I totally agree with this guy. But who is Lincoln trying to target? If they are trying to target younger people (under 50) like he says, then yes, Lincoln needs to go back to the drawing board — inside and out.

I see this and one car come to mind:
Mercury Cougar

i disagree, i think the zephyr, milan, and fusion all are great cars, If i wanted a ford i would buy any of them. I could careless what the interior is made of or if its just like bmw or lexus’s interior.

I bet that Tony Swan and Robert Farago drive Toyota’s. You never hear anything good from a columnist about an AMERICAN car. I think that it totally caters to the younger crowd and I think that their sales success just proves that it doesn’t take much intelligence to write for “Car and Driver”. If you click on the “mkz” link in the article you will see Al Giombeti’s quote on the recent success of the vehicle and the new upgrades that they are making to make it even better. It appears that Lincoln has a winner, and Car and Driver is a loser!

Actually Scootness, October 2005 issue of Car and Driver, editor-in-chief Csaba Csere praised the Ford Fusion (obviously, I’m aware that the Fusion is not in discussion here, but positive praise about an American car is written). I quote, “With its stylish looks, fine road manners, practical configuration, and aggressive pricing, the Fusion should make a strong impact in the mainstream-sedan segment—and truly put Ford back in the car game.”

Though the Zephyr might be a disappointment for some, the root model has been pleasing many.

i tend to agree with car and driver… but i LIKE high cowls, squarish dashboard designs, and bucket seats…

“If i wanted a ford i would buy any of them.”
i like how u added the “if” and how u worded it like it’s a last resort company u would look to

“You never hear anything good from a columnist about an AMERICAN car”
coincidence? i think not.

“Lincoln has a winner”
excuse me? winners are defined as 3-series, camrys, s-class, escalade, etc. you get the point, but definitely not the zephyr

It seems Ford has decided to position Lincoln under the Premier group of vehicles. If that is the strategy, then they did a good job by underpinning the Mazda 6 platform to all these models. They can get a perceive price premium while having low costs. It is a good business decision.
However for me, I hated to see that the rear drive LS get no attention and just die on the vine, even though it was probably a good business decision.

I’m still not buying the tail lights. It is abhorrible to see one on the street… “oh god! turn it off! my eyes!”

Just like the MKS, good front end. But rear end… it’s the ol’ saying, they ran out of ideas by the time they got to the rear.

I think if you guys should be questioning automotive writers’ credibility, you shouldn’t question Car and Driver’s as much as Edmunds.com. Car and Driver is based in Detroit if I recall, and Edmunds.com is based in L.A. Edmunds has had a history of being anti-domestic biased and pro-import, but they’ve gotten better (significantly less biased) in the last couple of years, which I applaud them for.

Alas! Yet another soon-to-be-no-more american car industry dino…This car may very well be a wise business decision, being cost-effective and all that, but american car builders need to brand their products. Why buy an american car when the only thing you get is a bigger, uglyer and more gasconsuming has-been than most any other foreign brand? I’m truly saddened by the fact that I fail to see where american carindustry is going, other than backwards. Lose some of all the business excecutives, CEO’s and what have you, bring in the young designers, lock them up with some engineers, let them do their job and…hey…then we’re talking

To GM and Ford: Please stop badge engineering cars. This creates crappy cars. Anyone who is halfway intelligent can see that this car is no different than the Fusion (which is based on the Mazda 6) with a price premium paid for the “prestige” that come with owning a Lincon

Why would anyone buy a Zephyr? It is exactly the same as a Fusion or Milan, but 6 grand more expensive. Anyone that buys this car obviously isn’t doing their homework and is wasting their money. At least wait till next model year when it will get a new front end and larger engine.

I’m with george. Chrysler made the same mistake with the crossfire. They couldn’t think of anything to do at the tail so they chopped it off.

What I want to know is why neither the Fusion nor its siblings has a “manumatic” function for the 6-speed auto used with the V6? Come on, Ford!

While some of what he wrote may be true, the way he says it is far more harsh than it needs to be. An unbiased article shouldn’t read like a message board rant. This is automotive journalism at its worst. If he comes to a negative about a vehicle then he should simply say so. That would speak for itself. Instead he goes on the offensive and tries to make jokes. Do you think if Honda or Toyota put out an identical product it would have been greeted this harshly?

I dunno, but I like it. Have seen a few and I like their “presence”, if you will. It has a strong sense of style (much more attractive than the CTS or ES). The 3.5 will help.

Needs to be price-pointed at 30k.