Production Zephyr Pictures (exterior)

[pro-five-oh]

I hate to be such a downer, but the production model doesn't quite match the concept car's initial muscle and international flavor.

Now the trunk is oversized to hold an extra golf bag (upper management intervention for sure) and the profile looks like an overgrown Toyota Corolla.

http://blizzard.he.net/~foxbody/pics/misc/2006linczephyr.jpg

http://blizzard.he.net/~foxbody/pics/misc/2006linczephyr1.jpg

Compared to the concept car, the rear of the real thing is pretty ugly. Note the old Volvo looking taillights.

http://blizzard.he.net/~foxbody/pics/misc/2006linczephyr2.jpg

Does look pretty sweet fron the front, though!

http://blizzard.he.net/~foxbody/pics/misc/2006linczephyr3.jpg


http://blizzard.he.net/~foxbody/pics/misc/2006linczephyr4.jpg

Pretty classy in black:

http://blizzard.he.net/~foxbody/pics/misc/2006linczephyrNAIAS.jpg

And for you Lincoln purists, yes, there is a keyless entry keypad on the driver's side door!

[Dereck]

Hi

Definately not American enough :D

The biggest downer is they binned those exhast tail pipes :(

Regards

Dereck

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by Dereck:
The biggest downer is they binned those exhast tail pipes :(

Those tailpipes were pure stereotypical show car...things like that never make it into production these days. Sorry!

[Conti94]

I kinda like it, not bad looking for a Lincolnised Volvo. :D

[Silver Cobra]

I just threw up inside myself. I don't feel good.

This is an atrocious looking vehicle to say the least. The concept version add much more flair and attention to little details that Lincoln was ever so good at. Now this version looks like A Toyota Corolla got rear ended by a wall and the result is another Lincoln that just won't sell other than to purists.

What I do like are the Audi-esque headlights, the "new" Lincoln grill and the chrome wheels. The rest will not give me any reason to buy one.

WTF is up with those tailpipes? They look too small and useless. And I just vomited again after looking at those tailights :( .

[cason1]

I completely agree Cobra. That thing has very similar lines to my girlfriends Corolla. IMO it doesn't deserve the Lincoln emblems that adorn it. Hell it barely deserves a Ford emblem for that matter. All we can do is hope that the current upper management gets a clue and makes cars that people want to drive because they actually like them, not because that is all that is offered. :confused: It just doesn't make sense to me.

[Desert Stallion]

Eh, the concept is a much better looking car.

Hope Lincoln doesn't lose their a$$ on this one. :rolleyes:

[Nick]

It looks more like an Avalon to me. That ass is horrible. The size of the lights reminds me of an Alero. Volvo got away with the lights because it matched the rest of the car well. These stick out like a sore thumb. I hope they don't lose even more market share with this car.

[Nick]

Somebody give that car an ass we can stand to see. It reminds me of an Alero from the back and an Avalon otherwise. I hope it doesn't tank. It spells doom for the other models if it does.

I looked at my aunt's RX330 tonight. It has so much more attention to detail and features than our Continentals and I bet even the new Lincolns it's not even funny. We need to stop trying to save $300 a car if we want to sell more overall.

[Silver Cobra]

quote:Originally posted by Nick:
[QB]I hope it doesn't tank.[QB]

Probably will unless they can get one hell of an ad campaign for it (one can dream right? :rolleyes: ).

But one for thought on this car but it's more of a question:

"Where's the Lincoln?"

When a Lincoln drives down the street, it is unmistakenly a Lincoln with unique cues and characteristics. This "car" is a Toyota, a Volvo a little bit of Acura and a pinch of miss carriage. Sorry to say but I'm readying the white flag :eek: .

[sbailey]

what an extreme disappointment. To me the only redeeming factor is the chrome (?) grill, the rest of it reminds me of a toyota and the doors remind me of a taurus. What happened to chrome trim on cars? The taillights are crap, where is the innovation? I loved the wrap around taillights of the Mark VII, to me they were sleek but these blobs of red lens are sad. Did Lincoln hire the designers of the Alero?

[93towncarexec]

OK, I admit I wasn't a big fan at first, but I didn't have a gut "eww" reaction either. Since I first saw the Five Hundred (which I thought looked too much like a Toyoder) I expected similar styling on the Montego and Zephyr. But at least the Zephyr looks less like a Jap car than the Five Hundred does.

But keep in mind, the LS became a huge success because it went straight after the BMW. And critics still say the LS steers, handles and slaloms BETTER than the BMW. So my guess is, since Lincoln wants to steal young buyers from foreign nameplates, that the idea is the same here.

Would I buy one? If it were AWD, Maybe. But doubtful, since I'm a hardcore Crown Vic/Marquis/Town Car fan. Just gotta have my Rear Wheel Drive.

[Jon90LSC]

Unfortunately, that car isn't terribly inspiring. Maybe they should start looking at what Cadillac is doing, and kind of go that way.

[NYC LS8]

Looks like a Lexus GS 400 from the back.

Blah.

[sbailey]

i am still trying to figure out what road cadillac went down. Is the seville or deville around anymore? all i see anymore are cars that have abbreviations for names.

[whitebb]

I was thinking in another year I might look at new cars. That is UGLY. On the other hand I like the greenish Zepher parked beside the black one in picture 5. Oh well, 30 grand will buy me another few mark 7's, 8's and a older Town Car

[Nick]

Cadillac is finally going to start trying to live up to "The Standard of the World" advertising. They've dropped the Catera for the CTS, Seville for STS, and the DeVille will probably go to DTS. I like the old names better and the new styling isn't for me, but the cars are much better underneath. They're going after imports, namely the Germans and the Japanese.

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by sbailey:
Did Lincoln hire the designers of the Alero?

Funny you mentioned that. The original Alero Alpha concept car was absolutely stunning. Once it came to production, they made the interior and trunk big enough to actually carry stuff.

http://encyclopedia.classicoldsmobile.com/concept/alero1.jpg
http://encyclopedia.classicoldsmobile.com/concept/alero.jpg
http://encyclopedia.classicoldsmobile.com/concept/alerorear.jpg
http://encyclopedia.classicoldsmobile.com/concept/alerotop.jpg

Still, the production Alero was still a small car that could use a real sized trunk (and dorky taillights)...the Lincoln should have been large and classy enough to not need to resort to such a dorky ass. smile.gif

[stincoln]

Bound to be one of my all time favorite Mazdas

[Steve Moran]

Well, It's got a really cool.......Uh!......
The Um......well......Um?.......Screw it ...next thread. :(

[pepsi2185]

On a positive note, i think it may sell.

Dont ban me yet, they cant keep 300c's on the lot and it looks like a fake bently. Its about the size of a taurus. Accords and Crollas a flying off the assembly line. The only thing working against it is the lincoln name. The tradion in the lincoln name may doom the car. I personally dont like the car, im with my man 93towncarexec. Love my TC's, the car isnt big enough for me.

But then again, the 88-92 continental is now regarded as a money pit, but were the highes sales mark in continental history, you never know.

I just want to see the redesigned towncar!!! Forget the midsized crap.

[king brooks]

quote:Originally posted by Jon90LSC:
Unfortunately, that car isn't terribly inspiring. Maybe they should start looking at what Cadillac is doing, and kind of go that way.

What an excellent point... I think the new Caddy STS is exactly what Lincoln should be doing. If the boys at Lincoln would get off their asses and design another attractive looking car with the speed and handling of the STS then they have a good chance at regaining some market share.

I loved the late 90's early 2000's Lincolns. Every car (that's not including the idiotic SUV's they're making now) - Towncar, Continental, Mark VIII (LSC is the best car Lincoln's ever made based on being a luxury car with more power than the Japanese luxury guys will ever find in their crappy V6 engines), and LS all looked best from 1997 to 2003. Enter the new hidious restyle of the towncar in 2004... one down. Let's not forget that they dropped the Mark VIII in 1998 (WHY?!) and Continental in 2002 (WHY?!)... The only car left in Lincoln's line up that hasn't gone the way of being hidious is the LS. At least they got one car right (as long as it has the V8 -- no new Lincoln should ever come with a V6 unless it's going to have twin turbo)...

Anyway, my point was that the Zypher is continuing this trend of Lincoln making ugly and under powered cars. If this thing doesn't make 300 hp and come with AWD it will not sell. There is not a market for an ugly slow and expensive near luxury car. I switched from Cadillac to Lincoln becacuse Lincolns just look way nicer - I was willing to give up 15 horsepower in order to not drive an over priced granny-mobile (but you can't beat the feeling of driving a FWD Fleetwood... what a terrible idea that turned out so sweet)... but now Lincoln has sunk about as low as Cadillac in making their cars look attractive.

I totally agree that the Zypher looks like an Olds Alero... and what made them change the exhaust tips to the same ones that come on a Crown Vic taxi? I also threw up a little when I saw those things.

[MarkVa1]

Are those even the same car?? Unfortunately, I looked at the production model pictures fist, the word "gradma" popped into my head. Ugly with a big fat ass. If I had seen the concept pictures first, I could have at least gotten my hopes up. Is anyone under the age of 75 going to puchase a Zephyr?

[CartierBear]

Hey guys

dont meant o burst your bubbles but the lincoln zephyr is built off the mazda 6 platform along with the new Ford Fusion. so in reality it japanese. i read ti all by myself in the new car and driver :D

[king brooks]

That last post has me in tears. I'll have a hard time getting over this... A Mazda 6? I assume this means that the Zypher will either have a V6 (we all know how unreliable and horrible V6 lincolns are) making something like 220 HP or a tiny V8 (3.8 to 4.0) making at most 240. I can only hope that I am wrong since I am just guessing based on Lincon's recent behavior (misbehavior is more like it).

What I do love is the concept Continental with that beautiful V12 engine. If they built that thing they could seriously compete with Mercedes, BMW, and Audi for the 80 to 100k luxury market. I mean, suicide doors and four bucket seats... and the center console going all the way into the back seat! I love it... Drop the Zypher embarrasment and build the concept Continental. I can (and most likely will) wait forever if I have to, but one day I will own a V12 continental with rear drive.

[cason1]

From what I understand, they are going to be using the same 3.0L used in the Mazda and will make 220hp. Just for shits and giggles I got on the Mazda website and built my very own 05 Mazda 6 sedan grand touring model. Put basically every option I could into the thing, leather, moonroof, compass/autodim mirror with homelink, spoiler, gt appearance package, sport grille,and alarm shock sensor upgrade, and the $40 wheel locks and it only came up to

are you ready for this?


$28,575
From the reading I have done thusfar, the zephyr is starting at $29,995 or so and going up from that. Add to it the Mazda 6 is a little more pleasing to the eye (though not much more) and I think this thing is going to tank worse than the Blackwood.

I definately agree with the continental concept needing to be made. I would love to see that and the Mark 9 concept come to life. The Mark X really kinda sucked but it was better than the zephyr that is actually coming to production.

[pro-five-oh]

Yup, its a Mazda 6. Not a big deal, since the Mark VII was based on a Fairmont of all things!

Odds are the 3.0L will make 210hp and will be FWD only. In 2007 (hopefully) they will have the 3.5L duratec "cyclone" motor with well over 250hp and AWD. I am pretty sure there will never be a manual tranny.

Cason, remember the Mazda doesn't have the big warranty of the Zephyr (5/50 bumper to bumper, free loaner cars, free oil changes) and will not have an interior as rich as the Lincoln. The Lincoln should be more like an Acura. Plastics, leather, and carpet will be plush on this car...or we can hope. ;)

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by franco:
Unfortunately Lincoln's "Incognito" model is not an established well-built rebadged german model but a cheap Mazda6.

Agreed on all points, but this one. Opel seems to be losing market share like crazy in Germany, mostly because of superior Japanese products. From what Caddy mechanics tell me, the Catera was an unreliable turd, the motors went bad from bad cam sprockets (belts?) and a few other things that I can't remember off the top of my head.

The Opel that made it to India was a great success initially, but it got slammed by more reliable cars from Korea and Japan. Now Opel is gone, and all GM products there are Daewoo based.

The Mazda 6 is a well regarded car, sporty, fun, powerful etc...the Zephyr may or may not be an insult to the original, but it might actually be a good car.

[cason1]

I don't think anyone is saying Mazda is a great car by any means but more trying to act as happy as one can about the situation.

[pro-five-oh]

Well I am not saying that the Mazda 6 is a super reliable/durable car, because I do not know. I've been crusing their forums and overall owners are happy with the car. I do know that it is very fun to drive and is sort of a Taurus SHO for this decade. Its a fun car for not a lot of cash.

If Lincoln can improve on the cheaper plastics and keep the 6's driving fun in the Zephyr it might have a chance. But it still won't be as passionate as the comparable Acura. The committee-think rear end styling almost ensures the handling will be less than European. Maybe, but since this car will effectively kill the LS, I could almost care less. And the Wixom Lincoln plant seems to be useless these days...no Lincoln will be made there! (Chicago for the future 500-based Lincolns)

Franco, IIRC, the Caddy mechanic said the camshaft parts couldn't withstand the heat of certain American climates. It seemed like a very nice car, but if this is true, Opel obviously didn't make this engine for global use and (you are right) Caddy is to blame for that.

[Sal Collaziano]

The early Cateras were unreliable, the later ones were much, much better..

At any cost, I agree with king brooks about the styling of Lincoln during the late 90s.. Those were classy looking cars.. The Mark VIII/LSC and Continental will always turn heads. I kinda think this new styling is a turn for the worse - then again, I didn't like the CTS when it first came out, and now it's growing on me...

Otherwise.. The Japanese are severely on the ball when it comes to making automobiles. Acura's getting 300hp out of their V6 - and Lexus and Infiniti are using powerful V8s...

Somewhere along the line we have to realize that the US doesn't make the best of everything. We're playing catch-up to the Germans AND the Japanese right now...

[skarhed]

I would really like a reason to buy a new Lincoln, but haven't seen one yet.

[Desert Stallion]

The big problem right now is that Ford is desperately trying to cut costs and increase profits, and in doing so they've resorted to chasis-swapping between all their products. The 500 is built on a Volvo platform, the Fusion/Zephyr will share the Mazda6 platform, even the '05 Mustang is a chip off the block of the retro-TurdBird and Lincoln LS. :rolleyes:

In fact, the Fusion/Zephyr drivetrain is straight out of the 500, the 3.0L Duratec with 5-speed automatic, though the 4-banger VVT 2.3L Duratec will have a 5-speed manual in the Fusion with the optional automatic.

The problem is that the Zephyr will weigh more than the Fusion and Mazda6, especially since the Ford products are longer than the Mazda. This means that even with the same powertrain shared between the models, the Ford's will always be a hair slower than the Mazda badged counterpart.

I don't know, I think Ford's dropped the ball in the last couple years. They spent all their time and creativity on the super car projects, the GT, the Shelby Cobra, and the ignored Shelby Cobra Coupe. They totally ignored the '05 model year to the point that there are NO SVT products, handing the new Ram SRT-10 and Cheby Silverado SS the market previously owned by the Lightning. The Neon SRT-4 and new Cobalt SS are now the domestic powers in the sport compact wars since Ford never went anywhere with the SVT Focus, and in fact the new Focus ST would probably hang with the SVT Focus in most respects, except it's not nearly as comfortable to drive as it's Mazda counterpart, the Mazda3. :rolleyes:

Ugh. Done ranting I think. Just a little frustrated that Ford's fading into the background while everyone else keeps moving on.

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by Desert Stallion:
[QB]The big problem right now is that Ford is desperately trying to cut costs and increase profits, and in doing so they've resorted to chasis-swapping between all their products. The 500 is built on a Volvo platform, the Fusion/Zephyr will share the Mazda6 platform, even the '05 Mustang is a chip off the block of the retro-TurdBird and Lincoln LS. :rolleyes: QB]

This is the same thing that happened in the late 1970s, but the Fox platform just lends itself SO much better to traditional American cars than these new global ones.

There in lies the problem. Or the solution. The Mustang chassis is the way to go, but don't hold your breath in it ever becoming a Mercury Cougar or Lincoln Continental. smile.gif

[Desert Stallion]

I was thinking maybe a new Mark series car based on the Mustang instead of a Conti, but I guess you could fit another couple doors on there.

Oooh, oooh, a new suicide door Conti based on the '05 Mustang!!! :D

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by Desert Stallion:
I guess you could fit another couple doors on there.

Well considering that body was designed as a 4dr before it was a 2dr...why not?

[Desert Stallion]

Yeah, but you're talking to someone that sees no use for four doors. My Mustang has two, the VII has two, the VIII has two. Who needs four? :D

Let's face it, I'm definately of the coupe driver mentality, born with the knowledge of how to open the huge doors in a cramped parking lot and successfully enter/exit the vehicle, and how to back out of the driveway despite the inherent blind spots of the coupe body style, not to mention the comfort of sitting in the car, having it wrap around me, instead of sitting like I'm driving a SUV or in econo-buckets. :cool:

[lincolnlarry]

The grille looks like a cross between an '04 Avalon and the new '05 Grand Cherokee. These are two vehicles I admire, but NOT as a Lincoln. The tail reminds me of an old Acura/Honda Integra. Personally, I liked the retro '62/'63 Continental look. Did'nt they learn anything from the Versailles fiasco?

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by lincolnlarry:
Did'nt they learn anything from the Versailles fiasco?

Nope, but if the new Mark LT (which is more like an F150 than a Versailles was a Granada) fails they will learn that lesson again, only harder.

Luckily for the Zephyr, it looks a LOT different from the Mercury Milan which is the same car in the same showroom.

[88-lincoln]

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

What happened to REAL American cars? This new "Lincoln" (if it is even worthy calling that) is nothing more than a Volvo jackin' off the insides of a Toyota Corolla.

Interracial sex, anyone?

No, but seriously, King Brooks is right, guys. New Lincolns are making the brand look weak and ugly. Any more of this and the Blue (Ford) will be swimming in it's own Red (blood). Sorry excuse for a so-called "luxury car".