Is There a MKT for the Lincoln MKT?

By Robert Farago
January 12, 2009

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24 Comments on “ Is There a MKT for the Lincoln MKT? ”

hans007 :
January 12th, 2009 at 7:03 am

i would normally think no.

but acura is coming out with some sort of vehicle in this shape, and toyota just came out with the venza.

i’m sure they could still be horrible flops (and i’m hoping they are, since maybe resources could stop being wasted on these things), but i suppose there is at least some evidence that there maybe is a market.
minion444 :
January 12th, 2009 at 7:13 am

Only with Funeral Homes or the soon to be dead….
oldowl :
January 12th, 2009 at 7:15 am

Or the Prom limo market…
motron :
January 12th, 2009 at 7:20 am

There should be a market among people who want third row seating but don’t want an SUV or minivan. Wagons may be losing some of their stigma while minivans are gaining it.
NickR :
January 12th, 2009 at 7:37 am

If they kill the Navigator, and the LT just to be on the safe side. Maybe.

Don’t much like the baleen front end that has become the Lincoln trademark, but the rest is okay.
Robert Farago :
January 12th, 2009 at 7:54 am

motron:

The Chrysler Pacifica, Mercedes R-Class and twin-under=the-skin Flex already died for this sin. Or, as the Brits say, it falls between two stools. So to speak.
dgduris :
January 12th, 2009 at 7:59 am

The Lincolns of the last couple of years have shown a decent, somewhat unique and coherent design theme.

But this! This turns the last few years of decent design into self caricature.

What is it about American designers? Why do they have to stretch, twist and ultimately violate their own designs (Cadillac, perhaps, aside).

This thing looks like - in black - it would have made a great Joker Mobile for the poor bastard who OD after his film zenith in the last Batman.

Oh! Well! Maybe it’ll steal share from the Escalade.

Honestly, GM and Ford, save some money. Just stick gold ornaments and leather innards on the badge-engineered Suburban and Expedition and call it a day. They will sell as many as they do now, but your profit will be higher.
Brian E :
January 12th, 2009 at 7:59 am

Sure. It’s for all the people who looked at the Mazda CX-9 and said “I’d like the same thing, but without any sort of cohesive aesthetic sensibility or panache to the design”.
Rod Panhard :
January 12th, 2009 at 8:47 am

I can visualize this thing being used in the funeral home fleet, with a wooden cutout of a Doc from “Snow White” saying, “You got to be this tall AND DEAD to enjoy this ride.”
Richard Chen :
January 12th, 2009 at 8:57 am

Is this supposed to eventually replace the Town Car as a livery vehicle?
guyincognito :
January 12th, 2009 at 9:05 am

I’d have to say NO. I don’t even think it will win the favor of funeral homes and limo companies. My prediction is that despite disounting it to several grand below the price of a Flex, Ford never succeeds in selling a single MKT.
Kurt. :
January 12th, 2009 at 9:55 am

Just looking at NEEDS, there is a NEED in America for Stationwagons for people below I40. The SUV is usually a better vehicle north of that due to AWD an dwinter driving. South of that, it’s a status symbol.

However, the SUV loophole in CAFE killed wagons, created SUV’s and moved Soccer Mom’s into them and Minivans.

Fixing CAFE, bringing back the family wagon and having SUV’s for what they were created for - enclosed pickups, is a good move.
Robert Farago :
January 12th, 2009 at 9:57 am

Kurt

First, there’s the small matter of millions of SUVs out there, whose owners are seriously backwards on their loans.
mtypex :
January 12th, 2009 at 10:10 am

If they only want to sell to old men and women, the interior of the MKZ/Zephyr is just the ticket. Or, the design on this thing.
psarhjinian :
January 12th, 2009 at 10:29 am

Not now, no.

Go ahead, try and sell a luxury crossover from a moriund brand with worse-than-normal depreciation in a recession. Let me know how it goes.

If I were a Lincoln product manager, I would have been concentrating on making the MKS and (especially) the MKZ better, ensuring that they’re safe buys, so that when things turn around and buyers might upgrade, they’ll consider the MKT. Or at least might do so if the nose wasn’t so incredibly tacky.

Lincoln has a shot, here. The base product is reliable, conservative and capable, and the service is generally excellent. Build the base, outlast Cadillac, and there’s a chance if the market recovers.
TRL :
January 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am

Yes. There are actually some RX and MDX buyers that would prefer to buy American (please skip that arguement). Someone bought Aviators so this will hit Ford’s modest expectations.
radimus :
January 12th, 2009 at 11:57 am

The front end looks like the mouth of a right whale.
lukemo2 :
January 12th, 2009 at 12:08 pm

hahaha it really does
ponchoman49 :
January 12th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Continues todays stupid design language of overwrought front end and grille, boring plain slab sides, overbloated body and goofy letter names. No thanks Lincoln!
fincar1 :
January 12th, 2009 at 1:19 pm

I had 60, 62, and 68 Lincolns. The 60 was a bottom-line sedan with wind up windows; never saw another one equipped that way. Huge interior space, more rear legroom than any car I’ve had since. Best handling of the 3. The 62 was a convertible, bought in 1972 with 72,000 miles. Never had a problem with it once we got the radiator and both heater cores flushed. All the switchgear for the power top was fine. A truly well-finished car inside and out, fully competitive with Caddy. Remarkably compact though; the convertible top on it was actually shorter than that on my 58 Plymouth convertible. The 68 was almost as big as the 60, but handled like a barge. It had the gimp flywheel gear that needed replacing too often; it had the nylon gears in the power windows for guaranteed short lifespan; it needed the fan going in all winds and weathers to keep the windows from fogging. No More Lincolns! Well, I have looked at another 62 or 63 from time to time. The only decent Lincolns lately have been the town cars, and you get 85% of that with a Crown Vic, plus the fun of roaring up on people and watching them suddenly go exactly the speed limit.
fincar1 :
January 12th, 2009 at 1:45 pm

I guess I should have posted my screed in “Has Lincoln Lost the Plot?”
Hank :
January 12th, 2009 at 2:13 pm

Why didn’t they kill the the Navigator and slap the label on this one?

(Since they didn’t do that, why haven’t they killed the Navigator?)
P71_CrownVic :
January 12th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

Wow…what a horrid vehicle. Does the ‘T’ stand for terrible?

How can the same company produce a vehicle as good as the Taurus, and then a vehicle as bad as the Lincoln Flex?

The vehicle itself is pointless (the Flex is too expensive and not selling…why would a more expensive Lincoln version sell any better).

Ford takes one step forward with the Taurus and 10 steps back with this…”thing”.

Oh well…I am sure there is someone out there who wants to waste their money on a “near-luxury” station wagon.

I’ll take an Enclave.
CaliCarGuy :
January 12th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

i actually like it. come on people give credit where credit is due. jus because the big 3 r in bad shape doesnt mean we gotta diss obviously quality vehicles. this is a very nice crossover or watever even if the rear looks weird. and the materials in the cabin are very good from wat i can see. but the downside to me is the price. has anyone been to the site for this? it starts at 44995. and a top of the line mkt with the ecoboost and their so called “elite” package 54995. and iam pretty sure thats gonna hit 60k or close too it. i wouldnt really feel comfortable paying that much for a lincoln outside of maybe a navigator. is it jus me or is that alot of cash for a lincoln?