[Bloggin]

I see a 116 inch wheelbase MKS and a 121 inch long wheel base MKS called the Continental. The MKS would have standard 4 doors, with the Continental offering the 'coach' doors for use as a livery or executive car in the China market.

Seriously, a MKS with coach doors would be 'interesting' but not practical in a global market as midsize luxury sedan. The Continental targeting the executive car market would have a large customer base in China, as a more affordable Rolls.

 

[2b2]

I see a 116 inch wheelbase MKS and a 121 inch long wheel base MKS called the Continental. The MKS would have standard 4 doors, with the Continental offering the 'coach' doors for use as a livery or executive car in the China market.

Seriously, a MKS with coach doors would be 'interesting' but not practical in a global market as midsize luxury sedan. The Continental targeting the executive car market would have a large customer base in China, as a more affordable Rolls.

that sounds pretty darn good, Bloggin... ...BUT

whaddabout the Taurus??

also
it's actually (at least) (possibly) 4 (FOUR!) cars I need to say 'whaddabout' about
Lincoln-US ... Lincoln-China
Ford-US ........Ford-China

 

[DetroitBORG]

Yeah, I would be very skeptical of what a Sales Manager has to say, they do NOT have an inside track on Lincoln plans and typically regurgitate already well publicized rumors or things their customers say to them. You can already see in this conversation how quickly a 2nd-hand untrusted source is accepted as an authority. I guarantee you we know more about the next Lincoln than they do.

I am certain we will see the Continental name used again somehow, Neil Young confirmed that much. The next MKS/Continental is a 2017 MY car according to Lincoln, won't see it produced until mid 2016, a concept in NY is really early but certainly possible. But like the MKX, I was expecting a Chinese focused concept debut which will be the car's biggest market. And it's probably best to stay clear of the major Caddy and Lexus announcements in the same show since those will draw more attention.

 

[2b2]

cross-fertilizing

Re: Do Johan & Uwe understand Luxury? OR CADILLAC? - merged/updated

Like Lincoln, Caddy's new strategy is unproven and will take this decade to fully assess. The good thing is that both companies understand significant change is needed and are moving aggressively. The thing I do admire about Caddy is their ambition and leadership, they are moving very fast. Caddy has always been a product first company because they believe in their vast historic potential and act arrogantly assuming customers will snatch it up if they just build them. Lincoln is very much a business/strategy first company with less emphasis on flashy product because their brand and customer base is very weak so they have to fix that first and invest smartly and strategically with their limited resources and engineering autonomy. I think Lincoln has a better handle on its strengths and weaknesses than Caddy and are making smarter decisions, but they are also taking very few risks as a result.

Ultimately Caddy wants to leverage its heritage at the same time it wants to completely change it's customer. Lincoln on the other hand is very faithful to it's core principles and product philosophy. Caddy is reinventing itself, Lincoln is rediscovering itself...it'll be interesting to see which approach works best..but I tend to have more faith in authenticity (never forget where you came from).

I would love to see some kind of Lincoln at NYC that DESTROYS the CT6

not that I don't want Cadillac to succeed (no matter how hard they TRY to fail and take down GM with them)
but
just for the poetry of irony

Caddy spend all those Billions on product without, pre-Johan...maybe, giving a thought to developing their sales channel or Brand
then
Lincoln who's been living on a showstring, pre-Mr.Fields, gets One 1/2-new** car and is off to the races


** 1/2-new cuz it SEEMS like we're still talking about the MKS's slot = a replacement

 

[FordSUVfan]

I just read it... huh. The mustang platform thing seems unbelievable, as do the suicide doors thing. But suicide doors might just be on the concept. Here's what I want to know: it's permanent AWD, okay, but is it RWD based? I assume not; the fact that he says next gen would be RWD seems to imply that. Because you can add AWD to a FWD or RWD platform, but at the end of the day, an engine is longitudinally mounted, or it isn't. (Yeah, I know, the whole rumor is not reliable anyways. Just food for thought.)

So anyways, we'll at least see the concept or some surprise at the next auto show.

PS: Yeah, I think using Continental as a trim name is lame and a waste of the name.

 

[Willwll313wll]

Hmmmm...

How about a standard wheelbase MKS with standard doors
and a long wheelbase MKS Continental with suicide doors?

 

[2b2]

^ :thumb:
tho I still want/need to know where the Taurus would fit in
really don't want the Taurus & (wic) to EVEN share wlbs

I just read it... huh. The mustang platform thing seems unbelievable, as do the suicide doors thing. But suicide doors might just be on the concept. Here's what I want to know: it's permanent AWD, okay, but is it RWD based? I assume not; the fact that he says next gen would be RWD seems to imply that. Because you can add AWD to a FWD or RWD platform, but at the end of the day, an engine is longitudinally mounted, or it isn't. (Yeah, I know, the whole rumor is not reliable anyways. Just food for thought.)

So anyways, we'll at least see the concept or some surprise at the next auto show.

PS: Yeah, I think using Continental as a trim name is lame and a waste of the name.

the way I read the OP's posts at MT is
the S550 is separate from the (wic)

 

[Rofl Wafflez]

The car will supposedly be more upright than the coupe-like MKZ, taking some design cues from the Continental Concept.

View attachment 12233

View attachment 12241

 

[2b2]

...How about a standard wheelbase MKS with standard doors
and a long wheelbase MKS Continental with suicide doors?

. . . part two
looking as some previous imaginings, maybe multiple 'sub-models' (more than trims) could work?
"S" as in "Sport": base = 2.7EB-Awd / top = 3.5EB-Awd, with trims geared to current prices/ATPs
"SE": "SuperEnergi" 2.0EB-PlugIn
Continental: different greenhouse+doors+stretch & std = Reserve, opt = [BL]
( 2.9EB instead of 2.7EB as base? )
(( this echoes my old fixation with the MKS's unbuilt big brother, the E386
& imho makes sense out of keeping both the letter(s) "S" with Conti ))


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . part one

 

[igor2]

The car will supposedly be more upright than the coupe-like MKZ, taking some design cues from the Continental Concept.

View attachment 12233

View attachment 12241

I think a very formal sedan will contrast nicely with the performance-focused (real or pretended) from the Germans. However, I thought the MKS replacement would look like the XJ ... so now I am confused. I guess I have a month and change to keep ruminating.

 

[SP1966]

The car will supposedly be more upright than the coupe-like MKZ, taking some design cues from the Continental Concept.

View attachment 12233

View attachment 12241

That concept was fine for the nostalgia it brought to the show but it would be a horrible new Lincoln. Give us a fully modern new Lincoln not a modernized old Lincoln.

 

[Bloggin]

that sounds pretty darn good, Bloggin... ...BUT

whaddabout the Taurus??

also
it's actually (at least) (possibly) 4 (FOUR!) cars I need to say 'whaddabout' about
Lincoln-US ... Lincoln-China
Ford-US ........Ford-China

I would think the New Taurus would be based on then same platform as the New standard(116 inch longer than the current 112 inch) wheelbase MKS. There is no need for a long wheelbase Taurus, as the larger 'Sr Executive' Lincoln sedan should not be the same size as the lower priced 'Jr Executive' Ford sedan.

 

[Dequindre]

That concept was fine for the nostalgia it brought to the show but it would be a horrible new Lincoln. Give us a fully modern new Lincoln not a modernized old Lincoln.

The automotive press, and many enthusiasts, have been asking for just the opposite. They want to see a boxy, flamboyant, long sedan called the Continental. The Continental Concept hits many of the right notes (although I think it's horribly bland).

 

[Dequindre]

I would think the New Taurus would be based on then same platform as the New standard(116 inch longer than the current 112 inch) wheelbase MKS. There is no need for a long wheelbase Taurus, as the larger 'Sr Executive' Lincoln sedan should not be the same size as the lower priced 'Jr Executive' Ford sedan.

Do you have any evidence to back up the "two wheelbase" theory, or is it just speculation?

I doubt Lincoln would create, essentially, two models of the same car. Long wheelbase vehicles sold in China are usually the same vehicle with a few more inches of legroom in the back. There is little reason to think that Lincoln would stray from that simple, cost-effective formula.

 

[Dequindre]

I would think the New Taurus would be based on then same platform as the New standard(116 inch longer than the current 112 inch) wheelbase MKS. There is no need for a long wheelbase Taurus, as the larger 'Sr Executive' Lincoln sedan should not be the same size as the lower priced 'Jr Executive' Ford sedan.

*Duplicate*

 

[2b2]

I would think the New Taurus would be based on then same platform as the New standard(116 inch longer than the current 112 inch) wheelbase MKS. There is no need for a long wheelbase Taurus, as the larger 'Sr Executive' Lincoln sedan should not be the same size as the lower priced 'Jr Executive' Ford sedan.

Do you have any evidence to back up the "two wheelbase" theory, or is it just speculation?

I doubt Lincoln would create, essentially, two models of the same car. Long wheelbase vehicles sold in China are usually the same vehicle with a few more inches of legroom in the back. There is little reason to think that Lincoln would stray from that simple, cost-effective formula.

I was surprised to see what looks-like imho a long-wlb Taurus.
Imho the spypix canNOT be of a regular US-spec Taurus

before that
I speculated a mildly stretched (3-4" longer but wider too) Fusion wlb for Ford and an extra 2-3" for Lincoln
+
hearing about opera doors for the Conti(wic), makes me think it HAS TO HAVE a different mid-body structure that MAY AS WELL include an entire passenger compartment between the A-pillar+firewall to the rear axle ....SO...
Why Not a couple more inches of wlb...

Imho (at least) 2 lengths is a certainty AND a minimum - dictated by the differences between the US & China markets

 

[Logans Run]

Whatever comes...it MUST have a fresh, bold, and elegant design that will make people sit up and take notice.
Please do not come out looking like a bloated MKZ, or a wannabe Audi/BMW.

 

[2b2]

[ carbon copy ]

Originally Posted by 2b2
... I'm actually starting to hope (if it's JUST an S(wic)) that what Lincoln does isN'T TOO wonderful...
...I just fear that it could "carve into stone" for whatever ELSE they have coming -- sorta like my feeling about the horizontal slat grille (WHICH
Max did not originally intend to used across the Entire lineup - from things he's been quoted saying)​

 

[scford58]

Imho (at least) 2 lengths is a certainty AND a minimum - dictated by the differences between the US & China markets

Why is it the "LWB" models are only for the Chinese market? A common thread that I see running through so many auto reviews is the lack of rear leg room. The cars I'm referring to are models sold here in the U.S. However, many of these cars are sold in China with a stretched wb which magically solves this problem. Would these cars not sell better on our shores with the same LWB treatment? A couple of examples are the current MKS & the ATS but I know there are more. I'm just saying Americans also prefer comfort and convenience as much as the next guy. Does CAFE stand in the way? If so, we're smart enough to find an answer to the problem. (IMHO)

 

[2b2]

Why is it the "LWB" models are only for the Chinese market? A common thread that I see running through so many auto reviews is the lack of rear leg room. The cars I'm referring to are models sold here in the U.S. However, many of these cars are sold in China with a stretched wb which magically solves this problem. Would these cars not sell better on our shores with the same LWB treatment? A couple of examples are the current MKS & the ATS but I know there are more. I'm just saying Americans also prefer comfort and convenience as much as the next guy. Does CAFE stand in the way? If so, we're smart enough to find an answer to the problem. (IMHO)

:thumb:
just-imho, the Suits recognize their own ignorance of the China market so
THEY GIVE CHINA ANYTHING IT ASKS FOR
ie what their "metrics" indicate
otoh
'''they''' think '''they''' know ALL about 'Muricuh and if a shopper says (s)he wants something different, IMMEDIATELY rule him(er) an outlier = IRRELEVANT (see: What's good for General Bullmoose is good for the USA)

the 'story' I see all the time is
IN CHINA, the owner sits in back - at least the owners of largish/Luxish sedans
[ aside: I expect Cadillac to invent a different top-end trim for China
cuz the owner won't like being chauffeured in a V-series, "SlowDOWN!" ]
PLUS
we have been LIED TO all these years being told they can't stretch unibody cars and it's easy cheap to do
esp if there are fewer gov'mint regulations

on a less philosophical side,
there is some difference between stretching the rear compartment and spreading that stretch evenly front&back (see: Panther Taxi 6" stretch ... and check out the rear DOORS)

^all^just^imho^ :angel