Gurgeh

But, based on the kinds of things he says, not surprising.

Yeah, he had me until Edge. Edge is in fact the perfect example of a discontinued product with no plan to replace it, at least in the North American market, anytime in the near (or intermediate) future.

If the survey covered, for instance, the early months of this year, then I'm thinking that the launch of the new Nautilus held back Lincoln's advancement. If "repair visits" include visits to the dealership to have DSPs (recalls) dealt with, I can see it. Those with early 2024 builds like me have had to go in several times (my Nautilus is currently at the dealers for 3 DSPs, one to replace potentially faulty fuel injectors and two for software updates). These are in addition to two prior visits, one for a major software update to the infotainment system and another to have the rear shocks checked to be sure they had the appropriate amount of torque. Those buying their Nautiluses now won't see any of this because they were all early production issues and have been resolved either at the factory or by the dealer before the customer takes delivery. And remember, Lincoln only has 4 vehicles in its lineup. All that said, I still highly recommend the vehicle. There is nothing else like it on the road in terms of luxury, technology and drive quality, and Lincoln, to its credit, has been very proactive in resolving early build issues.

Not the fan speed, the temperature setting, and those are controlled by two tiny carrots that are hard to hit just right when driving -- or even to see them at times. I often have to tap it several times to get it to register. The fan speed is a much easier screen adjustment to make and it doesn't bother me. As for the fan speed on auto, if you are talking about adjusting it to 1, 2 or 3, I never have put it on anything higher than 1 and it is often still too much air at times (hence the reducing the speed manually, which again doesn't really bother me). Or is there is some other limiter I have to find in settings?

I use audio controls the most. And here, moving more of those controls to the center screen works just fine. I thought that I would miss the center console physical controls for station browsing, but I don't. The new steering wheel controls for volume and station browsing are better implemented than before, and the new infotainment system now has so many more pre-select stations (that keep scrolling from the end back to the beginning, which is huge -- I came from Sync3) that I never need to worry about finding a station I like. When my wife is in the passenger seat and is doing audio selection, she just uses the big volume knob (which is great) and the on-screen browsing which works fine for her as a passenger. But I use the temp controls second most. And as stated above, I find it a pain to use when driving (and sometimes dangerous because it takes more attention away from driving). Again, when stopped it is just fine.

Understood. You've made this point before, and it is a good reminder. Your final comment is also well made, which underscores the series of bonehead decisions that is going to leave their huge Oakville assembly complex idle for up to 3 years.

I recently transitioned to on-screen controls for climate (from a 2019 Nautilus to a 2024 Nautilus), and while the relocation doesn't totally suck they are frankly a pain to use when driving (for adjusting when stopped they are fine). While driving, as I keep having to glance down and keep poking at that barely-visible tiny carrot icon I think of them like of low-flow toilets, which in practice are often better named two-flush toilets.

I notice on my new Nautilus that Ford/Lincoln are also proactively (that is, no one is telling them they have to do it) doing recalls on issues that are minor and unrelated to safety. In some past vehicles from other makes I've had they would just be things dealers are notified about and told to check out whenever the vehicle comes in for servicing, but no recall was actually issued. But still, these recall letters from FMC are getting annoying.

The new Ford vehicle syndrome on my 2024 Nautilus hybrid is starting to get a little old. It has gone in for two minor, non-safety recalls already (infotainment system software update and check & tighten rear shocks). And once my dealer has a loaner available it will go in for I think 3 more, only one of which is significant -- replacement of fuel injectors, as the ones installed in my vehicle at assembly have been found to be part of a faulty batch that can lead to the tips sheering off and blowing into (and wrecking) the engine. Hopefully, there will only be one more. Ford has acknowledged that the brakes can experience non-safety-related squeaking (mine do at times, but it doesn't really bother me), and they are working on a fix. My Nautilus is an early build, so most buyers don't experience the number of recalls I have, as the vehicles they are buying are either later assembly date vehicles or the dealer has already performed the recall work before making the vehicle available for delivery. I had none of these issues with my 2019 Nautilus, but then that was not really an all-new vehicle but was a mid-cycle refreshed and renamed MKX. That said, I greatly enjoy the new Nautilus. I thought my 2019 was great, but the new design is even better. Still, these annoying recalls.

Too late to save my former Lincoln-only store. The $5 million cost of complying with the program is one of several reasons they decided to shut down. The land ended up being more valuable than the expected cost of staying in business.

I used to work in the field of international environmental policy. I once had a fascinating conversation with the then-head of the Global Environmental Fund (a UN-affiliated body that invests in cleaner forms of energy in developing countries). She was French and came from a background of developmental economics. My favorite comment of hers was, "environmentalism is too important to be left to environmentalists." She then went on to discuss how in her experience they can sometimes be ahead of the game in identifying environmental challenges, but their solutions are almost always impractical, fly in the face of economic reality, and can often make things worse.

I see a lot of these arguments, not just in automotive posts. What they leave out is that just factoring in average inflation since 2008 a $50k product then should go for just under $70k today. Inflation really is a bitch. See: https://tools.carboncollective.co/inflation/us/2008/100/#:~:text=%24100 in 2008 has the,was -4.56% per year.

Given the good chance of former President Trump winning in November and the fact that the current President is in any case moving in the direction of sharply-increased tariffs on Chinese-made automotive products, I wonder if Ford is putting together contingencies for repatriating Lincoln Nautilus production to North America (and hopefully resuming Edge production with a revised version of the C2 Edge currently being produced for the Chinese market)?

If you are talking about the center screen you can increase the brightness. Go to settings (under apps I think, but maybe under the vehicle icon), scroll down to "screen" and tap the top option to adjust screen brightness.

Reminds me of when airlines started charging customers to check bags. In response, a lot of customers started going with just what they could fit in the overhead bin. Some airlines then started charging for carry-ons too.

You can increase the middle screen's brightness. Go to settings and display. I think it is the top option. I typically find that problem at night.

Hope it gets here earlier rather than later, as I have a road trip planned to start the end of May.

But with 25% tariffs on Chinese assembled vehicles, would Ford make any profit? Probably not. As I've said before, I doubt they are making much profit at all from Nautilus imports, that the decision was more to protect the Lincoln brand which otherwise would have shrunk to just a 3-vehicle line-up. For that reason it might make sense to try out importing the Zephr, to give Lincoln 5 vehicles and an actual luxury sedan (might only be temporary, though, if it doesn't sell any better than the briefly-revived Continental), but bringing in the Mondeo/Taurus through those tariffs would almost certainly be a big money loser.

Pull over and put it in carwash mode. Quick!

As others have noted, Ford still makes the Edge in China for the Chinese market. Could they export that still-in-production Edge to North America as they are doing with the Nautilus, which Ford redesigned and initially planned to continue with just for the Chinese market? Technically, they could, but there are two problems. First, unlike the Nautilus which, in its redesigned format, fits well (in fact, extremely well, possibly better than the outgoing Nautilus) with the North American market, the newly-designed Edge for the Chinese market would likely not do well here. It is too big, approaching Explorer size, and many believe the look of its top hat wouldn't sell well. But second and maybe more important, Ford would likely lose money on each Edge imported. There's a 25% tariff on the import of vehicles made in China and the Edge doesn't have the price cushion of being a luxury automobile. Even so, I doubt Ford is making much on the import of the Lincoln Nautilus. They probably did a 180 on bringing it to the North American market mainly to protect the Lincoln brand (from time to time Ford actually seems to care about that) by keeping Lincoln's line-up from dropping down to a measly 3 vehicles. Lincoln has a more robust presence in China, which many now see as Lincoln's main market. They have 5 vehicles there, including a mid-sized sedan, the Zephr.

Ah my mistake.

I doubt it, but one of us will be right. As for opposition to fracking, just Google "opposition to fracking 2024" and a long list of articles appear about all the folks who are successfully opposing it from California, to New York, to Colorado, to the national moratorium on new fracking operations placed a few years ago on federal lands.

Also massive Chinese government subsidies throughout the EV ecosystem -- from mining, to refining, to processing, to components, to production. It isn't just batteries that China now dominates. It is pretty much everything. It will be difficult for the U.S. to duplicate that due to our own policy choices. For instance, because of environmentalist opposition -- the same folks that want us to go 100% electric ASAP -- it is almost impossible to open any new mining operation in the United States. The government just canceled a new copper mine (which would have given the country a whopping two) in Alaska that was already permitted due to enviro opposition. The U.S. has extensive rare earth resources (along with significant deposits of other relevant metals and minerals), but we just can't get to them.

There almost was a Ford version -- but it would have been a Lincoln.

Just a reminder that lately Lincoln has been putting out arguably the best interiors in the luxury space. Particularly not a surprise with the new 2024 Nautilus: ---------------- “From the moment you enter, when the Nautilus’ sweeping pillar-to-pillar screen comes to life, it’s obvious this is unlike any other production vehicle you’ve ever seen,” said WardsAuto judge David Zoia. “But it doesn’t stop there. A gorgeous color scheme, top-notch materials and well-thought-out features make the Nautilus the complete package – and a Wards 10 Best Interiors & UX winner.” “The Lincoln Nautilus is literally on the leading edge of vehicle cockpit design. Its impressive pillar-to-pillar screen is pushed far forward on the instrument panel so all necessary information can be seen without taking eyes off the road,” added fellow judge Drew Winter. https://fordauthority.com/2024/04/2024-lincoln-nautilus-among-wards-10-best-interior-winners/