cp-the-nerd

Agreed. This car with the black label interior, 3.0T, and sport package should max out at $50k, not $60k. It should also have the 2.3T standard, not the Fusion's 2.0T. What provides mediocre acceleration in the Fusion's class is absolutely not befitting of a luxury car. I really thought that should have been a no brainer for this refresh.

Hold up, you're misunderstanding me. Like you described, Stew's pet peeve is that 4 identical directional wheels will go in opposite directions on each side of the car. His solution is having two pairs of directional wheels that are the opposite design so the appearance is identical from either side. I just pointed out that two sets of directional wheels would make tire rotations a pain in the ass, because you have to avoid putting two opposite designs on the same side.

It's different with cars like the Cobra that have different size rears vs fronts, tire rotations aren't the same.

You're overlooking a huge problem with that: when you rotate the tires, you'll end up with two different wheels on one side of the car. THAT would look ridiculous.

Don't bother, Drew. He's got the Ford blinders on at full power. We've all made perfectly rational arguments as to why the tires are comically ridiculous, and he just says "Lincoln offers them so it counts." He read this review like

I hit $56k MSRP on the configurator by selecting black label, 3.0T/AWD, and picking a paint color that wasn't silver or black. It's a lot easier to push $60k than you'd think.

Base MSRP for a 3.0T AWD is $43,735. This is included in the C&D specs I posted and confirmed on Lincoln's website. They shouldn't even offer that engine with FWD, which is what you used (along with incentives) to get it under $40k. The tire argument is lame to *YOU* because you refuse to see the reality of Car & Driver's comments or anyone else's perspective, for that matter. Ford sent that car--insane options and all--so the fact that the review turned into a big joke at Lincoln's expense is their own fault.

It's not that they're ringer tires, it's that they don't belong on this car from an engineering standpoint. These are michelin pilot super sports. They're made for Porsches, Corvettes, and V-series Cadillacs. The review illustrates pretty clearly that the suspension reaches its limit before the tires do. If you put super sports on a Toyota Corolla, it would probably hold .9g and brake shorter too.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2017-lincoln-mkz-30t-awd-test-review Zero to 60 mph: 4.8 sec Zero to 100 mph: 12.0 sec Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 5.5 sec Standing ¼-mile: 13.4 sec @ 105 mph Top speed (governor limited): 150 mph Braking, 70-0 mph: 156 ft Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad*: 0.93 g EPA: 17/26 mpg Curb weight: 4307 lb As Tested: $59,975 (base price: $43,735) There's so much to break down in this review, because the numbers tell so little of the story. Like the Fusion Sport, the engine is the car's greatest asset. Hit the gas and it gives serious thrust, though it's connected to an aging 6-speed automatic. Looking at the test results with no context, this seems to be just a hair behind the Audi A6 3.0T, which would be an excellent achievement, but as you read through the driving impressions things look less rosy. Fitted with the mind boggling selection of Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires (meant for dedicated high performance cars), the .93g of recorded grip was overkill for the FWD-based chassis. "...Worst of all, after cornering, the whole car wags like the tail of a Newfoundland puppy that just discovered freeze-dried chicken jerky. It then takes some time to recover its composure. And the all-wheel-drive system isn’t able to keep up, either, as the MKZ still wants to torque-steer off the road. ...these are summer-only sports-car tires fitted to a car tuned for all-season touring rubber. In fact, the placard in the doorjamb of our test car gave away the fact that it started life without these tires—the placard listed a different tire size than those fitted to the car—which Lincoln reps no doubt swapped in hope of improving test numbers. One gets the sense that these tires were specially chosen for vehicles that would see performance testing by the media. According to Lincoln’s online configurator for the 2017 MKZ, the optional summer tire will be a 245/40R-19 (just like the Michelins on our test car); although the Lincoln website doesn’t specify the tire brand or model, it’s hard to imagine dealers ordering high-performance rubber for this car." In the end, this car would have likely found greater fanfare with the high-end all season touring tires that it was engineered for. Let the luxury and impressive 400 horsepower engine speak for themselves without trying to be some sort of poseur sport sedan. This also leads us to the other elephant in the room: $59,975 as tested. That's the cost of a Fusion Sport and a Fusion Hybrid combined... for a car based on the Fusion. Personally, I'm FAR from sold on Lincoln's latest direction, and this review only cements the impression of confused luxury goals and engineering compromises.

What can I say, I like what I like. The ATS coupe and SS sedan are gonna end up in every list I can apply them to, until the day I can buy one of them in real life! Haha.

Well that's damning with faint praise if I ever saw it! We're allowed to choose 4WD vs 2WD right?

Not necessarily in these colors... Cadillac ATS Coupe (2.0T/6M *2.5L engine was dropped) Chevy SS (6.2L/6M) Chevy Cruze Hatchback (1.4T/6A) - for the lady GMC Yukon (5.3L/6A 4WD) Audi R8

Update: Bench racer escalated till he got banned (another forum). Wouldn't acknowledge any reasoning from other users and it eventually devolved into throwing a tantrum and trying to cuss people out. The story: someone owned a gen 5 Camaro V6 manual and a 2016 (brand new) Malibu 2.0T/8A. He and his son found a flat open 1/4 mile stretch of road and raced them. Malibu won every time. They swapped cars, same result. According to magazines, the all new Malibu runs 14.7 sec, the stick shift Camaro V6 runs mid 14s. This is essentially what the bench racer decided was ABSOLUTE PROOF to imply the story was fabricated. Of course, his go-to bench racing stat was 0-60, which is also 2-3 tenths apart. Well to get the Camaro's best time, you basically have to do a 4000 rpm clutch drop and damn near powershift at 7000 rpm with a vague shifter. To get the Malibu's time... uh, you put your foot on the floor. What a shock that a modern automatic can make up a few tenths on a manual transmission.

Yes. I could have ordered/bought one, they were still being produced when I bought my Malibu. I don't have regrets, but that was my second choice and the coolest car I ever could've bought but didn't.

This looks like a mature Juke in the best possible way. Somehow the odd design features all work.

What self-respecting, wealthy, single guy buys a big-ass soccer mom crossover as a daily driver? I could understand a Tahoe, but a Traverse? Dude could be driving an Impala or god forbid a Cadillac of some sort.

The Camaro had also been unveiled, and I would have loved to drive a V6 RS, but it came to market a few months too late.

I've only bought one car, which is my Malibu. I got it because I had my dad's employee discount at the Chevy dealer. I still maintain that with the 3.6L it was the best car Chevy sold at the time. I also thought it was a stunner (for a midsize car) when it was unveiled. However... I have a huge soft spot for this funky wagon, and I absolutely could've bought one for less than I paid on the Malibu.

That's an insult to Vader. And snow plows. A Chevy SS sedan is an IDEAL family car!

I just realized I have enough money saved up for my upcoming wedding to afford a great down payment w/trade-in on a Chevy SS (sedan). The cold feet are reaching frostbite levels. I kid, I love my fiance, we've been together over 7 years. The financial reality cuts me deep, though. I resent the sh*t out of weddings now.

I'm inclined to forego the peformance package on the Grand Sport for a more well rounded, easy to live with car. I've loved Corvettes since I was 4 years old, that's not going to change in favor of a Porsche with a recently downsized turbo V6. The Porsche is an amazing feat of engineering at a price I'd never be interested in even if I could afford it.

Loaded ATS-V Coupe Or loaded Corvette Grand Sport Special Edition

That moment when a bench-racer goes full retard and disagrees with someone's actual first-person experience with cherry picked internet specs.

The new car budget is just $40k? Kinda conflicts with the idea of a "dream" garage! I guess my new car would either be a Buick Regal GS or the new Buick Lacrosse V6. My used car would be a CTS Sport Wagon. Truecar has tons of sub-$20k postings.