lincoln

Can Lincoln Keep Limo Market with MKT "Town Car"?

Who isn't happy to see a Lincoln Town Car waiting for them instead of a Ford Crown Victoria taxi?

This days are coming to a close as the automaker gets close to discontinuing the venerable Town Car, the engineering chassis of which technically dates back to the early 1970s.

Ford just introduced a replacement for the Town Car sedan, based on the Lincoln MKT crossover (see gallery), at an annual gathering of limousine and livery car buyers in Las Vegas.

Lincoln plans to build two chauffeur-dedicated MKT Town Car versions in 2012 to replace the Town Car. But trade publication Automotive News reports that some of the companies that buy airport cars and limousines aren't as happy about the MKT as Ford hopes despite the more modern engineering platform and added cargo room in the vehicle.

Gallery: Lincoln MKT Town Car

Tags: lincoln, Lincoln airport car, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln Town Car

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Five Luxe Car Brands Cited By J.D. Power as Service "Champions."

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Five luxury automobile brands were in the top 40 brands ranked by J.D. Power and Associates in its annual Customer Service Champions report.

Jaguar, Lexus, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln all made the list. They were joined by two other luxury brands: hoteliers Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton.

Non luxe brands included in the top 40 were Zappos.com, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and retailer Cabelas.

Brands that receive the J.D. Power Customer Service Champions designation are among the top 5 percent of more than 800 evaluated brands, based on their performance in five key areas identified as the J.D. Power 5 Ps: People, Presentation, Price, Product and Process.

Tags: cadillac, four seasons, j.d. power, jaguar, lincoln, mercedes-benz, ritz-carlton, zappos

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Lincoln MKT Town Car and Limousine

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

What would you rather be driven around in, a sedan or sport-utility vehicle? Lincoln is well versed in both, its Town Car having served for years as the vehicle of choice for car service and limousine chauffeurs for decades. But with the Town Car on its way out, Lincoln has unveiled its new offering in the form of the MKT Town Car and Limousine.

Offering more interior space than the Town Car sedan, the MKT Town Car is based on the MKT crossover, and has been equipped with such features as reclining rear seats and a front passenger seat that can be controlled from the rear to offer even more space. Plus the cargo area is even bigger than the old Town Car's trunk. The MKT Limousine is also being offered with as much as ten feet in additional length for even more commodious accommodations. Both vehicles were just unveiled at the 2011 International Limousine, Charter and Tour Show in Las Vegas.

Tags: limo, limousine, lincoln, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKT Limousine, Lincoln MKT Town Car, town car

Goodbye Lincoln Town Car Limo. Hello Lincoln MKT Airport Car.

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Ford, the long-time leader in the limousine and "black car" business, is planning to offer two versions of its MKT crossover SUV to livery companies as it readies to phase out its ubiquitous Lincoln Town Car.

Ford is scheduled to close its St. Thomas Ontario plant next year where the Town Car and Ford Crown Victoria have been built. The engineering platforms for those cars date back to the 1970s, though they have been improved since then several times. But Ford deemed it not worth the investment to upgrade the vehicle architectures for 21st century safety and emissions standards.

The automaker is touting the Lincoln MKT as having more headroom and more advanced technology, especially modern telematics: Lincoln My Touch.

The MKT, launched in 2009, has been controversial for its styling, which many critics find hearse-like. Lincoln has sold just 5,701 MKTs in 2010 through September. It is built in Chicago alongside the Ford Taurus, Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS. Livery, or "black car" sals for the MKT could add 20,000 a year.

Tags: Ford, limousines, Lincoln, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln Town Car

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Luxury Cars Converge from Near and Far on the 2010 New York Auto Show

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

What would an auto show be without an array of luxury and performance automobiles on display? While the Geneva salon last month held the greatest variety of vehicles targeted by European automakers especially at upscale buyers, the recently concluded New York Auto Show wasn't without its share as well.

This year's expo at the Javitz Center in Manhattan, our crew on the ground got a first had look at the latest from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln, Acura and Infiniti, and even Hyundai. Each brought out its latest luxury sedans, wagons, crossovers and sport-utility vehicle. Follow the jump to see what they saw.

Tags: 2010 new york auto show, Acura, Acura TSX, Acura TSX Sport Wagon, Alpina, Aplina B7, BMW, BMW Alpina, BMW Alpina B7 xDrive, Cadillac, Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon, CTS, CTS-V, Equus, Hyundai, Infiniti, Infiniti QX56, javitz, javitz center, Lincoln, Lincoln MKZ, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Mercedes, Mercedes R-Class, Mercedes R350, Mercedes-Benz R-Class, Mercedes-Benz R350, new york, new york auto show, TSX

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Lincoln Unveils Updated MKX Crossover in Detroit

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

While the Japanese luxury divisions continue their assault on the premium crossover market, their American counterparts aren't about to give up without a fight. And to that end, Lincoln has unveiled the newly revised MKX at the Detroit auto show. The updated luxury crossover has been treated with some revised sheetmetal to match the company's new look, while inside the refreshed interior incorporates the new MyLincoln Touch system, incorporating controls for the satellite navigation, entertainment, climate control and telephone. Is that enough to fight off rivals from the likes of Lexus, Acura and Infiniti? That's a matter of taste, and we invite you to peruse the gallery of images below and voice your opinion in the comments section.

Gallery: 2011 Lincoln MKX

Tags: 2010 naias, 2011 lincoln mkx, 2011LincolnMkx, detroit, detroit 2010, detroit auto show, lincoln, lincoln mks, LincolnMks, mks, naias, north american international auto show

Lux Tip: Drive a Luxury Car for Less

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Lux Tips

Want to drive a luxury brand automobile but can't afford it? You might be surprised to find that many luxury brands (like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Lincoln) offer vehicles that start in the low 30s. Just by foregoing a few extras like a bigger engine and built-in GPS you could be driving a new luxury car for about the same as you'd expect to pay for a nice Toyota or Honda. It really comes down to deciding if the term "fully loaded" is really that important to you -- do you have to have that gas-guzzling V8? If the answer is 'no' then you suddenly have a lot more options.

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Tags: audi, auto, automobile, automobiles, autos, bmw, car, cars, lincoln, lux tip, lux tips, LuxTip, LuxTips, mercedes, mercedes-benz, tip, tips, wheels

Vintage Cars Auctioned Off For Charity

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions, Charity

The American Concours Foundation, a not-for-profit auction community, has put four classic automobiles up for sale on eBay with the benefits going to various concours-related charities. All four cars are now on eBay. They are a 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, a 1954 Jaguar XK 120 Drop Head Coupe, a 1933 Lincoln KA V-12 Model 513A Convertible Roadster, and a 1967 Jaguar E Type Vintage Roadster OTS. The cars are all in concours-ready shape and the auctions end today through March 13.

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Tags: concours, ebay, gullwing, jaguar, lincoln, mercedes, vintage cars

Galpin Brings the Ugg, Makes Xzibit Proud

by Anton Friant (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

We don't usually cover the sort of over-extravagance that only ridiculously overpaid sports players can love, but this latest chop-job from Galpin hit our radar when we heard that it sported a $10,000, 5.5 carat diamond clock in the dash. Unfortunately that's about the only thing worth mentioning on this Transformer-esque monstrosity.

It's done up in true "Pimp My Ride" fashion, with 27" Lexani wheels, a giant speaker-and-LCD-filled rear end, completely redone interior (the red leather seats remind me more of a 1977 Lincoln than a 2007 model) and two automatically rising champagne flutes for the backseat passengers (this is cool only because Maybach did it first). Turns out this is what happens when you give an otherwise decent ride to a bunch of over-hyped, under-qualified wrench monkeys. More plus pics after the jump.

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Tags: lincoln, navigator

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