The 2009 Lincoln MKS may be the marque's last chance at establishing a distinct image after two decades of struggling to find its identity. At one time Lincoln, like its counterparts at Cadillac, stood apart from lesser vehicles with unique styling, powertrains and features that clearly delineated its place in the automotive hierarchy. Not that Mark IVs, Vs and VIs were high-water marks in design, but at least when you saw one rolling down the road, you knew you were looking at a Lincoln.
But the Continentals of the '80s marked the onset of Lincoln's utterly forgettable image, and when Ford went on a buying binge in the late '80s with Jaguar, continuing through the '90s with Volvo, Aston Martin, and Land Rover, the waters began to be seriously muddied. The creation of the Premier Automotive Group, which bundled all the premium brands together, did nothing to help Lincoln's outlook, so Ford's in-house luxury brand needed a fresh start. With the dissolution of PAG, Peter Horbury and the team went back to the drawing board to define a look that would shout "Lincoln!" for years to come. Read on to find out if the MKS succeeds.
Every year, carmakers collectively trot out dozens of new concept vehicles at auto shows around the world. Some fraction of those end up making their way to production lines and onto the streets. Most of the exciting design ideas, however, get heavily watered down in the process of going from auto show stand to showroom. One notable exception is the new Lincoln MKS. When the original MKS concept turned up in 2006, it was basically a slightly fancied up version of the then-new Ford Five Hundred, and it was not warmly received.
In a pleasant change of direction, Ford took the lukewarm reception for the concept to heart and by the time the production version of the MKS appeared at the LA Auto Show last November, it had been transformed. Unlike the "so what" appearance of the concept, the production model elicited much stronger opinions. Some hated it, others loved it. Regardless of how you feel about the new look, it is now a fact of life. The MKS began emerging from Ford's Chicago assembly plant a few weeks ago and Ford invited us down to Washington DC to sample it on the road.
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Though we already miss the Twin-Force name, Ford's newly minted family of turbocharged, direct-inject EcoBoost engines has our curiosity piqued. The first application of an EcoBoost engine will be the twin-turbocharged, direct-inject 3.5L V6 available in the 2009 Lincoln MKS. Ford claims it will produce an estimated 340+ horsepower and 340 ft-lb of torque, so even thought it may be down a couple cylinders on the competition, it will clearly be competitive.
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