gavriil

2004 New York: Zephyr will be entry-level Lincoln - - - By AMY WILSON | Automotive News - - Source: Autoweek

Lincoln will add the Zephyr, an entry-level luxury sedan, to its lineup in late 2005.

The front-drive Lincoln, with a probable price of $30,000, will be the smallest and least expensive option in the Lincoln showroom. Executives say Lincoln will continue to sell the larger rear-drive LS, whose base price is $32,755, including the destination charge.

With the Zephyr, Lincoln marketers aim to capture younger buyers, especially those who haven't considered Lincoln in the past. Owners of vehicles such as the Acura TL, Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G35 and Lexus ES330 are target buyers.

"Success is new customers," Lincoln Mercury President Darryl Hazel said. "We have cars we can sell to the traditional customer."

Lincoln is revealing a concept version of the Zephyr on Thursday, April 8, at the New York auto show. The exterior styling of the concept vehicle is very close to the look of next year's production car, executives say.

The Zephyr will be introduced with a 3.0-liter V6 engine and a six-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive will be available at some point after the vehicle launch. A 3.5-liter V6 engine now under development at Ford also is likely to be added after the launch.

Derived from Mazda6 underpinnings, the Zephyr is one of a trio of mid-sized sedans that Ford Motor Co. will introduce for the 2006 model year. Ford plans to produce up to 300,000 of the Ford, Mercury and Lincoln sedans annually at its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. Officials wouldn't reveal volume targets for the Zephyr alone.

The Zephyr and its Ford and Mercury siblings are the first of up to 10 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles being developed from the Mazda6. Ford stretched the Mazda6 platform to create a roomier interior for the new sedans.

In addition to the sedans, Ford also will use the new platform, dubbed CD3, for a Ford sport wagon, the next-generation Lincoln Aviator sport wagon and for the company's next-generation minivans. About 800,000 annual units of volume are eventually planned for the CD3 platform. Ford is investing $1 billion in the CD3 program, far less than the traditional cost of bringing 10 new vehicles to market.

The Zephyr brings back a historic Lincoln nameplate. The original 1936 Zephyr was the least costly Lincoln of its time.

The company promises no naming gaffe with this sedan, a spokesman said; Ford Motor has secured the rights to use the Zephyr name.

The Zephyr's sister Ford sedan remains nameless after Ford was denied the use of the Futura name in a trademark dispute with the Pep Boys auto parts chain. Ford had announced a year ago that it would call the Ford sedan the Futura.

gavriil

The front looks really nice.

chef chris

I like it.

titan

Well, this is nice. I also like the front; especially the use of Lincoln's new grill. Much like Caddy's transformation starting with the CTS, love it or hate it, you'll know it's a Lincoln. Very interesting the went with FWD. The rear is simple and clean almost to the point of being overly so, IMO. I need to see it in person. I think the interior's real nice. The leather/wood combo is nice. I like the way it shares dash and center stack design themes with the trucks. My big question is, why continue to sell the LS in this segment. It doesn't make sense... does Ford think it can pull an IS/ES number like Lexus has done with a RWD/RWD combo in the same segment? I don't think so. It's already about the size of a 5-Series with RWD. Why not let grow it a bit, rework it, upgrade the materials, dig up a historic Lincoln name, and offer it as a serious rival in that segment? The LS/JS-Type chassis is very competent. The next gen should be a step up for Lincoln to play with the big boys... maybe Ford just doesn't want the chassis to share two cars in the same arena.

soopa

Pimp. I dont like the early 80's gauge style tho.

Infamous425

looks like they stole the guages off a chevy truck and the circular air vents are ugly too

KavexTrax

wow, as smooth as the 7 series, perhaps better.

nevermind the interior,

bl^5

I think the name is wrong for the car though. When I think zephyr I think of a big boat.

AcuraFan

I thought "roadster" when I read "Zephyr". But, yeah, I think the name is wrong for a sedan. The car looks sweet though. We're finally starting to see domestics worth looking at. IMHO (The interior is trying way too hard though)

charliemike

Nice looking car ... not sure about the interior color combos but I think it's a solid effort. 3.0L V6 and six-speed auto ... Nice

mantis23

damn, not bad Lincoln, not bad at all.

suXor

Shitty...shitty...shitty choice of name. Here is why:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...mercury+zephyr

Collective27

Not bad looking at all. I like the interior, i think its gorgeous. Good job lincoln.

pimpscls

thats pretty nice

charliemike

Hehe, exactly ... it's a clone of the Futura/Fairmont

titan

That 6sp is REALLY nice. I hope they eventually offer a manual as an option at some point.

phil2

:lickit:

I like this thing!!

ItalianStallion

looks solid, does look entry level to me...

Zoot

i think it looks great inside and out

nandowong

interior :ghey:

ItalianStallion

did someone edit my post cause i coulda sworn i said that it DOESNT look entry level.

Crazy Bimmer

Thought the same exact thing.


I do like the rest of the car though!

cusdaddy

Looks very nice although I agree the gauge cluster needs to go

titan

I agree. It looks way nicer than mere "entry level luxury."

kansaiwalker1

Not bad, but those gagues do look like leftovers from a Mercury Lynx

1SICKLEX

Looks very nice inside and out, though the interior has a weird 80s look to it.

That is so freaking stupid, they want to attract younger buyers and bring back the name from a car made when we were not even a fetus. So damn stupid.

So Lincoln is going back to names? I thought Lincoln LS was a stupid name. Good. We need more names.

This is actually a TL/I35/X-type competitor. Built of a cheaper FWD car.

Funny, how everyone screams AWD this and that and the X-type has it standard and it's been DEAD LAST in every comparo known to man.

shaHn78

The new RL shouldve atleast looked something like this from the outside

phile

What do you guys think? It's a Mazda6 underneath, 6-speed automatic, 6-cylinder engine. Probably targeting the TSX/TL. It looks odd in some angles, but it works for me.

gavriil

No one edited your post.

charliemike

Umm, you make no sense.

Who cares when the name was first used?

I don't care if it's called the Lincoln Oven Mitt if it's a good car.

fahoumh

yeah, but the X-Type sucks. I was very unimpressed when I drove one.

The exterior is pretty nice but the interior is strange-looking. It's like a mix of "ultra-modern" and 80's styling.

7or8

Exterior is pretty nice. About the only thing I don't care for is the grill.

chungkopi

not bad at all

ABP-CL9-TSX

looks pretty good...

xizor

looks like its too big to target the tsx, more like the TL like u said.

phile

I'm not too crazy about the center stack...it looks like a robot's head, the vents are the eyes and the nav screen is the mouth.

Jason

Domo origato, Mr. Roboto...

ABP-CL9-TSX

come to think about it look at the center console lol.

Jason

Yeah I'll never be able to look at it and not think robot head!

TLProspect

Wow! Now that is one UGLY interior.