2001 Lincoln Blackwood...Continued

The Lincoln Blackwood was introduced in December at the Los Angeles Auto Show, with St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire behind the wheel.

Lincoln Blackwood has the comfort of a luxury sedan and the convenience and versatility of a sport utility vehicle. The four-door, four-passenger luxury utility is an extension of the extremely successful Lincoln Navigator, with one important difference: an enclosed 4-ft., 8-in. box that serves as a trunk. The only announced version will have the box configured as a trunk, easily swallowing four sets of golf clubs. There is an obvious need for upscale fifth wheel haulers, and Lincoln would be wise to offer such a version.

In an attempt to weaken Sierra Club protests, Blackwood, like all Ford SUVs and pickups, will be a low-emission vehicle (LEV).

"The Missouri workforce is the highest skilled and best in the world," said Governor Carnahan. "We are again pleased that Ford Motor Company has decided that the Kansas City Assembly Plant is the place to build another exciting new vehicle."

In December of this year, Kansas City Assembly will begin production of the new four-door F-150 SuperCrew. Production of the Lincoln Blackwood -- also with four full-size doors -- will begin approximately one year later.

In the first quarter of 2000, the Contour/Mystique production line will be taken over by a small lifestyle sport utility, known only as the U204 but rumored to be called the Excape. It will be marketed against the small GM, Suzuki, Isuzu, Toyota and Honda AWD vehicles. When these three new vehicles are added to the booming F150 SuperCab production line, four separate vehicles will be built at the same plant at the same time; believed to be a world first.

Lincoln Blackwoods will come off the assembly line and be driven to a special area of the plant, where components such as the box, side cladding, consoles, cell phones and navigation systems will be installed. This same area will be used to perform a special Blackwood quality inspection. Every Lincoln Blackwood will be road tested.

The Kansas City Assembly Plant covers 4.5 million square feet and has 5,200 employees. During 1998, Kansas City produced 404,083 vehicles; bypassing their Belgian plant to produce more than any Ford assembly plant. New expansion will take that capability to well over 500,000 vehicles.