Limousine Finder: Operators Leap At Chance To Order First Lincoln Continentals

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Operators Leap At Chance To Order First Lincoln Continentals

<p>Virginia operator Dan Goff was the first attendee at the International LCT Show to sit in the Lincoln Continental sedan, unveiled Feb. 29. The ardent Continental fan was granted a special privilege, since the production level vehicle with its white interior was not available for seat tryouts among show attendees due to Lincoln's need to keep it pristine for future auto shows.</p> CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Operator Dan Goff made a profound fleet business decision in a counter-intuitive way: He bought on impulse based on a growing infatuation.

The object of his desire? Two 2017 Lincoln Continental sedans, bought minutes after LCT announced April 14 Lincoln’s official pricing release on the next-generation luxury sedans due out in August.

Goff, owner of A. Goff Limousine and Bus Company in Charlottesville, ordered two Continentals and put down an electronic deposit Thursday afternoon with Bill Cunningham and Bob Moody at Acton Fleet Sales of Acton, Mass., part of the SoCal Penske Professional Vehicles network.

Meanwhile, in the Los Angeles area, father-son operators Ron Stein and Brandan Stein of Exclusive Sedan Service in North Hollywood, Calif., announced April 12 they ordered two Lincoln-Continentals from livery sales manager Vinnie Dela Pena at Star-Ford Lincoln in Glendale, Calif.

“I am so delighted I have coming a Lincoln product I am infatuated with, and I think the whole industry will be,” Golf, also a licensed dealer, told LCT Thursday. “This is going to lead a resurgence for Lincoln.”

Goff also managed to become the first operator to sit in the production version of the Lincoln Continental that debuted Feb. 29 at the International LCT Show in Las Vegas.

Goff cited the Lincoln Continental’s generous inclusion of all the chauffeured amenities in the $50,648 MSRP livery package price for the AWD version. In fact, the only added amenity Goff needed was front license plate holders, an option the Acton team threw in for free.

“This car is a valuable proposition better than any I’ve ever seen,” said Goff, who still runs a handful of Lincoln Town Car Executive L sedans in his fleet. “It’s as if Craig Hall (Lincoln livery manager), Bill, and Bob sneaked into my dreams and figured out what I like and I woke up, and there it was.”

The new Lincoln Continental satisfies the industry’s true longing for an upscale Lincoln sedan successor to the Town Car sedan, retired after the 2011 MY, Goff said. Amazingly, used Town Cars still garner decent prices at vehicle auctions in New York — with 600,000 miles on them, he added. “No other car does that. Lincoln builds to last. Ford products will run and run and run.”

Goff and the Steins are scheduled to receive their Continentals in August, depending on the timing of deliveries to dealerships following Ford’s production Job 1 in July.

Like Goff, the Steins are longtime operators with deep Lincoln loyalties. They plan to transition the Exclusive Sedan Service fleet of Lincoln MKS sedans and MKT Town Cars to the Lincoln Continental throughout 2016 and 2017.

“[We are] excited about the return of the Lincoln Continental,” Ron Stein said in a press release. “Since the departure of the Lincoln Town Car in 2011, there has been a void in our industry for a large comfortable luxury vehicle. When Brandan and I first saw the concept online, with its sleek lines and spacious interior, we knew this was the answer.”

Related LCT article: Lincoln Announces Livery Pricing for Lincoln Continental