Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Lincoln MKZ

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Though slightly smaller and natively front-wheel drive, the Zephyr was marketed as a replacement for Lincoln's previous entry level mid-size, the rear-wheel drive, V8-equipped Lincoln LS. To facilitate a smooth transition, the Zephyr and LS were sold parallel to each other during the 2006 model year, the first model year of the Zephyr and the last for the LS. Ironically the Zephyr's first model year was also its last, in name. For 2007 the car was renamed MKZ, and took over the LS' market with sales beginning in September 2006. Lincoln's decision to resurrect the Zephyr name refers to the very early days of Lincoln before World War II. At that time, the only Lincoln manufactured was the Lincoln K-series which was a full-size sedan, and Lincoln, under the direction of Edsel Ford, Henry Ford's only son, hoped to indroduce a smaller product to compete with the LaSalle, a smaller sibling offered at Cadillac dealerships.



Interior. Close. MKZ Hybrid


The Zephyr moniker was discontinued after a year, switching to MKZ to align with Lincoln's alphanumeric naming strategy. Previously during the early 1980s, the Zephyr name reappeared on a compact sedan called the Mercury Zephyr, a twin of the Ford Fairmont, however the Mercury Zephyr was replaced after a short period of time with the Mercury Topaz, itself a twin of the Ford Tempo.



lincoln mkz


Highlighting the MKZ for 2007, other than the new name, was a mild exterior refresh, optional all-wheel drive, and a larger displacement engine with more power. The MKZ name followed a new nomenclature used at Lincoln for new vehicles beginning in the 2007 model year (existing models such as the Navigator and Town Car have been unaffected thus far). Ford initially intended the "MK" to represent an abbreviation of its traditional "Mark" naming series, but has since abandoned that in favor of simply reading the letters. The Lincoln MKZ (and the Zephyr before it) is built at Ford's Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, plant.





The 2010 MKZ was released



2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid



2012 lincoln mkz



Lincoln MKZ - Front Angle,


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