Autoblog

Click the MKS for a high res gallery

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.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Lincoln MKS

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. Read our driving impressions and check out a video of Peter Horbury's walk-around tour of the new 2009 Lincoln MKS after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

click above image to view new high-res live shots of the 2009 Lincoln MKS

With the momentum of 13 straight months of increased sales, the latest Lincoln bid to keep that trend going is the launch of the 2009 Lincoln MKS. The full-sized sedan will be initially launched with FWD, but will offer AWD as a cost option (and a turbo gas engine with direct injection), and will start at $37,985. That price, Mark Fields was sure to tell us, is $5,000 less than a Cadillac STS V6. Even fully optioned, the MKS won't touch $50,000, which puts it at $5,000 under a similarly-equipped Lexus GS350 and Acura RL. Check the 'value' box, then, will you?

Designed by Peter Horbury (ex of Volvo), the car has "jewel-like headlamps, well proportioned athleticism," stainless steel accents, and a host of other design cliches. However, it also has some novel design touches. And it's got the only 20-inch wheels as standard in its class. The overall shape of the car looks good from the side -- and it's even better if you're a fan of stainless steel accents (it is a Lincoln, after all) -- and we are terrifically happy to see a car make it from concept to showroom with a standard set of wheel-well-filling rims. The rear end genuinely interests us, with Euro-Asian cues and a raked rear window that truncates the trunk profile making us think (forgive us) Sebring Done Right.

Follow the jump for more, including video of the live reveal in LA.

UPDATE 2: Video of MKS in motion added after the jump
UPDATE: Many more high-res pics added to gallery

click above image to view high-res gallery of the 2009 Lincoln MKS

For the past two decades, the only thing consistent about Ford's Lincoln division has been its inconsistency. To put it lightly, the brand has struggled to find it's place in the automotive landscape. The vehicles from Ford's premium domestic division haven't had a coherent look since the early '80s. Several of its models, such as the LS and the Navigator, have sold well at times, but the absence of a Lincoln DNA hasn't helped. In 2006, North American Design chief Peter Horbury set about changing all that. He gave his team the task of examining past Lincolns to determine what set them apart.

The first new model intended to set Lincoln on it's path to rebirth is the 2009 MKS, which is making its debut in production form at the LA Auto Show later today. The MKS first appeared as a concept at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. It's based on the same platform as the Ford 500/Taurus, which originated at Volvo under the S80/XC90. When the concept first appeared it was reasonably well received as a pleasant if not daring design for the marque. Subsequently, Horbury's team began its quest for the soul of Lincoln and came up with a list of seven elements that would be part of future Lincoln designs. Most of these appeared on the 2007 MKR concept that we saw in Detroit. While most of the MKS was already locked in for production, after the show Ford management made the decision to adopt one of most prominent elements from the new MKR concept, its grille.

[Source: Lincoln]

click above image to view more new pics of the 2009 Lincoln MKS

The 2009 Lincoln MKS will make its official debut at the LA Auto Show in mid-November, but this luxury sedan-turned-Hollywood actor has already been spotted on the set of the new Batman movie in Chicago once before. A sharp-eyed reader, however, has caught the car in the middle of filming again, whether for the movie or for a commercial we don't know, and has graciously shared his snaps with us.

A bit clearer than the last on-set images of the MKS we showed you, these pics reveal in clear detail Lincoln's new big sedan. The design appears extremely clean and sharp. Up front is the split-wing grille that promises to soon become a familiar design cue across the entire Lincoln line. The side of the car is very smooth with an indent near the bottom that's highlighted with a chrome strip. Check out the size of the rear window opening, however, which seems pretty small to us. The rear end, meanwhile, has a look that will take us some time to get used to, but doesn't necessarily detract from what we see as a very slick overall design.

Thanks to Jason A. for the pics!

click above image to view more spy pics of the 2009 Lincoln MKS

The spy photographers from KGP have been scoping out Lincoln MKS prototypes for a while, but this is the first time they've gotten close enough to get a clear view of the interior. The first thing we noticed is that the production interior retains many of the shapes, lines and styling cues from the interior of the Lincoln MKS Concept that debuted at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. The center channel speaker atop the dash, the four large air vents, the metal trim accenting the sides of the center console are all examples of what Lincoln designers decided to port over directly from the concept. Whereas the concept's dash was awash entirely in buttery soft beige and brown leather, the production interior adds a wood accent bar that spans the width of the dashboard and is repeated on the steering wheel (and likely the door trim). It appears that the top of the production MKS dash, however, will still be covered in leather, as stitching is clearly visible in these spy shots. The center console, however, is devoid of any expressive styling, instead relying on the corporate parts bin to fill the space allotted with buttons and dials. Overall we agree with KGP's assessment that while tasteful and pleasant, the interior of the Lincoln MKS sedan will have a difficult time measuring up to the new standard set by the 2008 Cadillac CTS.

Check out the gallery below for high-res spy shots of the 2009 Lincoln MKS interior, as well as more spy shots of the luxury sedan's exterior.

[Photos: KGP Photography]