Nother CarGuy

The 2020 Lincoln Aviator has been unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Arguably, one of the best looking production Lincolns of recent years, it remains very close to the concept that shared the same name earlier this year. Envisioned as Lincoln’s answer to a growing mid-size luxury market, the Aviator inspires to become one of the brand’s best selling models. But that won’t be an easy feat with strong two-and three-row competitors like  two- and three-row heavy hitters like the European Audi Q7, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE and Volvo XC90. “Aviator represents the very best of our brand DNA and signals the direction for Lincoln vehicles going forward,” says Joy Falotico, president, The Lincoln Motor Company. “It offers elegance, effortless performance and unparalleled comfort – a true representation of Lincoln’s vision for the future.” While Lincoln could have unveiled the Aviator as a concept with an outlandish design with no hope of reaching the production line, it did...

Lincoln, in case you hadn’t noticed, is in the process of comprehensively revitalizing its lineup. And just as it did with the new Continental and Navigator, the American luxury marque is previewing the next addition to the lineup with the concept vehicle you see here. Presented at the New York Auto Show (right in arch-rival Cadillac’s backyard) is the new Lincoln Aviator concept, forecasting a new SUV to revive a nameplate we last saw a dozen years ago. Like its predecessor, the three-row sport-ute would slot in underneath the larger Navigator. Only this time, the Aviator is far more than a gussied-up Explorer. In fact it’s not even based on the same platform. As few technical details as Ford’s premium division has released on the sport-ute concept, it emphatically notes the rear-drive setup, where the current Explorer is built atop a front-drive platform. In a first for the brand, the Aviator concept incorporates a plug-in hybrid powertrain – albeit of unspecified p...

Lincoln recently released the first teaser video for the Aviator concept and now the company has followed up by confirming plans for a production variant. This was widely expected but the most interesting reveal was the confirmation that the company is planning to launch a second utility vehicle in the next two years. Lincoln declined to say what the second vehicle is, but noted it will help them grow their “utility portfolio.” Little is known about the model but it will apparently become the brand’s fifth utility vehicle as it will join the Aviator, Nautilus, Navigator and MKC. Of course, there’s always the possibility the “all-new” model will replace the MKC but that seems unlikely as the crossover was recently given a facelift and won’t go on sale until this summer. This deepens the mystery as speculation has suggested the MKT would effectively be replaced by Aviator. However, some older reports indicated the model could be replaced by a large crossover. Another possibili...