2015 Taurus Mule Pictures on Car and Driver

[jpd80]

What It Is: A Frankenstein test mule assembled for evaluating what we think will eventually become the 2015 Lincoln MKS. Sometimes in development, an altered version of a known vehicle—in this case, a Ford Fusion—will be used as a baseline to gather data for an upcoming model before the styling is finalized. This particular mule makes use of the Fusion’s CD4 platform that’s been modified to emulate the beefier stance of the MKS’s platform, and the somewhat-crudely attached derriere replicates the general aero shape of the future MKS. It may look like a botched Fusion, but this mule consists of a number of powertrain and aerodynamic fittings that will preview the next-generation MKS.

Why It Matters: Serving as the brand’s flagship, a new MKS provides Lincoln with another, nay, its best opportunity yet to insist that it’s more than just a collection of overpriced and fully loaded Fords. As Ford’s lineup continues to get more attractive and more inundated with optional features, the necessity of Lincoln’s existence becomes less and less.

Platform: Our best intelligence suggests that the next-gen MKS will arrive on Ford’s D3/D4 platform, which underpins the current MKS, the MKT, the Ford Taurus, the Ford Flex, and the Ford Explorer. There are rumors that the MKS could be the first full-size vehicle to make the jump to Ford’s CD4 platform, which serves as the foundation for the Fusion and the MKZ. We’re not as convinced about such a scenario as any cost savings realized in sharing this platform would be negated by the large number of changes that would be required in order to handle the MKS’s larger dimensions.

Powertrain: We expect that base-engine duties will be served by Ford’s 3.7-liter V-6, likely joined by the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 as optional powerplants. Our photographer claims this particular mule exhibited a “strong engine and exhaust note,” which could indicate the availability of Ford’s upcoming Nano range of V-6 engines—although we’re told these new mills likely won’t be available until at least a year or two after launch. The choice of front- and all-wheel-drive versions will continue.

Competition: Acura RLX, Cadillac XTS, Infiniti M, Lexus LS.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Considering this mule appears to be in its infancy, we don’t expect the new MKS to be revealed until some time next year. Pricing shouldn’t be affected too much by the redesign, but expect the current base price of $43,765 to inflate by a few grand. View Photo Gallery

It's clearly an Attribute Prototype cobbled together from a lengthened and widened Fusion,
love the add on rear wheel arch extensions. Pity they didn't use Falcon instead...

[Brazen]

Ford's treatment of Lincoln is so frustrating. I'll leave it at that.

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Ford's treatment of Lincoln is so frustrating. I'll leave it at that.

Especially considering what Volvo is able to achieve using Ford platforms.

[mik]

ford needs to really get stuck into the lincoln and spend some serious buks on it, i don`t know how other people see it but it sorta appears to me like a slightly up market family sedan to me, which is ok, but it does`nt seem anything out of the ordinary that people would aspire to own over other established luxury brands.
They need a a serious luxo version that the vast majority will see as the best of the best in a the luxury range.

Look what toyota has done with lexus, toyota spent a huge dollar on taking on the big luxury brands and did a pretty good job with it, these days you hear advertisements toyota camry with lexus qaulity, whether it is true or not the brand gets cred just by association.
people in the street see the well to do driving car x it becomes good a status thing also .

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by mik

ford needs to really get stuck into the lincoln and spend some serious buks on it, i don`t know how other people see it but it sorta appears to me like a slightly up market family sedan to me, which is ok, but it does`nt seem anything out of the ordinary that people would aspire to own over other established luxury brands.
They need a a serious luxo version that the vast majority will see as the best of the best in a the luxury range.

Look what toyota has done with lexus, toyota spent a huge dollar on taking on the big luxury brands and did a pretty good job with it, these days you hear advertisements toyota camry with lexus qaulity, whether it is true or not the brand gets cred just by association.
people in the street see the well to do driving car x it becomes good a status thing also .

Ford is on a real "Journey" with Lincoln, not to expand on that here but the cars by strategic necessity
have to be linked to Ford originators and basically priced at approx. $,8000 above Titanium originator.
Compared to the US based Lexus ES (Avalon), the Lincoln MKS is very competitive, cars are lasting
around 14 days only on dealer lots, so that speaks well for the cars reception after massive delays.


GM has spent a big on new RWD ATS and CTS in pursuit of BMW and in the end people who want BMWs will by them, not copies..

[mik]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Ford is on a real "Journey" with Lincoln, not to expand on that here but the cars by strategic necessity
have to be linked to Ford originators and basically priced at approx. $,8000 above Titanium originator.
Compared to the US based Lexus ES (Avalon), the Lincoln MKS is very competitive, cars are lasting
around 14 days only on dealer lots, so that speaks well for the cars reception after massive delays.


GM has spent a big on new RWD ATS and CTS in pursuit of BMW and in the end people who want BMWs will by them, not copies..

perhaps, but i wonder how many sales from bmw have been taken by lexus, there are a lot of lexus out on the road( i have an old lexus myself).

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by mik

[/COLOR]

perhaps, but i wonder how many sales from bmw have been taken by lexus, there are a lot of lexus out on the road( i have an old lexus myself).

I'm speaking strictly of the North American market, the results in rest of the world may be more in keeping with your observations.

[RPO83]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Ford is on a real "Journey" with Lincoln, not to expand on that here but the cars by strategic necessity
have to be linked to Ford originators and basically priced at approx. $,8000 above Titanium originator.
Compared to the US based Lexus ES (Avalon), the Lincoln MKS is very competitive, cars are lasting
around 14 days only on dealer lots, so that speaks well for the cars reception after massive delays.


GM has spent a big on new RWD ATS and CTS in pursuit of BMW and in the end people who want BMWs will by them, not copies..

The Alpha derived ATS is there to attack BMW & the others, give it time and it will prove successful for them, they now have a package to rival the 3, C, A4 etc. Their choices in RWD Sigma II and Alpha are very logical for the demographics they are targeting.

Lincoln on the other hand haven't sorted out their platforms and we'll have to wait until circa 2021 for the 'journey' to end. It might be 'One Ford' but there are endless different variations of platforms that they haven't even signed off on yet.

As for the great reception, having QC issues and the lowest sales in over 30 years is a great worry, Lincoln means more to Ford's survival than most would imagine.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by RPO83

As for the great reception, having QC issues and the lowest sales in over 30 years is a great worry, Lincoln means more to Ford's survival than most would imagine.

Lincoln exists because Ford wants it to, it is frosting on top of existing US bsed production but
it's US contribution of 6,000 sales last month compared to over 229,000 for Ford brand shows
just how inconsequential Lincoln is to Ford's bottom line.


GM has spent an absolute motza on Alpha ATS and now Alpha CTS to chase BMW,
it has basically split the old Sigma II CTS market in two, doubling expenditure on two car instead of one.
I wish them well with this as it's a gutsy move underscoring the adage of spending big to win big.

[RPO83]

It had to split for the market, the market research was showing that they had to clearly define themselves for each segment. Just having one wasn't going to work for them.

I don't like Lincoln's direction, design, branding or advertising but good luck to them. It's good to know though that Ford are trying to change the culture at Dearborn from treating Lincoln as an afterthought.

[GT69]

Im curious how much this will resemble the next Falcon, As it is very Fusionish.

Not at all a bad thing if it were the case, I think the rear end looks a little long and awkward from the side, but short of that, the Fusion/Mondeo is a great looking vehicle.

[4.0i OHC]

Originally Posted by GT69

Im curious how much this will resemble the next Falcon, As it is very Fusionish.

Not at all a bad thing if it were the case, I think the rear end looks a little long and awkward from the side, but short of that, the Fusion/Mondeo is a great looking vehicle.

It was made to look like a Fusion so that the underpinnings could be tested without revealing the eventual styling. This is why the boot looks long and the side profile looks awkward.

[jpd80]

Yeah, the car is a real frankenstein that's been lengthened and widened a bit
and at this point , the body really isn't indicative of what Ford is planning.

If the new car looks half as good as the new Fusion, it will scream at the
current Taurus which is little more than a sedan body on an SUV frame.

[Road_Warrior]

Well, a weight loss wouldn't go astray either. Putting a sedan on an SUV platform is bloody stupid.

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by GT69

Im curious how much this will resemble the next Falcon, As it is very Fusionish.

I'm guessing it'll be a dead ringer for the 2016 Falcon!

[Resurrection]

Can anybody say 'Thailand'?

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Well, a weight loss wouldn't go astray either. Putting a sedan on an SUV platform is bloody stupid.

Not when you're a prisoner to accountants and your audience loves big oversized cars that make a "statement"

Our tastes in cars is more consistent with Euro style and clean lines blended with bigger capacity performance.

Next taurus is going to be basically a lengthened and widened Fusion, why couldn't you use that Formula
with say the Focus to build a new affordable mid sized car for Australia and Asia, something FoA could build here..

[FPV GTHO]

You mean stretch and lengthen Focus and build it here? Wasn't that already what the EUCD platform was?

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by FPV GTHO

You mean stretch and lengthen Focus and build it here? Wasn't that already what the EUCD platforon m was?

No, EUCD has different framing and suspension but shares power train and electrical system with C1.

[EgoFG]

Come on someone say it:

That could be the the new falcon under that faked body.
Ford AU said they had license for big changes - that could include something reskinable as a Lincoln

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by EgoFG

Come on someone say it:

That could be the the new falcon under that faked body.
Ford AU said they had license for big changes - that could include something reskinable as a Lincoln

If they were looking at a program like that, it's an awful lot of effort to reskin a Falcon prototype to a Fusion and then make it look like a Taurus prototype.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by FPV GTHO

If they were looking at a program like that, it's an awful lot of effort to reskin a Falcon prototype to a Fusion and then make it look like a Taurus prototype.

They probably had a shitter CD4 mule kicking around and they just shoved an E8 rig underneath it and extended the boot

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Ford's treatment of Lincoln is so frustrating. I'll leave it at that.

boggles the mind doesn't it?

[mik]

The Lincoln model always made me think of upmarket from the old days when politicians or movie stars used to get out of them, probaby unfair of me but these days optioned up Taurus comes to mind even before this article..

[Resurrection]

It will be a cold day in hell before I change my Falcon for a Taurus. I suspect sales of the Taurus post 2016 will be no better than the first attempt back 1996-1998.

[Nikked]

Not coming here anyway...

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Ford's treatment of Ford Australia is so frustrating. I'll leave it at that.

Fixed.

[Crazy Dazz]

The last few days have involved a lot of soul-searching on my part. I actually feel guilty for owning the XR4, but in my defence when I bought it I’d also bought a new BF Cobra. We still have the AU runnabouts, but its now been 5~6 years since I bought a New Falcon.

The soul searching has clarified one thing for me. I am a Falcon lover, and a Ford Man only by extension. When the Falcon dies, so too does my affiliation.

I have never cared that “Ford” is an American company. For me “Ford Australia” was the maker of the Falcon; the biggest selling Australian Car of all time, uniquely Australian for over 40 years, and the only uniquely Australian car left. For that reason I was also a Ford man, and bought other Ford products: A focus made in Belgium, an XR4 made in Germany.
From November 2016, they will be just another importer.

I am still hoping to a keep a shed full of Falcons (and a Turbo Terri.) I will love and cherish and tinker with old falcons until I am nolonger able. I definitely plan to buy at least one NEW Falcon before they end. Maybe a new I6 Terri for her indoors, and a GT for me.
And I will remain a Ford man in so far as my love for 56 years of Falcons will continue, but I will never again by a new Ford.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Ford's treatment of Lincoln is so frustrating. I'll leave it at that.

Lincoln was abandoned under Nasser. He liked playing with his PAG.

By the time Mulally came in, Ford Division was in such rough shape that no time could be spent on any othe divisions (aside from selling them off).

Now that Ford is back in the black, Mulally has pledged to save Lincoln. We'll see if it can be done. The new MKZ is a nice car, but it doesn't interest me much. Lincoln's new ad campaign here isn't very good, either.

The way I see it, if Ford isn't interested in making Lincoln a genuine luxury car again, it should die.

[Nikked]

Couldn't help myself...