Ya, wasn't debating that. I saw the production model a few months ago, it definitely survived the concept > production process more intact in terms of style than the Continental.

 

Saw a couple Continentals today, the dark blue and black colors suit the car well, especially with the larger wheels.

I still wouldn't call it an inherently great design because parts of it are too blocky, such as the rear. But still it's an overall attractive package.

Problem is that it's a pretty mediocre car in lower trims, and in higher trims it becomes as expensive as the best from Germany. As I've always said, it'll do well with the midwestern "buy American" crowd and livery business, but not with anybody who's experienced "real" luxury from the likes of Germany and Lexus. I don't think Lincoln is trying to market it to that crowd anyway, it is a product that is unapologetic about its target demographic and the purpose it serves. I tip my hat to Ford for that.

Meanwhile GM still thinks its Cadillac division is going to steal customers from the Germans. Their "genius" plan backfired, as they not only attracted 0% of outside customers but lost a bunch of their own loyal base as well. GM, go ahead and take this L.

 

I don't know if I would agree that the new Continental is not "real" luxury. A 400hp engine with excellent low end torque and 0-60 times that are superior to the E class, GS, and new Volvo. All of the luxury features are included. Easy to use HVAC and radio unlike others that use remote touch.

As for being mediocre on the low end trims, correct me if I am wrong, but Lexus ES and GS use faux leather on their entry trim levels, they also use engine architecture that dates back almost 10 years. Same with LS460 motor. As for E class, it can be pretty stale at the entry levels and offering four cylinders in the GS and E class seems to go against what everyone is whining about in the new LS500 which down sized its engine yet upped the power numbers big time. Do you not agree?

 

Established marques and models can get away with a lot due to strong loyal customer base.
The Continental and Lincoln have none of this therefore their product has to be way superior to make someone jump ship to a new brand.
You now also have Volvo, Maserati, Tesla, AlfaRomeo, Cadillac, Porsche, Genesis, Buick, even Kia all fighting for the Luxury pie of the established leaders MB, BMW, Audi, Lexus. Way too much competition to put a half baked product out there based on old Taurus.

 

Exactly. Kudos to Hyundai for getting it with Genesis, build a true premium car on a premium architecture...thats why you won't be seeing Hyundai platform transverse sedans and SUVs from Genesis, because they get it.

The fact that Hyundai understands the luxury segment better than Ford is really telling. Ford isn't committed to truly competing with the worlds best luxury cars, Hyundai is.

 

Not just the 'Murican crowd, I wonder if the new Conti is even 'gangster' enough to appear in a music video...I think a lot of today's artists aren't doing as much (Navigators aren't cool anymore unlike Escalades), but I don't know for sure because I don't listen to today's music. I remember when the Chrysler 300 hit the scene, it instantly had street cred, but I think it was more that the car was seemingly made for that demographic (Ralph Gilles was the designer now head at Chrysler, obviously was brilliant).
I would think that the Lincoln and Cadillac HAD a loyal customer base many decades ago before ze Germans really pushed forrth, as they keep losing them as many have passed on. 'Old money" so to speak is still vying for Lincoln, Buick and Cadillac, and even to a certain degree Lexus.

 

Based on who was looking at the Continentals at the car show, I would say it has some "gangster" in it lol

 

I think it's a stretch to say Ford doesn't understand the luxury segment. I just think they're largely unwilling to commit the investment needed to really plant Lincoln firmly in the true luxury seat. This is easier to accomplish with the Navigator since it has a full-size SUV platform mate, but considering Ford mulled over killing Lincoln recently I'm completely unsurprised they didn't want to go out and build a flexible RWD platform that would just be used for Lincoln.

 

Ford already said they are not interested in chasing the Germans. I don't understand why is seems people are so put off by the Ford decision.

 

If you are referring to the vandalism that a couple of the Lincolns suffered (and why the Continentals were locked), the Cadillac display near it also suffered some, as did some the other luxury-vehicle displays on the lower floor. Probably some idle teen-agers with more time on their hands than common sense (you also see some of those unruly kids on the subway here and there, getting to and from the show).

 

Not referring to vandalism at all.

 

IMO, what Lincoln needs, right now, more than improvement to the vehicles themselves (though the worse-than-average overall reliability of the brand from Consumer Reports is troubling) is a system of dealerships comparable to Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Infiniti, and, yes, even Cadillac. While I'm not one to get involved much myself in the "image" issue (I don't care so much where or how a car is sold, so long as it is done honestly and the car itself is competent)...many buyers in this category DO buy from image, and that includes the image of the dealerships. Lincoln, independent of the vehicles themselves, suffers from the practice of selling 90K top-line Black Label Continentals and Navigators out of the same shops and facilities as they so 15K econoboxes like the base Fiesta. Volvo and Genesis are also hampered by the same marketing....though not to quite the same extent. Volvos are sometimes sold out of exclusive shops, and sometimes in conjunction with cheaper brands like Kia. Genesis, of course, shares the same situation as Lincoln (selling their G80s and G90s out of the same shops as 15K econobox Hyundai Accents). But, at least, Genesis has an excuse, as they have not been a separate division long enough yet to have their own dealerships.....eventually, they probably will.

I think the error at Lincoln was made when Ford did away with both the Mercury brand itself and the combination Lincoln-Mercury dealerships that were operating at the time. Doing away with the Mercury brand was one thing (I was sad to see it go, but I could understand it from a business point of view, as it added little to the corporation......just selling slightly upmarket rebadged Fords). Lincoln, to some extent, was also selling rebadged Fords (just a little more ornate than Mercurys LOL), but it was still considered their luxury nameplate. After the Mercury name vanished, Lincoln had a whole string of (now) Lincoln-exclusive shops that they could have used (and remodeled to luxury-vehicle standards). Ford, instead, chose to sell off those buildings (or maybe lease them out to other tenants) and move the Lincoln brand into the cheaper Ford shops....that's where I think the mistake was made. The brand has suffered in image ever since, though it is now making more competitive products than before.

 

I actually saw two today. I doubt either were livery vehicles because one was parked in front of a bank and the other was being driven by a middle-aged woman. One was a dull, dark gray that didn't look so great. The other was silver and actually looked good with the exception (IMO) of the back end.

 

Agree 100%

 

Great review from Road & Track.



http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...return-flight/

REGARDING JOHN MILTON'S masterpiece, Paradise Lost, literary critic Samuel Johnson wrote, "None ever wished it longer than it is." One could not say the same thing about American luxury-car interiors of the past few decades. With a few livery-market or export-only exceptions, neither Chrysler, Cadillac, nor Lincoln has recently offered the expansive rear-seat experience the rest of the world takes for granted in a prestige sedan.

This new Continental, by contrast, brings to mind a 1956 advertisement for the Lincoln Premiere: "Never before a Lincoln so long . . . and so longed for!" The front half of the car is a derivation of the Ford CD4 platform familiar from the current Fusion, but there's nearly 10 inches of additional length, much of it behind the B-pillar. It has not gone to waste.

Grasp the massive, polished loop of the electromechanical latch that stands proud on the door, and step into the back seat. Our Reserve-trim test car, which sits below Black Label but above the base Premiere and midtier Select trims, has optional power-reclining rear outboard seats with four-way lumbar support, as well as heating and cooling. The center seat folds down to expose a comprehensive control console. Using that and the door-mounted controls, the Very Important Person in the right rear corner can move the front passenger seat (if vacant), operate the rear sunshades, adjust cabin temperature, command the audio system, and manipulate the opaque fabric shade beneath the massive dual-pane moonroof.

Evan Klein

During my three-day weekend with the Continental, I experienced considerable difficulty getting any of my friends to ride up front with me. Given a glimpse of the first-class cabin behind the driver, each of my passengers demanded that they sit in back while I drove them. One suggested I wear some sort of cap while doing so. The most demanding VIP of all was my seven-year-old son, John. He immediately mastered the full range of rear-seat control possibilities, to my immense sorrow, and pointed out that it is possible to lay the front passenger chair down to serve as a footrest. No Shanghai tycoon was ever a more peremptory or capricious tyrant to his valet, but I was pleased to have him back there, guarded by the vault-thick, soft-closing doors and an airbag-equipped shoulder belt.

Continental owners who insist on driving themselves will find a separate but equal share of luxury. Optional 30-way front seats offer individual adjustments for left and right thigh support, as well as multiple massage settings, but the greatest luxury is the Revel Ultima audio system, also optional, which alternately bellows and whispers through 19 speakers. The decadent-looking machined-metal speaker grilles in the front doors, with a perforation pattern reportedly inspired by George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun," would not be out of place in a Maybach or Phantom. This is a hell of a sound system, capable of isolating the marimba part in Vampire Weekend's "Horchata" so that the instrument appears to float in the air above the steering wheel. I found this out because my son played that song seven times in a row, for his sadistic amusement.

Evan Klein

Having gotten his fill of East Village Afro-pop, John turned down the stereo and inquired, "What's that clunk?" It took me a minute to realize that he was referring to the turn-signal noise. It's a solid tick-tock that sounds like a six-ounce weight moving back and forth in the steering column. Another detail thoroughly sweated, just like the climate control's special low-noise auto mode, the real wood in the dashboard, and the way the car "wakes up" as you walk to it at night with the key in your pocket, the front and rear markers sweeping on while crosshair-logo puddle lights illuminate the ground beneath the front doors.

Premiere models are powered by the 3.7-liter, 305-hp Duratec V-6 that we know (and like) from the Mustang. Front-wheel drive is standard; all-wheel drive is a $2000 option. Move up to Select, and the 2.7-liter, 335-hp twin-turbo six from the Fusion becomes available. In Reserve and Black Label, you can get a 3.0-liter variant of that engine. It's unique to Lincoln, rated at 400 hp, and available only with all-wheel drive.

Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of this new Lincoln is the utter lack of pretense to racetrack or autobahn prowess. For too long, domestic luxury manufacturers have paid lip service to the ridiculous idea that full-size sedans should corner like Corvettes, no matter what the cost in ride, interior noise, or passenger space. The Continental is free of these misapprehensions, so spring for the 400-horse drivetrain; you will not be plagued by spoilers, splitters, SCCA-spec damping, or rubber-band tires. You will simply get proper "Hot Rod Lincoln" thrust.



WHEN PROPERLY (MEANING EXPENSIVELY) OPTIONED AND CONFIGURED, THE CONTINENTAL IS EASILY THE BEST AND MOST COMPETITIVE AMERICAN LUXURY SEDAN IN FOUR DECADES.



Which is not to say that the motor overpowers the chassis. Neck-straining launches from stoplights are free from torque steer. Grip and balance are remarkably good, at least for a big sedan with most of its weight up front. Floor the throttle mid-corner, and the outside front wheel will pull you from apex to exit in a manner that reminds me of nothing so much as an old Honda Prelude Type SH.

There are a few rough edges. Lane-keeping assist is not up to the standards set by Mercedes or even Acura, while the collision detection is alternately paranoid and disinterested. The availability of a low-content Continental for $45,485, versus $75,320 for our test car or just over $80,000 for a fully loaded Black Label, is inconsistent with the goal of making it a properly exclusive flagship. So is Lincoln's decision to put a bowdlerized version of this fascia on the smaller MKZ.

But these are quibbles. When properly (meaning expensively) optioned and configured, the Continental is easily the best and most competitive American luxury sedan in four decades. The difficulty will be getting buyers to look past the default German brands, as well as Lexus. In a perfect world, the Lincoln brand would be rescued, or at least burnished, by this fine effort, yet I am reminded of another comment by Samuel Johnson regarding Milton: "Success and virtue do not go necessarily together."