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Lincoln at the 2016 Miami International Auto Show


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Last weekend, I was able to go to the Miami International Auto Show. Since it is before the major shows each year, we tend to get last year's concepts. This year, we got the production Continental as well as the Navigator concept. I'll first touch on the Continental, and then the Navigator.


Unfortunately, the Continental was up on a turntable, so I was unable to sit in/experience it, but I was able to see it more closely and see the interior (the one I saw last year at the Fort Lauderdale show was on the floor but locked). I think it looks fantastic, both inside and out. This is the first I was able to clearly see the interior. It was not a Black Label model, but even still all the materials looked to be of high quality and design. I spoke with a Lincoln representative at the show and asked her how reception had been - she said she had heard nothing but positive things from people, and several people were looking at it while I was, with some asking the reps questions about it. I'm not entirely sure what else to add now, but I will include pictures, and feel free to ask any questions or for details, and I'll be happy to answer. Here are the pictures:


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Edited by rmc523
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Now for the Navigator concept...


this was my first time seeing it in person. Unlike Continental, it was not at the local Fort Lauderdale show (which occurs after the major shows, which is why we were able to have a production Conti there last year). As you can see in the pictures below, there was a crowd around it - more so than what I've seen around the Lincoln stand in years. There was quite a buzz about it - people were excited about a new Navigator. My favorite reaction to it was this young kid - maybe 8 or so - who walked up, gasped and put his hands on his mouth. It was exciting to see such interest in a Lincoln vehicle.


The vehicle itself actually looked great. I know it's a concept and some of the concept features won't make it, but I actually think it will benefit from the production transition. The "bones" of the design look great in person, and it really has a presence. The interior looked fantastic. I loved the color combination and overall clean design. As with the Conti, feel free to ask any questions.


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Wow. That had to come from the Pilot plant. FRAP to this day still hasn't built any with the blue interior.

 

It was probably the same one that had been at Detroit (or wherever it was) earlier in the year. Hmm, I wonder why they haven't built a blue interior one yet.

 

That's pretty early in the year actually, being a native Miami I remember they would hold it around thanksgiving day holidays, so yes we always got the end of the year concepts. Wonder why they moved it up. Was there any automaker absent from it ?

 

Yeah, it's usually in October or November....just last year it was in mid-November, which is still before the other major shows, but not this early. My guess is it has to do with scheduling. They're in the midst of a major renovation project for the convention center (the entire parking lot this year is filled with construction equipment and supplies), which is involving a completely new facade and interior as well as adding more conference rooms in a completely new section. I know the east side of the building is currently stripped down to the concrete structure, so perhaps they had to host it now in order to fit in with the construction timeline and other commitments. It was also set up completely different this year than past years, entering the show through a different room rather than the main doors.

 

I think just about everyone was there, aside from Tesla. BMW surprisingly had only 3 cars (one of which stupidly had video screens in the windows so you couldn't even sit in it), but it was put on by a dealer, not BMW itself. The Miami show usually has most of the brands there, including "million dollar alley" vehicles from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston, etc. Fort Lauderdale is the show that usually has several brands absent because of the smaller venue/show.

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It was probably the same one that had been at Detroit (or wherever it was) earlier in the year. Hmm, I wonder why they haven't built a blue interior one yet...

 

 

- Quality control?

-- keeping the option of last-minute mods??

--- haven't caught enuf smurfs yet???

wink.gif

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My local dealer has a Continental. I will be driving it on Monday and will post some comments on it then. Unfortunately, it is a base FWD Premier model with just the 3.7 but I should be able to evaluate the overall ride, noise levels and fit/finish.

 

Start a new thread for your review - looking forward to seeing what you think.

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Whats frustrating about "luxury" vehicles is having to spend $15-20K to load it with what I feel are things that should be standard if it's truly luxury. Then good luck finding one with all the toys you want in it. Then laugh when the advertisement say "Starting at $45K, thousands cheaper then a Benz or BMW"...

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Whats frustrating about "luxury" vehicles is having to spend $15-20K to load it with what I feel are things that should be standard if it's truly luxury. Then good luck finding one with all the toys you want in it. Then laugh when the advertisement say "Starting at $45K, thousands cheaper then a Benz or BMW"...

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tho

aNother nice thing about [blackLabel] is it STARTS at ~$63k (per my April pricelist)

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Whats frustrating about "luxury" vehicles is having to spend $15-20K to load it with what I feel are things that should be standard if it's truly luxury. Then good luck finding one with all the toys you want in it. Then laugh when the advertisement say "Starting at $45K, thousands cheaper then a Benz or BMW"...

Except those Benzes or BMWs start higher and still have all the equipment missing for $15-20K worth of add-ons

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Oh I did add on all the competitors brands. Did a BMW 550i and I was already hitting $85K (not to mention the hundreds I would spend to get rid of those nasty red instrumentation). And Benz doesn't have an up level engine in the E-Class yet, its paltry and poverty stricken 240HP engine is the sole offering now (amazing stereo system though), even then your hitting upper 70s and its not even the uplevel engine that has yes to be introduced (E43 I believe) And thats about it for options I have had...

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There are several ways you can look at pricing however. Lincoln is very good at delivering the luxury amenities and specs but they are being added on a very inexpensive and significantly less sophisticated platform (Ford Fusion). And it's all built at a Ford factory without the same exacting quality standards of a luxury factory in Germany or at Cadillac. You are paying allot for those amenities at Lincoln when you consider how little was actually spent to develop and build the product. But ultimately it's hard to find a similar solution from other luxury makers who are willing to focus more on the luxury and less on the technology and performance.

 

I actually have no issue with Lincoln's strategy especially since their audience is so small and less difficult to please.

Edited by BORG
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