Showing posts with label Lincoln. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lincoln. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX Lose CR Recommendation Over MyTouch
Consumer Reports has pulled its "Recommended" status from the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers because the new MyTouch telematics system is "unwieldy, difficult to use and requires drivers to take their eyes off the road.
More than one Detroit insider had said this day was coming, that Ford boss Allan Mulally's one weak spot was his belief, forged in his days of running Boeing, that complex onboard electronics are a good thing. What those insiders say Mulally doesn't get is that there are at least two people at the controls of a jumbo jet, auto-pilot is always an option and air traffic control has your back...none of which apply on the road.
Full story from The Detroit News.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Lincoln MKT Review
From the back, in black, it looks like a 1940's hearse.
For several thousand dollars less, you can get a Ford Flex...which is what this is based on.
The above two lines are the sum total of the downside to the Lincoln MKT.
There's a ton of upside.
First of all, for better or worse, Lincoln's breaking some styling rules and creating distinctive automobiles. And since the new family grille is a modern interpretation of 40s Lincolns, I suppose the "40s hearse" rear-end isn't a surprise.
Number two, 16 city/22 highway (the EPA estimate, which, for the first time in a long time in a Ford Motor Company product, we didn't achieve or exceed), while not great, is also not bad for something this big, with this kind of power. The MKT packs the twin-turbo EcoBoost engine...and, in fact, 16/22 is the mileage cited for the Flex when equipped with EcoBoost.
And as for the MKT/Flex comparison, well, Lincoln deserves a major pat on the back for putting distance between the two vehicles. This is shared-platform as opposed to "badge engineering". You could drive the MKT and Flex back-to-back (which Ford was brave enough to allow a group of journalists, yours truly included, to do around the fall '09 introduction of the MKT) and spend the next few minutes remarking on how they really are completely different vehicles.
That price difference? Well, it's there...a base MKT starts about where a loaded Flex leaves off ($44,000) and it's not difficult to load an MKT beyond the $50,000 point with 2nd row bucket seats (in place of the standard bench), a 2nd row console with a built-in refrigerator, and Active Park Assist. Put simply, it parks the car automatically. Yes, Lexus got there first, a couple of years ago, but the system wasn't flawless. We've used the Lincoln's ourself. It is.
But here's the thing: It's that distance between the two vehicles I mentioned two paragraphs up. You have to have X-ray vision and a set of blueprints to know that there's commonality with the Flex. The Lincoln is a cut above in style, luxury, percieved quality and cutting-edge tech...including voice-activated navigation. Save home, say "home" and you're guided on your way.
Our most recent test vehicle came courtesy Sanderson Lincoln/Volvo in Phoenix.
Here's a very cool promotional video about the MKT from Lincoln and Ford Motor Company: