The Lincoln Continental came onto the market decades before the Ford Explorer, but it’s also been a dead model for a significant period of time. In that span, the Explorer has continued to sell. That means when the next Continental goes into production, it won’t be kicking the Explorer out of its Chicago Assembly Plant home. The Continental will have to find a place of its own.
In fact, in 2016, Ford will stop producing the CAP-made Lincoln MKS. That move and the fact that the 2017 Continental won’t be taking up room in the Windy City plant will free up manufacturing space for the Ford Explorer, whose sales – including those for the Police Interceptor Utility – are up 15 percent this year through May.
Where does that leave production of the next Continental, then?
According to industry sources, more than likely in Flat Rock, Michigan, where the Fusion is manufactured. That location would make sense because those same insiders claim the Continental will be built on a stretched version of the Fusion’s platform.
Flat Rock is also one of a small number of Ford’s U.S. plants that has the capacity to make the Continental. Instead of shutting down for two weeks this summer, as is the custom at Ford, Flat Rock will be taking a break from June 15 until July 13. That sort of time off would give it a chance to prepare for the cranking out of a new model, such as the Continental.
Are you looking forward to the new Lincoln Continental? How do you feel about the possibility of it having Fusion underpinnings?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
