2007 Lincoln MKZ AWD

2007 Lincoln MKZ AWD - After one year on the market, and just as people might be starting to wrap their heads around what a Lincoln Zephyr is, the company is putting the nameplate back on the shelf, next to Versailles. From here on, new Lincolns will wear the letters MK, and a third letter — be it an X, an S, or in this case, a Z — will denote the model. Unlike the Mark LT pickup, the MK isn’t short for “mark” but is pronounced by the letters themselves, as in “M K.”

The change from Zephyr to MKZ is a bit more involved than simply slapping a different chromed badge onto the Lincoln’s rump. Several real alterations, from chassis tweaks to powertrain improvements, make the ’07 MKZ more than just a marketing experiment. Ford’s new 263-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 now resides under the hood — Lincoln’s more plebeian brethren, the Mercury Milan and the Ford Fusion, will have to wait at least until 2008 to get the larger engine.

At the track, the MKZ’s extra 42 ponies didn’t make it any faster than the Zephyr. Quarter-mile and 0-to-60 times were identical to those of a front-wheel-drive Zephyr we tested in April 2006. The MKZ has 267 more pounds to carry than did the Zephyr (due primarily to the AWD system), but its 14.5-pounds-per-horsepower power-to-weight ratio is still better than the Zephyr’s 16.0 pounds per horsepower. Identical gearing in both cars leads us to believe our MKZ might have been an unusually weak example or that the added friction and rotational inertia of the all-wheel drive sapped a significant chunk of life from the new engine. However, when a 4528-pound Ford Edge SEL Plus AWD with two more horsepower runs 0 to 60 in 7.6 seconds — only 0.3 second longer than the 715-pound-lighter sedan — one wonders why the MKZ wasn’t faster.

The rest of the MKZ carries over largely unchanged from the Zephyr. Optional wood trim dresses up the plasticky multihued interior that would benefit from more precise fits — the door panels still feel as if they could be pulled apart easily. Switchgear lifted from Ford’s parts bin looks down-market, but the optional ($2495) touch-screen navigation system works intuitively and easily.

Our loaded MKZ wore a price of $35,445, thousands less than a comparably equipped Lexus ES350. The MKZ is a more entertaining car to drive than the ES350, but this is like choosing your mother over your grandmother in a wet-T-shirt contest — neither is really suited for the pursuit. In this price range, driving enthusiasts would be looking at an Audi A4, BMW 3-series, Cadillac CTS, or Infiniti G35, whereas luxury seekers would be smart to consider the ES350. Somewhere in the middle lies the jack of sedans, the MKZ.

2007 Lincoln Mark LT

2007 Lincoln Mark LT - In some social circles, a Ford truck could imply that the driver might lack refinement, might have a Skoal ring on the back pocket of his best slacks, and might be found on any given Saturday night spinning donuts in a muddy field, Bud Ice in hand, hanging out the window and screaming, “Yee-haw!” Does a Lincoln Mark LT say anything different, or does it just say, “This sucka just spent an extra four grand on his Ford”?

The interior of the Mark LT says “Ford” but with a Lincoln accent. That’s not quite as sexy as an Italian accent, but at least it isn’t quite the elderly rasp it used to be. The dash and the center stack only look Lincoln in color availability, as the layout and materials are the same in an F-150. Think of it as a Ford dressed for a black-tie dinner.

They won’t know it from the performance. Mechanically, this truck is identical to the F-150. The Cadillac Escalade EXT at least gets more horsepower than the Chevrolet it’s based on (403 compared with 366 from the Chevy Avalanche’s top engine) and two more cogs in the slushbox.

A headlining testimony to the 5.4’s ineptitude is its inability to indulge us in that redeeming pickup shenanigan: gratuitous rear wheelspin. With 2540 of the Mark LT’s 5900 pounds on the rear axle, all the V-8 could manage without punishing brake torque was a quick chirp, as though maybe we had run over a bird’s nest.

Although the Mark LT is not the only Lincoln with a solid rear axle—that bit of old-school Americana, the Town Car, still rocks the rigid rear—it is the only Lincoln with a solid rear axle supported by leaf springs and meant to support an additional 1430 pounds in the bed, and there is no place for floaty when you’re hauling 1430 pounds of diamond-encrusted bingo balls. The Town Car might have a spacious trunk, but to get that much weight in it, you’d have to be hauling something pretty dense. Plutonium, perhaps? Since we’re so close to Canada here at C/D HQ, we have to keep in mind that it might make for a sticky border crossing.

2006 Lincoln Zephyr

2006 Lincoln Zephyr - Using the same basic ingredients as the new Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, the people responsible for the resuscitation of Ford’s luxury division have created a car that could just as easily have been conceived by Chrysler product planners of the K-car era, albeit with considerably better execution. Here is a sedan that is exactly as stimulating to drive as a nice sofa, and how that trait will seduce any suboctogenarian who still enjoys the interaction of man and machine is a mystery to us.

As you’d expect, the Lincoln’s spring rates, damping, and bushings are tuned for smooth ride quality, and the power rack-and-pinion steering has higher-than-average assist, particularly at low speeds. Lots of assist and quick steering—just 2.5 turns lock-to-lock—don’t necessarily make a good combination. But we’re not talking old-time numb Lincoln steering here—just steering that’s consistent with the sense of ennui that goes with guiding this car on its appointed rounds. Daddy, are we almost there yet?

Like its Ford and Mercury cousins, the Zephyr is powered by Ford’s 3.0-liter Duratec V-6, mated with a six-speed automatic transmission, still a rarity in this size class. In the Zephyr, the Duratec generates the same 221 horsepower as in the Fusion. Even with a 94-pound weight penalty over the Fusion, the Zephyr clocked a 0-to-60-mph time that was 0.1 second quicker than that posted by the Fusion SEL (base price, $22,360) we tested last December (“Mid-Size Four-Door Sedans”): 7.3 seconds versus 7.4. But in the same test, a Honda Accord EX sprinted to 60 in 6.6 seconds.

Okay, power isn’t everything, but it is a key component in the prestige-car biz, particularly with those more youthful customers that Lincoln covets. Particularly in a car whose other attributes seem better conceived for senior citizens than young affluents who would really rather be driving Bimmers. The interior appointments, for example, incorporate quality materials (including real maple trim) and tasteful colors, but the high cowl, squarish dashboard shapes, and loose-fit bucket seats would be more at home in a 10-year-old Buick.

Regarding the Zephyr’s styling, the Lincoln people refer to “classic proportions” and suggest associations with the graceful lines of the original Zephyr of 1936. What we see here are classic front-wheel-drive proportions—that is, a significant front overhang abetted by a big ol’ Lincoln grille.

Lincoln Town Car BPS

Lincoln Town Car BPS - According to Lincoln, there are about 22,000 personal armored vehicles on the planet. Primarily modified by aftermarket specialists, this segment of the market has been largely ignored by automakers because of the small numbers of armored cars being sold. Lincoln now sees plenty of growth in the segment and plans on selling 300 or so of its Town Car BPS in 2005. Half the cars will be sold in the U.S., and the rest will undoubtedly find their way to the most dangerous places in the world.

Hidden steel plating and ceramic-aramid plating surround the passenger compartment behind the standard sheetmetal. Since most shots are taken at visible targets, the BPS car's glass is nearly 1.6 inches thick, or 40 millimeters, quite a bit thicker than the 5mm glass in most regular cars. The floor of the car even gets an aramid mat beneath the carpet that offers some security from a grenade attack.

The engine remains stock. A stronger police-car alternator and a limousine-spec transmission and rear differential are the only changes. The 0-to-60 time, not surprisingly, takes a full 12.0 seconds, the quarter-mile passes in 18.6 seconds at 77 mph. A normal Town Car achieves 60 mph in 9.5 seconds and the quarter-mile in 16.8 seconds at 82 mph.

It is designed to shield its occupants from danger and get them away from a threat as quickly as possible. It's prohibitively expensive, but for those three percent of owners who will experience an attack in their Town Car BPS, the extra dough will seem well spent.