#Lincoln

Ford is pulling out all the stops for the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, creating an exhibition floor featuring a series of interactive displays that will help attract visitors at the show and bolster the image of both Ford and Lincoln.

The past 20 years were pretty stable in the automotive industry. Mostly predictable releases with a steady rate for manufacturers to introduce new models that seemed like a consistant recipe for success.

If you caught a glimpse of U2’s 360 Tour you might recognize the honeycomb-esque expanding and contracting screens at this year’s North American International Auto Show, albiet in smaller form.

So we won’t be the ones talking about how this funeral was probably staged and highly choreographed, but rather the irony that Kim Jong-il’s final ride was in an American car, a 1976 Lincoln Continental to be exact.

Despite freezing temperatures and plenty of snow out in Pyongyang, North Korea, tens of thousands of citizens were not only enlisted to help clear the snow from the 40-mile parade route, but also stood by to bid their leader farewell. The funeral procession involved several classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles, something Kim Jong-il had taken a liking to when he was alive.

But perhaps being transported atop an American Lincoln is a family tradition, as Kim Jong-il’s father, Kim il-Sung was also taken off in a Lincoln during his 1994 funeral.

Watch the news report below:

Lincoln’s full-size crossover just got plenty of upgrades for 2013 including Continually Controlled Damping, Lincoln Drive Control, more standard horsepower along with a 1-mpg highway improvement, new interior styling, a new MyLincoln Touch system, upgraded exterior design and new safety and convenience features.

Lincoln has revamped its MKS for 2013, sporting a whole new exterior appearance as part of a change in the brand’s design direction.  While different, it’s not exactly a departure from the previous model, although with this just a mid-cycle update any drastic changes will have to be saved for the next all-new model.

Lincoln is brewing up some more interest for its upcoming LA Auto Show debuts. Recently we were teased with a single photo showcasing the new design of the 2013 MKS and MKT, and now the Ford luxury brand has released a couple more. This time it’s clearly showcasing the new MKS sedan’s LED taillights and a new dashboard featuring FoCoMo’s configurable instrument panel LCD screens.

It’s not much to go off of, but we’re used to teasers before any major auto show. This year, Lincoln will be showing off its new styling direction that promises to be “forward-looking and more elegantly crafted” than before and it appears that they have a new MKS and MKT set to debut at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

Amid grand plans to turn the brand into a true Audi/BMW competitor Ford stated, that in addition to Lincoln being given greater autonomy, it had put in place plans to introduce a raft of new models, including a “premium” compact car, the MKC, designed to compete with the likes of the A3 and 1-Series.

As engineers of Lincoln quietly work to bring the brand back to relevance, an update to the current Lincoln MKS sedan and MKT crossover will be unveiled at the upcoming 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show as 2013 models.

What would it take to transform Lincoln from a luxury imitator to a genuine rival to the world’s finest premium marques? While there are numerous factors, one of the most important is a flagship sedan, with size, opulence and it must be rear-wheel drive.

Cadillac is hoping to use an unconventional marketing strategy to lure buyers to its upcoming XTS sedan, with plans to market it to limo services as a livery vehicle or “black car”.

This car is so pimp, it wouldn’t be afraid to slap Snoop Dog.

Ford may begin building electric cars in China via joint ventures with Chinese auto makers, replicating the tactics of rivals like General Motors and Daimler AG, parent company of Mercedes-Benz. China is looking to add 1 million EVs by 2015 as part of an effort to curb emissions and the dependence on fossil fuels.

Given the recent talk about Ford’s luxury division, namely an injection of cash, design independence and a raft of new models coming down the pike, the latest word on the street is that Lincoln plans to axe it’s trademark “waterfall” grille.