Lincoln is in a growth year. Renamed the Lincoln Motor Co., the brand is introducing the new direction with a completely remodeled and refined MKZ sedan.

For those who believe beauty is skin deep, just open the doors to this jet-setting car. It’s as if a flagship Audi was modeled for fit and finish. The doors close with a machined tightness and the wraparound lines of the cockpit align with precision.

This car has a head-turning style that is American drawn. It was carved from fresh clay at the Lincoln Design Center in Dearborn, Mich. The new midsize is its own power statement and does not borrow, copy or steal design cues from others.

This car has made an exponential advance upscale since the 2012 model. While it is a corporate partner with the Ford Fusion and European Mondeo, the MKZ has a hand-tooled imprint. There really doesn’t appear to be much fusion with the Blue Oval on the elements that are seen, felt or touched.

The car and brand are on a trajectory toward contemporary luxury that is more elegant than unpretentious. And its expression of luxury is more fulfilling than that of some established brands.

The MKZ is a versatile platform, sold in front- or all-wheel drive with three engine choices, including a dual-mode hybrid.

Starting prices range from $36,820 (including the hybrid) to $39,940. The Hybrid test car was $45,795 with options, including the Hybrid Preferred package, $5,330. Its upgrades include a heated steering wheel and heated rear seats, premium floor mats, 110-volt power plug, 14-speaker THX II audio upgrade and 19-inch alloy wheels. And it requires the sunroof, $1,200.

The Technology package, $2,250, has highlights of adaptive cruise control, active park assist and lane-keeping assist. Collision warning and Brake Support are part of the adaptive cruise and watch the road ahead for stopped or slowing vehicles and will sound an alert and flash a warning light if necessary. Lane Keeping Assist will vibrate the wheel if the car strays from the lane and even turn the wheel to stay between the lines.

The 300-hp V-6 (not available for the Fusion) and 2.0-liter, 240-hp turbocharged four cylinder are paired with six-speed automatic transmissions with paddle shifters and a Sport mode.

The Hybrid uses a 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle four cylinder and 35kw lithium-ion battery for a total system power of 188 horsepower. Drivability is calm but confident with good power for merging and passing. The 2.0-liter engine is downsized from last year’s 2.5-liter with about the same total horsepower, 188 versus 191. And fuel economy is up by 4 to 9 mpg city/highway.

The operation of this hybrid system is so stealth that I forget I’m driving an electrified car. In an afternoon drive of 100 miles, the computer indicted an average of 32.4 mpg, and I was not trying to conserve. The EPA ratings of 45/45 city/highway compare to 22/33 for the front-drive four-cylinder model and 19/28 for the V-6.

The local dealer said he can coach any MKZ Hybrid driver to get mileage from the mid-30s to 49.7 mpg, as he does in his daily-driver MKZ-H.”

The lithium-ion battery pack allows driving speeds of 62 mph, which takes a little practice to engage. Hybrid elements include auto start-stop and regenerative braking.

There is a comfortable ride on the highway and clean, taut cornering when desired. Braking is strong and straight, particularly in emergency stops. Sightlines over the shoulder are not compromised by styling and the 38-foot turning circle is not restrictive.

The interior is rich and accommodating. The aluminum trim ($195) has a contemporary appeal and enhances the long rake of the cabin. The center console multitasks with pass-through dual level storage, which also adds an air of openness. But the angle of the console that sweeps up to the dashboard can pick up glare on sunny days that washes out the 8-inch touchscreen. The touch-sensitive controls, part of the LincolnMyTouch system, have been refined and are responsive for changing the various controls such as fan and audio volume.

A dramatic panorama glass roof ($2,995) is 4.1 feet long by 3.7 feet wide. The roof retracts to a sunroof position and has a full length sunshade that can be powered back to enjoy the big view.

Voice controls also are simple enough now to easily set a navigation destination and pull up alternative music sources.

The back seat has a generous 37 inches of legroom and good footroom for adult comfort. Rear-seat belt air bags are $195.

A repackaging of the battery pack allows more trunk space than before. At 11.1 cubic feet the space seems large enough for plenty of luggage. Plus the seatbacks now fold to stretch space.

Lincoln met the devil as it scrutinized the details going into this car and the corporate rebirth. And Lincoln won. MKZ styling will drive interest in the brand, but the details give it substance.

Porsche AG announced Feb. 16 that the name for its upcoming compact crossover will be Macan. The name is derived from the Indonesian word for tiger, which the company says bestows an image of “suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics – core characteristics of the new off-road car,” Bernhard Maier, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG, said in a release.

“The name of a new Porsche has to fit with the brand, sound good in very many languages and dialects and evoke positive associations,” he said. Until now the new model had been referred to as Cajun, which is pronounced KAI-yune, for Cayenne Junior.

 The Macan will be the fifth Porsche model, due for production in 2013 at the Leipzig, Germany, plant.

 Word names at Porsche have a concrete connection with the corresponding model and its characteristics, the company says. The name Boxster describes the combination of boxer engine (horizontally opposed pistons) and roadster, Cayenne stands for sharpness, the Cayman is snappy and agile and a Panamera is more than a Gran T

urismo, capable also of winning the Carrera Panamericana long-distance race.

A car for the senses and a sensation for the driver: New car test: 2012 Maserati GranTurismo MC and Gran Cabrio Sport

“My Maserati does 185 …” and you probably can sing along to the “Life’s Been Good” hit by Joe Walsh. That was from his wild and crazy days when he could afford to lose his license.

And the reworked 2012 Maserati GranTurismo MC is the fastest and most powerful car in the Maserati lineup. With an infusion of performance from the company’s Maserati Corse race division, the coupe will do 187 mph and 0-60 mph in an easy 4.8 seconds – and probably quicker, the company says.

The GranTurismo has an organic strength to its hands-on driving experience. There is richness to the leather and an interior that is largely hand assembled by workers who, seemingly, care about their craft. It is the charge that comes from turning the ignition key and just hearing the launch of the cylinders and then the exhaust as it rolls out in even syncopation in praise of premium fuel.

 

Pricing for the coupe starts at $143,400, including $1,700 gas-guzzler tax and $1,800 freight from Modena. And that’s value packaging, which includes almost $14,000 in accessories, such as a carbon fiber steering wheel and interior trim, MC autoshift transmission, black grille and Alcantara headliner.

Dealers were ordering the standard GT S model with almost $14,000 in options and customers were buying it, Allan said. The well-optioned cars were selling eight days faster than lesser-equipped cars.

Growth year, not boom times
Despite the economy, Maserati had a good 2010, which allowed it to add performance models to its coupe and convertible. The Quattroporte sedan is carryover.

Last year Maserati sold 2,035 cars in the U.S. and 10,000 worldwide, which isn’t such a trifle in this super-luxury segment. With starting prices of $100,000, this market has stayed flat or is down a bit, while the high-luxury segment ($70,000) went up, the company says.

The marque has experienced the best success yet of the four-seat, two-door Grand Turismo and it also was the most profitable year with costs being brought under control. “We’re back and doing quite well,” said Rob Allan, director of product planning for Maserati.

New for 2012, Maserati has stepped up all cars to the 4.7-liter V-8 and has done away with the 4.2-liter. Most customers were buying the 4.7 anyway, Allan said.

Upgrades from the standard model include: reworked aerodynamic package, MC six-speed autoshift transmission, single-rate suspension, the upgraded 444 hp (a 10 hp boost) V-8 engine, sport exhaust and carbon fiber interior trim.

When you hear this car, the sound will become synonymous with a Maserati. At high revs, lighter mufflers with a hinged bypass let out a wail from deep within that reminds of a Formula 1 racer.

Aerodynamic enhancements include a front bumper with integrated chin splitter, side skirts that blend into the front fenders with air intakes at the trailing edge. The rear has a redesigned bumper fascia and sport exhaust repositioned a bit inward that sends a serious message. A lip spoiler on the deck lid is huge in Maserati’s opinion but just a subtle kick-up to everybody else. New, black 20-inch wheels integrate the Maser trident.

All the aero treatments aid down-force and stability at high speeds, Maserati says, but also fuel economy. The wheels and lighter exhaust system saved 10 and 12 pounds each, but the steel-bodied car is heavy at 4,145 pounds.

More power

Even with more power, including 375 foot-pounds of torque, engine refinements have increased fuel economy by 6 percent. Not that a Maser owner is overly concerned about mileage, but the savings converts to $400 less on the gas-guzzler tax, now $1,700. The six-speed transmission seems yester-tech when competitors are going to seven- and eight speeds, but it is the best six-speed by manufacturer ZF, Allan said. Another gear or two would increase highway fuel economy, but the ratios were appropriate for around town and performance driving.

The Maserati Stability Program (MSP) system is always active in the background, but it never got in the way when I was pushing hard up the backside of county Route S22 from Borrego Springs. It was 110 degrees in the desert and I was in second and third gears, lunging from corner to corner, occasionally hitting the rev limiter. While the Maser’s air conditioner was challenged the engine did not overheat and not once did I sense braking or throttle intervention. The car had more to give, but I was at my limit.

Braking force is absolute from 14.96-inch steel-aluminum vented front rotors with six-piston calipers and rear 14.7-inch steel, vented discs with four-piston calipers.

This is not a car that feels as if it just rolled off a robotized assembly line and has been electronically sanitized for mainstream consumption. The GranTurismo MC is a car for the senses and a sensation for the driver.

Alert officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection saved a long-stolen 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo from being shipped from Long Beach to the Netherlands.

The CBP announced Oct. 25 that the Outbound Enforcement Team at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport discovered the car in a container to be exported to the Netherlands.

In a check of the Vehicle Identification Number, it was learned the vehicle was reported stolen Las Vegas in Nov. 1988.

Nevada authorities confirmed the record for the stolen Porsche was still active. The slightly tattered car, stripped of its engine, was seized for return to the insurance company, which owns the title.
The seized vehicle’s manifest was valued at $12,552, but Customs import specialists peg the value – without the engine – at about $27,552.
From October, 2010, to August, 2011, the CBP agents at the Long Beach Seaport seized 51 vehicles and 49 engines heading overseas. Of that total: 24 were stolen, 63 were undeclared, seven were undervalued and six had fraudulent documents. The combined estimated value is $1.8 million.