SW17LS

What we do know is that the Continental will be on the Taurus platform and be a transverse layout. Dead in the water.

The CT6 is a different story.

TangoRed

Depending on where the Lincoln Continental nets out, the upcoming Volvo S90 may be the most expensive luxury car with a transverse engine. Whether either of these cars are taken seriously as true luxury cars remains to be seen of course. Atleast the Volvo will maintain true luxury car proportions.

mmarshall

Even apart from that FWD/transverse issue, though, Volvos, in general, are simply not that popular here in the U.S., period. I never took any of the rumors seriously, though, that Volvo would leave the American market, as they are in nowhere near as bad a shape here as Mitsubishi.

Toys4RJill

Well, I am starting to open up to the notion that Buick, Acura, and Lincoln are all true luxury brands. I fully respect the fact that there are some RWD drive cars in the Lexus, BMW and MB line up, but Lexus is missing a lot of the upper tier of the upper MB, BMW and Audi areas such as hi tech diesels, serious twin turbos and a no excuse V12/W12. As for tiers, perhaps Lexus is in between a Tier 1 and Tier 2 brand. Even though I am starting to forget about the whole Tier idea.

mmarshall

The (supposedly) production version of the Continental will be at the Detroit Show in January. I hope they bring it here to the D.C. show at the end of the month, but don't bet on it.....our show often overlaps the tail end of the Detroit show, or very closely follows it by only a couple of days.

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/lincoln...-ar166725.html

Just my own opinion on this, but I'd also like to see a new Chrysler Imperial or New Yorker in the picture to go toe-to-toe with the Continental and CT6. The current Chrysler 300 platform (an excellent, E-Class Mercedes-derived platform at that) is already set up for V8/RWD/AWD. I don't know if Sergio Marchionne would go for that, though....he doesn't seem very interested in that type of car. So far, though, Dodge and Chrysler have been more interested in using that platform for burnout-specials than for making a really super-luxurious version of it, like a New Yorker or Imperial would be.

SW17LS

The Continental and CT6 won't be competitors really. If it turns out the way it looks like it will it will be more along the lines of the XTS

mmarshall

What do you think of the idea for a super-luxury version of the Chrysler 300 platform as a New Yorker or Imperial (bringing back a name from the past like Lincoln did)? I modified my post above, but I don't think you saw it. The 300 uses an excellent Mercedes-derived RWD/AWD platform....but until now, it has only been used for lower-level V6 versions and stiff-riding semi-sports-sedans like the Hemi/SRT. Seems like the thought of an Imperial-type flagship, luxo-cruiser version hasn't been an option.

mmarshall

We're kind of getting away from the MKZ, though.

mmarshall

I doubt if anyone will want to touch the idea of further-technology diesels until after we see what happens after this VW/Audi mess with the emission-programming. If it takes away the potential market for them, no use wasting more time and resources on them.

SW17LS

I don't think Chrysler really wants to go there.

Didn't Marchionne say something about not meaning Chrysler to be a luxury brand?

mmarshall

Either that, or they might be waiting to see how the CT6 does.

You may have a point about Marchionne......like I said earlier, he doesn't seem terribly interested in really upscale luxo-cruisers. Maserati, of course, a Fiat-owned brand, does sport/luxury Quattrorporte sedans here in he U.S., but almost nobody buys them.

SW17LS

Maserati is expanding, the Ghibli at $80k expands a huge market for them.

TheCT6 won't tell Chsryler anything. Cadillac is in an entirely different brand position.

mmarshall

Back to the thread-topic MKZ, here's a nice video slide-show on the 2017 redesign. It gets repetitious, though, and shows some of the same shots over again. You probably won't want to sit through the whole thing, but it shows some stuff in good detail:

mmarshall

Despite the arguments and disagreements you and I have had about the Verano's origin, I was simply stunned by what this car had to offer for 25K (lower than that in some versions)...its plush thick-padded seating (I dislike hard seats), quiet ride for its size, silky transmission, standard features, and solid durable interior/exterior hardware/construction. But that does not necessarily make it what I would call a true luxury car. Though smooth at idle and at low-RPM, its Ecotec in-line 4 lacks V6/V8 refinement under acceleration, the 45-series Continental tires thump and ride firmly in cold weather and over sharp bumps (though much smoother/quieter in hot weather, when the tires/suspension are softer), and the interior, space-wise (though I can still fit in it) is not really designed for people my size.

I wouldn't consider the Acura ILX or Audi A3 true luxury sedans, either....the A3's 1.8L turbo lacks power, and its interior is too plain compared to the A4/A6. The ILX, despite excellent build-quality and precise assembly at the factory, noticeably lacks insulation and ride comfort for something in the luxury class.

As far as the new MKZ goes, like I told Steve, I want to wait until I get a chance to actually see it and test-drive it to determine if IMO it deserves to be called a luxury-grade sedan. It certainly looks better with the new Jaguar-esque front end, and the interior console-controls look a little more user-friendly, but, overall, I was not impressed with the last one at all. Time will tell.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Nice change for Lincoln. I was a bit caught off guard with this MKZ major/minor, but it makes sense with the Continental Concept. I like the front of the MKZ, but the old rear and C-pillar does not flow well the new front design. The Continental Concept is more cohesive. Now it will be really exciting in 2-3 years when the car transitions fully. As it stands we get these new generation powertrains by Lincoln to tide us over, I can live with that.

I'm curious what they might rename the MKZ to. Back to Zephyr? The Continental is returning, The Navigator is staying put. Rumor has it the Aviator will rejoin the line.