QOTD: What's on Your OEM Wish List?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

As we saw yesterday with the (very) limited-edition coach-door Continental, sometimes an automaker finally produces what the people cried out for… years earlier.

One wonders what the demand for this suicide-door sedan might have been had Lincoln decided to launch it alongside the regular model back in 2016. Those rear doors are tailor-made for a low-angle exit shots outside the club in any number of music videos. As well, overseas executives in a certain People’s Republic might have found the additional rear legroom quite appealing — and exclusive.

But Lincoln deserves kudos for going the extra mile and actually altering the platform and body of a car to make its door wish (your door wish?) come true. This wasn’t just an engine swap or some other minor alteration that leaves the car’s overall dimensions intact. Lincoln put this sedan on the taffy puller for you. Which begs the question: if other mainstream automakers were willing to go the Lincoln route, what type of limited-edition variant would you demand of them?

I know what Adam Tonge wants, as he spent much of yesterday talking about it. A Ford F-150 sedan.

Think of it: a regular F-150 SuperCrew short box with a ride height haircut, softer springs, and a trunklid replacing the tailgate and (presumably) tonneau cover. Frankly, prying ears in Dearborn should pick this up.

My first choice wouldn’t be such a grotesquerie, of course. Adam can have his frankenmobile, but I’d prefer a truck Fiat Chrysler may very well end up making. It’s not out of the question. Back when the word “Dodge” graced the sides of Ram trucks, the short-lived SRT-10 caught my eye. A regular cab, short box sport truck with the heart of a Viper. Why aren’t we doing this again, FCA? Grab that 797-horse 6.2L Demon Light mill from the Challenger Hellcat Redeye, mate it to the shortest and least commodious 2019 Ram 1500, paint two big stripes down the hood (and grille, and roof, and tailgate), and start taking orders. Call it the Ram HellBeast or something. Ram DemonCore.

Seems pretty obvious to me, but maybe your author isn’t thinking far enough outside the box for this exercise. If Lincoln’s willing to stretch the Continental six inches and put the rear doors on backwards, maybe there’s other interesting bodystyle configurations and alterations to be had elsewhere.

So, let’s hear it. What do you want to see? You’re calling the shots here, and the OEM of your choice is bending to your every whim. Our only criteria with this question is that the model at the heart of this creation must currently be in production; otherwise, your ask of the OEM can be as mild or wild as you wish.

[Image: Lincoln Motor Company]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Limos Limos on Dec 19, 2018

    Love it - hopefully they build a livery version with same door and stretch. Royale build a similar version but oem rear doors, and stretched B-pillar - interior inside is bad, B-pillar inside show an add on part beside safety belt - here they should put more work and money and make a better part so it show as one piece.... My Fleetwood Limited is same "product" - standard Deville sold by cadillac, but built at Superior - stretched behind rear doors and also trunk stretched.

  • Limos Limos on Dec 19, 2018

    Why is it so that every car dealer in the US demand ZIP-code on their website before one can see all cars and editions?? What about us outside US that do not have a ZIP-code. Internet is world wide - make a site for all of us!

  • Lou_BC Hard pass
  • TheEndlessEnigma These cars were bought and hooned. This is a bomb waiting to go off in an owner's driveway.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Thankfully I don't have to deal with GDI issues in my Frontier. These cleaners should do well for me if I win.
  • Theflyersfan Serious answer time...Honda used to stand for excellence in auto engineering. Their first main claim to fame was the CVCC (we don't need a catalytic converter!) engine and it sent from there. Their suspensions, their VTEC engines, slick manual transmissions, even a stowing minivan seat, all theirs. But I think they've been coasting a bit lately. Yes, the Civic Type-R has a powerful small engine, but the Honda of old would have found a way to get more revs out of it and make it feel like an i-VTEC engine of old instead of any old turbo engine that can be found in a multitude of performance small cars. Their 1.5L turbo-4...well...have they ever figured out the oil dilution problems? Very un-Honda-like. Paint issues that still linger. Cheaper feeling interior trim. All things that fly in the face of what Honda once was. The only thing that they seem to have kept have been the sales staff that treat you with utter contempt for daring to walk into their inner sanctum and wanting a deal on something that isn't a bare-bones CR-V. So Honda, beat the rest of your Japanese and Korean rivals, and plug-in hybridize everything. If you want a relatively (in an engineering way) easy way to get ahead of the curve, raise the CAFE score, and have a major point to advertise, and be able to sell to those who can't plug in easily, sell them on something that will get, for example, 35% better mileage, plug in when you get a chance, and drives like a Honda. Bring back some of the engineering skills that Honda once stood for. And then start introducing a portfolio of EVs once people are more comfortable with the idea of plugging in. People seeing that they can easily use an EV for their daily errands with the gas engine never starting will eventually sell them on a future EV because that range anxiety will be lessened. The all EV leap is still a bridge too far, especially as recent sales numbers have shown. Baby steps. That's how you win people over.
  • Theflyersfan If this saves (or delays) an expensive carbon brushing off of the valves down the road, I'll take a case. I understand that can be a very expensive bit of scheduled maintenance.
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