Ford redesigns massive Lincoln Navigator: ‘A spacious lounge on wheels’
by Tom Krisher, The Associated Press
The 17-foot-long Navigator, which is based on truck underpinnings, is receiving its first redesign since 2006.
The posh luxury behemoth concept shows huge gull-wing doors that cover the first two rows of seats, but they’re too heavy to include in the production models. PHOTO: Ford Motor Co.
The Navigator will drop some weight, helping fuel economy, but will still be a behemoth at more than 17-feet long. Executives say engineers took steps to erase what Navigator customers didn’t like and accentuate what they did.
By watching customers, engineers found that people wanted to relax in their SUVs with less complexity. So they tried to create a “personal sanctuary” with large but supportive seats and a spacious feel. They made the dashboard less cluttered with only essential information such as vehicle speed on the display. Other information, such as the identity of a phone caller or a song on the radio, fades away after the first showing.
David Woodhouse, design director for the Lincoln brand, said they went for “a beautiful lounge-like space for the occupants.”
Lincoln has largely missed the luxury big SUV boom that happened in part because of cheap gasoline. The brand sold only about 12,000 Navigators last year while its main competitor, General Motors’ Cadillac brand, sold almost 36,000 Escalades. The Navigator, based on truck underpinnings, has been updated but not completely revamped since 2006.
Kumar Galhotra, president of the Lincoln brand, expects the new vehicle to capture a bigger chunk of the market now dominated by GM.
Galhotra wouldn’t comment on expectations that the new Navigator will have an aluminum body like Ford F-150, which is 700 pounds lighter than the model it replaced. The new model needs to be lighter to meet federal fuel economy standards. No gas mileage or weight figures for the new vehicle were released Wednesday.
The new Navigator will be smaller than the current extra-length version, but bigger than the standard model, which is 17.3 feet in length. The current standard model weighs 2.9 tons.
Second- and third-row passengers get 12-in. video screens behind the headrests. Drivers can show their faces on the screens and communicate with the back-seat passengers without turning around.
The SUV also will get a twin-turbo version of Ford’s 3.5-litre V6 engine with over 400 horsepower.
