Mild de-fugging: 2013 Lincoln MKT

I previously posted my hatred of the Lincoln MKT on this site.  Thought I would update my opinion on the matter now that Ford has facelifted it's high-riding minivan for 2013.

Although it's an improvement, it's pretty evident that nothing short of a complete reskin will save this bloated vehicle from looking like a whale.  To make matters worse, the revised grille looks even more like baleen than it did before...

In short:  it looks better, but the end result is akin to Rosie O'Donnell getting a nose job. A couple tweaks won't save the rest of the disaster.

New Lincoln and the MKT

Lincoln’s wing grille is indeed unique. I'll give it that. It looks ok in some applications, like on the MKS, and in my opinion in it's latest iteration on the MKX. The problem is it looks like too many other things as well, not necessarily attractive.


The cow catcher on an old-timey train for one. The baleen filled maw of a right whale for another.


The MKX deserves mention as well on it’s own fugly accord (ignoring the family resemblance), due to it’s weird window kickup that serves only to prevent the small children – the only people who can fit in the third row due to the severe rake of the rear window – from seeing out of the car. That rake also makes the car look more blobby than sleek. Not to mention that the backwards slant to the rear plus the high mounted and narrow tails make the ass end look unnaturally large. Viewed straight on from behind it looks tall and top heavy due to the acres of unadorned sheet metal.


Plus the thing looks gigantic. The tiny headlights in combo with the huge grille, plus the fact that the thing looks about 2 miles long make for a very heavy looking vehicle. “Whale” is a very fitting description for this car in fact. In the picture below, it almost looks like they had to use a wide-angle lens just to capture the car. 3/4 angles make the car look as if it's being contorted through fun-house mirrors.


And what’s with Lincoln’s new naming structure, anyway? MKX, MKS, MKZ, MKT… When you hear one of those names, does the image of the car it belongs to automatically pop into your head? I know it doesn’t for me. In fact, when ever I write about these cars I have to back search to find out that I’m calling the car the right name. I always think MKZ is the MKS, as the letter Z in my mind should signify the largest/best offering since it’s the last letter in the alphabet. And yes, technically MKX is a good name for a crossover as X is a cross, but what happens when you have two? A name should hold enough meaning to gain some kind of recall with their clients. At least alphanumeric names make a slight bit of sense, given that the larger a number usually the larger and/or more powerful a car is.