Sharpening The Edge: The 2019 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label

The 2019 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label.

The renaissance at Lincoln is under way.  The new Navigator is a hit and the best in its class (two things it's been a long time Lincoln could say about any of its vehicles) and anticipation is high for the new 2020 Lincoln Aviator, which is now arriving on dealer lots.  And Lincoln is making sure its next rung down on the luxury ladder doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

Back On Top (for now): The 2018 Lincoln Navigator 4X4 Black Label

The 2018 Lincoln Navigator 4X4 Black Label.

Fifty years ago (!), the folks at Motor Trend had an annual battle they called "King of the Hill", in which they pitted the Lincoln Continental Mark III (and later IV) against the Cadillac Eldorado. The object was to see which was the pinnacle of American luxury, and, to be honest, American and perhaps global excess.

Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The battleground for American luxury is no longer found in two-door coupes, but in massive SUVs.  And the two players are, in 2018, still Lincoln and Cadillac.  In 2017, Lincoln wasn't a player, selling the positively ancient last-gen Navigator.  But for '18, the all-new Navigator lands while Caddy is still preparing the next-generation Escalade.

Edging Toward Greatness? The 2016 Lincoln MKX AWD

The 2016 Lincoln MKX.

There was a time, mainly in the 1960s and 70s, when a Lincoln in the driveway was a status symbol for people of means in their forties and fifties.  But that was many years, indeed decades, ago.  Now, the middle-aged drivers with money and the desire to own a luxury car simply are too young to remember those days.  Luxury cars to them are from Germany and have names like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi or---increasingly among younger drivers---from Japan (Lexus and to a lesser extent Infiniti).

The 2016 Lincoln MKX is the first vehicle to come from the latest in many rounds of what we are promised will be a new Lincoln Motor Company, one that doesn't scream "tarted-up Ford", one that will build cars that can be considered in the same breath as those imports listed above by people with the means to buy cars priced at $50,000 and above.