DETROIT -- Lincoln's MKS concept car is a sneak peek at a long-awaited full-sized sedan for the struggling luxury brand.

Lincoln calls the MKS a teaser that strongly hints at an upcoming flagship sedan and at the brand's design direction. It will be unveiled Monday, Jan. 9, at the Detroit auto show.

A production version of the car is expected as early as late 2007.

The MKS is one of two full-sized sedans being developed for Lincoln on Ford Motor Co.'s D3 car platform. Derived from Volvo, the platform also underpins the Ford Five Hundred sedan.

"What that concept does for us is say, 'OK, we're not stopping. We are going to be back,'" said Al Giombetti, Ford Motor's vice president of sales. "That's very, very important."

It has been a tough decade for Lincoln. Market share losses and an aging car lineup have taken their toll. The brand finished 2005 with an 11.4 percent sales slide in the United States.

The MKS represents the smaller and sportier of the two Lincoln sedans in development.

Lincoln hasn't said whether the production version will carry the MKS name.

The concept features all-wheel drive. A 4.4-liter V-8 engine producing 315 hp is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

At one point, Ford Motor was preparing to build the two Lincoln sedans at its Atlanta assembly plant. But with several plants, including Atlanta, being considered for closure, it's unclear where the Lincolns will be built.

Ford's Chicago assembly plant is a possibility. The Five Hundred and other D3-based vehicles already are built there.

The perennial question - what is Lincoln ? - may finally be answered by two concepts unveiled at this year's North American International Auto Show. The MKS show car intends to show where the troubled luxury brand will go with a new flagship sedan expected to market for 2008. Somewhat up-market from today's LS, the MKS aims for the middle of today's luxury segment, where products like the BMW 5-Series now dominate. The sporty sweep of the roof line sharply contrasts the current LS. The interior is filled with electronic goodies, including a 14-speaker audio system and Bluetooth hands-free phone technology. The suede dash is accented by a "ribbon of maple," noted Ford Motor Co.'s North American design director, Peter Horbury. Under the hood, the MKS features a 315-hp V-8 mated to a six-speed automatic and an all-wheel-drive powertrain.


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DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. plants in Chicago and Oakville, Ontario, will get the new Lincoln sedans and minivan replacements once slated for the doomed Atlanta plant.

And the automaker says it now will give suppliers lower, more realistic volume projections for new vehicles.

Atlanta, which ends production later this year, is one of 14 plants Ford intends to close through 2012, eliminating up to 30,000 plant jobs. It's all part of the Way Forward North American restructuring plan announced Jan. 23.

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Taurus ends Aug. 31
Ford had spent nearly two years planning a major overhaul of the Atlanta plant after the death of its current product, the Ford Taurus sedan.

But the automaker ultimately deemed it couldn't afford to keep Atlanta open. That plant, one of Ford's most productive, is scheduled to end Taurus production on Aug. 31, though it could be briefly extended, says a source at the plant.

Here are new locations, timing and volume projections for the products once intended for Atlanta:


The first of two Lincolns, the production version of the MKS sedan concept shown at last month's Detroit auto show, will be assembled in Chicago beginning in February 2008, suppliers said. Code-named d385, its volume is projected at about 50,000 units annually, they said.

"That is definitely going into production pretty much as shown at the auto show," said another supplier who attended the meeting.

The location change means the Job 1 date will slip by several months. At one time, Ford had planned to launch the vehicle in Atlanta in fall 2007.

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DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. plants in Chicago and Oakville, Ontario, will get the new Lincoln sedans and minivan replacements once slated for the doomed Atlanta plant.