Lincoln MKT confirmed as 2009 Model

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif., Aug. 15, 2008 – Kicking off the weekend marking the celebrated Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Lincoln today confirms it will produce the Lincoln MKT, a premium, three-row luxury crossover based on a the well-received concept vehicle.

“The Lincoln MKT reinforces our commitment to further expand America’s fastest-growing luxury brand, providing an all-new vehicle to the showroom that’s been crafted and honed for a new kind of customer,” said Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company’s president of The Americas.

“The MKT will offer the comfort of a luxury sedan, the spaciousness and flexibility of a crossover and the performance of a sports sedan, courtesy of its EcoBoost engine,” he added. “At the same time, this perfect blend of performance and power is elegantly wrapped in the refined design cues that have become synonymous with modern Lincolns.”

The Lincoln MKT will build on a string of successful Lincoln products launched in recent years. The Lincoln MKX, a two-row crossover, and the Lincoln MKZ mid-size sedan have earned high praise from consumers and continue to gain share in their respective segments.

The flagship Lincoln MKS luxury sedan, introduced earlier this summer, has seen strong early sales, as well. Dynamic and clean-lined, the Lincoln MKS is the first production vehicle to embrace the strong new Lincoln design DNA. New Lincoln products, including the new MKT crossover, will feature this distinctive new Lincoln design language as well as industry-leading technologies.

The Lincoln MKT crossover will join the Lincoln lineup in calendar year 2009, along with an upgraded Lincoln MKZ mid-size sedan – plus an additional version of the flagship Lincoln MKS sedan powered by an EcoBoost engine.

In addition to a fuel-efficient 3.7-liter normally aspirated V-6 engine, the Lincoln MKT also will offer an EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6 engine that will deliver an estimated 340 horsepower and 340 lb.-ft. of torque.

The Lincoln MKT will join other vehicles early in the EcoBoost engine technology rollout, including the Lincoln MKS luxury sedan and Ford Flex.

EcoBoost engines feature turbocharged direct injection technology and deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy and 15 percent improved emissions than larger-displacement engines. In the Lincoln MKS and MKT, for instance, the EcoBoost engine delivers the fuel economy of a V-6 engine but the performance feel of a V-8.

Ford is making a significant commitment to EcoBoost engine technology. Within five years, the company plans to produce 750,000 EcoBoost-equipped vehicles annually – in vehicles ranging from small cars to full-size pickups in markets around the world.

“EcoBoost engine technology is another symbol of what luxury means today,” Fields said. “Lincolns should drive as beautifully as they look, delivering as much refinement on the road as their designs do even while standing perfectly still.”

Taking cues from its performance sedan sibling and the MKT concept vehicle first shown at the North American International Auto Show in January, the Lincoln MKT will feature the distinctive bow-wave, double-wing grille; clean, uncluttered surfaces; powerful, dynamic beltline; chamfered surface running parallel to the beltline; significant D-pillar that smoothly transitions into the cantilevered roof and a powerful roofrail.

“Embracing the same spirit as the concept, the Lincoln MKT’s design represents harmony in motion, balancing sculptured shapes and contours traditionally associated with beautiful cars on a crossover vehicle that offers the luxury of space and efficient, powerful performance,” said Peter Horbury, Ford’s executive director of Design for The Americas.

The MKT will provide seating for up to seven passengers and all the latest in-car connectivity technologies that customers have come to expect from Lincoln.

This includes a new version of SYNC, the company’s industry-leading connectivity technology that fully integrates customers’ Bluetooth technologies including mobile phones and MP3 players.

Plus, next-generation navigation system technology and new safety and security features will be available, including the new Blind Spot Monitoring and Cross Traffic Alert System.

Working in conjunction with the blind spot information system, Cross Traffic Alert warns the driver of impending traffic while backing out of a parking spot.
When cross traffic is approaching, an indicator light provides a warning in the corresponding outside mirror, as well as an audible warning.

Cross Traffic Alert utilizes the blind spot system’s two multibeam radar modules, which are packaged in the rear quarter panels – one per side. These modules identify when a vehicle enters the defined blind spot zone; an indicator light provides a warning in the outside mirror corresponding to the side in which the vehicle is approaching.

The system can pick up an object moving at up to 18 miles per hour within a 65-foot range – or three parking spaces – from either the left or right side of the vehicle.

The Lincoln MKT will be manufactured in Ford Motor Company’s Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada. Additional product details will be made available closer to the Lincoln MKT’s launch

Lincoln Brand: Too Good for Consumer Reports?

J.D. Power and Associates has released a new initial quality survey that has stung Lincoln. In 2007 the luxury car marquee was ranked third. In the 2008 survey, it is in the 14th position.

Ouch.

Lincoln's owner Ford Motor Co. says that it is not the design of the car or mechanical defects that have caused the drastic drop. The brand got a hit because people surveyed do not know how to work the new innovative technology in the car.

The all-new Sync system, which Ford co-developed with OS giant Microsoft, is standard in all Lincoln MKZ and MKX models. This could be the smoking gun to back Lincoln’s claim. Customers of Lincoln are of an average age of 62 and they may be having a difficult time adjusting to the Sync system. This, says Lincoln, has been resulting in harsh ratings.

Our take? Lincoln could have a point here. Look how low BMW has fallen since it installed iDrive.

via eGMCarTech

2009 Lincoln MKS: Hopes Drive Sales

Ford Motors’ luxury brand Lincoln has been picking up somewhat in recent months. Now expect the raise to get a bump.

Ford has announced that a brand new MKS will be introduced into the Lincoln stable. It is the first all new model to carry the Lincoln badge since the LS in 1998.

Lincoln owner Ford is nearly betting the farm on the new flagship, and is taking a different road to sell to Americans. When the car was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the company also announced pricing and options information. Usually such details are reveals months later. A website is available for potential buyers to visit where they can construct and price a vehicle and place an order with a local dealer. Ford claims that it has already taken as much as 8,600 orders for the car nationwide.

Ford has also created a road show for the MKS. A model has visited more than 300 of the largest Lincoln dealerships in the country. This action is meant to train sales staff and give consumers a “sneak preview” of the new model.

Ford wants to attract a much younger demographic with the MKS. It is said that the car maker is targeting the Generation X’ers and hoping to come up with an average age of buyers in the 45 range. The company’s current flagship vehicle, the Town Car, has an average age buyer demographic of 72.

Thus, the car features a number of high tech things that are meant to attract the attention of the tech savvy professional. This includes a keyless entry system and the Sync system that allows for voice control of the vehicle’s infotainment system. Moreover, a conventional key is not needed to enter the vehicle or start it.

The MKS will be powered by a V6 engine and will be the first car to be fitted with Ford’s new EcoBoost engine.

via Detroit News

Neil Young Keeps Us "Rockin' In the Free World" Electrically

Rocker Neil Young, one part of the seriously drug addled 1960’s rock quartet Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, has announced that he is working with an auto mechanic in Wichita, Kansas to convert his gas guzzling 1959 Lincoln Continental to electric power.

News of the transplant surgery on Mr. Young’s Continental came as quite a surprise to many in the auto industry, especially as the aging rocker claims that, "we're going to change the world, we're going to create a car that will allow us to stop giving our wealth to other countries for petroleum.” So does this mean this car is going to help keep Americans on the road and, in the words of one of Neil Young’s greatest hits, “rockin’ in the free world?”

Sounds like a good theory, but will it be as successfully put into practice as the failed 1960s concepts of “flower power” and “free love?” In all honesty, now in this era of bio-fuel it wouldn’t really be “flower power” so much as “corn power.”

But back to the topic. When Neil and his mechanic friend, one Jonathan Goodwin, finish construction of the whale-sized Lincoln Continental electric vehicle, they plan to drive it cross country in order to bring legislative attention to it in Washington D.C. Taking into account the range that most all electric vehicles have currently, and the fact that this sedan weighs more than your average blinged-out Cadillac Escalade (with rap stars, hommes, their "dates", and jewelry), there is no way they could travel over 150 miles in a day.

Our view of this seemingly made up scenario? Good for Neil Young for being an early adopter of electric car technology. Still, to our eyes it can be seen as nothing but a bad idea putting it all in an overweight 1959 Lincoln Continental. Young’s place in Rock n’ Roll history is assured; his place in automotive history may turn out to be more of a footnote. While we applaud his attempts to bring fossil fuel free motoring to the masses, hasn’t he considered the economic and environmental impact of the increased electricity production that will be necessary for widespread use of the technology? Is he ready to be in favor of something along the lines of building more nuclear power plants? Currently this appears to be one of the only feasible ways to harvest the amount of electricity needed if all of us were powered solely by electric motors in our cars and trucks.

via Kansas City Star

Lincoln brand gets Luxury Treatment. Finally

Ford Motor Co. has announced a couple of things that is hoped to booster sales of its Lincoln division.

First, the company plans to put its Lincoln MKT concept into production, which was showcased at the Detroit Auto Show last January. Second, the company plans to stop production of the Lincoln Mark LT pickup at the end of this model year. The model is being dropped, said Ford, to make room for the production and sale of a high-end version of the F-150 called the Platinum Edition.

Note that Lincoln already plans to start selling the new MKS sedan later this year. The MKS, designated the brand's flagship, is said to be distinctive and does not resemble any Ford models. The struggling automaker probably hopes to address criticism that Lincoln has suffered a drop in sales because its models were too similar to those offered by Ford and Mercury.

Lost Lincoln

About 18 years ago, the domestic luxury brands were positively blindsided by an ambitious upstart luxury brand from Toyota called Lexus. At the time, nobody considered the Japanese a serious threat in the luxury market. After all, Acura had launched a few years earlier with modestly upgraded products over its mass-market Honda parent brand, but hardly a threat to the Europeans or Americans.

Cadillac and Lincoln both were characterized largely by downsized, but still boxy, chromey and cushy models with sub-par quality and primitive, underpowered powertrains.

Cadillac quickly rallied with the sleek, sophisticated 1992 STS, and later re-defined themselves again with the bold 2002 Escalade. The 2008 CTS has just walked away with Motor Trend's Car of the Year award, Car and Driver's 10 Best, as well as many others.

But where is Lincoln in all this fanfare over the domestic luxury revival? It showed its MKS "flagship" model at the L.A. show, but many were less than blown away by its conservative, derivative styling. Even some morning show correspondents commented, "I'm not feelin' the grille."

Indeed, Lincoln's current lineup is "nice" to a fault. But none of them have the unmistakable style of their crosstown counterparts from Cadillac. Is all hope lost for this presidential brand?

Perhaps not. For those of you that remember, a few years ago, Lincoln showed off its Continental concept, styled by Gerry McGovern. Thankfully, he's still within the company, in a round-about way. He's currently the design director for Land Rover, which may soon be spun off to the highest bidder.

If Ford (the company) is smart, it will keep him. McGovern's Continental concept perfectly captures the confident, unmistakably American style that Lincoln needs to put itself back on the map and in the minds of consumers. Could you see this bad boy rollin' with some chrome 22s? Like it or not, the "bling" factor is big with a lot of luxury buyers, especially the critical younger ones. The MKS doesn't quite pack the same in-your-face stylistic punch, in my humble opinion.

Please, Mr. Mullaly, have Gerry pen some more concepts for Lincoln that might have a chance of making it to the showroom.