Kelsey Mays got to spend a lot of time with the new Lincoln MKS sedan at the 2007 L.A. auto show. Check out the latest video from the floor, as Kelsey walks you through key elements of Lincoln’s important new release.
Kels said that this competes with the likes of the Cadillac STS, but the 1st post on day 1 mentioned CTS. Seeing how the MKS is approaching full size vehicle class, my only questions is:
Is this Lincoln’s version of the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable?
Ken,
You're absolutely right. The MKS uses Ford's D3 platform, which underpins the Taurus and Sable. At $38-50K, the MKS competes roughly with the STS, 5 Series, Lexus GS, Infiniti M, etc.
They share a platform- they are not the same car. Platform sharing is nothing new and it is not neccesarily a bad thing. Yes this platform is used for Taurus/Sable, but it also underpins the Volvo XC90/S80. Just like the FM platform is used for the Nissan 350/Infiniti G/M/FX and they way Toyota uses the same platform for the Camry/Avalon/Lexus ES/RX. It's easier and more cost effective to perfect and Tweak one platform, rather than having tons of them.
The Taurus, for being such a huge car with no aspirations ot being a performance vehicle at all, handles its size and weight surprisingly well. THat platform, tweaked the right way has lots of potential. IMO
That clarifies 1 question, but does anyone know why Ford didn’t simply call this the Lincoln Continental since they brought back the Taurus and Sable nameplates? The Continental was also once a glorious nameplate in the Lincoln lineup. I recall hearing it mentioned a few times in Snoop Dogg’s rap lyrics. Besides, this seems to be the size of what a Lincoln Continental would be anyway. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about vehicle models, but MKS, MKZ, MKX and who know what other MKs will be coming out, is very confusing. One would think that the letter Z relates to performance whereas maybe the S could mean the sportier version of something; and it does help that the MKS and MKZ both have 4 doors and both are new. Maybe the MKS could have been a performance sedan; MKZ could be a 2 door performance coupe and the MKX a crossover SUV?
To me the names aren't anymore confusing than any other alpha-numeric Luxury car names. I do however think that the MKZ is not befitting of its name as "Z" suggests high performance. I know that the "MK" is short for Mark (in homage to the Marks that appeared in the lincoln lineup in the past), and the "Z" is short for Zepher, which is what it was previously called, but others usually aren't as informed. As it is an entry level car, it should have a letter near the beginning of the alphabet.
I just wanted to make a note of the comment by the reviewer in the video about the seats. I own a fully loaded Zephyr and the seats are both heated and cooled, that is what those 'cheap' perferations are for; to allow for the flow of cool a/c air in the summer. I am surprised an auto reviewer is ignorant of this and would make such an opiniated comment, as this is common for any heated/cooled seats.
Anyway my next vehicle would either be the MKS or the Jaguar FX, it would obviously be easier for me to get into an MKS as an existing Lincoln owner, but I do like the Jag as well, just waiting on Canadian pricing info before I get serious.
That said I would be happy with either car, Ford has come a long way and added things in the MKS that should have been there from the get go in the Zephyr (MKZ), for instance bluetooth phone connectivity, I had to have my dealer install an aftermarket kit for my Zephyr.
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Link doesn't work on either Safari 3 or Camino - it pops up a window and then starts downloading something with a .flv extension.
Sorry about that. The video should be working now.
Kels said that this competes with the likes of the Cadillac STS, but the 1st post on day 1 mentioned CTS. Seeing how the MKS is approaching full size vehicle class, my only questions is:
Is this Lincoln’s version of the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable?
Ken,
You're absolutely right. The MKS uses Ford's D3 platform, which underpins the Taurus and Sable. At $38-50K, the MKS competes roughly with the STS, 5 Series, Lexus GS, Infiniti M, etc.
They share a platform- they are not the same car. Platform sharing is nothing new and it is not neccesarily a bad thing. Yes this platform is used for Taurus/Sable, but it also underpins the Volvo XC90/S80. Just like the FM platform is used for the Nissan 350/Infiniti G/M/FX and they way Toyota uses the same platform for the Camry/Avalon/Lexus ES/RX. It's easier and more cost effective to perfect and Tweak one platform, rather than having tons of them.
The Taurus, for being such a huge car with no aspirations ot being a performance vehicle at all, handles its size and weight surprisingly well. THat platform, tweaked the right way has lots of potential. IMO
That clarifies 1 question, but does anyone know why Ford didn’t simply call this the Lincoln Continental since they brought back the Taurus and Sable nameplates? The Continental was also once a glorious nameplate in the Lincoln lineup. I recall hearing it mentioned a few times in Snoop Dogg’s rap lyrics. Besides, this seems to be the size of what a Lincoln Continental would be anyway. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about vehicle models, but MKS, MKZ, MKX and who know what other MKs will be coming out, is very confusing. One would think that the letter Z relates to performance whereas maybe the S could mean the sportier version of something; and it does help that the MKS and MKZ both have 4 doors and both are new. Maybe the MKS could have been a performance sedan; MKZ could be a 2 door performance coupe and the MKX a crossover SUV?
To me the names aren't anymore confusing than any other alpha-numeric Luxury car names. I do however think that the MKZ is not befitting of its name as "Z" suggests high performance. I know that the "MK" is short for Mark (in homage to the Marks that appeared in the lincoln lineup in the past), and the "Z" is short for Zepher, which is what it was previously called, but others usually aren't as informed. As it is an entry level car, it should have a letter near the beginning of the alphabet.
I just wanted to make a note of the comment by the reviewer in the video about the seats. I own a fully loaded Zephyr and the seats are both heated and cooled, that is what those 'cheap' perferations are for; to allow for the flow of cool a/c air in the summer. I am surprised an auto reviewer is ignorant of this and would make such an opiniated comment, as this is common for any heated/cooled seats.
Anyway my next vehicle would either be the MKS or the Jaguar FX, it would obviously be easier for me to get into an MKS as an existing Lincoln owner, but I do like the Jag as well, just waiting on Canadian pricing info before I get serious.
That said I would be happy with either car, Ford has come a long way and added things in the MKS that should have been there from the get go in the Zephyr (MKZ), for instance bluetooth phone connectivity, I had to have my dealer install an aftermarket kit for my Zephyr.