you have one of those sedans, please get in touch with your local dealer to have the issue addressed. Related Video:

Ford Explorer problems gutted third-quarter sales

In early September, the Detroit Free Press published a feature noting numerous problems Ford's having with the 2020 Explorer and 2020 Lincoln Aviator launches. Issues with both SUVs, built at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, were so rife and dire that the automaker was trucking the vehicles 275 miles away to Michigan for repairs. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Explorer's third-quarter sales dropped 48 percent compared to the previous model in 2018, with dealers unable to get enough units on lots for customers. Nor is the snafu over: Automotive News reports that another "batch of about 2,500 Explorers in need of repairs" arrived recently in Michigan, and sales through the first nine months of 2019 are down 31 percent. Sales dips during model changeovers are to be expected as old inventory gets sold down and new production ramps up, but this is different. Ford U.S. sales boss Mark LaNeve told Bloomberg earlier this month, "We’ve got adequate inventory in our stores. For Q4, availability wonÂ’t be an issue. WeÂ’ll be able to hit our stride with Explorer starting now." It's hard to know whether that's true, with thousands of Explorers still piling into Michigan; the batch AN mentioned represents about 5 days of sales during an average month in 2018, before the drawdown and interruptions hampered matters. And when Consumer Reports tested the Ford Explorer it bought this summer, it titled the review, "2020 Ford Explorer drives nicely but has many flaws / Poor interior quality and a high price overshadow the SUV's improvements."   On top of that, the AN piece mentions a new impediment to uncorking the Explorer sales stream: Worker strife in the Chicago plant. Allegedly, "Roving groups of workers are intimidating other employees, creating a hostile environment, the people said. ThatÂ’s driving up turnover and leaving some vehicle assembly unfinished, contributing to the company having to complete the work at the Michigan factory or at dealerships, the people said." Ford's been fined twice before for the same kinds of issues at its plants, once in 1999, again in 2017, but a spokesperson said Ford isn't aware of any such problems now. The pressure otherwise has got to be unpleasant for everyone on the Explorer team, from CEO Jim Hackett down. The automaker was meant to be "turning the corner" in April, but as of now, shares are down, credit rating is down, earnings are down.