This has nothing to do with Ford selling off it's money-losing premium car brands.

Of course, more to the point is that Lincoln needs to make premium products, not just badge-engineered Fords like the slow-selling crap that came out of extinct Mercury division.

The discussion and pictures here show too many common body parts are used in some Lincolns. More successful SUVs like the MDX (versus Pilot) and RX (versus Highlander) are visually more unique and share no body parts with their cheaper relatives.

 

Yes, the droop-front does look a little awkward, especially with the smiley-tooth grille that, like on other Lincolns, looks like a grinning teen-ager showing off a new set of braces. But, all else equal, long overhangs like that, while adding weight to the front end and slowing steering response, also help smooth the ride out....and remember, this is a Lincoln, and needs to be aimed at the traditional Lincoln customers.

 

lol, the droopy front end is a bit much, agreed.

Btw, the MKX does not have a long overhang by industry standards in 2010 (it's actually less front overhang than many fwd-based crossovers). Adding front overhang to smooth out ride is the poorest and least effective way to accomplish that, sounds like dated and archaic 1950's engineering at best (and those buyers from that era are insignificant part of market that Lincoln services today).

 

My point was that, badge-engineering or not, Lincoln is here to stay, at least for the time being. Ford simply cannot afford otherwise. They made the choice between Lincoln and Mercury, and Mercury lost.

I would say that Lincoln makes premium products....more so, in some cases, than rival Cadillac. You won't find a 4-speed automatic or a V8 with V6 power (like on the Cadillac DTS), on any Lincoln nowadays other than the fleet-sales-only Town Car. And every Lincoln product (including the thread-topic MDX) comes with AWD either standard or as an option....something the DTS also lacks.

 

Lincoln, like Audi, Cadillac, and Acura, seems to have a thing about using the same grille on all their new products.

I didn't mean to imply that a smooth ride was the only reason (or the main reason) why the overhang was used. That's just one of the trade-offs for the extra bulk up front, heavy front end, and duller steering.

For a real Lincoln overhang, check this out............the '79 Mark V

 

Nobody said Lincoln should go away, it's just that the cars/SUVs need to resemble premium tier 2 product soon.

Ford's choice of Lincoln over Mercury was a good/sound business decision.

 

Oh, I see. No kidding, the front overhang has nothing to to with attempt at smooth ride (in last few decades). In fact lengthening the wheelbase and shortening the overhang while retaining same overall length will improve ride more.

 

You like it more than the MKZ? The MKZ, of course, carries much of the Ford Fusion's excellent quality and technology...including the hybrid.

(I know you sometimes complain about the Lincoln alphabet-soup, so I'll post a shot of it)

 

Yes, like most car-shoppers today, I still don't know or care about differentiating between Lincolns alphabet-soup-mess of a naming convention.

In short, I prefer the Fusion over this badge-engineered version. And I prefer the Edge Sport over the MKX thing.

 

Whew! Had me worried their S!

This monstrosity is awful....the Edge I can understand.

 

C - My vision and other faculties are still working fine.

btw - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your entire family! Let it snow too.

 

Funny saw one today and thought of this thread. That new giant dinosaur grill might be worse than Acuras. It is way to blingy and just at odds with such a slabsided vehicle. Quite frankly its offensive

 

^^ MKX the choice of Barney, lol.

 

The new MDX grille is really not much different from the ones on other Lincolns (except for the Navigator). They all have that same super-chrome Smiley-Toothy design, which I've described before as a grinning teenager showing off a new set of braces.

 

Now that is a good description.

Maybe add IS-SV's Barney....Barney wearing braces