PREMiERdrum Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 LINK - AutoBlog With Mercury dead, hundreds of former Lincoln-Mercury dealerships will be forced to rely on Ford's 93-year-old luxury brand to bring home the bacon alone. These dealers are nervous about their future, and rightfully so. Every Lincoln on sale today is a gussied up version of a Ford. True, most mainstream automakers with luxury divisions, like Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura and Volkswagen/Audi, use a similar strategy of platform and technology sharing to save costs, but U.S. domestic automakers have never been particularly good at it. A Volkswagen is usually praised for being Audi-like, but a Lincoln is usually decried for being too similar to a Ford. Sharing can so easily become rebadging, and Lincoln dealers are wondering how they'll live off a lineup of simply "more expensive" Fords. Ford's major advancement, however, is in the main LCD screen where it has redefined the user interface of infotainment screens. Gone are big, square buttons that lead you to screens with more big buttons. In their place Ford has colored-coded each of the screen's four corners where the system's aforementioned main functions are housed: Entertainment is the lower left red corner, Phone is the upper left orange corner, Navigation is the upper right green corner and Climate is the lower right blue corner. Each corner is always visible and displays a few lines of information about its current functionality, and no matter what you're looking at on the screen, navigating to one of these four main functions is as simple as touching the corresponding corner. It's ingenious, easy-to-use without cracking the owner's manual and shows that parent company Ford is the leading automaker in really thinking about how we use these systems when we drive. What that $3,405 difference between our MKX tester and a similarly equipped Edge gets you is Lincoln styling and luxury. If you're willing to pay more for the association of driving a luxury brand rather than the more blue-collar Blue Oval, the MKX is a great choice for your CUV dollar. In fact, we'll go so far as to say its 2011 refresh, particularly the addition of MyLincoln Touch, takes the MKX from the bottom rung to right near the top of the luxury CUV segment. In the end, Ford's mistake was making its own version of this CUV a little too good, because the 2011 Lincoln MKX still feels like the best Edge money can buy. If the big gripe about it is that it's too similar to the Edge, which we know will be addressed with new models (differentiation of MKT vs. Flex, MKS vs. Taurus), that's not a bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 It's a great review: the sled runs superbly. With Ford's growing perception as a quality brand, the similarity of shared rooflines is not that big a problem, IMHO. Sure, a complete differentiation would be nice, but when you actually SEE one, it sure has a different presence from the Edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 (edited) This review sums up the MKX perfectly. Nice photos of the 18" polished wheels too. :shades: Edited December 21, 2010 by aneekr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 This review sums up the MKX perfectly. Nice photos of the 18" polished wheels too. :shades: All that sidewall makes me glad I have the 22" Sport wheels. :shades: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 All that sidewall makes me glad I have the 22" Sport wheels. :shades: Yes, that vehicle definitely needed bigger wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosetang Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 I drove an Edge Limited last week and it felt Lincoln-good. If the Linc starts at that level it's a damn good CUV. When it gets a unique top-hat in 3-4 years it will be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Even the Edge is nicer than the Lexus RX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I think the RX itself is over played...I've been in one recently and it was laughable. The person really thought it was like the only Coke in the middle of the desert, WITH ice...And I'm pointing out some cheapening of items. And had wind noise inside that I think was not acceptable for such a vehicle. But its nice to see an Edge is quieter than the luxurious RX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Even the Edge is nicer than the Lexus RX. :yup: I chuckle to myself every time I pass one in my Edge. Silly image-conscious suburbanite yuppies overpaying for a subpar vehicle. :hysterical3: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Oh it's like the realtors car of choice. That and the MBenz C-class. Everytime I have to meet with one I just roll my eyes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 (edited) The 18's always look way too small for the Edge and MKX, but I do miss the softer ride (just not the terrible handling). The 22's are sharp, but I would be terrified of driving those things in Michigan...and I would not want the yet firmer ride. Edited December 23, 2010 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Oh it's like the realtors car of choice. That and the MBenz C-class. Everytime I have to meet with one I just roll my eyes... Realtors like the C-Class? Why? Because they like seeing the husband & wife argue about who gets stuck in the undersized, cramped, uncomfortable afterthought of a back seat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Not sure why, just the pattern I have seen, maybe its the only MBenz they can afford? Maybe the ML might be too much for them ? I can understand why they need a good back row to show houses, but really no need to have a large cargo area like the RX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 The 18's always look way too small for the Edge and MKX, but I do miss the softer ride (just not the terrible handling). The 22's are sharp, but I would be terrified of driving those things in Michigan...and I would not want the yet firmer ride. Eh, there's still a decent sidewall on the 22's. The roads aren't amazing here in Maryland. Can you feel it when you hit a pothole? Sure. Is it going to damage the wheel? Probably not. The ride is pretty smooth too. Wasn't noticably worse than the Limited I drove with the 20's. Of course, I'm a fan of a ride a bit on the firmer side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Eh, there's still a decent sidewall on the 22's. The roads aren't amazing here in Maryland. Can you feel it when you hit a pothole? Sure. Is it going to damage the wheel? Probably not. The ride is pretty smooth too. Wasn't noticably worse than the Limited I drove with the 20's. Of course, I'm a fan of a ride a bit on the firmer side. If appearances weren't an issue, I'm not sure what I would prefer. The softer ride or the better handling...it's really an equal give or take. The 20's make for a substantially better handling car than the 18's, which would just cave in the corners unless you were more aggressive with the accelerator and pulled your tires into shape (assuming you could get the transmission to cooperate). And the 22's scare me not just because of the roads, but the car wash rails and curbs which are not always impossible to avoid bumping *which I did in my 2007 MKX with the 18's*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 And the 22's scare me not just because of the roads, but the car wash rails and curbs which are not always impossible to avoid bumping *which I did in my 2007 MKX with the 18's*. Yeah, I did unfortunately get my first case of curb rash on one of my wheels last week. Fortunately, it appears to be pretty superficial and I have lots of experience with polishing aluminum now after I did the intake for my Cobra. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefstang Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Yeah, I did unfortunately get my first case of curb rash on one of my wheels last week. Fortunately, it appears to be pretty superficial and I have lots of experience with polishing aluminum now after I did the intake for my Cobra. :D Showoff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Showoff! After as many man hours as I put into that thing, you're damn right. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 Yeah, I did unfortunately get my first case of curb rash on one of my wheels last week. Fortunately, it appears to be pretty superficial and I have lots of experience with polishing aluminum now after I did the intake for my Cobra. :D That's a purddy chunk of aluminum, the car attached to it must be something My Dad has a 2009 Ford Fusion with the 18" rims and has managed to avoid curb rash, I don't know how with those wheels. And then you get people like my sister who bent all 4-rims on her Focus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 My Dad has a 2009 Ford Fusion with the 18" rims and has managed to avoid curb rash, I don't know how with those wheels. The OE Goodyear Eagle RS-A 225/45R18 tires that come with those wheels have a rim protector feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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