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Is it a pickup truck? Well not quite. It’s a sport-ute? Not that either. How about a full-sized luxury sedan? Well, you’re getting close.
The 2002 Lincoln Blackwood is a bit of all three, a new, high-end crossover vehicle aimed at creating a new niche in the luxury market—though it won’t have the segment all to its own for long.
Blackwood made its debut in concept car form at the December 1998 Los Angeles International Auto Show. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive—so much so that by the time the prototype arrived at the Detroit auto show, just a few weeks later, Ford had committed to putting the concept into production.
From the tip of its waterfall grille, right up to the C-pillar (the post behind the rear seat), Blackwood is a Lincoln Navigator. From there back, it’s an F-Series Ford pickup. Well, actually, not entirely. Blackwood sits three inches lower than the high-riding Navigator—and it doesn’t offer the big SUV’s four-wheel-drive package. The 56-inch cargo bed isn’t like any F-Series you’ve seen, either.
The original concept version was enwrapped in elegant African wenge wood, then topped with a power tonneau cover. For the interior of the cargo bed, Ford went with polished aluminum, illuminated by indirect lighting. When the Blackwood hits market early in the second quarter of 2001, the wenge wood will be replaced by laminate-covered fiberboard. It’s supposed to be more durable, and require less maintenance, the same logic behind the switch to stainless steel for the cargo bed’s liner, which will be lit by two cool-touch LED strips.
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