Lincoln Continental Production Version

[Payman]

Cool door handles aren't enough to sway BMW, Merc, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura or even Cadillac buyers.

At least they went with a proper name that's well known and respected.

[12,000 RPM]

Suicide doors and recalling the spirit of the 67 would be. U take the badges off, a lot of those cars are damn near interchangeable.

[Morris Minor]

Lincoln Continental Azera Edition

[Raza]

Looking forward to getting one of these next time I call an Uber.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Lincoln Continental Azera Edition

Yup!

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yup!

FWIW, I like the Lincoln version better.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

FWIW, I like the Lincoln version better.

Aside from the door handles.... 

[68_427]

[93JC]

I have serious doubts this product will be popular, but I like it. I like that it's not afraid to be about comfort more than about "performance" in the sports car sense. I like that it isn't a Cadillac, which is to say it hasn't unabashedly tried to out-BMW BMW. I like that it isn't fugly like a Mercedes-Benz, Lexus or Infiniti. I like that it doesn't look like a glorified Honda, like an Acura (and despite whatever similarities you see between this car and a Hyundai Azera this one's finishing and details make it look decidedly more upscale).

[12,000 RPM]

I think they missed an opportunity with the styling. Exterior should have been a little more chiseled and the dash should have been more ambitious. But I do think focusing on the LUXURY in luxury car, rather than this goofy sport sedan bullshit, is the way to go. For the life of me I cannot understand why someone would buy a 4000-5000lb sedan for "sporty driving". Barring an older M5 or an NA Panamera I feel like with the premiums they charge you'd be better off getting the base luxury car and a Miata or even Boxster on the side.

One of the loudmouths at TTAC had a rare moment of clarity slamming some rough riding "sport sedan".... I'm paraphrasing here, but the essence of his statement was "NOBODY cares about BREMBO BRAKES and RING TIMES when they're SITTING IN TRAFFIC". Bumper to bumper traffic, I'd rather something that feels like my living room. I think Lincoln got the balance right in that regard. They just need to dial up the style.... not to where it's some garish nasty thing but enough to where it's eye catching.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I hope LUXURY doesn't just mean a buttload lf self-driving features and more ICE than any old man knows what to do with. True LUXURY should not be about gizmos, but about the ultimate in comfort. The seats, alone, should be so comfortable that they sell the car. And it should be dead silent inside so you can listen to AM talk radio on volume level 2.

[12,000 RPM]

I agree. I think a lot of the luxury companies are desperate and have latched onto the whole "sporty" thing for more marketing/SEO copy. I don't think it's what the people want.

I remember why I want this thing to be more chiseled.



Lincoln fumbled on this, and Chrysler picked it up and scored a touchdown with the 300C/Charger. A big part of American luxury is style and I'm just not sure this new Continental has enough. We will see though.

[SVT666]

I think it will look a lot better in sunlight rather than car show lights reflecting off it.

[Payman]

I agree. I think a lot of the luxury companies are desperate and have latched onto the whole "sporty" thing for more marketing/SEO copy. I don't think it's what the people want.

I remember why I want this thing to be more chiseled.



Lincoln fumbled on this, and Chrysler picked it up and scored a touchdown with the 300C/Charger. A big part of American luxury is style and I'm just not sure this new Continental has enough. We will see though.

I don't think it was so much a fumble... Ford saw the overwhelming negative reaction to the retro designed Thunderbird, and decided to go a different route.

[Cookie Monster]

I think it looks pretty nice, especially in that blue. The blue interior looks shitty, but overall I like it.

[93JC]

I think the blue interior was made mostly as proof that Lincoln will build you what you want, even if you want blue. It's also to showcase how similar the production Continental is to the concept. The concept car was blue on blue.

[12,000 RPM]

I don't think it was so much a fumble... Ford saw the overwhelming negative reaction to the retro designed Thunderbird, and decided to go a different route.

Ooof.... letting the Thunderbird's failure dictate any decision besides canceling the Thunderbird was a mistake. It was more like the ThunderTURD am I rite???

I feel like this Continental would have totally changed Lincoln's fortunes. They goofed trying to make a 5 series fighter. Again the success of the 300, Rubbermaid Prestige™ interior and all, shows the success this could have had. Wouldn't even have had to have been RWD (though it wouldn't have hurt I guess). O well, better late than never.

[2o6]

I like the blue interior, it looks really old-school.

[shp4man]

I like the presence of some chrome trim in the interior. Very nice, and grey, beige and black interiors are boring as hell. I also agree with the luxury/comfort over sportiness for this type of car.

[SJ_GTI]

I like the blue interior, it looks really old-school.

My second hand-me down car was my dad's Olds Toronado (late 80's model year I believe). Blue Exterior with Blue (cloth) interior. 

That interior of that thing was ugly, but as a college kid I liked that car. Plenty of power and I still think it looked good on the outside.

[93JC]

I still think the Thunderbird was a good car, it was just grossly overpriced and traded too heavily on the nostalgia factor. It appealed mostly to old farts who remembered Thunderbirds from the '50s. To the rest of us it was a nice, sedate convertible that wasn't worth the money Ford dealers wanted for them.

The Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger are much less expensive cars than the Continental needs to be. They're direct replacements for the Intrepid, Concorde and 300M: they captured the market those cars covered, they had a few conquest sales from people who would have otherwise bought cars like the W- and G-body GM cars or Toyota Avalon, and they even had a few conquest sales from people who would have otherwise bought something like an Infiniti G35 or a Lexus ES. But it's still plays in a plebeian part of the market.

The Continental needs to attract a considerably higher average price point. It needs to be a car that is consistently sold for around its asking price, and that average asking price has to be $45,000+, and they have to sell lots of them. Making that retro-Continental would have been cool but whatever popularity it had would have faded as fast as the Thunderbird's. Probably even faster due to how much more expensive the Continental ought to have been.

The Continental needs to be a product that people under the age of 50 (ideally 40) would aspire to own. That's what sells BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes and Audis, and why every other luxury marque is considered a pretender: younger people don't aspire to own an Acura, a Lexus, or a Lincoln. You can sell old-folks-cars to old folks, you can sell young-folks-cars to old folks, but you can't sell old-folks-cars to young folks. A retro-Continental would have been a nostalgia-infused old-folks-car for old folks, just like the Thunderbird, and as nice a car as it might have been that image is something it wouldn't have been able to shake.

[SVT666]

I still think the Thunderbird was a good car, it was just grossly overpriced and traded too heavily on the nostalgia factor. It appealed mostly to old farts who remembered Thunderbirds from the '50s. To the rest of us it was a nice, sedate convertible that wasn't worth the money Ford dealers wanted for them.

The Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger are much less expensive cars than the Continental needs to be. They're direct replacements for the Intrepid, Concorde and 300M: they captured the market those cars covered, they had a few conquest sales from people who would have otherwise bought cars like the W- and G-body GM cars or Toyota Avalon, and they even had a few conquest sales from people who would have otherwise bought something like an Infiniti G35 or a Lexus ES. But it's still plays in a plebeian part of the market.

The Continental needs to attract a considerably higher average price point. It needs to be a car that is consistently sold for around its asking price, and that average asking price has to be $45,000+, and they have to sell lots of them. Making that retro-Continental would have been cool but whatever popularity it had would have faded as fast as the Thunderbird's. Probably even faster due to how much more expensive the Continental ought to have been.

The Continental needs to be a product that people under the age of 50 (ideally 40) would aspire to own. That's what sells BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes and Audis, and why every other luxury marque is considered a pretender: younger people don't aspire to own an Acura, a Lexus, or a Lincoln. You can sell old-folks-cars to old folks, you can sell young-folks-cars to old folks, but you can't sell old-folks-cars to young folks. A retro-Continental would have been a nostalgia-infused old-folks-car for old folks, just like the Thunderbird, and as nice a car as it might have been that image is something it wouldn't have been able to shake.

When that T-Bird came out, dealers in Edmonton were asking $50K+.

[93JC]

Dealers everywhere were asking asinine amounts of money for them.

[Payman]

I wouldn't mind having a used one, but they're still commanding stupid prices. $24,000 for an '03 with 55,000 kms? 

[TBR]

I like blue seats, but the all blue interior reminds me of my grandma's '97 Thunderbird.

Really like this car though!

[Soup DeVille]

The T-Bird was a two-door Town Car for three times the price. It wasn't a good car; but it was a good metric of how far the automakers had strayed from building vehicles that people actually wanted.

[93JC]

I wouldn't mind having a used one, but they're still commanding stupid prices. $24,000 for an '03 with 55,000 kms? 

Haha, yeah. I've looked into them in the last year or so, just idle musing on my part, seeing what a second car might run me. They've held their value very well.

Now, if you want to see really ludicrous used car prices, look up Plymouth Prowlers...

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

When that T-Bird came out, dealers in Edmonton were asking $50K+.

WOW! The T Bird I owned (I took over my mom lease) wasn't worth 35K in my eyes! Let alone 50K! It was a head turner (a couple chicks thought it was a Bentley) but not much else. That money would have been better spent on a Corvette......

[Payman]

Haha, yeah. I've looked into them in the last year or so, just idle musing on my part, seeing what a second car might run me. They've held their value very well.

Now, if you want to see really ludicrous used car prices, look up Plymouth Prowlers...

I know. There was one for sale at Stormy's Used Cars in Belleville last year, a '99 for... $47,000.

[Payman]

The T-Bird was a two-door Town Car for three times the price. It wasn't a good car; but it was a good metric of how far the automakers had strayed from building vehicles that people actually wanted.

It was based on the LS, and it really wasn't that bad. It was an entry-lux convertible cruiser... not a sports car.