As a car loving fool who is lucky enough to be an automotive journalist, it should come as no shock that I’ve had my nose in car magazines since I was in grammar school. Growing up, and still today one of my favorite writers is Peter Egan, whose column in Road & Track magazine has been a personal favorite of mine for years. But as East Coast Editor here at The Garage, I had been confounded that no one in my generation had really stepped up and made their mark in the automotive press. That changed when Ezra Dyer joined Automobile and got his own op-ed spot. Dyer is hilarious, and is always a joy to read.

Then Ezra did something really weird. He wrote in Automobile that he bought a Lincoln MKT. It made no sense. This guy is like me-a Generation X New Englander, married, with kid in tow. But really, a Lincoln? So, I had to find out for myself. Ford’s public relations office in New York City informed me a freshly minted 2013 Lincoln MKT was available for my review.

The Lincoln MKT has been around since 2010. Positioned as Lincoln’s top crossover, the MKT shares its mechanicals with the Ford Flex. For 2013 the MKT is treated to a mild refresh, including a revised interior, and new front fascia. To say the MKT has bold styling is a bit of an understatement. The enormous waterfall grill is imposing, and not all that elegant. Taken as a whole, the MKT is one large car-which it needs to be, as it is the successor to the Lincoln Town Car. But apart from the front end treatment, Lincoln kept it simple but classy for a three-row crossover. Finished in Tuxedo Black Metallic, my wife likened the MKT to a hearse. While I wouldn’t be that harsh, the MKT may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you would be a fool to ignore the beauty within.

The cabin of the MKT offers first class seating. The quality of materials, fit and finish and available features are outstanding. If you have been dismissing Lincoln as a tired old luxury automaker, it’s time to wake up and see that Lincoln has finally reawakened and is getting serious about delivering the goods. The MyLincoln touch interface that controls navigation, audio and other functions is a revision over the original, and it seemed to work ok, but there is a bit of a learning curve. Still, there is no denying the MKT offers an extraordinarily comfortable cabin. With second row captain’s chairs, my six year old lorded over the rest of the MKT’s passenger area, loving the plethora of features, storage space, and especially the built-in window shades on the doors. I take home a brand new car every week, but my son declared the MKT was the coolest car ever. Perhaps Ezra was  on to something.

What didn’t hurt as the Dad and driver was what lurked under the hood. Base MKT’s come standard with a 3.7L V-6 rated at 300hp, paired to a six-speed automatic, and is front-wheel drive. Our test car was the MKT EcoBoost, which houses a 3.5L twin turbo V-6, good for 355hp. Also paired to a six-speed automatic, the EcoBoost MKT comes standard with all-wheel drive. For a huge, heavy crossover, the MKT was positively remarkable to drive. On a grey Saturday I whisked my family up to the old city of Waterbury, CT, famous for its clock making industry that is sadly just a memory now. The Lincoln had power to spare on the twisting turns of Route 8 as we made our way through the Valley. The second half of our trip consisted of fun to drive backroads to farmers markets and such, and the big Lincoln felt amazingly nimble, credit its adaptive suspension for great handling.

As a member of the small but growing group of premium three-row crossovers, the Lincoln MKT is priced accordingly. Our all-wheel drive EcoBoost MKT has a standard price of $47,280USD, with an array of standard equipment including power liftgate, leather interior with heated seats for the two front rows, and ventilated seats for the front, three-zone climate control satellite radio and rear view camera. Our test car added the Elite Package (power folding third row seat, blind spot monitoring, navigation, THX audio), Technology Package (Sirius Satellite radio, Sync voice activated systems, adaptive cruise control), second row captain’s chairs, panoramic vista roof, refrigerator console, rear inflatable seatbelts (awkward and uncomfortable) and 20″ polished alloys. Total tally came to $58,045, including delivery. Hardly cheap, but consider the luxury, power and tech you are getting, and suddenly the German competition looks very overpriced.

Now that Ford has finally righted itself, attention is being paid now to Lincoln, which has been a once proud, but neglected luxury brand. The MKT shows me Lincoln is capable of building world class luxury cars that are also fun to drive. Yes, the styling is controversial. But it is bold, and the MKT has the luxury and performance to back it up. While it may not be for everyone, the Lincoln MKT is a premium crossover that deserves a serious look before signing a check for a Buick Enclave or Infiniti JX35. Having driven all three, I prefer the looks of the Infiniti, but from the driver’s seat, the Lincoln is the clear winner.

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Crossover, Lincoln, Luxury

Auto journalist Ezra Dyer has thrown down the parking gauntlet on the Lincoln MKT in a battle for ultimate supremacy. Dyer fancies himself a fairly skilled parallel parker, and wanted to test his mettle against the self-park feature on the MKT. Armed with a tape measure, a video camera and a healthy distrust of all things mechanical, man squared off against crossover.

How'd it go? Dyer put up a healthy fight by managing to get the Lincoln closer to the curb than the vehicle's software could manage. Unfortunately, he was also slightly more askew in the spot than the self-park feature. The final score put our inevitable robotic overlords ahead of the human resistance once again.

We'll admit that we aren't necessarily fine with notion handing over vehicle control in any situation - parking or otherwise. We'll still take solace in the fact that the MKT can't hand brake itself into that same spot. Hit the jump to check out the video, then let us know in Comments how you feel about the proliferation of self-park technology.

Continue reading Human vs. Lincoln MKT: Who is better at parallel parking?

Human vs. Lincoln MKT: Who is better at parallel parking? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: LA Auto Show, Lincoln, Rumormill, Design/Style

Lincoln is moving away from its current grille design, a source tells AutoWeek. Using diplomatic terms, the source says the new design will be less pronounced, which will hopefully translate to "a less disfiguring overbite" in the metal. The MKR-inspired waterfall grille has been applied across the entire line of Lincoln vehicles with varying degrees of success. What works on an MKS makes an MKT resemble a baleen whale.

There's a pile of cash being thrown at Lincoln right now, and with good reason - the brand sorely needs to differentiate itself from the lineup of parent company Ford if it has any hope of competing in the wider luxury marketplace. The new grille design may show up at the Los Angeles Auto Show on refreshed MKS and MKT models, which are expected to ride atop revised suspensions, redone brakes and updated steering.

Lincoln waving goodbye to the waterfall grille originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Crossover, Lincoln

If you bought a Lincoln MKT last year, you might kick yourself for not waiting just a bit longer. Lincoln is offering up the 2012 MKT EcoBoost for the same price as the 3.7-liter all-wheel-drive MKT from 2011. That amounts to a 65-horsepower swing for the same amount of coin.

The 2012 Lincoln MKT EcoBoost enjoys 335 horses, produced by the turbocharged 3.5-liter mill and pumped out to all four corners. Starting price for that sweet, sweet torque curve is set at $46,295. All 350 pound-feet of torque kicks in at 1,500 rpm then rides a straight line up through 5,250 rpm.

Lincoln has decided to discontinue the all-wheel-drive 3.7-liter-equipped MKT for 2012. The front-wheel drive 3.7-liter 2012 MKT starts at $44,300, which is the same price as the 2011 model.

Check out the full press release posted after the jump for more information on the 2012 Lincoln MKT.

Continue reading Lincoln prices 2012 MKT Ecoboost same as old 3.7-liter V6

Lincoln prices 2012 MKT Ecoboost same as old 3.7-liter V6 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Crossover, Ford, Lincoln, Specialty

The Lincoln Town Car is a the ride of choice for limousine companies and car services around the world. One problem, we're rapidly approaching the official death knell of the panther platform, and that means that soon enough no more new Town Cars are going to be built. Lincoln is ready to fill that upcoming void and is using the 2011 Internation Limousine, Charter and Tour Show as a platform to debut its MKT Town Car and Limousine.

Comfort is the name of the game with livery operators, so Lincoln has pushed the rear seats of the MKT further back to add 1.5-inches of legroom. The rear seats can also recline and the right rear can access even more legroom by controlling the front passenger seat.

Cargo room is improved compared to the outgoing Town Car. The MKT Town Car offers 39.6 cubic feet of space, which means passengers can cram in more luggage, golf clubs or cases of cheap beer for post prom-night activities.

In addition to the MKT Town Car, Lincoln has an MKT ready to do serious limo duty thanks to a a heavy-duty chassis that can be streched up to an additional 10 feet in length. The MKT Town Car is available with either front or all-wheel drive while all-wheel drive comes standard on the MKT Limo.

Read more about both versions in the full press release after the jump. You can also check out photos of the MKT Town Car's interior in the gallery below.



[Source: Lincoln]

Continue reading Lincoln debuts new MKT Town Car and Limousine

Lincoln debuts new MKT Town Car and Limousine originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With Ford looking to fill the void left by the Lincoln Town Car in the livery and limousine market, Ford's hoping the Lincoln MKT crossover can do it. Even for hearses. Here's the full story on who made this one. More »