If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up to much space!
And so it begins, the relentless onslaught of pre North American International Auto Show press releases. Stevie Wonder saw this one coming.
The important bits:
556 Horsepower 551 Ft/Lbs Torque Supercharged 6.2liter V8
6 Speed MANUAL Tremec TR6060 available (Let the huzzah’s rain down!)
Magnetic ride control
Brembo brakes
Available Summer 2010
Mostly though Caddy are looking to show Europe THIS!
Ford is attempting to reboot and redefine it’s Lincoln brand in about one third the time that General Motors took to reboot Cadillac. They are doing it with new or refreshed vehicles and an cohesive (though maybe not with a Zen like theme™ RoundAboutShow) Much like Cadillac’s Art & Science look, most people either love or hate the new front end design of Lincoln.
For a brief moment in time Lincoln were drawing inspiration from the ‘62-’65 Continental’s which was most pronounced in the MKX which we tested back in May, and the Navigator, which, like the Town Car, might not be long for this world. Like it or not the “Waterfall Grill” look for Lincoln at least makes a statement, you aren’t going to mistake it for any other brand, and in this day and age when sometimes it’s difficult to visually distinguish between brands this is important.
Now channeling my inner Dennis Miller from his old HBO show, “I don’t mean to go off on a rant here,” but this continuing naming convention of MK(insert letter here) is beyond dumb. I know in theory that by going in this direction it’s easier to avoid trademark issues, but with the history of name plates that Lincoln can draw from it’s own portfolio, or borrow from Ford, give me a break. MK is supposed to reference the “Mark” brand, problem is the Mark brand was always attached to a two door coupe going back to the 1950’s. Then you have the problem with the third letter and what is it supposed to represent. OK “X” from Crossover, “S” for Sedan, but shouldn’t “T” be for Truck or Town Car, Lincoln says the T is for “Touring” and someone help me out what “Z” is for. OK I know the MKZ was originally the Zephyr, but shouldn’t that be “M” for Mid Sized or “E” for Entry Level? Then you have the issue of your two outliers the Town Car and the Navigator. Until they are killed off you have two different naming conventions with the brand, thus avoiding that Zen like theme.
Do you change up the Navigator to MKR? The “R” being for Redundant with the MKT now in the lineup? After all the MKT, which we have had in for review and will be posted in the very near future, hauls five to seven people in more style, comfort and mileage than the Navigator. Do you call the Town Car the MKA? The “A” being for Airport car since that is what you see picking up people at the airport.
The problem with these lettering naming conventions is they are generic. Cadillac and Acura to name a couple companies have gone down this path and hit still boggles my mind. Acura less so because they only have 25 years to draw upon, but with the two American luxury brands they have 80+ years of names to draw on and distinguish them. It seems the bolder and further out they go with their styling, the more they balance that off with throw away name plates.
What’s so wrong with calling the Z the Zephyr, and drawing upon Lincoln’s history for others. The MKT could easily be the Premier, the X could have taken the Aviator badge since it’s basically replaced that vehicle, and the MKS which I guess we should get to talking about here could and should be the Continental.
Lincoln needed some mid level luxury car to fill in sales figures with the Town Car all but relegated to Airport Black Sedan duty’s and gasolines sharp movement north in 2008 killed Navigator sales. Thankfully Ford was hard at work at the replacement for the 500/Taurus and Lincoln was able to jump on board with a version for themselves.
This is not a straight badge engineering job, there are many differences between the two cars, yet if you know it’s based of the new Taurus, and you’ve driven the new Taurus, the linkage us undeniable. The MKS feels like the big substantial sedan that it is, but it does hold a few surprises. Rather than being some luxo-barge that one might think a Lincoln would be, it’s actually handles quite well. While the road off of Highway 68 that leads you up to Laguna Seca Raceway may have more curves than all the roads in South East Michigan combined, we did find a few spots to push the general handling of the car and it was borderline shocking how well it tackled them. Off ramps with posted speeds of 30 were no problem at almost double that speed! While it’s not as light as feet as a Lotus Elise, or an Elise carrying another Elise on it’s roof, it’s better than you would expect for a 4200lbs car. Clearly some of the suspension upgrades that that SHO Taurus got made there way onto the MKS.
Steering communication, more like a string and two styrofoam cups connected by a string clarity rather than a fiber optic one. You turn, it goes, but feedback is not there, you just have to trust it. Granted the MKS isn’t likely to pull people interested in a BMW 5 Series away, nor those looking at an E Class Merc, strangely though I could see the Lincoln people targeting the A6 Audi crowd. It’s not a European like firm ride, maybe a touch softer than the CTS SportWagon we drove right before this. What this car will do, much like it’s brother the Taurus is suck up highway miles by the hundreds.
The big thing for the MKS is the power plant. Ford has deposited the 3.5 liter twin turbo EcoBoost motor under the hood. With 355 horsepower and a torque number equalling the horsepower, with a curve that looks like the Mesa’s in a John Ford Western, equals a lot of fun. The motor ticks all the right boxes for a modern lump, twin quick spooling turbos with direct injection that allow for a much higher compression ration of 10:1 and variable cam timing make turbo lag almost non existent. Ford claim a 20% improvement in fuel economy over a similar V8. While we didn’t notice any lag per se, when the tach was north of 2500 RPM you felt the power really build, not that it was missing below that area.
On a two lane highway or a four lane one, point the MKS in a direction and it goes willingly. The cockpit is comfortable, the seats give good support and the THX Stereo is fantastic. Unlike out experience with the THX system in the MKX which we found greatly disappointing this one was quite good be it with audio, or with video. We popped in “The Incredibles” DVD which is a THX 5.1 disc and right way you could tell the separation of channels. The video screen which has a matte finish looked pretty good as well. It’s not going to make you think you’re at home with your 50” Pioneer Kuro, but then again what are you doing watching a DVD while you’re driving!
We do have to spend a minute or two on my favorite subject of late and that’s the choice of materials for the interior. Lincoln’s have a very uniform interior look, which we don’t have a problem with, but the material used to cover them is a bit lacking. It has soft touch surfaces, but the material has a plastic like leatherette feel. There is a minor bit of fake wood trim in the car which on the dash is a nice contrast to the acres of black, but the minor bit of it on top of the steering wheel would be better off having not been added. If you think grabbing a cold leather wheel on a 15F° Michigan morning is bad, just grab that bit of plastic on top of the wheel and it’s worse. Is it too much for a car with a sticker price $200 shy of $55,000 to have a heated steering wheel? How about remote start? Shouldn’t a car which you don’t need to insert a key to start, just push a button also have the ability to unlock your doors just by the same proximity sensor? My last gripe in this area isn’t exclusive to the Lincoln but if I had the seat heaters on when I turned off the car and the cockpit temp is sub freezing when I get back in, wouldn’t logic dictate that I might want the seat heaters on at least as high as I had them before? Sorry one other thing, should it take almost three miles of stop and go driving before I can feel the seats heating up? My girlfriends five year old Escape will have good heat on your back side within ONE mile!
Lastly I’d like to talk about the trunk. It’s large, it’s deep, but the mail slot that you have available to load and unload items makes it awkward. The opening has sufficient height, it’s the lack, as in almost zero, depth that causes the issues. Fishing grocery bags out of there was a bit of a challenge.
It’s taken us some time to come up with a grade for the MKS. We kept going back and forth between C+ and B-. There are areas of the interior which we think need an upgrade in quality of materials or at least some materials that have better contrast in color and texture, the access to the trunk was also not the best. To the plus side the car drove much better than we expecting and was a genuine surprise in several instances. We aren’t quite the target demographic for this car so we look at it differently then maybe we should. On the other hand it’s the demographic that I’m in that Lincoln need to be reaching to grow their brand going forward.
This is a crowded space in the market right now with some very good choices to be had. Does the MKS run with the leaders, no, but is it closer to that pack than you might think, yes, and that’s why it slides in with a B-. If nothing else it’s worth a test drive to see how it stacks up against it’s competition and see if it breaks your current perceptions of what a Lincoln is.
Every year on New Year’s Day we wake up in a pool of what we hope is our own vomit. Staggering to our feet, we search for our pants, a shred of dignity and a cohesive, Zen-like theme. In the process we also uncover a host of stories and news bites to fit that theme, however hungover or dehydrated they may be. And whatever’s leftover, well, we talk about it anyway because it’s 2010!
Besides the obvious, like more ridiculous airport security hoops to jump through and enviro-nazis wailing about carbon and polar bears, what’s in store for the New Year? Well, this week the RoundAbout crew plays prophet and tries to shed a little light on 2010. The group reaches consensus on some of their predictions, but the automotive oracles are divided on other points – like Chrysler. Even with imported new leadership, will the beleaguered automaker be able to pull through? Has the new century smell worn off already after just one decade? Find out on this week’s installment of RoundAbout!
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Thanks to TwoWheelBlog for finding and posting this originally. My Spanish isn’t what it once was, but for parts of it, there is ZERO language barrier. Breakdowns, Cops, and vintage two stroke smoke as Jorge pilots El Follonero, from Salvados Spanish TV to the train station in Barcelona.
Things you find at the Post Office. Oh and NASCAR Driver thinks this has a few to many “sponsor” stickers!
One of the, if not THE most gruling and intense races is just about to kick off again, and like last year it will take place in Argentina and Chile. For those in the US you can catch a daily wrap up show on Versus with the announcing done by our friend Toby Moody.
Have a look at the preview video to get you ready.
Every week like grieving families cleaning out a grandparent’s house after their passing, we find all kinds of old canned goods, birc-a-brac and maybe even a cohesive, Zen-like theme. Sure, some of what we discover is worth keeping, but the rest of it we have no use for, so we’ll post it on Craigslist! After all, we’re too guilty to throw it away. How else are can you get rid of granddad’s clothes, his collection of VHS tapes and portable dialysis machine? And how else can you make money doing it? Now, if we could only wash the smell of old-people and shame from our souls.
That’s right, this is the Craigslist episode that our panel has been performing–albeit informally–before each recording for the last 15 episodes. We’re so enamored with both the awful and wonderful finds that show up on the Internet’s classified free-for-all that we decided to make an entire episode out of it. Among our many gems, you’ll find a Fiat Abarth 850TC (replica), a ’66 Thunderbird Convertible, and a Jeep Comanche that brings back memories for one Jeffrey Ross.
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America has had an aversion to station wagons for the better part of the last 30 years. The early 70’s were the last of the glory days for wagons. But those five thousand pound land yachts with their fake wood paneling on their flanks turned off an entire generation to these vehicles. Yet when the time came for the generation that scorned wagons, for hauling kids, and all the gear that’s required these days to move kids around, they too bought wagons, though these were four wheel drive wagons with eight inches of ground clearance. 
Because these were aggressive off road vehicles, and the extent of their off road achievements were mall curbs and the occasional groomed dirt road, it was OK, because they weren’t the station wagons of their youth.
This was fine in a world of sub two dollar gas. Even when gas went to three dollars it was tolerable, But once gas went north of three dollars, the jig was up. SUV’s overnight became as acceptable as a telemarketer calling at 6AM on a Sunday, and in some circles that might have been less objectionable! The CUV’s or “Crossovers” are essentially the same thing, just on a unibody car platform rather than a full frame truck chassis. For those that had no need for for big SUV’s or CUV’s but needed to haul “things” the choices were very limited in the wagon segment. You could get a Jetta Wagon out of VW without going bankrupt, or you could take out that third home equity loan and get a wagon from BMW or Mercedes.
In Europe wagons, or estates as they refer to them, are quite popular. The market for SUV’s in Europe is fairly limited to do the prices of fuel and the size of the roads. Many in the US have long wanted a quality wagon to call their own here. Well it’s not inexpensive, at all, but Cadillac has taken their acclaimed new CTS and created a wagon version for the North American market.
As we said the CTS has been widely acclaimed by almost everyone as a world class car capable of competing with the best in the world, and we were excited to see just how far Cadillac had come. Our last experience with the CTS was with one of the first production models of the first generation years ago. Back then, we liked the car, though we saw quite a number of things that needed to be worked on.
The styling direction of Cadillac with the art and science direction has people in two camps, you like it or you don’t, almost no one is ambivalent about it. When it debuted it was controversial, now, while not common, it’s not the shock it once was. The latest version of the CTS takes this styling to another level. Where the first generation was just about angles, this evolution is about angles having an elegance and a purpose. With the wagon all these surfaces have more length to come to natural conclusions in the tail. One thing that struck us at the tail section of the wagon, was a stubble hint at Cadillac’s or yore. We aren’t sure if it’s on purpose, but their are hints tail fins! Overall the wagon is bold and elegant without being so overtly masculine as to turn off women.
But while the styling of a car is what draws you in, it’s the interior and the driving experience that keep you coming back. The funny thing is that our first impressions were pretty MEH! The first day or two we wondered what all the fuss was about, but the more time we spent with the car, the more we were drawn to it. There are a few things about the interior that we still have some issues with, and we’ll get to that shortly, but it was the driving experience that made the car grow on us. For better or worse our first reaction to, well, just about everything is usually the correct one. Experience has taught us that if you have to be talked into liking something, or it doesn’t strike you right away, then you should move on. The CTS Wagon is the exception that proves the rule. After our first day with it, we were prepared to really knock this thing. By the end we were trying to bribe people to let us keep the Caddy as a long term tester.
The CTS Wagon is no autocross champion, but it’s not the land yacht of days past either. It’s sporty and firm without being harsh, even on the bomb craters that we call roads in South East Michigan. It will roll down the boulevard, play in stop and go traffic and eat up the miles on the highway. The best part of it is that this wagon drives and feels like a sedan, yet swallows most things with ease. As you will see, it will haul a Christmas tree, and though she didn’t fix exactly, an English Mastiff!
On the inside the car is nice, it has a good driving position, and good room, but I have questions about some of the materials used. I’m not expecting Connolly Leather, wool carpeting and burl walnut when I get in, but the materials that were in the Buick LaCrosse that we had a couple weeks later weren’t very different. There are soft touch surfaces, but they were barely soft touch. The “aluminum” and “wood trim” in the car are plastic that have been treated to appear as aluminum and wood. I know this because a friend of ours works for the company that developed the process, and immediately said, “hey, this is out product”. Cadillac has made great strides in the last five to seven years, but I will maintain that American cars need to exceed expectations, not just have a level that is “good enough” or “about what you would expect”
The pop up nav and entertainment is nice and works well. The picture quality when watching a DVD was good, as you can see here in the opening scene in LeMans. The hands free for the phone and the entertainment system work well too. One thing I would like to see, and this is not exclusive to GM is that when it’s cold outside and you remote start the car to bring it up to temperature, it would be nice if the seat heat would stay on a setting that you left it. Nothing will wake you more on a cold morning that plopping down on to an ice cold leather seat! It’s even more noticeable if the car has been warming up and the heat has come on in the car and begins to warm up the cabin, yet the seat remains ice cold.
The 3.6 liter, 304 horsepower V6 has a nice spread of power. While the torque peak is a bit higher that you might want, the torque curve feels fairly broad. Acceleration is brisk and while we can’t wait for the V Series to come out, we could be quite happy with this motor.
And that brings us to the final point. Even with the negatives we pointed out this is a car that we were sad to see go. It’s nice to see Cadillac have solid execution on this car. Sadly many of the people coming into the show room will walk right past the Wagon and jump right into the SRX Crossover without trying the Wagon. 90% of the people that buy the SRX would be just as well served in the Wagon while enjoying better fuel mileage, and a better driving experience, but, most of those same people care little about the driving experience or what servers them best, just what they think they should be scene in. Our first impressions of the car weren’t the ones we left with and that’s a huge positive for Cadillac. This CTS Wagon is a car that will provide enjoyment for those smart enough and brave enough to buy it with years of happiness.
The information on this has been leaking out since the day of the press event. There are many well known websites that broke the embargo, we chose not to jump on board with that and just wait till the agreed upon time. I know, this is a shocking turn of events in the web world of FIRST and GOTCHYA.
Here are the detail highlights of the new motor.
412 HP @6500 RPM 390TQ @4250 RPM on PREMIUM FUEL. Horsepower drops to 402 on 87 Octane fuel.
7000RPM Redline
11:1 Comperession
83HP/Liter
Twin Independent Variable Cam Timing (Both intake and exhaust are independent and variable)
Aluminium Four Bolt main with Two Cross Bolts per main 11mm & 9mm bolts
Nodular Iron main caps
Forged Steel crank with full counterweights
Hypereutectic Pistons
Forged powder metal “I” beam rods with floating pins
Composite Intake Manifold
Crossflow cooling with intake manifold cooled first
80mm Throttle Body
34lb/hr Injectors
Main chain drives outboard cam, secondary cam drives inboard cam
5% better head flow than GT500 heads
10 pounds heavier than outgoing 4.6 3V motor.
Wide band airflow management with active knock and tip in management
Also announced was the Boss 302R:
Ford Racing is introducing the BOSS 302R, a factory-built race car ready for track days and road racing in a number of Grand-Am, SCCA and NASA classes. Each base model of the Mustang BOSS 302R will come with a 5.0-liter four-valve engine, six-speed manual transmission, a roll cage, race seats, safety harness, data acquisition and race dampers/springs, and a Brembo brake and tire package. Price will be $79,000
We are headed out of town for a few days to visit with family over Christmas. Enjoy this video shot on Canon’s latest, greatest DSLR camera in Praque. If you have the bandwidth and the computer horsepower, make sure you view this in full screen. I’m sure it would be STUNNING on a 50″+ Plasma TV
Have a safe and happy holiday season.