Daily coverage of the world of cars.
This could be the Lincoln that makes Lincoln cool again.
While it can’t be called a success until we can count actual sales numbers, we can still look at the signs that point to the new 2017 Continental as being the most sought-after and desired Lincoln in a generation.
How has Ford, Lincoln’s parent, managed to pull off what could be the start of a turn-around for a brand that was once on the brink of death?
It all starts with design and the upscale luxury that once embodied Lincoln’s cars.
I have a 14-year-old car that’s less than 200 miles away from turning to 100,000 miles.
Victor Sheppard passed 100,000 in his first year of car ownership.
I’ve been a little nervous about the change to six digits on the odometer, but after hearing Victor’s story I’m starting to hope that this first hundred thousand is just the start of many more to come.
Victor has done something that very few people on Earth will ever accomplish. He reached a milestone with his vehicle that has only been reached a handful of times, and he did faster than anyone would have believed possible.
Victor has driven a 2007 Toyota Tundra over 1 million miles.
A turbocharger can significantly increase an engine’s horsepower without adding a lot of weight, which is partly why so many automakers today are adding turbos to their lineups. Turbocharging allows vehicles to use smaller engines and achieve greater fuel economy without sacrificing performance.
A turbocharger works by using exhaust gas to spin a turbine which in turn powers a pump that sucks in additional air that is directed back into the engine for an added boost. One of the biggest downsides of a turbocharger is that it can take time to wind up and apply the boost, a problem called turbo lag.
Lag problems are sometimes addressed through a twin sequential turbocharger system, in which one turbo handles low-RPM conditions and another kicks in for high-RPM conditions. In 2012, BMW introduced a tri-turbo system for the European market.
The third turbocharger awakens in the upper rev limits to achieve peak performance, but apparently three were still not enough.
There was a time when owning a new BMW meant you had achieved ultimate success. The brand was the pinnacle of luxury and, in order to buy one, you had to be able to pay the asking price. Dealers didn’t need to negotiate too much because they knew a willing buyer was always around the corner.
That was the nature of BMW. It took cash, and a lot of it, to have the pleasure and the privilege of owning the exclusive ultimate driving machine.
Times are changing, though.
Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and even Lexus sell cars that can outshine a Bimmer. That’s a truth being felt at dealerships across the country, and BMW devised a plan to do something about it. It loaded up dealers with vehicles in an attempt to increase volume and become the number-one luxury nameplate in America.
That plan has backfired.
Mitsubishi doesn’t sell a lot of cars in the United States.
The Japanese automaker has teetered for years on the brink of pulling out of the market, but has managed to sustain itself within a tiny niche of affordable entry-level vehicles. There was a time when the company offered a full stable of vehicles, including the Endeavor SUV, Eclipse coupe, Galant sedan, and, of course, the cult-favorite Evolution.
Today’s lineup includes variations of the Outlander small SUV and a couple of miniature cars, the Lancer and Mirage.
Mitsubishi has certainly flown under the radar in recent years, which could be why a new scandal involving deceptive fuel-economy claims has gone largely unnoticed in the U.S.