A review of the 2017 Continental, chosen just because they have what appear to be decent images of the car

[David]

47 minutes ago, Wings4Life said:

Tesla uses what looks like an Ipad for their instrumentation.  That’s pretty much it. 

Looks horrible to me, lacks any style at all, and as others mentioned, can be too bright at night, even when dimmed so far that you can no longer see icons.

Lincoln selected wisely, IMO.

I agree to disagree. A screen that can be found in the Ford Escape, Explorer, etc. is not luxury to me. I expect luxury especially when you are in the upper end of 5 figures and especially hitting 6 figures to be much better than this. 

I work everyday as a computer engineer on multiple screens and they are not that bright in auto's, yet I do understand that for some that are not used to it, then they can be. In all this is what I work on daily!

Otherwise, I like this boat of a car and do think it will do well for them. Much better than what Lincoln has had in the past.

[David]

6 minutes ago, Wings4Life said:

 It comes down to preference perhaps, but looking at the Volvo center stack, I see they made the same mistake Lincoln recently corrected.

In this while it is personal choice, I have to again disagree with you as you are looking at it from too much of an American only attitude.

Volvo is moving production to China since they are owned by Chinese. The Chinese, 1/5th of the worlds population reads top to bottom, left to right, much the same way Japan, Korea and so many other asian countries read their language. This is also why when you look at the asian rim you find so many cell phones much larger than the small phones you find in the US. Their characters and approach to reading is very much vertical.

I think Volvo did a smart thing, they are going after a much larger market and giving the end users what they want.

With large screens taking off worldwide, much of your 40 and younger crowd look at things in a portrait mode not a landscape mode which is very baby boomerish. The only exception to this is movies that everyone watches in the 16x9 format.

Again what Lincoln has done here is nice, but they were too conservative and I think bailed on pushing the edge for redefining luxury sedans.

By the way wings, I do agree with you that the S class implementation of the dual large landscape screens comes across very much buickish in nature which is surprising that they would fashion after a mid level luxury auto, but power to them if they sell well.

[ccap41]

29 minutes ago, Wings4Life said:

  Looking at the Volvo screen, I see a similar size

It is definitely much larger than the Continental's screen size.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

Every screen mentioned in this thread, all use same basic design and material.   The GUI or software is what can differentiate.

I love the Conti look, size and interface. Agree to disagree.

[ccap41]

29 minutes ago, dfelt said:

A screen that can be found in the Ford Escape, Explorer, etc. is not luxury to me. I expect luxury especially when you are in the upper end of 5 figures and especially hitting 6 figures to be much better than this. 

This. This was my whole point. I don't think it looks bad and I even think this could be on lower trim models but I think an inch larger would make a much better impression. Something that may seem petty to pick at is one of the very first things a couple looking at one of these and cross shopping these to their competition will see and analyze. For something pushing 80k I just think larger would be better. Not Tesla large, but larger.

Personally, I dig the S Class's setup. I think the dual screens looks super fancy and high tech. I am still a fan of actual buttons to touch but I have a feeling in a car of that caliber those screens work near flawlessly and I probably wouldn't have much of an issue with them.. but that's also in a car that starts at like 96k.

[Drew Dowdell]

I have not yet tried the Continental's screen to assess it... but from appearance, I feel that it is probably appropriately sized for the interior.  The size of the screen matters a lot less than the ease of use of the system.

Saying that, and again I haven't tried the Continental's system yet, of the others listed in this thread, Volvo has far and away the best and most intuitive to use of all of the systems I've tried.  It is the smoothest and probably the most attractive looking screens.  The Benz is such a bear to use... I'm a tech guy and even then I can get confused as to what I'm supposed to do.  Telsa's can be buggy. 

[ccap41]

31 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

The Benz is such a bear to use... I'm a tech guy and even then I can get confused as to what I'm supposed to do.  Telsa's can be buggy. 

Very good to know. I would have thought the larger of the companies in Benz to have nailed that down the best. Goes to show you were companies place their resources.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I have not yet tried the Continental's screen to assess it... but from appearance, I feel that it is probably appropriately sized for the interior.  The size of the screen matters a lot less than the ease of use of the system.

Saying that, and again I haven't tried the Continental's system yet, of the others listed in this thread, Volvo has far and away the best and most intuitive to use of all of the systems I've tried.  It is the smoothest and probably the most attractive looking screens.  The Benz is such a bear to use... I'm a tech guy and even then I can get confused as to what I'm supposed to do.  Telsa's can be buggy. 

Thanks for the heads up on the Volvo.  A lot of car makers are not doing a real wonderful job in this segment.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

Volvo and Mercedes have slipped recently

 

http://www.move-auto.com.my/media/k2/items/cache/6c0c69f45c88eea8734cf534aeeddbb6_XL.jpg

[ccap41]

Those ratings are to be taken with a grain of salt... The things that get reported and the people who report them completely skew the results.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

No need for disclaimers.

We all know what they are about.

But they are also all we have.

[Drew Dowdell]

2 hours ago, Wings4Life said:

Volvo and Mercedes have slipped recently

 

http://www.move-auto.com.my/media/k2/items/cache/6c0c69f45c88eea8734cf534aeeddbb6_XL.jpg

That tells me literally nothing about how the NAVI system performs which is what we're discussing here.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

18 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

That tells me literally nothing about how the NAVI system performs which is what we're discussing here.

I disagree.

You only have to recall how infotainment and sync wreaked havoc on Ford and Lincoln quality surveys.

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, Wings4Life said:

No need for disclaimers.

We all know what they are about.

But they are also all we have.

I think a written review by journalists like Drew are a much better source than people who may or may not subscribe to JD/CR and may or may not report their issues back to them as well.

According to that link Audi is more reliable than a Ram or a HONDA. That's why you take that with a grain of salt.

[Drew Dowdell]

7 minutes ago, Wings4Life said:

I disagree.

You only have to recall how infotainment and sync wreaked havoc on Ford and Lincoln quality surveys.

That was the reason for Ford's woes. That doesn't mean the same is true for Volvo and I'm not willing to make that assumption without evidence. 

My experiences with Sync3 have not been positive. My experiences with Volvo's system have been positive.

[Suaviloquent]

I don't think people wanting the highest tech auto are going to be enamored with the Conti even if it had a larger centre screen. They do have a digital instrument cluster screen, and that should do well enough.

I think that SYNC 3 being among the most simplest of systems out there is a good thing, and standard Android Auto and Apple Carplay integration is nice. I guess the bigger screen would be of benefit to those looking specifically for the tech. But who's buying a Conti specifically for the latest doodad? 

Those wanting the Conti will buy it for its style and purpose, and available luxury amenities that for its segment that are well differentiated. It has the available power for those who must absolutely humiliate the majority of drivers on the road. It is surprisingly competent where it pertains to driving manners.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

4 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

That was the reason for Ford's woes. That doesn't mean the same is true for Volvo and I'm not willing to make that assumption without evidence. 

My experiences with Sync3 have not been positive. My experiences with Volvo's system have been positive.

I did not say it was the exact reason, only suggested it could certainly impact it.

And I have read negative reviews on Volvo's system, and you said yourself that Mercedes system was bad.

[Drew Dowdell]

14 hours ago, Wings4Life said:

I did not say it was the exact reason, only suggested it could certainly impact it.

And I have read negative reviews on Volvo's system, and you said yourself that Mercedes system was bad.

I did say that Mercedes' system was bad, however, that has nothing to do with a generic Initial Quality Study.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I did say that Mercedes' system was bad, however, that has nothing to do with a generic Initial Quality Study.

Part of the study includes "features and accessories."

I don't know about you, but if I am paying for a navigation feature that is buggy or not easy to use, I will consider that in ANY quality study.  Just as people did when Sync was buggy.

What are you getting at here. This is common knowledge.

[Drew Dowdell]

On 11/5/2016 at 11:07 AM, Wings4Life said:

Part of the study includes "features and accessories."

I don't know about you, but if I am paying for a navigation feature that is buggy or not easy to use, I will consider that in ANY quality study.  Just as people did when Sync was buggy.

What are you getting at here. This is common knowledge.

I'm saying the IQS chart tells me nothing about the infotainment system. Fiat's IQS is pretty low too, but Uconnect is probably the best quality part of that car, which means something else is going on there.  Without some context as to what is causing the low IQs scores, the chart isn't really useful for judging the quality of the infotainment system.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

8 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I'm saying the IQS chart tells me nothing about the infotainment system. Fiat's IQS is pretty low too, but Uconnect is probably the best quality part of that car, which means something else is going on there.  Without some context as to what is causing the low IQs scores, the chart isn't really useful for judging the quality of the infotainment system.

Again, I simply suggested it as a possible reason for their low IQS, and yes, nobody can conclude anything without seeing the results. 

Too bad, sounds like they have bigger issues to resolve than just infotainment.

[Drew Dowdell]

Insinuation without evidence basically.

[A Horse With No Name]

So let's keep the conversation going.  This is also priced very well for a Flagship...and as I was starting to say in another thread before I deleted it...it should be able to slot in to the niche left by the Chrysler 300, which is getting long in the tooth.

What does everyone think about how Ford/Lincoln is placing this in the Market?

[David]

Placement by marketing is for it to compete against the luxury crowd, yet most people only see Lincoln as a mid level line. So having an $80,000 car is really pushing it. 

I see these getting sold into the private car service for sure.

There will be the baby boomers who want to have the Lazy Boy full size sedan, but at that price? Not sure, I will be watching this closely as right now Lincoln is a mid market product line competing with Acura, Buick, Infinity, etc.

That is how I see it IMHO.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Insinuation without evidence basically.

Disclaimer without evidence, perhaps?

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

Most of Buick's lineup is priced below the cheapest Lincoln.

Buick barely competes with premium Ford.

That is how I see it, and that is how it is.

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Placement by marketing is for it to compete against the luxury crowd, yet most people only see Lincoln as a mid level line. So having an $80,000 car is really pushing it. 

I see these getting sold into the private car service for sure.

There will be the baby boomers who want to have the Lazy Boy full size sedan, but at that price? Not sure, I will be watching this closely as right now Lincoln is a mid market product line competing with Acura, Buick, Infinity, etc.

That is how I see it IMHO.

I'm kind of conflicted on that because doesn't it start around 45k? On one hand they've been harassed(by myself as well) for cheapening out on things by being too Ford. So they attempt and succeed at making it very much not Ford but now it costs too much.. so on one end it competes with 45-60k cars buuuut it can reach nearly 80k which is up there with some serious luxury cars. And at 80k those are base XJ, 7 Series, A8 and it will oust them in options. 

Its just kind of at a weird spot right now for Lincoln But I think it is what Lincoln needs too. A true Lincoln. 

[A Horse With No Name]

58 minutes ago, Wings4Life said:

Most of Buick's lineup is priced below the cheapest Lincoln.

Buick barely competes with premium Ford.

That is how I see it, and that is how it is.

The Titanium Ford equipment levels/Trims are seriously nice. They did that one right, methinks.

[smk4565]

57 minutes ago, Wings4Life said:

Most of Buick's lineup is priced below the cheapest Lincoln.

Buick barely competes with premium Ford.

That is how I see it, and that is how it is.

The first part of that statement is true.  I don't know about how "premium" anything Ford makes is though.

[A Horse With No Name]

4 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

I'm kind of conflicted on that because doesn't it start around 45k? On one hand they've been harassed(by myself as well) for cheapening out on things by being too Ford. So they attempt and succeed at making it very much not Ford but now it costs too much.. so on one end it competes with 45-60k cars buuuut it can reach nearly 80k which is up there with some serious luxury cars. And at 80k those are base XJ, 7 Series, A8 and it will oust them in options. 

Its just kind of at a weird spot right now for Lincoln But I think it is what Lincoln needs too. A true Lincoln. 

Weird but I do think they priced it right.

 

Just now, smk4565 said:

The first part of that statement is true.  I don't know about how "premium" anything Ford makes is though.

For a mass market car it is very, very nice.

Being priced at 45k means the Conti will be cross shopped against an ES class Lexus, owning a Flagship product will appeal to many of those buyers.

[A Horse With No Name]

It would be really interesting to see a list of where the Conti buyers are conquered from. Would not be surprised to see quite a few moving up from Impalas, Fusions and Accords also.

It's a lot more content for the additional fifteen grand over a well equipped Accord.  Hell, there are Subaru Legacy's going well into the thirties.  If a buyer can pony up a few extra grand....

1 hour ago, Wings4Life said:

Most of Buick's lineup is priced below the cheapest Lincoln.

Buick barely competes with premium Ford.

That is how I see it, and that is how it is.

I do not consider Buick to really be a Luxury brand.  If Mercury or Plymouth were still around they would not be either.

[smk4565]

I don't know if the Continental is all that good though, and it's base is $45, but most are probably like $55k, a loaded Lexus LS is probably $50k with every option box checked.  Plus it is a lot bigger car, the ES350 is smaller than an MKZ, just slightly.  So given that, why buy a Continental, when you can just get an MKZ with the same engine and it looks the same and is $10k cheaper.

Lincoln isn't giving any reason for people to spend $60k or  more on a car, it has a Ford Chassis, with a Ford chassis and engine the Continental should have Audi A8 level interior to ask $60k because you aren't getting anything out of the powertrain.

[A Horse With No Name]

5 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

I don't know if the Continental is all that good though, and it's base is $45, but most are probably like $55k, a loaded Lexus LS is probably $50k with every option box checked.  Plus it is a lot bigger car, the ES350 is smaller than an MKZ, just slightly.  So given that, why buy a Continental, when you can just get an MKZ with the same engine and it looks the same and is $10k cheaper.

Lincoln isn't giving any reason for people to spend $60k or  more on a car, it has a Ford Chassis, with a Ford chassis and engine the Continental should have Audi A8 level interior to ask $60k because you aren't getting anything out of the powertrain.

Given that they are making a high level of conquest sales with reasonably positive reviews I am not sure the buying public putting money to metal would agree with you.

We talked about Lincoln's image earlier in the thread.  Benz sells the most Luxury vehicles in the US, followed by Lexus and then usually BMW and Audi.

Cadillac, Infinity and Acura are the next three in line with Lincoln last.

I would be willing to bet money Lincoln continues to gain traction in the market with the product that it is producing.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

25 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

The first part of that statement is true.  I don't know about how "premium" anything Ford makes is though.

Well, 

consider the features and luxury (platinum trim) and power you get across most product segments, and then think about any single brand that comes close.......and you will probably see my POV.

[ccap41]

32 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

I don't know if the Continental is all that good though, and it's base is $45, but most are probably like $55k, a loaded Lexus LS is probably $50k with every option box checked.  Plus it is a lot bigger car, the ES350 is smaller than an MKZ, just slightly.  So given that, why buy a Continental, when you can just get an MKZ with the same engine and it looks the same and is $10k cheaper.

Lincoln isn't giving any reason for people to spend $60k or  more on a car, it has a Ford Chassis, with a Ford chassis and engine the Continental should have Audi A8 level interior to ask $60k because you aren't getting anything out of the powertrain.

I'd wager very good money that 90%+ have no clue or care that it's on a Ford chassis. Most people aren't like us car guys who even know that. Like I'd bet the same thing that people have no clue my Escape is on the same platform as the Focus. People don't know because it isn't relevant when buying. 

46 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Weird but I do think they priced it right.

 

I do as well it's just a lot for a brand that hasn't had much in the last 10+ years. But you get out of a slump by doing things right..and those things cost money. 

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

The worlds top automakers are increasingly using flexible manufacturing and flexible platforms to consolidate many into few, reaping many benefits, especially economies of scale.  Creative engineering allows this and it will be the only way going forward to survive in this industry.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

9 hours ago, Wings4Life said:

The worlds top automakers are increasingly using flexible manufacturing and flexible platforms to consolidate many into few, reaping many benefits, especially economies of scale.  Creative engineering allows this and it will be the only way going forward to survive in this industry.

 

Exactly, VW is doing it, Toyota is in the process of putting almost everything on a common platform.

If anything, Lincoln/ford should be commended for using their resources wisely and not having a million different irrelevant platforms and choices.

I mean, look at BMW and the endless stream of similar and seemingly indistinguishable models there...

And no, the Conti does not need to be on a RWD platform of its own.  Plenty of people will buy it in markets where FWD will benefit in winter/inclement driving.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

Conti is fine with FWD/AWD, but going forward, Lincoln should and will introduce RWD.  Larger than Conti flagship is coming.  Perfect candidate for RWD.

[A Horse With No Name]

Just now, Wings4Life said:

Conti is fine with FWD/AWD, but going forward, Lincoln should and will introduce RWD.  Larger than Conti flagship is coming.  Perfect candidate for RWD.

This is an interesting bit of info...did not know this.....

Should liven things up in the luxury car competition!

[David]

My gut tells me that most people moving forward will not really care about FWD / RWD. The biggest point will be AWD or not, can I get to the mountain to ski / snowboard. Otherwise, make it fuel efficient or Electric and do not bother me with the details.

If the auto is on the same platform but look totally different, no one will care anymore for 97% of the buyers. The focus is to make sure the interior of the one brand auto looks nothing like it's sister division. Buick is doing this well, many others are also. So if Lincoln wants to play in the Luxury division, Great, just make sure the outside is Lincoln and the interior is Lincoln. Do not use Ford Plastic circle vents or other stuff that clearly says FORD.

Buyers want a Lincoln to be a Lincoln, not a re-badge Ford. This goes for any auto company.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

12 minutes ago, dfelt said:

My gut tells me that most people moving forward will not really care about FWD / RWD. The biggest point will be AWD or not, can I get to the mountain to ski / snowboard. Otherwise, make it fuel efficient or Electric and do not bother me with the details.

If the auto is on the same platform but look totally different, no one will care anymore for 97% of the buyers. The focus is to make sure the interior of the one brand auto looks nothing like it's sister division. Buick is doing this well, many others are also. So if Lincoln wants to play in the Luxury division, Great, just make sure the outside is Lincoln and the interior is Lincoln. Do not use Ford Plastic circle vents or other stuff that clearly says FORD.

Buyers want a Lincoln to be a Lincoln, not a re-badge Ford. This goes for any auto company.

You really should go see a modern Lincoln.  Your words suggest you have not been in one in years.

[ccap41]

17 minutes ago, dfelt said:

My gut tells me that most people moving forward will not really care about FWD / RWD. The biggest point will be AWD or not, can I get to the mountain to ski / snowboard. Otherwise, make it fuel efficient or Electric and do not bother me with the details.

If the auto is on the same platform but look totally different, no one will care anymore for 97% of the buyers. The focus is to make sure the interior of the one brand auto looks nothing like it's sister division. Buick is doing this well, many others are also. So if Lincoln wants to play in the Luxury division, Great, just make sure the outside is Lincoln and the interior is Lincoln. Do not use Ford Plastic circle vents or other stuff that clearly says FORD.

Buyers want a Lincoln to be a Lincoln, not a re-badge Ford. This goes for any auto company.

The Conti is the first to get its own switchgear and I would assume that would trickle through the brand. That is a HUGE step to get out of Ford's shadow.

[David]

9 minutes ago, Wings4Life said:

You really should go see a modern Lincoln.  Your words suggest you have not been in one in years.

I have and the Continental is the first time I sat in a Lincoln and did not see or feel Ford. The rest of the product line is re-badge Ford.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

2 minutes ago, dfelt said:

I have and the Continental is the first time I sat in a Lincoln and did not see or feel Ford. The rest of the product line is re-badge Ford.

I don't believe the words of someone who believes Lincoln barely competes with Buick.

[David]

5 hours ago, Wings4Life said:

I don't believe the words of someone who believes Lincoln barely competes with Buick.

You can believe whatever you want and that is fine. The fact is to me the Lincoln product line is a Buick, Acura Competitor EXCEPT for the Continental where they have truly went way beyond their existing family.

Continental is to Lincoln what the CTS was to Cadillac when they finally decided to compete again.

[oldshurst442]

OK.

Mr. Horse,

What is it like driving an Acura TL? A 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD...

OK...when the car was new, some people, friends and strangers looked at me in awe. Like I was driving a car of importance. In Quebec, Acura still has the aura of luxury about the brand.

1 short year later and I got the wife a 2013 Ford Fusion, whenever I drove the Fusion, I realized that people were in awe more with the Fusion than they were with the TL and that trend continues today.

What does it mean for me?

Nothing. I get a kick driving both cars and I dont mind being seen in either of them.

I see the differences that make Acura an Acura product though. A few say that the TL and the TLX are the only bright spots for Acura.

OK....fair enough. But it took Lincoln long enough to turn the bloody corner. And they are still not there.

Let us give Acura a shot at improving whatever the naysayers are trying to naysay about them.

Like I said, Acura went sour ONLY at about 2005 or so....that is ONLY a decade....and stilll, not tooo bad. We dont want to show what Lincoln or Cadillac had that was luxury back then....

I REPEAT....ACURA to date has not offered CRAP as that Catera's interior or 1st gen CTS yet some will defend the CTS....yet crap on the Acura's and with my memory....not bad at all for Acura.

About the other Acura stuff...

Ill repeat. Honda too with the Accord, their interiors are not exactly sexy....well built but not sexy...

Ill repeat. Many confuse that with quality.

Ill be changing my tires for the winters and Ill get into the MDX and the other models to refresh my memory but I still stand by my comments. I havent been in those models as I dont really care for them myself...

FoMoCo and GM are the ones to be in charge of interior design more so than Honda/Acura but that does not mean Honda/Acura went cheaper, it just means FoMoCo and GM finallly woke the phoque up!

Let not our GM or FoMoCo bias get in the way...

 

I also repeat....

The Continental is all but 1 car in a sea of also ran SUVs and badge engineered One Ford portfolio models.

If anybody thinks that is not on Buick's level, then they are lying to themselves.

Honda too badge engineers its Acura products, so if anybody thinks that Lincoln is soooooo far removed from Acura, they too are lying to themselves...

FoMoCo has what Acura has in terms of AWD.

Ford has revo-knuckle that is promising but I dont know if Lincoln uses it.

Acura has SH-AWD that only Acura uses, if Im not mistaken.

The TLX also has PAWS.

The NSX  was and continues to be  a Honda elsewhere on the planet except in North America. Its an Acura here.

The Ford GT is a Ford. Not a Lincoln.

Does Lincoln need a supercar?

Who cares???!!!

On a halo to halo  car comparison, the NSX trumps (pun NOT intended) the Continental in terms of probably luxury, quality and technology...

What does all that mean???!!!

I dont know!!!

Alls I do know is that Acura in Quebec does not have an image problem like Lincoln has.

Ive said this before, Lincoln's road to recovery starts with the Continental and every other model after it,  have to be flawless.  The SUVs  minus the 'Gator are practically flawless.

Acura too, is relying one 1 car. The NSX. And all other cars after the NSX also have to be flawless.

With a BIG difference though....

Lincoln needs a solid direction. No more One Ford. As does Acura. No more soul-less ugliness.

Lincoln needs to correct its quality and luxury PERCEPTION....

NOT ACURA....Even in the States, Acura has NOT soured their image....its their soul that is damaged...

I repeat, GM and FoMoCo fanboys prefer to drag Acura in the mud for "quality"...

 

 

OK....what does Acura mean to me?

Acura to me in the 1990s meant that it was the new Oldsmobile.

More so, I wish Oldsmobile was more like Acura in the early 1990s.

I wished the Olds Cutlass Calais/Achieva was more of a sporty, golf cart handler and better built automobile than it was along the lines of the Integra.

I wished the Cutlass Supreme had as much quality and luxury and sportiness as the Acura Legend and Vigor.

The Delta 88, I wished those went away and Oldsmobile just concentrated on the Aurora and I wished the Aurora brand propelled Oldsmobile further and beyond what the NSX was doing for Acura.

Today, I see the TL and the TLX where the Cutlass Supreme could have done battle and I could see that Oldsmobile could have kicked Acura's ass....

I also see Buick taking over Old's place where Oldsmobile left off, but Buick is missing a certain charisma that Oldsmobile had and Acura for that matter...

Buick lacks that sporty feel that Acura exudes, even when Acura has phoqued that up too.....

 

Mr. Horse....RANT OVER!

 

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

On 11/9/2016 at 10:34 PM, oldshurst442 said:

OK.

Mr. Horse,

What is it like driving an Acura TL? A 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD...

OK...when the car was new, some people, friends and strangers looked at me in awe. Like I was driving a car of importance. In Quebec, Acura still has the aura of luxury about the brand.

1 short year later and I got the wife a 2013 Ford Fusion, whenever I drove the Fusion, I realized that people were in awe more with the Fusion than they were with the TL and that trend continues today.

What does it mean for me?

Nothing. I get a kick driving both cars and I dont mind being seen in either of them.

I see the differences that make Acura an Acura product though. A few say that the TL and the TLX are the only bright spots for Acura.

OK....fair enough. But it took Lincoln long enough to turn the bloody corner. And they are still not there.

Let us give Acura a shot at improving whatever the naysayers are trying to naysay about them.

Like I said, Acura went sour ONLY at about 2005 or so....that is ONLY a decade....and stilll, not tooo bad. We dont want to show what Lincoln or Cadillac had that was luxury back then....

I REPEAT....ACURA to date has not offered CRAP as that Catera's interior or 1st gen CTS yet some will defend the CTS....yet crap on the Acura's and with my memory....not bad at all for Acura.

About the other Acura stuff...

Ill repeat. Honda too with the Accord, their interiors are not exactly sexy....well built but not sexy...

Ill repeat. Many confuse that with quality.

Ill be changing my tires for the winters and Ill get into the MDX and the other models to refresh my memory but I still stand by my comments. I havent been in those models as I dont really care for them myself...

FoMoCo and GM are the ones to be in charge of interior design more so than Honda/Acura but that does not mean Honda/Acura went cheaper, it just means FoMoCo and GM finallly woke the phoque up!

Let not our GM or FoMoCo bias get in the way...

 

I also repeat....

The Continental is all but 1 car in a sea of also ran SUVs and badge engineered One Ford portfolio models.

If anybody thinks that is not on Buick's level, then they are lying to themselves.

Honda too badge engineers its Acura products, so if anybody thinks that Lincoln is soooooo far removed from Acura, they too are lying to themselves...

FoMoCo has what Acura has in terms of AWD.

Ford has revo-knuckle that is promising but I dont know if Lincoln uses it.

Acura has SH-AWD that only Acura uses, if Im not mistaken.

The TLX also has PAWS.

The NSX  was and continues to be  a Honda elsewhere on the planet except in North America. Its an Acura here.

The Ford GT is a Ford. Not a Lincoln.

Does Lincoln need a supercar?

Who cares???!!!

On a halo to halo  car comparison, the NSX trumps (pun NOT intended) the Continental in terms of probably luxury, quality and technology...

What does all that mean???!!!

I dont know!!!

Alls I do know is that Acura in Quebec does not have an image problem like Lincoln has.

Ive said this before, Lincoln's road to recovery starts with the Continental and every other model after it,  have to be flawless.  The SUVs  minus the 'Gator are practically flawless.

Acura too, is relying one 1 car. The NSX. And all other cars after the NSX also have to be flawless.

With a BIG difference though....

Lincoln needs a solid direction. No more One Ford. As does Acura. No more soul-less ugliness.

Lincoln needs to correct its quality and luxury PERCEPTION....

NOT ACURA....Even in the States, Acura has NOT soured their image....its their soul that is damaged...

I repeat, GM and FoMoCo fanboys prefer to drag Acura in the mud for "quality"...

 

 

OK....what does Acura mean to me?

Acura to me in the 1990s meant that it was the new Oldsmobile.

More so, I wish Oldsmobile was more like Acura in the early 1990s.

I wished the Olds Cutlass Calais/Achieva was more of a sporty, golf cart handler and better built automobile than it was along the lines of the Integra.

I wished the Cutlass Supreme had as much quality and luxury and sportiness as the Acura Legend and Vigor.

The Delta 88, I wished those went away and Oldsmobile just concentrated on the Aurora and I wished the Aurora brand propelled Oldsmobile further and beyond what the NSX was doing for Acura.

Today, I see the TL and the TLX where the Cutlass Supreme could have done battle and I could see that Oldsmobile could have kicked Acura's ass....

I also see Buick taking over Old's place where Oldsmobile left off, but Buick is missing a certain charisma that Oldsmobile had and Acura for that matter...

Buick lacks that sporty feel that Acura exudes, even when Acura has phoqued that up too.....

 

Mr. Horse....RANT OVER!

 

 

 

Did not know you had the SH AWD! Makes sense for a Canadian winter.  Like the idea of FWD here in Ohio.  

This is Horse, had my wife sign me out of social media as I want to detox from not only the election but some other things going on.

Thanks for responding, your response was thoughtful.

Interesting that you see Oldsmobile and Acura as being similar, I do also.