Ford Faqs

The 2009 Ford Flex crossover is an SUV that seats up to seven people and was built to take the place of the minivan lineup that Ford is accustomed to making. Ford was planning on giving the Mercury a chance to get the same design as the Flex – but it seems that Lincoln is next in line.

Sources say the Flex will bow first, allowing it to have its moment in the sun before the Lincoln version is added to the lineup, perhaps a year later. It is in keeping with a strategic plan going forward to place more emphasis on the Lincoln premium brand than on Mercury. At the recent L.A. auto show, Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, said Lincoln will take over as the volume piece of the Lincoln Mercury franchise.

“We won’t walk away from Mercury,” Fields said, but “we have higher aspirations for Lincoln.” He notes November retail sales for the brand were up for the 14th consecutive month. Mulally tells us Mercury is doing fine, and the focus needs to be on Lincoln. The luxury brand might also be a better nameplate for the new large crossover, he adds.

Lincoln has its new flagship MKS sedan set to go on sale next fall with Ford’s new 270-hp, 3.7-liter V-6 under the hood. The Lincoln will be the first to offer the automaker’s new direct-injection technology when a turbocharged V-6 is added to the MKS for 2010 to provide the power of a V-8 without the corresponding fuel-economy penalty.

Meanwhile, the name Flex will stick for the Ford version, Fields insists, saying it “researched well.” Our vote is to return to the Fairlane name that graced the original concept. The automaker also invited journalists to see its new quality center at the Rouge complex where more than 1000 workers from the Dearborn truck plant will be trained to assemble the redesigned 2009 F-150 prior to launch. The pickup will be shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.