11-15-07: Throughout the company’s history Lincoln has always meant certain things to certain people. With exception of lower line models that started coming along in the early 1980’s, Lincoln has always been about big, luxurious cruisers with rear-wheel drive and a V8. The Town Car has arguably been iconic of the Lincoln brand being the standard bearer for limosuines, mob bosses and corporate transport.
Times are changing though. These days we have Lincoln SUV’s and pickups. There are smaller front wheel drive models such as the popular MKZ and now the MKX crossover. The common thread to all Lincoln models today and in the past is that they are all mildly disguised derivatives of more pedestrian Ford models. This trend continues though competitors like Cadillac have moved swiftly toward cars that are stand alone high-line models for the brand.
At the Los Angeles International Auto Show Lincoln unveiled their new “flagship”, the 2009 MKS. The new full-sized luxury car is front wheel drive and comes with a V6. This may not be the sexy top of the line car that was hoped for after Lincoln showed off the muscular and edgy rear-wheel drive MK-R show car last year, but it’s right inline with many of the imported competitors from Lexus, Acura and Audi to whom they hope to win buyers from.
Pricing for Lincoln MKS starts at less than $38,000. The MKS will be built at the Chicago assembly plant along side the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable to which it shares its chassis. Ford says the MKS will arrive in showrooms in the summer of 2008, but customers can begin placing orders now.
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The company hopes to win over new converts to the Lincoln brand with the new MKS, saying they expect 60% of sales to go to first time Lincoln buyers. “Lincoln has reestablished itself as a quality and design leader with award-winning products like the Lincoln MKZ, MKX and Navigator,” says Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company’s president of The Americas. “With the Lincoln MKS, we are raising the bar even higher with unparalleled amenities and performance, and a price that should be irresistible to luxury customers.”
The Lincoln MKS will be powered by a new 3.7-liter V-6 engine said to be exclusive to the Lincoln brand - at least for now. It is a slightly larger version of the all-new 3.5 liter V6 that debuted last year in the Ford Edge. In typical Ford fashion the better power plant, a turbocharged direct injection variant said to produce close to 400hp, wont be along until close to a year after launch.
But for now, the naturally aspirated 3.7 liter V6 delivers 270 horsepower and 265 lb.-ft. of torque and is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Performance should be similar to the 2008 Ford Taurus with the 263hp 3.5 liter engine. But given the extra 500 pounds the Lincoln weighs, coming in at a portly
4,127 lbs. (FWD) / 4,276 lbs. (AWD), it could even be a bit slower..
The Lincoln MKS will also be available with all-wheel-drive which utilizes a newly designed independent rear suspension. The MacPherson strut and rear-facing L-shaped lower control arm front suspension also was designed to maximize suspension travel and tuned to work in harmony with the rear suspension. As an added benefit, the new suspension design can accommodate larger, 20-inch wheels and tires without compromising ride comfort.
The three year old chassis is derived from the Volvo / D3 platform that also underpins the Ford Taurus, Taurus X, and Mercury Sable. The chassis has a good reputation for road manners and refinement but is plenty porky on the scales. The weight and complexity of the platform however has been an issue for some owners of Ford Five Hundreds, Freestyles, and Mercury Montegos who have been plagued with frequent alignment problems, abnormal tire wear, and suspension longevity issues. For the 2008 model year Ford has made changes to the chassis they claim will alleviate these issues, but it has not yet been proven out in the real world.
On the styling front, the Lincoln MKS is supposed to debut the new design DNA going forward. “Every element of this luxury sedan reflects the culture of Lincoln – from its well-proportioned athleticism to the design cues we have painstakingly developed, modernizing the best elements over time,” says Peter Horbury, executive director of Design for The Americas.
Its most striking exterior design feature is its double-wing grille, which sweeps up into the jewel-like headlamps, wrapping around the front fascia and forming a sharp crease that defines the high beltline. A subtle kick-up over the rear wheel calls back cues found on many classic Lincolns. Strong shoulders, dramatic C-pillars, clean body sides, a tall rear deck and large wheels and tires lend the Lincoln MKS a confident stance.
The only problem in our opinion is that the styling isn’t at all revolutionary or particularly unique. In fact it almost seems dated on arrival, looking no more modern than the current crop of sedans from Nissan, Lexus, or even Hyundai. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder we suppose.
The Lincoln MKS comes standard with 18-inch bright, machined, cast aluminum painted 10-spoke wheels. Nineteen-inch 10-spoke painted, polished or machined aluminum or a class-exclusive 20-inch, 11-spoke, highly polished, cast aluminum wheel are available options.
The Lincoln MKS is equipped with a comprehensive package of the latest in active and passive safety features to provide the highest level of protection for all occupants. Standard safety features include: dual-stage driver and front passenger air bags, safety belt pretensioners, load-limiting retractors, driver seat positioning sensor, side air bags and Safety Canopy™ side curtain air bags with roll-fold technology and four-wheel ABS brakes.
Modern luxury carries through inside, as well. Space is abundant, with a class-leading interior package. In fact, the MKS has the largest rear cabin in its class in every important dimension, including head, leg and shoulder room. And Lincoln tends to passengers’ comfort with standard heated rear seats, an overhead skylight and a sun shade for the backlight.
Its interior is sleek. For instance, the Lincoln MKS’s symmetrical instrument panel has fewer break lines than other luxury vehicles. The flow-through center stack is clean and uncluttered, with an information screen integrated at the top. The large center console has a split, two-piece, padded upper section. Each section slides forward individually to form an armrest. “Luxury buyers still expect rare beauty, but today, they also seek authenticity,” Horbury said. “This is space Lincoln can rightfully reclaim, given the design of our vehicles and the way we’ve chosen to adorn the MKS with the finest real leathers, rare woods, real aluminum and chrome accents – in a more environmentally responsible way.”
Overall, the new Lincoln MKS is certainly a step up from the dated and worn out Town Car for which it is intended to replace at the top of the product line. It is just too bad that it is not rear wheel drive or available with a V8 as even most Cadillac models now offer. Strange strategy it is when competition from Lexus, Infinity and even Hyundai are rolling our more rear-wheel drive models and V-8’s. It seems that Ford is again about five years behind where the rest of the world is headed.
