Lincoln is up against it. The brand has languished for decades as marketing chiefs and design heads have kept a revolving door spinning at redline. The four-pointed star that once stood for one of the premium American luxury car nameplates had been denigrated to little more than the top Ford trim level. Until now, Lincoln's lineup has been defined by the Paleolithic Town Car and a trio of reworked Ford trucks.Even though Cadillac's resurgence is far from perfect or complete, that brand has received more attention, money, and consistent treatment from GM than Lincoln has from Ford. There have been a few recent bright spots, namely the MKX crossover and strong selling MKZ (after a botched launch as the under contented, under differentiated, questionably named Zephyr). We kept hearing that Ford was committed to Lincoln, and that worthy product and yet another new design language was coming.
The first piece of that long running rumor is here, in the form of the new MKS sedan. After all the talk and the waiting, the mind-changing and yet another model naming strategy, we're pleased to say that Ford promised fairly and delivered squarely. The MKS fills a giant chasm in Lincoln's lineup, in between the mid-sized-ish MKZ, and the huge, ancient, Town Car. And the new sedan fills it well, and none too soon.
The MKS's competitors? Think Lexus GS, think Acura RL, think Cadillac CTS, and to some extent, the Volvo S80, MKS's corporate cousin. The later should come as no surprise, as the Lincoln shares its chassis architecture with the S80, as well as Volvo's XC90 sport/utility, and the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. But that's no bad thing for at least two reasons. One, because it's a good, roomy, versatile platform, and Two, because there is nothing from those cars you will touch, see, smell, or recognize. This is, in no way, a badge-engineered Lincoln.
Lincoln points to its MKR show car as the MKS's design inspiration. It's too bad that more of that concept car's styling elements didn't actually make it onto the MKS, but the production piece is a handsome and distinctive looker nonetheless. The most important aspect, its "split wing" grille treatment -- inspired by the seminal 1941 Continental -- looks great, especially with its standard, jewel-like HID adaptive headlights. Take it from us: this treatment will roll out on future Lincoln models. The MKS tail is a bit more generic; it would wear easily on an Acura or Lexus, but with its "white light pipes" and subtle center line running down the trunk lid, looks fine. The profile is either bland, or clean and elegant, depending upon your viewpoint. Lincoln could have been more daring here, but again, a nice looking machine that doesn't give into trendy details.
By : By Matt Stone
