They Finally Really Did It: New Lincoln MK . . . Uh . . . T

by Robert Farago

Published: May 15th, 2009

they finally really did it new lincoln mk uh t

I’ve taken a lot of heat hereabouts for being so negative about, well, everything. And how dare I diss Ford? They’re the “good guys”: the only domestic automaker (out of three) that didn’t belly-up to the federal bailout buffet (if only because doing so would mean various Fords would have to surrender control of the family firm to, gasp!, outsiders). Well, sorry, folks, but here’s a prime example of why the Blue Oval Boyz are just as loco en la cabeza as the branding brains at Chrysler and GM. Feast your eyes on the Lincoln MKT, the blinged-up version of the Ford Flex. That’s the three-row, six-passenger vehicle that racked up all of 3,190 sales last month, barely cresting 10,000 since the beginning of the year. OK, so other than the luxury Flex’s cetaceous snout . . . am I the only one who can’t see beyond the utter hideousness of that “split wing grille”? Deep breath. Details after the jump.

The big news here (if big news there be): the fitment of Ford’s new 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost™ engine. The turbo-six stumps up 355 horsepower. It’s the same direct injection, twin-turbo powerplant that’s [finally] under the hood of the slightly less sales sluggardly MKZ. As you might expect for any vehicle with a high horsepower lump sitting on Ford’s ill-fated front wheel-drive D3 platform, the EcoBoosted™ MKT comes with standard all wheel-drive.

While we weren’t invited to the embargoed test drive of either vehicle, I’m wondering about the fact that the MKT’s mill delivers max power at 5700 rpm. Do you have to baby this bad (and not in the Michael Jackson sense of the word) boy to hit that 16/22 EPA rating? Wait; sixteen? Doh! I could’ve had a V8! And what are we to make of this?

A litany of exterior paint colors, including Ingot Silver Clearcoat Metallic, Tuxedo Black Clearcoat Metallic, Red Candy Tint Clearcoat Metallic, Cinnamon Clearcoat Metallic, Steel Blue Clearcoat Metallic, Gold Leaf Clearcoat Metallic, Sterling Grey Clearcoat Metallic and White Platinum Tri-Coat.

Litany? Shouldn’t that be a Britney of colors? Anyway, Jalopnik loves the thing, which prices out around $50K with a few bells and whistles. No, really. Good thing the MKZ clocks-in at around the same price point, otherwise cannibalism might go out of fashion at Ford.

Robert Farago

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DweezilSFV on May 17, 2009

"...recalls the classic 1941 Continental" ? More like: "apes the 1948 Continental in it's garishness". Or: recalls the classic 1992 Olds Achieva.Or 82 Cutlass Ciera. But at least it continues another great Ford tradition: running a red reflector between the tail lights and calling it a Mercury or Lincoln.

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MadHungarian on May 17, 2009

If 16/22 MPG is the best in this category then the whole category should be taken out behind the barn and shot. My '92 Town Car got better mileage. Looked better, was easier to see out of and probably carried as much cargo too. In fact, given the abysmal sales of the Flex, I am absolutely sure Ford would generate more sales by putting the development dollars into the Town Car and making it a world class RWD sedan. Don't laugh unless you have driven one in its current state which is pretty damn impressive. Also, as they are running out of letters to append to "MK", what will be next? Is it like hurricanes in 2005, when we started using Greek letters after running through the name list for that year?

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