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Lincoln Hopes
to Hit the Luxury Pickup Mark with Blackwood Successor
By:
Michael Levine Posted:
01-05-04 04:00 PT
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Lincoln-Mercury
President Darryl Hazel introduced the full-size Lincoln Mark LT concept
at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this afternoon.
While not the exact truck that will hit showroom floors for the 2006 model
year, the Mark LT is as close to production intent as show vehicles get.
The LT is
the successor to Lincoln's last luxury truck, the 2002 Blackwood,
which was quickly killed after its retail failure in the marketplace.
Interestingly,
Lincoln is billing the Mark LT as the first true luxury pickup. Lincoln
had technically tagged the Blackwood as an SUV in previous press material
and apparently feels the same way about Cadillac's Escalade
EXT.
Hazel says,
"The Mark LT represents our movement towards more personal use and
expressive vehicles. We think the LT represents the ultimate personal,
luxury pickup."
The LT shares
all major components with the Ford
F-150 but its exterior is distinguished by Lincoln-esque touches.
Its prominent vertically slatted chrome grille is anchored by the Lincoln
star. 20-inch massive chrome spoked wheels provide a dominating stance
and its tail lamps follow the same form found on the Lincoln Navigator
SUV. The bed is as functional as an F-150's.
If you had
bought a Lincoln Blackwood, you could have had any color as long as it
was black. There will be no color restrictions for the LT according to
Hazel.
The interior
is incredibly rich and luxurious for a pickup - more so than even the
King Ranch Edition Ford F-150.
Bone white
premium leather blankets the cab. Console and instrument panel surfaces
are coated with varying metallic finishes and chrome accents can be found
on the HVAC vents. The gauge cluster is especially detailed with its textured
aluminum background and chrome bezels.
Missing from
the Mark LT's interior were heated and air-conditioned seats like the
Blackwood had. Hazel expects to see this return as an option later in
the truck's lifecycle.
Sharing its
5.4-liter Triton V8 with the F-150 provides the Mark LT with 300-horsepower
and 365 lb-ft of torque. This is less than the Cadillac EXT's 345/380
power figures but the LT's towing capacity is rated at 8900-lbs, 1500-lbs
more than the Escalade EXT is capable of handling.
Asked about
the possibility of all wheel drive, which is offered on many high end
luxury automobiles, Hazel responded it would not be an option on the LT.
The Mark
LT will be offered in 4x4 and 4x2 drive configurations when it goes on
sale in January 2005.
Hazel wouldn't
provide pricing figures or estimated production volumes, but he did say
that, "The MK LT will cost less than a Blackwood and we can build
as many as our dealers want us to build."
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