Sulu

Don't forget that CAFE stands for Corporate AVERAGE Fuel Economy; fuel economy is averaged over the whole lineup of models and numbers of each model that are sold. If manufacturers want to sell large, powerful, V8 gas guzzlers, they must offset that by selling enough small, very fuel efficient models.

Stroock639

hey i already said in my previous post that i'm aware it's not "with the times" lol i'm just saying i like them and i'd like to see what a modern B body or Panther body would look like. apart from something like a hellcat / z06 / zl1 i can't think of anything about any of the other american cars that would really make me want one.

Stroock639

this is what we need haha

SW17LS

Important thing to remember is that this car is not designed to compete with the LS, or the S Class or the 7 Series, etc. Its the flagship for Lincoln, but Lincoln simply doesn't have an offering that competes at that level, including the Continental. Lincoln will be the first person to tell you that.

Think of this as an American Acura RLX....or a Cadillac XTS...even a CT6.

I think ultimately it will sell very poorly, other than to fleets, but we will see. For this money I would probably heavily consider a Cadillac CT6 which at least has the platform the way it needs to be (longitudinal RWD based).

I think there IS a market in this $50-65k space for a big comfortable sedan. Thats why you see carmakers approaching the space with such zeal. Cadillac...Lincoln...Acura....Hyundai...even Infiniti with the Q70L. Had these cars come out say 5 years ago I would have bought one. Now I'm able to afford a real flagship car like the LS so I am past that...but 5 years ago me would have been all about a Cadillac CT6 or even this Continental. Its just that nobody has ever gotten it right. I did drive an XTS in 2012 and the proportions were right but the car wasn't. The ES loaded up is nice in spec, but the car itself can't compete over $50k.

Hell, I say that but with the price chasm between a mid market luxury car and a full sized flagship sedan getting a lot wider, something like this is appealing even to me. I've said it myself, my LS460 was $80k, I don't see myself spending a whole lot more than this on a car. I've got kids to put through life and school and college, stuff I want to do, I'd like to buy a vacation home....$1,000 a month on a car is enough. To see myself spending $1,400 a month to lease a $110k S550...I just don't see myself doing that. If Lexus is going to go upmarket with the next LS, or it looks like Pikachu exploded all over it...what am I going to replace my LS460 with? I wouldn't go back to FWD, but if the CT6 is spacious and rides nice and quiet...I could see myself doing that for a lease payment of ~ $700 a month or so pocket the other $8,400 a year I would have spent on an S550 and take my family on a nice trip.

I mean, this is a good lookin' car:

mmarshall

Probably for good reason. If customers (or potential customers) balk at a 50-80K Continental, then they are not likely to look at a Lincoln product that costs what an S-Class or 7-series does.

Typos? I think you meant CT6.

Also, the way an LS is built, unless you simply get tired of it and want something else, you probably won't need to replace it anytime soon. LSs are built to last....a former next-door neighbor of mine, who has since moved on, had one with almost 200K miles on it.

SW17LS

Fixed it before you posted

No doubt. I won't NEED to replace it, my dad's 98 had almost 200k miles on it. BUT, I do like newer cars, and for me the car as a lease is an important business deduction. Basically it saves me half the payment in taxes...if I buy it out of the lease and keep it I can still depreciate it for business but I would loose a considerable amount of deduction.

mmarshall

Yeah, good point. At what a typical new LS costs to lease, if you can legally deduct it as a business-expense (such as with real-estate agents, traveling salespersons, etc....), that's quite a deduction.

SW17LS

Just priced out a loaded TT Platinum CT6 and it came out to just shy of $90,000.

Thats a lot of coin. If I were going to go to a Cadillac I'd want a loaded one, but not for that money.

Stroock639

oh i would never even dare to suggest that it does, i'm just saying i want an american car that does. with the right people working on it i think it's definitely possible. yes it'll be difficult to sway potential s class buyers to give their beloved three pointed star the cold shoulder, but it is possible. but it's not possible by making a car that's just as good as an s class, because why wouldn't you then just get the s class. it'd have to be even better, and i'd like to believe it's possible to do that.

after all lincoln was the last american automaker to offer a V12... i think lincoln and cadillac could both make a competitive s class rival, but it'd have to be a loss leader that's designed by engineers and not bean counters. the flagship halo car that represents the full concentration of a companies technology, and demonstrates what the brand is truly capable of. if such a car could be built, it'd spark interest in the american luxury car again and wipe that smug look off their faces in stuttgart lol.

SW17LS

I don't see Lincoln as being capable of it. I think Lincoln is pretty well done. But Cadillac is, and they've alluded that they will.

dseag2

Maybe the North American marketed is more segmented in its car buying, but don't forget there is a big burgeoning Chinese middle-class population that may be ready for something other than a 7 series, A8 or S Class. They want big cars, though, and the Continental may just fit the bill. If I understand correctly, the Q70L was lengthened primarily to appeal to the Chinese market. I think there is a market for the Continental there, even more than in the states.

SW17LS

No doubt...

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

well you'd likely be leasing, so you certainly wouldn't have to shell out $90k.

SW17LS

Yeah but id be in the same lease range I'm in now, if I were to go to a Cadillac I would want to save money.

Stroock639

yea... probably not. it is ford after all lol...

but yea i'm excited to see what cadillac can do