Can Commander Cody's hotrod Lincoln outrun those Chinese EVs?

The Lincoln label has been an iconic American luxury car brand for over 100 years. In the early days they fought for pride of place against the likes of Packard, Duesenberg, and Pierce-Arrow.  In the post-war boom they and Cadillac ruled the luxe roost in the American market, at least until German manufacture rose from the ashes of WWII.

When I was a gas-pump boy at John's Supertest in my teens,  the Lincoln Mk III was the ride of choice for quite a few of the more affluent folks. Harold Knight owned a local lumber yard and pulled in once a week in his burgundy coupe with the black vinyl roof. One day he got to yacking with somebody in the store and I asked him to please move his car. He apologizes and gives me "if you wouldn't mind kid, could you pull it ahead... keys in it." That moment was the highlight of my tenure at John's Supertest!

I greatly admired the last generation of Lincoln land yachts culminating in the garish excesses of the late '70s. Remember the 1979 Town Coupe? A family of four could live comfortably in one of those while simultaneously solving the commute-to-work challenge!

I've been partial to Toyotas and Suubs most of my adult life, but there's a reason Lincoln has been on my radar of late. It's about a) towing cap, and b) depreciation. In the event the Farm Manager actually follows through on her threats to retire at 65, we might like to spend some time towing a boat or a camper. No firm plans and no fresh ideas, but it seems to be the kinda shit people do if they don't die first.  And frankly, I'm looking forward to it! 

Truth is, the tow cap on my Toyota is more a toy cap. There are certainly Toyotas with outstanding towing capacity. A Sequoia will tow any boat or camper I'd ever own. So would a Lincoln Navigator. Both run well over $100k, but here's the thing; the Lincoln depreciates 60% over five years; the Toyota depreciates  37%.  In other words, in terms of affordable tow vehicles, a used Lincoln is far more affordable than the Toyota.

Which brings us back to Commander Cody.  Since I'll never need four tons of towing capacity, I was looking at the lighter stuff. The Lincoln Nautilus caught my eye. It's got double the tow capacity of my Rav4.  It'll easily handle a little teardrop camper or a small boat. And it also has the extra-special distinction of being built right here in Ontario, at Ford's Oakville plant!

Or at least it used to be. I used to pride myself on thinking I was kinda on top of what goes on in this world, but I had absolutely no idea that as of the '24 model year, every Lincoln Nautilus sold anywhere in the world is manufactured entirely in China. 

Yup, one of the very few surviving American car brands... made in China.