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Why It Failed: Lincoln Pickup Trucks

27K views 29 replies 21 participants last post by  jry 
#1 ·
What Went Wrong: 2002 Lincoln Blackwood, 2006-2008 Lincoln Mark LT

It's been a while since we've had a new entry in the Why It Failed series, so here's a new one. This is a double product discussion, as both were vehicles Lincoln tried to sell in the same segment. The first attempt was the Blackwood, which sold so poorly it was on sale for model year 2002, only one model year. The second is the Mark LT, which came some years later and also sold dismally enough to not be continued at Lincoln when the F-150 was redesigned for the 2009 model year. All of this occurred while Cadillac also sold a luxury pickup, the Escalade EXT. Like the Blackwood, it was introduced for the 2002 model year and was redesigned for 2007, a mere year after the Mark LT. Although the Cadillac is now on it's way out as well, it was undoubtedly more successful over the years than the Lincoln trucks.

So what happened? For the Blackwood, I think its lack of 4WD/AWD prevented numerous sales, as that's a key feature of utility vehicles. The bed, while cool, should have been optional if it was kept at all, because that too prevented its usage. I think they were going for more of a "big trunk" than a truck bed, but it still should've been configurable in a traditional setup. The Mark LT improved on both faults, but it was barely different from a F-150, which may have done it no favors. Given a Navigator (or unique) nose and interior (along with Navigator content), it might have been more alluring to potential buyers, who probably liked that the Cadillac competitor looked like an Escalade or otherwise not much like a Chevy truck (as far as the nose was concerned and the interior in the 2007 model). Both Lincolns were significantly down on available power relative to the Cadillac as well, and the optional supercharger the F-150 periodically offered could maybe have been made standard on these Lincolns. Just a thought.

What say you? And in addition, do you think Lincoln could pursue this segment again, or is it best left to the past?
 
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#4 ·
Blackwood failed because it was half-baked. No 4WD and a useless bed? C'mon now.

Mark LT didn't fail, so much as it was replaced by a more appropriate model (F-150 Platinum).

I've often said, Lincoln should make another go at the pickup truck market. Get the biggest, baddest Super Duty they can start with, put in a huge engine, give it fully unique sheetmetal and interior, and the most advanced suspension the engineers can come up with. Think, a pickup truck that can tow your giant horse trailer, with the comfort/quality/amenities/room of a Rolls Royce, and the presence of a road-going railroad locomotive.
 
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#5 ·
That's an interesting proposition. So a Lincoln F-450 essentially? It'd be fun! Personally I wouldn't mind another F-150 based Lincoln. But this time it needs a new nose, totally different interior (take what they can from the Navigator, for example), and a serious engine or two (today that would be a EB V-6 and 6.2L). Sadly, what vette61 said is likely true, that Lincoln has no new trucks in the cards (aside from probably the very aged Navigator). Even at its peak there wasn't a big market between both the Cadillac and Lincoln, and now Cadillac has exited the segment too. So for near or long term, we're stuck with nothin'. I'm guessing longer term, seeing as how luxury trims of the traditional Big Three trucks have gotten quite popular. It used to pretty much just be the C3/Denali and King Ranch.
 
#6 ·
On the flip side, I think if Cadillac made a super-upper level trim truck for GM, it would be successful. A low volume vehicle, but it would sell very similar since the popular EXT is now extinct. When it comes to a truck though, most people don't want to buy it because it won't be used as a truck at all. It would be too nice to use as a truck. I wouldn't want to use it as a truck that's for sure. So why would you buy something that you only intended to use as an on road commuter? Either way, it wouldn't be a worthwhile idea.
 
#7 ·
Mark LT failed. Ford trucks didn't have a very nice interior in that era and all it was was chrome and ugly taillights on an f-150. Cadillac was putting different interiors and more extensive changes on the outside.

It wasn't a premium truck, it makes more sense as an F-150 platnium.
 
#8 ·
High end trucks must be tough to design. They have to have a level of functionality (the aforementioned bed), but if the truck is too expensive and nice no one will will want to buy it because it is simply to nice for a truck. With the F150 and GMC top end trucks, is there really a need for a Cadillac and Lincoln truck?
 
#16 ·
I think a Lincoln pickup is entirely doable if the customer service experience at the dealerships is where it needs to be, because I think a successful Lincoln pickup is going to have to be a 70k plus truck at a minimum since you are going to have F-150 models playing in the 60k range in the upcoming models run. To fit into the lineup well, and for an alternative to a high end Ford pickup to make sense, I think the approach would have to be that of a luxury SUV alternative where the owner would prefer a bed to the enclosed area a wagon offers. In terms of style I'm thinking the Ralph Lauren Polo brand projects the kind of image that would work here, and it might not even be a bad idea to have a Polo edition. Adjustable height suspension, rear seat ottomans, etc, etc would be must include options.

The irony here is that Ford very arguably has the mojo to play in the same price range, and you could possibly even have Ford and Lincoln models in the same price range in this segment. It could be interesting.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I think the Blackwood failed for the obvious. You can't sell a truck that was essentially an SSR. Besides the most blatant, if we made the SSR into a typical truck, it too would have failed in Blackwood proportions. As far as the Mark LT, that's more of an issue that is underestimating the truck market. People don't buy trucks because it's luxurious to do so, even if trucks are selling in the $60K range. They don't want a truck that's a toy even though that's how it will get used, they want a truck that can be driven luxuriously yet looks like it can perform mundane tasks like towing or off roading. The truck case isn't the same as when Hardtops (pillarless coupes) were invented. Trucks are frequently bought for their looks, but they're not bought to be a drivable museum piece. For some strange reason, people want the functionality of a truck even though they may never use the features of it.

I think a better way to put it would be to bring back the hardtop example. Lets say in a parallel world, people were buying Convertibles not because they can have the option of driving with the top up or down, but because they liked the look. They later found out that most convertibles were never driven with the top down but instead with the top up. Now lets say they took that into effect and started building hard tops. Reality, this is how hardtop cars came to be, and it was a success, now lets go back to the parallel world and all hardtops failed not because they were inferior to convertibles but because they weren't convertibles. People wanted the ability to have an open car although it was a rarely used feature.

In my opinion, that's exactly how the truck market is, and you can't sell a luxury truck without diluting the luxury brand. You either sell all kind of trucks and truck varieties whether they be 2wd, 4wd, single cab, dual cab, the intermediate cab that's a 2 door but has the space for 4 people, and all other types of vareities as Lincolns or sell none of them as such, and that's because there's 2 kinds of people buying trucks. Those that buy them for their ride height, their capabilities, their image, their space features and those that buy them for what they are... utility vehicles that are versatile enough to haul materials to the job site or to tow a boat but at the same time take you to the store and not worry about having to worry about cargo space... You know, those trips to the furniture store. GMC is able to be the Cadillac and Buick of trucks simply because they've diluted their brand enough that it can mean "professional grade" although none of the trucks are seen as such and many people make the joke that GMC sells tarted up Chevy trucks, and those people are right, GMC is nothing more than a luxurious Chevy, but put together, those trucks put together outsell the F150. If we break them down, we see who's buying what. Chevy vs GMC styling aside, most people that want a truck that can be a truck without tarnishing the view of a workhorse truck while also having luxury features usually go to GMC. Most work trucks are Chevy, and then there's those in between.

Lincoln in essence has tried to sell a fully spec truck to the wrong market twice and part of that is simply because not everyone wants a truck to be a toy. Some may want the leather seats, the turn by turn nav, and all the other features you can find in a luxury car without sacrificing the utility of a truck, in other words they want to tow, they want to haul, they don't mind getting down and dirty every once in a while. Cadillac managed to sell the EXT out of a strange popularity for the Escalade, and because they got that. They understood that the truck had to perform while also being able to be in line with Cadillac prestige. So you could have all the features of a fully spec Cadillac STS or CTS while also having the bed for hauling mundane stuff like a couch or a mattress, not to mention a real 4x4 system. Lincoln never saw it like that, and as such both the Blackwood and Mark LT lacked 4x4, and although the Mark LT did have optional AWD, it's still not 4WD, which is completely different and you can't tell someone that wants something that can be switched from RWD to 4WD that AWD is the same.

Not to mention, the Mark LT was (and in Mexico is) nothing more than a carbon copy of the F150. The EXT sold because it didn't look like Avalanche. You have to switch the whole front clip to get the EXT look, and even then the interior trims were different, the tails were different. If you swapped the Mark LT grille back to a Ford... you had a Ford F150. That wasn't selling with anyone, and even the original Cadillac Escalade didn't pick up much momentum since it was just a GMC Yukon Denali with a Cadillac badge.

A side note, Mercedes Benz has successfully sold heavy trucks and cargo vans in Europe without diluting the brand name. If Ford is scared to split the F150 line in half, Mercedes Benz has sold totally unrelated cars with the same brand for decades and no one thinks the Sprinter makes Mercedes look like VW.
 
#20 ·
So, if the Blackwood/Mark LT were branded under the Navigator nomenclature, things may have been a bit better? I could buy into that if they used more Navigator cues and less F-series.
 
#24 ·
I think you're right. The Blackwood was sharp but not functional. The Mark LT is a different story. I am surprised that it didn't fare well. What a great take on the F150.
I almost bought one, new AND one used. I just cannot part with my SUVs. Had it not been for that, i'd be driving one, now.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I wouldn't ever want to personally see a new Lincoln pickup (tho I won't live all THAT much longer)
but
would like a Lux-Supersport-Ute...imagine a cross of a Raptor(suspension)+Lincstang(EB v8)...enclosed body, built off the Everest
tho
my this-decade lineup would make $70k more like its ATP or median-price, not base
Everest prototype - Everest concept
 
#27 ·
The Cadillac SUVs and EXT definitely became the go to vehicle of the entertainment community. They won the "panache" war. Lincoln had a sharp truck, but didn't stand a chance. The Cadillac badged heavyweights way out performed their passenger car siblings. Back then, no one wanted to be seen in a Cadillac sedan or Eldo (except uncle morty) Everyone wanted to drive a slade.
 
#28 ·
With the current design team, Lincoln would take a great selling F150 and make it an Edsel.
The LT didn't sell because it wasn't any nicer than a loaded F150, less useable as a truck, and still not a luxury car.

If I were Ford and going to try this again, I'd first fire every designer. The exteriors are hideous.
 
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