Lincoln MKX

The Lincoln MKX is a mid-size luxury crossover(CUV) from Ford's Lincoln division and a de facto successor to the Lincoln Aviator luxury SUV. It debuted as a 2007 model in December 2006 as a production version of the Lincoln Aviator Conceptshown at the 2004 North American International Auto Show.^[1] Other than unique styling and some premium features, the MKX is closely related to itssister vehicle the Ford Edge, sharing Ford's CD3platform, powertrain, body panels, and other design elements. The MKX is of unibody construction and is natively front-wheel drive with available all-wheel drive. Its sole powertrain is a 3.5 L Duratec V6mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The MKX can seat up to five people. The MKX is a stark contrast to its predecessor, the Aviator, which was based on the Ford Explorer's rear-wheel drive andfour-wheel drive body-on-frame platform, came with a standard V8, and was larger with seating for up to seven people. The 2007 MKX debuted with a baseMSRP of $35,770 USD, ranging up to the mid-$40,000 USD range when fully optioned.^[2] The MKX is built alongside its Ford Edge sibling at Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Oakville, Ontario,Canada.

The Lincoln MKX first appeared in concept form at the 2004 North American International Auto Showas a new and much different iteration of the Lincoln Aviator. In a significant departure from the larger,Explorer-based Aviator that was already in production at the time, the Aviator Concept was smaller and more car-like, being based on Ford's natively front-wheel drive CD3 platform (the concept featured an all-wheel drive system). The sole powertrain of the Aviator Concept was Ford's new 3.5 L DuratecDOHC V6 (still under development at the time) mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The concept's V6 was rated at 245 hp (183 kW) and 240 lb·ft (330 N·m). The Aviator Concept also differed from the production Aviator stylistically with an all-new grille design, inspired by those of classic Lincolns like the 1961 Continental, and an innovative glass roof. As a crossover, as opposed to anSUV, the Aviator Concept was designed to appeal to luxury buyers who might normally consider vehicles such as the Infiniti FX or Lexus RX.^[1]

Development of a production version of the Aviator Concept was authorized with a sales debut set for late 2006. Along with a number of revisions to the concept in the process of creating the production model, the Aviator received a new name: MKX. The new name followed a new nomenclature developed by Lincoln to mimic the alphanumeric naming schemes used by other luxury automakers like Lexusand Acura. The MKZ luxury sedan was the first Lincoln to follow this nomenclature, being closely followed by the MKX. Management at Lincoln originally announced the MKX with a "Mark-Eks" pronunciation during the 2006 auto show circuit, but eventually changed it to the phonetic "em-kay-eks" due to confusion observed among focus groups and dealership personnel.^[3] Due to the similarity of the MKX name, regardless of pronunciation, to the MDX name used by Acura for their competing luxury crossover, Honda, Acura's parent company, filed a lawsuit against Ford in January of 2006, eventually settling the case out of court.^[4]

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