Rare Rides: 2002 Neiman Marcus Lincoln Blackwood is a Garbage Truck

The last Rare Rides we brought you was really quite fantastic; a Toyota Town Ace with all the brown, diesel, 4WD, and multi-window things you could ever desire. Go check it out if you haven’t yet, as it will elevate your mood before today’s Rare Ride drags it right back down into the dirt.

As we’ve seen in some past editions of Rare Rides, things which are rare and “special” are not always good. And frankly, this Lincoln Blackwood Neiman Marcus Edition sucks.

A one year, one-off model, the Blackwood was devised by the Lincoln Motor Carriage Establishment and Coachwork, LLC to cater to the specialty high-end luxury truck market. And I use those last few words in their loosest form here, because the Blackwood was confused and hampered [from the factory] in many ways.

Let’s start with the drivetrain. Ford’s ubiquitous 5.4-liter V8 is here, and that’s fine. But it powers only the rear wheels — and that’s not so good. Ford thought it unnecessary to use a 4×4 or all-wheel drive system like in the popular and successful Denali and Escalade lines.

The exterior modifications in turning the Blackwood from an F-150 into a Lincoln truck are interesting crap as well. The body is clad in dark wood appliques, and while normally I have no problem with exterior brougham treatments, it simply doesn’t work in such a dark shade and on a truck-shaped vehicle like this. However, I will assert here that I believe the Blackwood to be the last vehicle available from the factory with wood appliques. Prove me wrong if you can.

Additional handicapping came at the back of the vehicle, where the mandatory powered tonneau lifted up and horizontal tailgate doors swung open to reveal — wait for it — a carpeted trunk. Space was reduced by storage boxes on either side of the bed, and there were some stainless panels to collect scratches from any cargo sharper than a beanbag chair. The box itself was produced by Magna Steyr, and caused the vehicle’s introductory delay due to the producer’s supply issues.

The Blackwood was available in only one color, because of how special it was or something. That didn’t change for today’s even more special version, the Neiman Marcus Edition. For its 2001 spring catalog, luxury department chain Neiman Marcus ordered 50 total Blackwoods built to its specifications.

These special editions received a short list of upgrades, but the price went from the base of $52,500 to a staggering $58,800; approximately $81,800 in 2017 dollars. Those upgrades included stitched headrests with Neiman Marcus logo, a leather rear console lid, and time capsule 7-inch DVD player with headphones, and a cooler. You also got a certificate of authenticity, verifying that you were, in fact, insane for purchasing such a stupid vehicle.

All Blackwoods sat only four people, as the rear center console was not optional.

Happily, the Blackwood lasted just one model year. Ford did a better job the next time around, when they introduced the much more successful and less ridiculous Mark LT for 2006.

[Images via Mecum]