Goes to show how strongly names are linked together in the mind. I'm sure the real product is a new MK-something but nobody knows that while the word Lincoln is still naturally followed by the word Continental for anybody older than 12. It's almost like muscle memory.
Its nice to see that Pono is making inroads for High Resolution Audio playback in automobiles. I find MP3s too shrilly for playback.
Neil has been a proponent of High definition audio for 15 years. He supported the 24bit DVD-Audio standard and I have a
few of his recordings in that format.
24bit 96Khz/192Khz sampling is the way to go for new recordings and to re-master the pop rock classics originally
recorded on multi-track analog tape. Analog is still the best way to go, and I don't see very many people that would
have room for a 12 inch reel to reel tape deck in their car for playback.........
Remember, GM had for years up until 2012 the ability to play back a 24bit 5.1 ch DVD-A disc in cars that offered premium sound systems.
It stinks now that I cannot play back 24bit Flac or other 24bit formats in GM's current audio head end units. We have taken a step backward...
Perhaps the use of the name Continental is the bigger news here... And perhaps, the people at Lincoln actually get "it"? Names of cars do conjure up memories and emotional connections. People don't say," Remember the time we were out cruising in my Ford, Chevrolet, etc." if the said vehicle was one of a more iconic status, ie: Mustang, Camaro, or a more recent example, Cobalt. Cadillac should have an Eldorado, Elmiraj, and Evoq (lost to Land Rover) to join the iconic Escalade.
Envoy correctly speculated that the then in-the-pipeline MKS was initially to be called the Continental (the idea was tossed when Ford decided to go with "MK" names, and dropped the Zephyr name after just 1 year in favor of "MKZ").
Names of a vehicle can be changed at the very last second before production starts, and has been done quite a few times in automotive history, the most famous being the 1983 Pontiac Firebird T/A (which went back to the "Trans Am" label after the press photos were shot), and the 1989 Ford Mustang "III" (which was renamed "Probe", again at the last second).
Mark Fields is a career Ford guy, and he was the one who saved Lincoln when Alan Mulally was seriously thinking about killing it. At Ford, like Chrysler and unlike GM, a single CEO or a small group of a few people cam make decisions like that without an entire marketing study done first. So, the MKS replacement can still plausibly be called Continental up till the production line starts running if they choose to name it that.
It's a mistake. As I said before, when many people say "Lincoln", it is automatically followed by "Continental", the assumed model name. The assumption obviously comes from 50 years of the usage of those names together. The real vehicle will most likely be another iteration of the forgetably tagged Lincoln MKS.
Other interesting fact - Ford still owns the rights to the Continental name, and licenses usage of it to Bentley for their cars.
China is the focus right now, and the Chinese love big, comfortable sedans with large rear seats. Lincoln could never sell enough of these in the United States to merit the investment, so it needs to be designed with China in mind.
Might be closer to this than a lot of people think right now:
Does this article from The Truth About Cars accurately peg some design details?
"For starters, the car will be based on the current CD4 platform the underpins the Fusion, not the Volvo-derived platform underpining the current Taurus and MKS. The belt line and C-pillar will be more subdued and flat, rather than the Impala-like hump you see here. The rear will have two light bars and the front grille will be integrated into the hood. Certain details are apparently still in flux. Also, the Nano V6 mentioned in the article will be 2.7L rather than 2.9L."
It's a bit more detail than what I've gathered from those in the know, but my info is nearly a year old and I'm sure more details have been worked out since then. I've gotten it's more of a bigger MKZ, but with more subdued sides and the pics posted so far seem to bear this out.
haha -we dont need dumb names like eldorado or deville or fleetwood! We have C which stands for carriage; T stands for touring mode, 5 stands for smallish, 6 for hybrids- X for exclesior related drivetrain, etc
I don't think there's any news here. I think Neil just called "Lincoln" the company "Lincoln Continental" as if it were the whole brand. I would love to think that Lincoln was making a flagship by 2016 and even better yet called Continental but I think this is just a case of confusion. I'll cross my fingers, though and hope good ol' Neil is right!
First the ad with Matthew looking dried up and older than ever talking soft and low. Now Niel Young......really? I really like him but is this what they call a turn around? LOL!
How cool would it be if Lincoln went against the tide and reintroduced proper car names?!? I suspect they'll just do Continental, like Cadillac has their Escalade, but it would be great if they brought back real names across the board.
If the real names go over well, maybe Lincoln will expand their idea to the current crop of cars. It wouldn't be hard to call the MKZ the Zephyr and cook up two new names for the MKC and MKX.
^ I'll be quite happy with Navigator, Aviator, Continental, and a nice name for the LincStang(s) ... been wondering about "Zodiac" (an old Fordish Name)((& maybe Constellation for Continental-derivative or sumthin))
for all the Fwd-based Lincolns I'm satisfied with MucK nomenclature
Moral of the story, as it's been hammered home many times here. Doesn't matter of the car's parts' origin. If it's good, and marketed well, it will sell. If it sucks, and is marketed poorly it will not sell.
XTS is universally panned here and is also dead soon.
It is not indicative of Cadillac's future product plans (see: Alpha, Omega, unique modular engine family), unlike Lincoln... which plans to use Ford platforms exclusively.
I never cared that much what platform a car was on. Judge the end result. The XLR was on an excellent platform but was a mediocre luxury sports car. The Cobalt SS started in a pretty crappy platform but was a surprisingly decent end product. If the platform is good to begin with, it comes down to execution of what goes on top. I haven't driven any modern Lincolns, but I have no reason to assume that because they share platforms with regular Ford's that they're automatically bad. They might be bad, but it doesn't have to be a forgone conclusion.
I guess if you wanted to get technical, the XTS is really based on a Buick and the SRX is based on a Saab.
And guess what? SRX and XTS are crappy products that hold Cadillac back and keep it from reaching for higher ATPs.
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