But is it a real Lincoln?

[pro-five-oh]

Franco brought up some good points, so good infact that I wanted to make a new thread about them!

Is the Zephyr a real Lincoln?

Here are the facts:

1. Its based on the Mazda 6 chassis, and has the same front wheel drive powertrain.
2. Its not made in the Lincoln factory in Wixom, MI. Its made in Mexico.


You saw how it looks, so is it a real Lincoln? :D :D :D

[DaKat]

Didn't I already tell you what I thought it looked like? :D

[CartierBear]

LOL here we go LOL easy way to think bout it is Cars are not what they use to be . to many cross breeds to be a pure bred smile.gif if you get technical is any lincoln a TRUE lincoln, the continental was a taurus sable, the mark was off the thunderbird chassis, the navigator is expedition, town car is crown vic, but there is no solid lincoln chassis that isnt sold under another name. i think its good lincoln is bringing some new models in the zephyr hopefully youthin up lincoln. now if they would get into perfomance that would be SWEET a Town Car Cobra, Saleen Zephyr,LOL they need to become a lil more hip to the car buyers today but still keep tradition so lincoln remains LINCOLN what a LUXURY car Should be smile.gif but then again ive been up for 30 hours and dont knwo what the heck im saying smile.gif :D :cool:

[king brooks]

Is the '06 Zypher a real Lincoln? Well... it has the Lincoln waterfall grille - big plus. It has a huge Lincoln logo on the grille too - another big plus. It has an impressive 14 speaker 600 watt THX sound system - I like it. That's about where the good things end though...

Let's look at the bad things...
V6 engine
Hidious front end (excluding the grille of course)
Hidious back end
Exhaust pipes with tips that look like they were stolen off the crown victoria
ONLY 210 FRIGGING HORSEPOWER!? What were they thinking? Why not just bring back the 94 Continental -- at least that car looks cool...
Did I mention that the car is ugly? The interior makes me want to throw up.
It's based on a Mazda...

I'm not going to pass judgement and say this isn't a lincoln. I honestly thought the LS was ugly too, untill I saw them on the road and changed my mind in a heart beat. As for being made in Mexico... well so are most fords. In fact I thought my Continental was made in Mexico too, and I love my Continental. But the Continental isn't ugly, and it doesn't have a horribly under powered V6 (10 less horsepower than I predicted, and I thought I was being pretty synical), and it's not based on a Japanese car. I'll just keep hoping for a new Continental (V8 or better please)...

[megaforcer]

Maaaaan, the production car is butt ugly, I think my concept is a little better :D

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/2006zyp.jpg

[CartierBear]

you know you guys are complaining bout the 210 horsepower but remeber this car is a small midsize and im sure fairly light it has the same horsepower as my towncar and im sure my towncar is a hell of alot heavier and i tink mine has some balls. my F150 was 240 and this towncar can whoop the F150. yeah its underpowered when you consider caddys 300+ HP north stars etc. but im sure the zephrye can hold its own. as far as it being hideous and ugly well yeah let it grow a bit LOL at least it doesnt have the focus/500 nose UUUHG LOL :D

[CartierBear]

did ya all notice the side profile is kinda caddy CTS ish LOL

[Nick]

I thought they are closing the Wixom plant. The last Continental was made in Wixom as far as I know. The 210hp V6 is a Duratec with variable valve timing...not a bad thing. The V6 Continental also sold fairly well. The good thing about sharing a platform with the 6 will be the MazdaSpeed and tuner parts developed for the Mazda. Some might transfer. That said, I don't think it looks good and I don't think it will sell. Ford blew another shot in my book.

[cason1]

quote:Originally posted by Cowboygrrr:
if you get technical is any lincoln a TRUE lincoln, the continental was a taurus sable, the mark was off the thunderbird chassis, the navigator is expedition, town car is crown vic, but there is no solid lincoln chassis that isnt sold under another name. smile.gif :D :cool:


Agreed but they are trusted Ford Chassis, not Mazda stuff that nobody really knows too much about. Everyone here has said that they don't know how reliable/durable the Mazda is and this is a bunch of car nuts meaning it doesn't have much street cred. The Expedition is a great truck, the taurus was a good car in it's day, the Crown Vic is as reliable as they come these days, and the Cougar/T-bird is a car that looks great to this day. A Mazda 6??? Does anyone know how long this platform has been around?? Pro said that the owner's seem satisfied with them but most of the people that have little Civics are happy with them even when they are total pieces. They may be great at first but they won't last just like the early 90's conti's. They were wonderful but now many big problems have come out with them.

Hey Pro, we may want to hide all these threads a good bit before they Zephyr goes on sale or nobody that visits here will buy one. :D Or maybe we can have a link on the homepage directly to the zephyr stuff. Kinda a slight kick in the nut's to the designers and upper brass.

[gadget73]

Y'all complain about "only 210 hp" ? My 86 Townie has a 160 hp engine and it weighs 4000 lbs. Power to weight ratio on the Zephyr has GOT to be better than that.

That said, I'm not overly impressed with the looks either. What I'd really like to see is another fullsize performance luxury car, a la Mark 8 back in the lineup. The Mark LT truck and Aviator SUV are pretty sweet looking rides tho.

[cason1]

quote:Originally posted by gadget73:
Y'all complain about "only 210 hp" ? My 86 Townie has a 160 hp engine and it weighs 4000 lbs. Power to weight ratio on the Zephyr has GOT to be better than that.

That said, I'm not overly impressed with the looks either. What I'd really like to see is another fullsize performance luxury car, a la Mark 8 back in the lineup. The Mark LT truck and Aviator SUV are pretty sweet looking rides tho.

I agree with the 210 hp stuff cause that is about what mine buts out and I can at least keep up with most cars on the street but for a car that is supposed to be going up agains the Acura's and the like needs more getup than that. 210hp isn't too bad for a majority of cars but these days people are looking for more performance out of a smaller car like that.

[CartierBear]

I thin the mazda 6 is a good platform for all we know its prolly a ford chassie. though they treid it with the Ford probe using a mazda chassis but it was also to replace the mustang LOL smile.gif all i ask is why didnt ford usea Volvo chassis instead it would amke more since of a luxery car

[king brooks]

I must be the only person that really thinks that 210 hp is low... I know that towncar makes about the same amount -- but the towncar is not meant to be a performance car. It's a cruiser - plust it still has tons of low end torque from the V8. The Zypher has a V6 and probably makes no more than 250 lbs/foot @ 4500rpm (just guessing). Compare that to any of the crappy V6 cars coming from Japan and you'll see that the Zypher doesn't even reach their power levels. Plus I'm sure the Zypher will be heavier than those cars. It looks like it could reach near 4000 lbs just like my continental --- except my continental doesn't have a crappy under powered V6.

As for the V6 continental selling well... the honda civic sells well too, so did the ford contour/mercury mystique. I still think these cars are money pits and suck to drive (based on personal experience).

Anyway - 210 hp is low. It's low for a car that's supposed to appeal to young drivers. This car will most likely never get to 60 mph in less than 9 seconds, and this is just too slow for what's supposedly a luxury car.

I agree about trusting ford's frames more than some mazda that I'm not framiliar with. The Expedition, Taurus, and Crown Vic are all pretty good cars. Probably some of the better American made cars (excluding Caddy/Lincoln)... so basing a lincoln on those cars makes sense.

Plust it's ugly.

[hammondsix]

Who on earth would choose THAT in stead of a CTS. Not me!!! Mazda based and frontwheel drive. BWADR!
In my humble oppinion they should have made it look like the concept car, based on the AWD Ford 500, given it phat brakes and tires and install a marauder engine.
Imagine that!!! http://www.seriouswheels.com/2006/2006-Lincoln-Zephyr-RA-Flags-1024x768.htm

[pro-five-oh]

The 6spd automatic and variable valve timing will make performance acceptable. The 3.5L duratec motor should have been in the car, but they decided to rush the car to market for some reason. But that's okay. Why? Beacause the 220hp(?) version of this motor in the Lincoln LS was more than adequate for its size, I loved the rental LS I drove. It wasn't until I used full throttle that I wanted the V8.

If the Zephyr would perform like the V6 LS, it'll be a decent car. Problem is, I don't think the FWD chassis will ever match the LS.

Though I hate Lincoln for not keeping the LS chassis for the Zephyr, I expect the car will sell okay to Lincoln-Mercury loyalists and fleet buyers. It will never replace an Acura or Audi A4 for the real customers of these types of cars.

Mega, your pic looks great, mind if I borrow that for a future article I might write about the Zephyr for Blueovalnews? I'll credit you for it, of course. smile.gif

[ January 24, 2005: Message edited by: pro-five-oh ]

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by cason1:
Hey Pro, we may want to hide all these threads a good bit before they Zypher goes on sale or nobody that visits here will buy one. :D Or maybe we can have a link on the homepage directly to the zypher stuff. Kinda a slight kick in the nut's to the designers and upper brass.

LoL.com is not about kissing the butt of a Lincoln product or the people behind it. I tell people the Mark VII is a glorified Ford Fairmont all the time. The Mark VIII is no where near as perfect as some claim. And the Town Car is a gigantic tank. And the SUVs are pimptastic Explorer/Expedition pothole crushers.

The same is true of the Zephyr. Fair and balanced. I need to get you guys to spell the name of this vehicle correctly. That's more of a concern to me.
:D :D :D

[megaforcer]

quote:Mega, your pic looks great, mind if I borrow that for a future article I might write about the Zephyr for Blueovalnews? I'll credit you for it, of course. smile.gif


Hey Pro, I don’t mind if you borrow the pic. It’s my pleasure. Glad that you like it :D
Here are a couple more concepts. I should be working for Lincoln ha? :D

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/concept01.jpg

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/concept02.jpg

[ January 24, 2005: Message edited by: megaforcer ]

[pro-five-oh]

I agree, you really made the 4pt star the focal point of the rear end. It takes away from the massiveness of that rear!

Also looks like an Intech Continental that way. Not a bad thing, either.

[Silver Cobra]

You can't put your 2cents into this car. Minimum $10.

To put it bluntly, it's not a Lincoln. Mazda chassis, ford engine, volvo rear end. It's a nice combination of all of ford's other companies combined with a dash of mis-carriage. No power, nothing innovative and is FWD. Remember when Lincoln's entire lineup was RWD when everyone else moved to FWD??

And megaforcer: It's gonna take some serious photoshopping to make that car look good :(

[king brooks]

After looking at some of the newer pictures of the back end I have to retract my previous complaint about the car's exhaust tips looking bad... they look a lot like the ones on my continental actually.

That back views from the left side makes this car look pretty damn impressive actually.

If they come out with a turbo/super charged version w/over 280 hp I'll be looking into this getting one... a used one that is (lincolns depreciate faster than toothpaste).

[megaforcer]

OK last one, this one is my personal favorite. I am really bored guys, you can tell ha? :D

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/concept03.jpg

[cason1]

I think that last one is my favorite variations of the production car yet. Still want the concept but that is great for what there is to work with.

[king brooks]

Okay.... so we agree that the car isn't insanely ugly (still don't like the side profile personally - but front and back are pure lincoln). Also it has those nice door handles that you don't have to turn your hand over to open (my stupid conti doesn't have that... at least they're chrome).

But am I still the only one that can't stand the idea of 210 hp in a car that weighs almost 4000lbs? This isn't a town car, it's not rear drive, and it looks (sort of) sporty - it needs some F#%@%@# POWER!!! I can't wait to see the real output numbers (hp @?rpm and torque @?rpm), that's how you really know how fast a car is.

As for the pictures of the production car... they are all different. Look at the top of the rear end and you'll see what I mean. I really liked the ones without the big ugly red tail reflectors accross the trunk (the concept didn't have that and it looked WAY better). So which one are they going to make? Or are they going to make different models - ugly, not so ugly, and sorta' cool?

Anyone know what kind of suspension this baby will have? 4 wheel air ride I hope. And an enormous anti-roll bar.

[ January 27, 2005: Message edited by: king brooks ]

[cason1]

Hey king, the different pictures on this thread are photoshop jobs by our very own Megaforcer. Seems he is quite bored and has been playing with the computer trying to get a job with Lincoln. ;) :D They are just figments of his imagination.

[king brooks]

Wow, that's a lot of spare time. I usually stick to posting on the internet early in the morning since I'm quite the insomniac. He did make the car look much better than the crap lincoln came up with though... good job! So those really are the rims you have on that TC? How wide are they? 7.5' to 8 I hope. They look beautiful anyway. I'll be looking for some new rims for my conti as soon as I have $2000 to spare (give me a few years)...

[CartierBear]

hey guys

i was at the lincoln dealer and he said the zephyr is gonna have 300 hp LOL anyone here or see the pic ont he new aviator its gonna be built off a mazda chassis too read it in popular mechanics smile.gif

[DustyLBottoms]

Because volvo uses Ford chassis'.

The new Volvo s40/v50 is nothing but a Mazda 3. The new Ford 500/Freestyles are using the Volvo P2 platform (chassis) which is used on the s80, s60, v70/xc70 and xc90. They are also going to be using the same Aisin Warner AWD drivetrain that is employed by Volvo.

Most FoMoCo companies are just going to be using Ford developed platforms that can get it's own distinctive sheet metal cladding and branding. There are going to very few new platforms that will be original to any Ford sub-brand.

quote:Originally posted by Cowboygrrr:
I thin the mazda 6 is a good platform for all we know its prolly a ford chassie. though they treid it with the Ford probe using a mazda chassis but it was also to replace the mustang LOL smile.gif all i ask is why didnt ford usea Volvo chassis instead it would amke more since of a luxery car

[lincolnlarry]

I was just reading the March '05 ed of Motor Trend and saw production pictures of the Ford Fusion/Lincoln Zephyr. They do grow on you. The Mazda6 "platform" will have a variant of the "Duratech" V6 engine. At least it'll be dependable. People who are wanting to smoke the tires will be looking for something else.
The car is considered "entry level" luxury, anyway. By the time I can afford one my wife's Camry will have another 100k miles...Ha! My '93 Continental 3.8 will squeal tires from start as good as my old '69 Riviera I had when I was a kid, and it had 430 cid! Considering the weight (or lack thereof) of the car on the Mazda6 platform, it'll be alright.
What blows my mind is that the LS replacement scheduled for 2007 will be built in Atlanta (shutting down Wixom?), and a Yamaha V8 is being considered as an optional engine, a'la Taurus SHO. They're also considering discontinuing the Town Car and resusitating the Continental nameplate. Please, Bill Ford, remember your dad and the Mark II!