Show 2008 Lincoln Playing it safe means losing an edge Warren Tarren Brown The Washington Post It is difficult to eulogize a friend who never pleased nor offended anyone who journeyed through life absent failure or triumph He was a nice guy But where should I go from there I am similarly stymied in commenting on the 2008 2005 Lincoln wheel all-wheel- drive sedan It is a nice car There is nothing obviously wrong with it Key the ignition and it starts every time Tap the brake pedal It stops Its liter Jiter horsepower V 6 engine engin is capable decent Its leather- leather covered seats arc are reasonably comfortable But what else is there I sought answers from Ria my associate in vehicle evaluations and from my wife Mary Anne But they were baffled too Its a car you know said Ria who seldom uses verbal fillers such as you know She shrugged Its a car Its It's OK What is this the Mercury something Mary Anne asked The Lincoln I r said Mary Anne asked But didn't you drive this one before Not exactly I said I drove it in 2005 when it was called the Lincoln Zephyr So that's it MaryAnne Mary MaryAnne MaryAnne Anne asked They changed the name That makes it new They also increased the horsepower This one has 42 more horsepower I said Oh said Mary Anne Too bad they didn't do something about the interior It looks dated like something for little old people I thought about what Ria and Mary Anne said and didn't say about the Lincoln Ria said Its a car Compare that with her her- comments on the rival Cadillac Wow Its It's great I love driving it Compare it with her comments on the rival Mercedes-Benz Mercedes Class C-Class Really really nice Lots of fun Mary Anne called the Cadillac my kind of car She took it to her elementary school in Virginia where the administration and staff arc dominated by women several of whom also raved about the Note MaryAnne Mary MaryAnne MaryAnne Anne also drove the Lincoln to her school No Noone Noone Noone one noticed she said That was an epiphany In a world where most of Lincoln's major rivals have moved beyond good and safe to exciting Lincoln at least in its current presentation of the remains stuck on good and safe The cars car's interior is a work of squares and circles reminiscent of wooden geometric forms used to teach shapes to kindergartners The onboard navigation screen in that milieu looks like a first- first generation Apple computer now unused stuck in the dusty comer corner of ofa a classroom Interior materials with the notable exception of the perforated leather-covered leather seats are oppressively utilitarian discernibly inferior to materials used in the Cadillac Infiniti sedan Lexus ES and Mercedes-Benz Mercedes C- C Class So yeah that's it Lincoln kept its head and hands down on this one It risked neither opprobrium nor praise It did not push for success It simply tried notto notto not notto to fail It chose not to stand for anything It dared not ask What if And that's too bad Lincoln is Fords Ford's luxury vehicle division Luxury j r Y YS S Photo courtesy of Ford The 2008 Lincoln l a size mid-size level entry-level luxury car has drab exterior and interior styling is supposed to make a statement If it fails to do that it has no reason to exist Put another way Being good in a marketplace where your competitors arc are striving for greatness is simply not good enough Lincoln has to try harder or or r motor into oblivion |