This thread has had a lot of traction. Firstly, thank you for all the comments and suggestions.
From where I left off...someone said MKZ, it's too small. Continental is the right fit and it's on my list, no one has one within 350km's of my geographical location. I'd love to try one, and I think it'd be a great catch. It's also very affordable second hand which I quite like, and the sound system blows most other systems away, without having to drop any extra dough...I just haven't found my way into the driver seat of one, yet, to confirm.
To Gurgie, there's some holes but I know we have a very smart bunch here due to the inherent topics at hand. I never mentioned I'm hauling kids, most people are figuring there's no kids in the equation....that kind of thing people here seemed to figure out quickly and are able to keep track of my wants/needs/desires. Any extrapolations in above posts are pretty much all true. I tried to provide a scope into where I'm at in the decision making process, without overloading information.
I've done a ton of reviewing myself and have developed a short list. I've done numerous test drives: cars, SUV's, and trucks.
The A8 surprised me; it truly caught me off-guard, grabbed my attention and slapped it around for about 20 minutes. Boastful? Surely. Affordable? Ehh. Comfortable? Mmmmmmmmmmmm that's the ticket.
It's a super capable one-seater.
And to the comment from erich about the sales guy showing up in an Audi - that is also top-of-mind. But hey, my first priority is being comfortable. If I have to stomach a few jabs about how much I charge, must be paying too much etc, that's part of the process. But I'm cognizant of it and it's also why I don't wear a Rolex at work...so good on you for bringing it up regardless.
My boss wants me to get a truck, but ultimately I'm making the payments (diminutive car allowance provided mind you) and I'll be the only one stuck in it for 6 hours at a time, so...I feel like I have a pretty strong input on the matter.
I've been driving a truck for almost ten years and really miss having a car...a comfortable, quiet, car.
TripleBob: Did I mention the Lincoln is several cents cheaper?