QOTD: Lincoln Continental Vs. Cadillac CT6 - Pick Your Poison

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

Today’s Question of the Day isn’t our typical lighthearted, open-ended Choose Your Own Adventure inquiry. It’s serious business, pitting two serious flagship sedans against one another.

At the end of this post, you’ll have to choose: Lincoln Continental, or Cadillac CT6?

Though several large sedans remain on offer from luxury brands today, the vast majority no longer wear American badges on the grille. By virtue of being new models, and at the top of the price lists for their respective brands, the Lincoln Continental and Cadillac CT6 must duel for the patriotic American customer. Said customer does not want a Lexus badge, and is unwilling to shop at German lots. Key to this customer, both sedans are made in the United States, in different zip codes of a state called Michigan.

First, a few rules for good measure:

  1. The trims will be specified below, so our competitors match (relatively) on a dollar and trim basis.
  2. You must choose either the Continental or the CT6 as your new ride of choice, and preferably inform us as to why.
  3. Suggestions of any other vehicles as “substitutions” are invalid, and will likely face ridicule.

Your competitors are outlined below.

Competitor One: Lincoln Continental

Ranging from $44,720 to over $68,000, the Continental is available in a front-wheel or all-wheel-drive configuration.

Selection:

  • $59,340 Continental Reserve
  • 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6
  • All-wheel drive
  • 4,523 pounds
  • 400 hp @ 5,750 rpm
  • 16 mpg city / 24 mpg highway

Competitor Two: Cadillac CT6

The CT6 range is at a price disadvantage against the Continental, as it starts at $53,795, and ranges to over $87,000 in top trim. Opposite of the Continental, the CT6 comes in rear-wheel or all-wheel-drive.

Selection:

  • $64,695 CT6 Luxury
  • 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6
  • All-wheel drive
  • 4,085 pounds
  • 404 hp @ 5,700 rpm
  • 18 mpg city / 26 mpg highway

There they are — two big American cruisers. One is costly, lighter, longer, and more efficient. The other less expensive, heavier, wider, and wearing arguably better styling. Transverse front-wheel drive versus a longitudinal rear-wheel setup. Both vehicles loaded up with all the latest infotainment technology their makers can muster, with similar engines and power ratings.

Which one is taking up residence in your perfectly organized garage?

[Images: Ford Motor Company, General Motors]

Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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  • Keith Tomas Keith Tomas on Aug 16, 2017

    Hard choice. I prefer the CT6's styling, but after sitting in two of them - one at an auto show and the other via an Uber ride, I was not impressed with the quality of the interior materials. The Continental only gets interesting after you stuff it with options (Black Label Thoroughbred), but it has frumpish FWD proportions...why couldn't they have mounted the engine longitudally and give that longer hood. In photographs it looks like a blinged out Camry. But the CT6 is lighter, better handling I gather, and better economy, and the Panaray sound system is killer. So I'll say CT6, though tonight I might change my mind.

  • Keith Tomas Keith Tomas on Aug 16, 2017

    longitudinally...damn spell check.

  • Bouzouki It is easy to pick on GM in general, and the Cobalt in particular, due to the infamous ignition key cylinder issue/recall. And yet, back in the day, even Consumer Reports commented how it was "fun to drive" and every Cobalt should drive like that--though CR noted was expensive (around $20k base, $22-24k MSRP typical sticker). Car and Driver road tested one, with a mildly positive review, but not a rave. I need a car in late 2006, when my boss informed me I was losing my company car, as I would not be travelling for work. I wanted an inexpensive car with a manual trans. I drove a plebeian used Cobalt. I actually liked it. I came back, and was told I should not have driven that car, it was sold. But I liked the car, and started looking for a used one. So I went to another Chevy dealer. He had no manual trans Cobalts, new or used. No wait--he had this yellow supercharged SS. I could drive that. He unburied it (it had been sitting). It had the optional Recaro seat package. The car was a blast! If GM made a front-drive Camaro with a V8, this is what it might be like. I didn't like the color so I left. Then I found Car and Driver's first "Lightning Lap" test, circa 2006. In short, the Cobalt SS Supercharged that some here mock was FIVE seconds quicker than an 06 VW GTI. FIVE SECONDS! Even more impressive, it was a fraction quicker than a ... Mustang GT 5.0. A car with an extra 100 horses. So I looked and found a red one I generally like (options-wise. It needed the Recaro seats--best car seat EVER!). I had no problems with it over 4 years, 50k other than sliding into a curb on a snowy morning about a month after I bought it, causing about $2k of damage to suspension bits (the rim was gouged, but remained round! The tire was reused. The control arm and bearing and 1-2 other items needed replace, but car drove like new). I ordered some snow wheel/tires and put them on afterward. It was a good car in general, and a great-DRIVING car. The steering, shifter, exhaust note, power, engine smoothness. It was hard to believe this was a GM vehicle.... The back seat was big--but the ingress/egress was awful. I had too many cars at the time So I sold it after four years, one of the few cars I regret selling.
  • JLGOLDEN Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler don't have a suitable competitor for a high-volume segment such as compact crossovers. Abandoning Journey and Cherokee's $25K-$40K bandwidth, left the market to be eaten by Equinox/Terrain, Escape/Bronco Sport, Rogue, RAV 4, and on and on. Further, GM has reinvented entry-level with the striking new Trax and Envista. Nissan is swinging hard for new buyers with a re-invented Kicks. Instead of reading the room, Stellantis focuses on too many models with ambitious pricing at $50K and beyond.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good candidate for an EV conversion.
  • Tassos THE PERFECT TRUCK FOR ROUNDING UP IMMIGRANTS TO BRING THEM TO JAILS FOR FORCED TRANSGENDERED OPERATIONS. I HOPE ABDUL BUYS IT
  • Tassos BEAUTIFUL GRYLL ON THIS ITERATION. NOT ENOUGH FINS AND NEEDS MORE WOOD VANEER INSIDE. I WANT MY 60s CADILLACS TO LOOK LIKE LOOMER. FIT FOR A FIRST LADY
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