TBirdStangSkyliner

None of the successful Lincoln's ever screamed Lincoln, besides arguably the fist Continentals which had some Zephyr elements. I think Horbury and others completely missed the whole point of Lincoln when they tried hard to define some rigid design elements to mindlessly stamp on Ford products. The late prewar Lincoln's had almost nothing in common with the models that preceded them. The Capri was also very fresh. The 1961 Conti was so fresh that there is little but emblems to tie it to the same company that manufactured the 1960 model. The Mark ii looks like nothing in the previous lincoln stable. The Mark iii didn't resemble the Mark ii. Historically, They had split grills, but it was only for several years in the late prewar. They had oval grills dominated by massive bumpers (Capri). They had rectangular grills with mesh-work and understated chrome surrounds (61...). They had vertical grills with vertical slats and massive chrome surrounds (Mark iii). The memorable ones have all been clean designs and leading edge for at least the American industry. The mostly forgotten ones were quite the opposite.

I don't follow f1 very closely, but enough to see that it is currently in a real mess. Promoters are threatening lawsuits over the new rules. Fans are in an uproar over fuel economy racing and quiet engines. The series owner is up on bribery charges. Mercedes is the only team with strong ties to a consumer car company doing well. Ford doesn't compete with Mercedes on any continent. Indycar on the other hand seems perfect for re-entry. They have a new series sponsor in Verizon. Chevrolet is a major player. The racing has been good. New guys are getting established, and the schedule has expanded There is a real chance for recapturing some of what has been lost to NASCAR, and Fords involvement could be synergistic to the series and the manufacturer.

So well said, and it sums up why I so dislike the MKC. Lincoln's greatness has been so much defined by changing styling trends that became excessive and derivative. Most famously they did this in 1961 with the Continental. But the first generation Conti did that, too. I'd also say the 1952 Capri and the original Zephyrs did more of the same. The current trends of lots of surfacing and sharpened character lines are as excessive and tired, to me, as any I'm aware of in automotive history. The MKC seems to be a poster child of "one more copy of everyone else, with the corporate face stuck on - so you'll know who it is". It's seems as un-Lincoln in character as does Jefferson Davis.

I'm still undecided about Max as a designer. The Caddys he did we're groundbreaking for at least that brand. But, the post-Max update on the CTS looks better to me than his iteration. I like the MKZ a lot, especially given the styling limitations with FWD, but stories differ on how much influence he had on the design. I dislike the MKC as much as I've ever disliked a design (there are certainly uglier cars, and it's remotely possibly that there are some less original, but they aren't with a brand I care about) and stories also differ about his influence on that design.

I can't think of any series that would clearly stand above Pinin's treatment of the 250, I don't think it exists. There are maybe two or three which could arguabley be considered equivalent, but this doesn't reduce the accomplishment. The Murphy bodied Duesenberg J's/SJ's are probably in that rare air. I don't know enough about Bugatti, or German, or English work to pick out if what they would have to rival.

Yes, they were running out of steam by that era and about every other Italian coachbuilder but Pininfarina was doing the same. Italdesign was coming on as a design house much more than a builder. Even they are now little more than an acquisition whose parent doesn't know what to do now that the adoption is final. By the late 60's to this type of construction was waning. I don't know Vignale numbers, but they built over 250 Maserati 3500's alone. By the standards of most of these companies that isn't exactly anemic. I got to attend some really nice vintage car shows and auctions growing up. Italian coachbuilds weren't too common in many, but started to appear more in the late 70's through the mid-80's. A friend of my dad's had a Caddy V16. It was amazing the difference in scale between Ferrari 166/225 sized cars and that car. They almost looked like pedal cars. The 342 America is certainly a respected Vignale as well as the OSCA MT4 and the Cisitalia 202 CMM. I personally like the vintage of sports cars during the days when Vignale was prominent, but the following period with cars like the 250 GTO was great, too. From what I can see the price gap has closed a lot.

Oh, contrare. As many times as I've noticed the Vignale name next to beauty over the years, I never realized until just now how prolific they were. Just in Ferrari models there are 166's, 212's, 225's, 250's, 340's, 342's (search vignale followed by each of those numbers). Many are really stunning (and I found an even weirder one with a Tuckeresque center headlight) and there are some Ferrari Vignale models I'm sure I missed. Plenty go to Pebble Beach and other similar venues, and they appear to be no stranger to north of million dollar purchase prices. Then there are the Maserati 3500's, most examples of these ooze beauty to me. I have seen several nice Vignale 212's, but just found a different example (below). http://www.talacrest.com/Ferrari-Sales/Ferrari-212-Inter-Coupe-Vignale/8618.htm

That just isn't true, Vignale made many great Ferrari's and many cars based on other maker's chassis. Everyone on this board can type "Vignale Ferrari", "Vignale Maserati", "Vignale Osca", "Vignale Cadillac", "Vignale 8v", and "Vignale Cisitalia" into google image, check the thumbnails to ensure they really are Vignales, and see that they were responsible for many beautiful, well respected, and well known cars.

Come on Richard and get intellectually real. Every Italian coachbuilder has built some very weird ducks. If you type "Ferrari Vignale" into google image you get a range of styling. You picked by far the weirdest one to my eyes with the shooting brake. I typed in Pininfarina weird into the same and got some oddities including the Cuneo and the X-Concept which appear to be real products by that great firm. Ital Design, Zagato, and Bertone have more than matched anyone in the oddity department.

Their volume may not have been as big as some of their competitors. However, in the golden age of coachbuilt Ferraris, they appear to have produced more styles than anyone except obviously Pinninfarina. Add to those some significant Cunninghams, Osca's, Maseratis, Alfas, and Cisitalias, and their small production represents a disproportionate slice of the special (iconic) cars of the 1950's and 1960's that most of us have seen and admired in big glossy pictures throughout our lives. Certainly the companies you mentioned also deserve more than to be trim packages on minivans. Scaglietti produced less than almost all, but who is going to deny the stature of the Ferrari 250 Testarossa Scaglietti Spyder? http://www.coachbuild.com/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=50&g2_itemId=2064

It is just tacky to debase the reputation of such a legendary design house and coach builder by using its name this way. They made some of the greatest cars ever.

One good thing about mandatory is that these will be available without having to purchase an extensive package or equipment group. Most young parents aren't equipping their cars that way.

As far as the Taurus name, it was once an extremely strong brand, but it has been on a downward slide since the ovoid generation arrived in 1996 and was left on the market forever. I'm guessing that about an even number of people would be less likely to buy a car named Taurus as those who would be more likely to buy one because of the name. It's baggage probably weighs about the same now as it's cachet. I never thought it was a particularly good name even though I really liked the first generation and what it did for Ford. It is difficult for some people to spell and for others to correctly pronounce. It also has occult connotations that definitely turn some people off. I'm not sure if women relate that well to the bull reference, either. Whatever they call it, and I'm guessing that it will still be Taurus, I hope Ford continues with the large sedan. If they cede another market, they have a disadvantage "if" (I think when is more likely "when") the market starts to cool on CUV's. Every class of people carrier eventually gets a stigma. Through it all, large sedans just continue to efficiently carry two to four people and their luggage in quiet comfort. Regardless of what else has come and gone through the decades, people have always returned to these.

I hope they can balance having a functional and airy greenhouse with good looking, modern styling. I think there is room to do both, but we might be getting fooled by prevalence into thinking that anything with higher than mailbox slot windows is old fashioned. If you have driven an Impala you have probably noticed that outward view was second fiddle to styling, especially the rear window which should have just been an applied decal.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2016-ford-taurus-will-be-quicker-lighter.html Most of the information sounds like what people on this board have been predicting.

I think we would all agree that the perception of Lincoln as a luxury brand, and it's share of the lucrative luxury market are both way lower than what is desirable. Rebuilding this situation by first going downmarket seems counterproductive. However, stand-alone Lincoln dealers need some volume soon and the MK*rapbox (can you really tune and insulate something that is mostly a jacked-up Focus into a true luxury vehicle?) and other "C" platform derived thingys could help that. I'd much rather see a Lincoln Motor Company that exceeds the strategy of benchmarking Lexus versions of just-above-entry level Toyotas, though.

I have always respected Ward's but this seems like they are fishing for a story that isn't there. Their so called "industry experts" mostly represent entities with financial interests in metals. Statements like being uncertain about the safety of aluminum in crashes are ridiculous. It's well known that both absorption and rigidity can be, and is being managed very well with the material in automotive and other uses. Those of us into motorcycles have long seen the effective use of both aluminum and other competitive approaches using high strength steels. This is under racing conditions which require light weight, chassis balance, strength, rigidity, and even managed flex at levels of precision so much higher than any relevant to light truck use. Major championships have swapped back and forth continuously between various materials and design approaches. It is great we live in a day with so many options better than the steel alloys of yesteryears. Knowledge about how to prevent the types of issues often thought of in context of the Chevy Vega was present even back then, and has grown immensely over the several decades.

Even with the massive change in scale, This would be an awesome way to introduce a new, true luxury Lincoln sedan to the world. If there are no plans to build an above MKS/Taurus class car, then I say the presidential Limo should be based on the MK*rapbox. This would make it a true symbol of the times and the changes in Lincoln and the status of our country. I'm being partially sarcastic, but the news of late just isn't that optimistic about where we are going as a nation. Let's hope we get this turned around in a more unified and less divisive way.

Don't start the party too quickly. This has the makings of trading one mobile electronics loser for another. Blackberry has become so irrelevant to consumers that the Wall Street Journal has predicted the complete demise of the company. The only reason this entity appears to even be alive is its long-term contract with the Federal Government. I had one through my federal job and it felt and performed like an antique next to my IPhone. I see that QNX is now under Blackberry. Maybe they can let it compete unfettered. A sick parent acquiring a more nimble division is far from a recipe for guaranteed success, though.

It is incredibly cold in controlled airspace, as we can all recall the Payne Stewart tragedy. Aluminum aircraft have long service lives. They are inspected with rigor. It's possible that Ford could come up with a proprietary bonding technique that would be outside of these parameters, but it would be a major gaffe to not insure that it could handle North American thermal extremes.

There has been, give or take, a century of cumulative work with this material in manufacturing processes. I trust Ford has reliability and costs figured out. The industrial, swill beer manufacturers (won't call them brewers) are bringing out and marketing aluminum bottles. They must not believe that material cost are going to skyrocket. There will likely be a hiccup or two with the F150 intro, though. How Ford handles and minimizes these would seem to be very important.

TTAC seems to want to prove to Auto Express that they aren't number one any longer in the realm of automotive yarn spinning. I wouldn't doubt that there is some level of work going on at Ford involving a Diesel V6 for the F150. With a vehicle of that importance, uncertain fuel prices, and a competitive market there are probably multiple contingency scenarios. I'd be surprised if serious investment is being made, however. If you add the cost of Diesel to the aluminum components, there would seem to be too much cost in the equation for the manufacturer and consumers to split.

It kind of appears that people think that the number of engine options should roughly equal sales volume.

I am willing to buy a premium vehicle because I plan on enjoying it for ten years. Where I live there are a lifetime's worth of great places to go within several hundred miles. My wife and I have family members spread across several states and we have two kids. That means four plane tickets from small airport to small airport so flying is out. It also means we have a need for comfort and room for extended miles of driving. Regardless of what we spend on a vehicle, we are interested in getting this room and comfort without breaking the bank on four-plus dollar summer fuel....and who know what the fuel prices will be two, three, or four years out.

I think that the new front-end is executed very well given the rectangular limitations of the base vehicle. I actually like the execution of the new Navi front better than that on the MKC. However, I admittedly dislike almost everything about the MKC. I do hope that Lincoln soon executes a one piece, horizontal grill on one of their cars. The 1962 Conti would be great inspiration. Audi, the modern paragon of vertical fronts is reportedly moving towards a more horizontal look. Lincoln produced one of the best, ever, and could evoke this great tradition while being modern and not retro. Every vehicle within a brand doesn't need to have the same tight theme at the front end.