Ay Dios Mio! 2011 Lincoln Mark LT spotted south of the border
The Lincoln Mark LT never really worked out according to plan. The thinking was that trucks and SUVs were so hot, all you had to do was rebadge 'em and then roll around in all the easy money. And while that worked wonders for Cadillac via the Las Vegas-a-riffic Escalade EXT, Lincolns with beds just never got any play. In fairness to the LT, the stage for failure was set by the Blackwood, a truck only intended to appeal to polo players (the bed was carpeted). The LT, on the other hand, was essentially a fully-dressed F-150 with Lincoln badges. Lincoln Mark LT production stopped in late 2008 and no one cared. Except, apparently, Mexicans.
Despite all that, last March brought us some spy shots of a 2011 Lincoln Mark LT running around the Detroit metro area. Huh? Well here's the thing: These trucks are headed down south -- way down south. Turns out that the Lincoln brand still has a certain cachet in Mexico, and our neighbors to the south see no problem in shelling out a little extra for the honor of the badge. Don't laugh, there are plenty Americans who routinely shell out around $50,000 for the same truck with a Ford badge (the Lincoln Mark LT is essentially the Ford F-150 Platinum).
Anyhow, here's a pre-production 2011 Lincoln Mark LT running wild somewhere in Mexico. We thought maybe we'd be able to tell from the license plate, but that's definitely a 2002-2007 Distrito Federal plate. Frankly, this truck could be anywhere. But seeing as how most of us don't know our Aguascalientes from our Hidalgo, what's it matter where? The larger point is that in a few years time if someone asks you to bring them the head of Alfredo Garcia Jr. and you want to do so in high style, has Lincoln got the lux-truck for you.
[Source: Auto Cosmos]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
VP 9:19AM (8/02/2009)
Wow is that Lincoln badge big enough for them? They stretched the logo so far it is almost unrecognizable. The whole front clip is pukeworthy.
Reply
notYou 10:20AM (8/02/2009)
Agreed! My whole disillusion with Lincoln as a brand, post LS era, seems to be continually reinforced (Zepfyrusion, MKZ, MKS, MKwhatever...)
dwightB 6:54PM (8/02/2009)
I don't think it's stretched actually. I think it's the same aspect ration as the rest of the new Lincolns.
I know a few years ago Ford had a BIG push for BIG emblems though, so I'm sure that's just the result of this.
For example, compare the size of the emblem on this...
1998 Lincoln Navigator
http://images.automotive.com/reviews/images/98navigator.jpg
to this...
2008 Lincoln Navigator
http://www.carbuyersnotebook.com/08ph_navigator.jpg
AMcA 8:19PM (8/02/2009)
Pukeworthy, yes.
But you've got to hand it to them for getting a design theme together and getting it implemented. Lincoln has totally struggled for identity for years, and now it has one.
Egon 9:23AM (8/02/2009)
Well it's good to see that badge snobbery still translates from english to spanish without any problem.
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richy 2:48PM (8/02/2009)
Thats got to be the worst spanish I have ever read, would make no sense to a native speaker, pinche maricon!
HotRodzNKustoms 9:23AM (8/02/2009)
¡El bebé dulce santo Jesús!!! ¡Los ojos!!! ¡Ellos queman! !!! ¡Dios me rinde ciego! !!! ¡Sacuda y hornee!
Reply
Yaroukh 9:56AM (8/02/2009)
English pwetty PLZ.
Derek 10:24AM (8/02/2009)
Holy sweet baby Jesus! My eyes! They burn! (God pays me blind)? Shake and bake!
Protzenegger 11:03AM (8/02/2009)
"God strike me blind."
Yaroukh 2:14PM (8/02/2009)
Thanks a lot for the lesson of cursing in Spanish. :)))
HotRodzNKustoms 4:35PM (8/02/2009)
haha yeah sorry for the rough Spanish. I just used an online translator.
Protzenegger 5:31PM (8/02/2009)
I could tell :)
Joe 9:25AM (8/02/2009)
When I was in Mexico last November, all you saw were Lincoln Mark LTs, EVERYWHERE. They buy the hell out of them down there.
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Tony 10:07AM (8/02/2009)
They don't buy them down there, they steal them from up here!
Farmboy 3:10PM (8/02/2009)
They absolutely LOVE the Mark LT. Lincoln is a very popular brand to own down there, especially the Mark LT.
Yaroukh 2:15PM (8/02/2009)
@Tony: That would be exactly what someone who buys that deserves! ;))
PumaGTO 10:03AM (8/02/2009)
"...the Blackwood, a truck only intended to appeal to polo players (the bed was carpeted)." Carpeted bed appeal to something else in my mind.
anyway... Never seen on of those around here, but I think it´s just because of the price. In some way, luxury trucks and SUVs appeal to latin americans because they can live with the potholes ( or craters) in the streets, are easier to put some bulletproof armor and run on diesel (at least here in Brazil diesel is a lot cheaper than gas). If I wanted some american luxury I´d rather have a Cad CTS (V or not). But who am I kiddin.. I´d be more than happy with a simple Ford Fusion.
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mr.ed 10:50AM (8/02/2009)
I actually saw a Blackwood (Peckerwood?) yesterday. And now the Lincoln waterfall grille on the LT has finally been transformed into its vulgar, ungainly worst iteration. No shame.
why not the LS2LS7? 11:45AM (8/02/2009)
The Blackwood came with a bed cover that only flipped up but could not be removed (well, not easily). Also, it was only available with 2WD.
Now, 4WD and towing don't usually go together, because you rarely tow off-road. But one exception to this is people who pull horse carriers, they at times want to drive into the field with the trailer. Also, multi-horse carriers are often use fifth wheel hitches due to high tongue weights and the Blackwood couldn't mount one (since the bed was covered). Finally, the dutch doors on the back of the Blackwood made it near impossible to get into the bed if there was a trailer attached. All these things meant the same horse owners (small as that crowd might be) who bought the Escalade EXT had no use for the Blackwood.