Lincoln MKZ Concept Best Rental Cars- Future Cars

It's no secret Lincoln has been floundering for several years, with a lineup of products that are little more than tarted-up Fords. But with a hip new design team in place and a reported $1 billion pledged to fix its ailing luxury brand, Ford is confident it can reverse the slide.

The revival was launched in November, when Lincoln showed the restyled MKS sedan and MKT crossover at the Los Angeles auto show. And now, at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Lincoln is rolling out the MKZ Concept, a future vision Ford is trumpeting as the vanguard for the brand's resurgence.

"With the Lincoln MKZ Concept, we are not introducing a new car. We are essentially introducing a new brand," proclaimed Ford global product kingpin Derrick Kuzak in the statement announcing the MKZ Concept. "The MKZ Concept is the next step in the reinvention of Lincoln, something we've been quietly, but aggressively pursuing." Bold words indeed, Derrick. It remains to be seen if Ford's new approach will resonate with the discerning luxury crowd. The MKZ Concept features a revamped version of Lincoln's bold dual-opening front grille that the automaker says is a more refined interpretation of the split-wing mug from the iconic 1938 Lincoln-Zephyr, with horizontal bars replacing the classic car's vertical slats. A single piece of chrome wraps around each grille and headlamp flank, and both the front headlamps and the full-width taillamps employ LED technology.

Jaguar F Type Futures Great Rental Cars 2013-2014-2015

 

 

XF or F-Type?
Jaguar has made it official: The new sports car will be named F-Type when it goes on sale as a two-seat convertible in mid-2013 and as a coupe a year later. The delightful C-X16 concept previewed its design at the fall 2011 Frankfurt auto show.New to the Jaguar range, it slots below the XK.

It has an all-aluminum body and a new all-aluminum, 3.0-liter supercharged direct-injection V-6 based on the 5.0-liter V-8, with balance shafts, a dual independent variable cam timing system, and a Roots-type twin vortex supercharger mounted in the engine's vee.

The V-6 will launch in the F-Type in two forms of tune: a 380-hp version and another making 340 hp. Transmission is a Jaguar-tuned ZF eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters and an intelligent start-stop system. The new engines are designed to give the F-Type performance closer to that of the Porsche 911 than the Boxster's. Jaguar's directors and engineers say this must be a very sporting car, separating it from the GT-style XK.

Futures Best Mercedes Benz Concept Style Coupe

With the new A- and B-Class out of the way, Mercedes-Benz designers can flex their creative muscle on flashier variants that will use the new front-drive MFA platform, like the Concept Style Coupe. Mercedes hopes its affordable, entry-level MFA-based vehicles will lure in younger buyers, and the Concept Style Coupe -- set to debut at this month's Auto China show in Beijing -- should definitely excite those who lust for the CLS but can't afford its $72,175 price tag.

We spoke with Mercedes-Benz head designer Gorden Wagener, who told us that 90 percent of what we see in the concept car will make it to production. Once it reaches production, the "baby CLS" will be wearing CLA badges, referencing its designation as a coupe as well as its A-Class roots. Since style was the obvious objective for the concept, we're not surprised to see design cues pulled from the CLS, one of the most stylish vehicles in the Benz lineup. Like the CLS, the Concept Style Coupe features a coupe-like profile with a number of character lines in a design Mercedes describes as sinewy, sculptural, and masculine. Though Mercedes says the concept has no B-pillar , we expect the production version to retain B-pillars to keep costs down and structural rigidity up. Completing the profile are 20-inch, turbine-style rims.