2007 Zephyr (edit: MKZ) will be "Cyclone" powered

[pro-five-oh]

http://wardsauto.com/ar/auto_lincoln_zephyr_duratec/index.htm

The Lima plant, which builds the 3.0L Vulcan V-6, will have capacity to turn out 325,000 3.5L engines annually when it begins production later this year.
Say goodbye to the old Vulcan motor (except in a Ranger, I guess) and say hello to the "Cyclone." Don't be fooled by 29hp increase over the 3.0L Duratec, the extra half liter of displacement in the Cyclone will make this motor a powerhouse in its class.

The Cyclone'd Zephyr might actually be a contender, not a pretender, in 2007. :)

[Conti94]

FINALLY!!!! Some good news.

[pro-five-oh]

I think if anyone from Lincoln reads these forums, they need to let me test drive one of the new Zephyrs and I'll write a nice article on it...maybe for a week or three needed for research. ;) :p

No, I was serious. :hide:

[Rick2]

Even extra power will not make me get over the fact it is a "mexican lincoln.":mad:

[Sysanalyst]

Horray, they have now followed the lead of Nissan (280+ HP 3.5L), oh darn, not nearly the 280+ horsepower. We still get to see the back end of the "bottom rung" Infinity FX35 or worse yet, the Murano as it passes us by. Late to the market with inferior product... some things never change.

[Silver Cobra]

Uh huh.

You know, they could have started doing this a few years ago instead of focusing too much time and money on the Mark LT. This really doesn't get me excited at all. The car still doesn't look that good. Definitely not Lincoln-esque. Seems no matter how hard they try, they can't wow me with their constant "breaking news" :yawn:

[Sysanalyst]

How about a 5.4 Black Supercharged Town Car with 20" 5 spoke chrome wheels. Around 400 HP. Call it the Town Car Thunder Edition. No... the accounting and legal weenies build the "zipper". Now they realize their mistake, try to mitigate it with a marginally bigger engine. Reaching Higher? (saw this slogan on a TV commercial). I can't believe they wasted money on the Mark LT when the BlockWood was such a failure. Lincoln trying to be Cadillac again. Come on F-L-M do something exciting... something... anything.

[Nick]

The Blackwood was a failure because it wasn't a useable truck for most people. It didn't help that it was also expensive, further limiting its already narrow niche in the market. The LT may not be a big seller, but I think it has a better chance than the Blackwood. The problem Ford and everyone else faces is that they keep trying to badge engineer new products. Their design processes aren't streamlined enough like the Japanese to be able to create something entirely new quickly and then repeat the process or a significant part of it in a few years. Thus, they continually remain behind the curve in a never ending game of catch up. The Taurus is a perfect example. It was number 1 until Ford stopped working on it.

[Sysanalyst]

Rebadging may work sometimes, but lately it has been disasterous. The idea of rebadging an F150, adding leather interior, adding additional trim, and doubling the price, well, who are they trying to fool. The extended cab makes it even less usable as a real truck (no way to tote a 4x8 board). An then to only offer limited slip axles and trailer towing packages as an option? Come on! Isn't the Mark supposed to be a truck?

[pro-five-oh]

The blackwood was more of a Navigator with a bed...it was a pretty unique entity in the world of Ford. Mark LT and Zephyr? Not really. Keep in mind that this 3.5L motor will also power the MKX and premium versions of the Milan, Fusion, and other Ford vehicles. Expect a Fusion ST with this motor and a manual transmission very soon. Yum. :)

Alas, this is not a unique Lincoln motor, like the old InTech days. :(

[Sysanalyst]

I guess the day has arrived when once you strip off the manufacturer badges and logos, you can't figure out who makes what any more.

[pepsi2185]

Dont fool yourselves, anyone that has worked on a japaneese car knows they dead copies of each other. You dont think the highlander and the rx330 arent a complete copy, or the land cruiser and the lx470. Not even starting to mention the lexus sedans. Even wire for wire same exact car.

70's cars were terribly badge engineered, but no one questions that. Ford is falling in line with the rest of the industry, because that is was the industry is telling them to do. They are being ran by people who are used to doing what everyone else does, not by people who love cars, especially because they are american cars.

[pro-five-oh]

Dont fool yourselves, anyone that has worked on a japaneese car knows they dead copies of each other. You dont think the highlander and the rx330 arent a complete copy, or the land cruiser and the lx470. Not even starting to mention the lexus sedans. Even wire for wire same exact car.

Yeah but its real hard to find a body or trim part from a Lexus RX that will fit on the highlander without looking terribly wrong. Ditto the ES and the Toyota Camry. Everything under the skin is the same, but they spend TONS of money to make it look different.

Problem is with the Zephyr is shares the same doors as a $17,000 Fusion...it LOOKS like a Fusion. Its not horrible though, the Mark LT is the worst case of badge engineering today.

[Philip]

The Mark LT annoys the hell out of me, the Blackwood successful or not, was unique and still shows well on the streets AND it was InTech! The Zephyr actually looks pretty slick, I've seen a few on the streets here and it's distinctive. When you factor in the entry price, it's a deal and it competes with Caddy's CTS (not V-model) in features, appeal and PRICE. We want Lincoln to survive, right guys?? If I wanted to buy a new Lincoln right now, it would be the only thing in my price range and I suspect that would be true for many of us. Just make mine black like Henry Ford intended and I'll be happy as can be. LOL.

Back to the original subject matter, the engine: no disrespect to Taurus/Sable/Contour/Mystique owners, but I've had plenty of those in my hands as rental cars over the last decade and there was something about that 3.0 liter engine, when you hit the key to start it, it seemed like it took too many revolutions to start or something. There's a book entitled "CAR" by Mary Walton, it's about the 1996 redesign of the Taurus, and there's a lot of commentary in there about the engine not feeling right. The Zephyr is a new platform and is hopefully going to help lead Ford out of the doldrums, and bring the average age of the average new Lincoln customer a bit lower. The Zephyr demands a new engine design, something just a bit more fine-tuned, 24V, DOHC, and VVT should be mandatory for a V6 in an upscale car line. If it carries over into the Ford and Mercury, then tally-ho.

[Sysanalyst]

... The Zephyr demands a new engine design, something just a bit more fine-tuned, 24V, DOHC, and VVT should be mandatory for a V6 in an upscale car line. If it carries over into the Ford and Mercury, then tally-ho.

Yes, those "Zippers" are pretty lame. I jumped one off the line to 50MPH in my wife's RX300 last weekend. That 4 year old Lexus has 48K miles on it, a 3.0L engine, and AWD. We hit it again at the next light and the "Zipper" was quickly in full view in my rear view mirror. What was Ford thinking when they put a crappy Duratec in the "Zipper"? Can't they do any better?

[Philip]

Agreed. Your RX has all the high tech goodies in the engine like it should in that price point. I think Ford felt they had to get something on the street quickly, and with the body and platform they succeeded in my book, but the powertain was largely carryover from other lines. It might be ok for the Fusion, but the Zephyr should have a proper new engine. And it looks like they'll have it for '07. Maybe they'll even do a high performance variant with an Intech stuffed under there to compete head to head with the CTS-V. That wouldn't help the environment any, but it would be a limited production thing anyway.

[pepsi2185]

You got me on the Mark LT. They promised 5 new cars i guess they had to deliver one.

I was in a fusion today and those are nice little cars. Really not bad, i was a bit impressed. It looks like they are in better shape than GM. Hopefully the 3.5 litre wont be too slow in the zephyr. Thats pretty bad, got smoked by an AWD RX300.

[Nick]

I rode in my friend's Fusion a few weeks ago. Ford made a few of the same mistakes between my parents' InTech Continentals and the new Ford. The package tray lets in way too much road noise into the cabin and the POS rear speakers are located where your knees are in the rear seat. Not only can you not hear the stereo, you get a nice drone from the echoes of the trunk.

[Silver Cobra]

Meanwhile the chilling echoes of the Ford 500 haunt the local dealerships crying in agony to be purchased or atleast stolen :eek: :p

[Sysanalyst]

Frightful thoughts... Ford so far behind on engine technology, even letting that creep into the Lincoln bloodline. In my humble opinion, a Lincoln, any Lincoln, should have V8 power. If they can't get the accounting right and make a V8 Lincoln, then go on to a better idea. Heck, use some of those Jag V8's, lightweight, powerful, and plentiful. I'm so sick of the new F-L-M line of vehicles, I'm forced to buy Japanese. God save us.

[pro-five-oh]

Yes, those "Zippers" are pretty lame. I jumped one off the line to 50MPH in my wife's RX300 last weekend. That 4 year old Lexus has 48K miles on it, a 3.0L engine, and AWD. We hit it again at the next light and the "Zipper" was quickly in full view in my rear view mirror. What was Ford thinking when they put a crappy Duratec in the "Zipper"? Can't they do any better?

Do you run premium in the Lexus?

They should have bumped up the power on the Zephyr by making it run on premium, but then again, 221hp on regular gas is quite a nice feature these days.

[Sysanalyst]

Do you run premium in the Lexus?

They should have bumped up the power on the Zephyr by making it run on premium, but then again, 221hp on regular gas is quite a nice feature these days.
RX300 runs on regular fuel 87 octane. Owners manual states regular fuel and recommends against premium fuels containing antiknock addtives. I also like the 10yr/100,000 mile extended warranty on the engine and transmission,

[the Andrew]

How about a 5.4 Black Supercharged Town Car with 20" 5 spoke chrome wheels. Around 400 HP. Call it the Town Car Thunder Edition. No... the accounting and legal weenies build the "zipper". Now they realize their mistake, try to mitigate it with a marginally bigger engine. Reaching Higher? (saw this slogan on a TV commercial). I can't believe they wasted money on the Mark LT when the BlockWood was such a failure. Lincoln trying to be Cadillac again. Come on F-L-M do something exciting... something... anything.


Praise to you lord Sysanalyst, I have always dreamed a performance version of a TC, they should give you the option of a 5.4l, thats what the new 4500 pound car needs to move and a 5 or 6 speed tranny, so they can compete.

[the Andrew]

Frightful thoughts... Ford so far behind on engine technology, even letting that creep into the Lincoln bloodline. In my humble opinion, a Lincoln, any Lincoln, should have V8 power. If they can't get the accounting right and make a V8 Lincoln, then go on to a better idea. Heck, use some of those Jag V8's, lightweight, powerful, and plentiful. I'm so sick of the new F-L-M line of vehicles, I'm forced to buy Japanese. God save us.



I HATE the duratec engine its a peice of shit, WHY in the hell does a goddam explorer get a 3V mustang engine and not a Towncar???? WTF, a customer pays a premium on a lincoln, I want a mustang engine in my luxury flagship sedan, give them something to talk about all these other automakers have the right Idea, now I love the towncar alot but I still feel the drivetrain is way too old, a 4spd tranny??? WHY?? why not a quick shifting 6spd, and at least 280 hp so the towncar can actually be accepted as competion for the Lexus ls430 or the mercedes s class. Come on ford why do you make me have to drop a real engine in. And another thing, the nissans, 3.5l makes 265hp, don't present the new 3.5l ford V6 to me until it can out power a friggin jap engine. We should be the superior automakers, but morons in the companies take the innovation out of them.

[Rick2]

I HATE the duratec engine its a peice of shit, WHY in the hell does a goddam explorer get a 3V mustang engine and not a Towncar???? WTF, a customer pays a premium on a lincoln, I want a mustang engine in my luxury flagship sedan, give them something to talk about all these other automakers have the right Idea, now I love the towncar alot but I still feel the drivetrain is way too old, a 4spd tranny??? WHY?? why not a quick shifting 6spd, and at least 280 hp so the towncar can actually be accepted as competion for the Lexus ls430 or the mercedes s class. Come on ford why do you make me have to drop a real engine in. And another thing, the nissans, 3.5l makes 265hp, don't present the new 3.5l ford V6 to me until it can out power a friggin jap engine. We should be the superior automakers, but morons in the companies take the innovation out of them.

Other than the needless swearing, I agree 100% I have driven every flagship sedan there is, and the TC's performance is laughable, and that's saying it nice. The only reason I see that the wimpy engines are used is price control. Ford had to save some $$$ somewhere or we would be looking at $60,000 TC's. But I think most of us would gladly pay a few grand more for a 3-350hp engine that would keep us from being dusted by a Honda Accord.

[Philip]

I'm a Ford man through and through, but I'll throw in this comparison: For many years the Cadillac DeVille has had the 32V Northstar, but it's MSRP had a tendency to go higher than the TownCar, I guess that's why we don't see too many DeVille fleet vehicles...LOL. Simply dropping the 32V InTech in there either as an option and make it standard on the high series car and charge accordingly for that privilege would have stirred things up nicely. Make the Marauder suspension changes part of the package...Hmmm. You know we had the Touring Sedan package for a few years, that was nice, but should have had the 32Valve engine. Point is, the 32V InTech was exclusively a Lincoln Engine, at least until the Mustang went 4.6 and the Cobra package returned, and the future Lincoln products should have some exclusivity in the engine compartment, or at least a corporately shared engine worthy of the four pointed star. (I'll probably catch hell for this, but....) I had a '05 Lincoln LS V6 loaner while my Mark was recently in for control arms and swaybar links. The powertrain was actually hot in my opinion, but the interior materials and overall feel left much to be desired. The leather faces on the seats look less authentic than the vinyl parts on my Mark's seatbacks and plastics are hard and not nicely grained to match. That's serious points off in that price bracket and it's respective competition, but hey it's got a decent engine. The Zephyr is most attractive in it's interior design, materials, and fit & finish. Almost out of character with a 29,000 starting point. They may have to charge a premium for a better engine, but if they get a well engineered powertrain in there, we're definitely in business. Anybody know, is the V6 in the LS a Jaguar engine or Ford engine? It has serious kick and the 5-speed automatic made the most of it. Why not just use that powertrain in the '07 Zeph?

[DustyLBottoms]

It's the 3.0 duratec

[pro-five-oh]

The Zephyr is most attractive in it's interior design, materials, and fit & finish. Almost out of character with a 29,000 starting point.
Ok, that reminds me of my last experience with the Zephyr. Its interior only looks good from a few feet away, when you compare plastic bits on a Zephyr to a Camry (go tap on the passenger side airbag cover on both, you'll see what I mean) you see that Lincoln has a long way to go. Not to mention the tinny sounding doors, plastic flash casting on the console (the one at the dealer had it, totally unacceptable at ANY price) and the use of a prop rod for the hood. A prop rod on a $30,000luxury sedan?

I still like the car (Zephyr or MKZ, whatever it is) , but when you see it and its competition (cough-cough, Japanese competition) at your local Auto Show, you start to wonder who besides Lincoln Mercury loyalists will want to buy it.

[Fordace]

Say goodbye to the old Vulcan motor (except in a Ranger, I guess)

I'd buy a new Ranger if Ford changed the platform and beefed up the powertrain.........

[pro-five-oh]

I'd buy a new Ranger if Ford changed the platform and beefed up the powertrain.........

Wouldn't a lot of people do that, instead of heading directly to a Toyota dealer for a Tacoma?

I'd say they need to quit sponsoring NASCAR and that football field in Detroit and use that money to make a modern Ranger. They'd make a lot more money in an investment in the Ranger...but what do I know. :rolleyes: