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Re: 2008 Mark LT [lylet]

by gregg_vw on Tue Sep 04 08:10:32 PDT 2007

2008 will be the last year for this badge-engineered fancy Ford. This is the second time Lincoln could not get a pickup offering right--at least to the extent that it approached sales targets. The Blackwood could have succeeded if it had had a 4WD option, and the option of an open bed. The LT, however, is just an F150 with a different grill. The 09 F150 is just around the corner. Designing even a badge engineered Lincoln model is likely not worth the investment. No tears should be shed. If Lincoln wants a truck, design it from next generation's Navigator. Make it innovative, or forget about it.

Re: 2008 Mark LT [gregg_vw]

by asaro on Sat Sep 27 07:35:15 PDT 2008

I agree the LT is how you say, "Toast" for 2009. But the main points concerning the LT are as follows: 1.) The LT and the F150 are two different and complete animals. 2.) The best luxury pick-up ever made, and the best truck in general. No truck matches up to the LT. 3.) The sales concerning the LT was not the true death of the LT, it was a political hit. 4.) The same thing happen to the Blackwood, so history repeats itself. I am happy to educate people about the LT. I know the history and every part about the truck. I guess you could call me the LT Guru ! Now shortly I will go in my beautiful LT and drive to a great place for breakfast. I assure you heads will turn and people will keep looking at this beautiful truck. I get it everyday I drive it ! But the LT for 2011 will be better ! Have a great day, and if you need any info on the LT just make a post.

Re: 2008 Mark LT [kcram]

by gregg_vw on Fri Sep 26 06:24:12 PDT 2008

Automotive News, a trusted industry source of information (certainly more so than Motor Trend and Consumer Reports...which by the way do NOT agree that the Ford F150 and Lincoln F150 are different animals, but I digress) reported on the LT's demise over a year ago. It's deja vu all over again. Automotive News is reporting that Lincoln will soon end production of the Mark LT pickup, based on the Ford F-150 half-ton. This is the second high end hauler to not find success under Ford Motor Company's luxury brand. The first was the unique Lincoln Blackwood pickup that never caught on with buyers and was dropped in 2002. Small consolation, but the Mark LT did beat the Blackwood's sales goals, which were 10,000 units per year. Mark LT sold a peak volume of 12,753 trucks in 2006. The Mark LT originally debuted at the 2004 North American International Auto Show and went on sale in 2005 as a 2006 model. Automotive News is also reporting that the reengineered 2009 Ford F-150 will move upmarket to fill the Mark LT's void with a new 'Platinum' trim level.

Re: 2008 Mark LT [asaro]

by gregg_vw on Mon Sep 22 17:02:36 PDT 2008

Not to get into a flame war with you or anything, but you dear man, are making no sense, though you do spout some mindless propaganda. American companies have been losing market share for years because, other than pickups and large SUVs, the Japanese and Koreans have been building better vehicles. Now, GM and Ford are truly scrambling, having lost their esteemed 1 -2 positions to Toyota. Both companies still build great trucks, but now there are world-class cars as well, whether you are talking the Cadillac CTS, the Malibu or the coming Ford Fiesta. I already told you that I have driven the LT (and high end F150s) and though I can afford any Lincoln built, I have no interest in owning an F150 with a bit of lipstick and a Lincoln name for that much extra money. If you were truly familiar with how good the F150 is in many ways, you would realize that the LT uses the same body, same interior, exact same engine and transmission, exact same dimensions, and the same quiet steel that you like so well in the LT. Compare apples to apples. F150 comes in lower end and work truck models. Compare the LT to the loaded F150 with the same 5.4 Ford V8 and comparable equipment. I wager I know more about Lincoln than you, having had a soft spot for the brand since I was a kid...and that was a long, long time ago. The MKZ has not met sales expectations. The MKS is not selling nearly as well as the LS did when it was introduced. The LT is cancelled after this year, and contrary to your claim of a one year hiatus, no insider that I know has stated there will be a replacement. The LT, as expensive as it was, did not offer things that economy cars are offering now, like side airbags and stability control. Sales of the LT have been very disappointing for Lincoln. The MKT will be here next year, but it is a three row CUV built off the Flex chassis. I am rooting for it, but I had hoped the Flex would do better than it is doing. I like that the MKT shares nothing obvious with the Flex, and maybe the new Lincoln styling will work better for it than the boxy Land Rover look of the Flex has worked for it. The MKR (badly needed) is years off yet (if they made the MKR, I would buy it). Far off as well is a full but badly needed redesign of he Navigator. This last iteration has stumbled badly in the marketplace, especially compared to the Escalade. The Town Car is now fleet only, and hasn't been updated in so long that it is an embarrassment, except for those livery jobs it does so well. You keep saying Lincoln is in an expansion mode. Well, of course it is, but sales still don't reflect that very much. Before Mulally, it looked like Bill Ford was trying to kill it. Lincoln almost overtook Cadillac in the late 90s, one year even selling more vehicles than Cadillac did. Then old Bill decided Lincoln didn't even have the image to be in the now defunct Premier Auto Group (PAG). The wonderful LS was given a death sentence and the Lincoln Continental concept was killed (along with the Marks 9 and 10 concepts, and the innovative NaviCross that I believe could have really made a splash in the market). Ford doesn't have the bucks right now to feed Lincoln like it really needs. Cadillac has three times as many new models coming or planned. I hope Lincoln makes it, and there is certainly nothing wrong with Lincoln having defenders like yourself. But informed admirers would be even better. Lincoln needs world class products and the resulting world class admirers that stellar product brings with it. The meltdown of the pigs in the housing and finance arenas will not help Lincoln rebuild. Enjoy your LT and enjoy its scarcity as well. But please don't get all arrogant because most other people have chosen to buy something else. The Blackwood, as badly as that sold (largely due to no 4WD offering and the covered trunk with no option of a regular bed), at least had its own Lincoln styling, borrowed from the Navigator. Like it or not, the LT is an F150, with some trim variations, built on the same assembly line as the F150. Most people on doing the comparison found there was no reason the pay the extra bucks for such obvious badge engineering. Have a nice day tomorrow.

Re: I Think [jchan2]

by jae5 on Fri Jul 11 10:48:15 PDT 2008

I agree. I think Ford will keep Lincoln in that they "have" to; they have no luxury player except Lincoln right now. But as you and others have stated, they need to pump funding it the marque, which they really can't do. Passing off guissed-up Fords, making the taillamps as big as ba-donk-a-donk-donk butt-cheeks, and renaming them MK-whatever (which I still think is stupid and won't go into the idiotic reasoning behind it) is not going to do. I myself haven't looked at Lincolns since the first couple years of LS production, which I thought was a good started on a type of rebirth for them. This vehicle allowed them to be notice, if not taken seriously about being an entry-level player in the luxury market. It gave them a real foot in the door to that playing field and could have been a springboard to mid- and eventually upper-level product. Instead we got a re-grilled Expedition, Blackwooded F-150 (WTH was with those chrome strips along the bed), re-grilled Explorer with the Navigator taillamps - though I did think the Aviator was a nice upgrade until I saw the taillamps. And that sticker price :confuse: If I was in the market for a Lincoln it would be an older one, like the Mark I & II, early-mid 60s Continental, Mark VII LSC and lastly LS V8. If I was in the market for a luxury-type car, Lincoln would not be on my radar; hell in the market for ANY car Lincoln would not be on my radar. :sick:

Narrowly focused group of people...

by the_big_al on Sun May 20 15:19:12 PDT 2007

What I would like to see is this powertrain offered in more lines than just the Denali. The Denali makes about as much sense as the Lincoln Blackwood/Mark/Gussied F-150. Although the Denali is a MUCH better truck than the Lincoln ever hoped to be with more power, better styling and better dynamics.