Lincoln Blackwood: It Exists

Lincoln Blackwood: It Exists

In the late 1990s, Lincoln beat Cadillac to the full-size luxury SUV punch by releasing the Navigator just before Cadillac debuted the Escalade. The vehicle you see here is an attempt at achieving a second such release date victory.

The Lincoln Blackwood was offered in the 2002 and 2003 model years with a retail price of around $53,000. Of course, not one Blackwood changed hands anywhere that figure, because the truck was fraught with shortcomings.

In theory, the idea of the Blackwood makes perfect sense. I once read Lincoln decided to build the truck after discovering some absurd number of their customers – like half – also have a pickup truck in the garage. No, the problem wasn’t in the concept: it was in the execution.

For one, every single Blackwood was rear-wheel drive. There were no exceptions. This was an odd decision, mostly because a lot of those Lincoln owners probably had a pickup solely because it was capable of things their Town Car couldn’t manage. The Blackwood, unfortunately, wasn’t capable of much.

That includes hauling. Every single Blackwood was fitted with a tonneau bed cover, which was power-operated and very slick. Unfortunately, this transformed the truck into little more than a pickup sedan. Worse, the truck’s 1,200-pound payload capacity meant that four adults in the cabin ate up half of the Blackwood’s hauling abilities.

The Blackwood had other issues. Namely: it had strips of black wood on the rear quarter panel. Except that closer inspection revealed they weren’t wood, but rather paint that vaguely resembled wood. And I stress vaguely. Also, the Blackwood’s “high-tech” navigation system was fitted deep in its center console and offered a screen no larger than a modern iPhone.

The Blackwood went out of production after just 3,300 units. Lincoln later tried the full-size truck market again with the Mark LT, but was again rebuffed after poor sales. Yes, it exists. But we probably wish it didn’t.

18 Responses to “ “Lincoln Blackwood: It Exists”

  1. Jesse says:

    I see one of these on my daily commute near Nashville. I told my carpool buddy that I thought they would be worth something some day, because they didn’t make very many of them. I had no idea what “didn’t make very many of them” meant!

    I know we’re not supposed to buy cars because we think they’ll appreciate in value, and this is no exception. But 20 years from now, when Lincoln is long dead, I feel this may be one of the more collectible examples.

  2. HaloNHorns2002 says:

    Not to mention that, if I recall correctly, the “bed” of the pickup was carpeted, so you couldn’t really put anything dirty back there unless you wanted to shampoo a pickup bed’s worth of carpet. Not my idea of a good time…

  3. Timothy In Boston says:

    Wow, that navigation screen is so easy to see when bombing down the highway at 80. Perfect position by Ford, there.

  4. Tyler says:

    I thought the bed was carpeted with wooden slats in it.

  5. Matt B says:

    I’ve always wanted one of these for absolutely no other reason than my last name being Blackwood.

  6. Beelzebubba says:

    In Motor Trend’s review of the 2002 Blackwood,they refer to bed as being “carpet and stainless-steel lined”. It was a truck with all of the drawbacks and none of the benefits.

    The interior is so obviously from the F150/Expedition with fancy wood trim from a tree of plastique!

    The Mark LT was actually a truck, usable bed and all. But the problem was that by 2006, when it was introduced, the F150 could be ordered with all the same features at a lower price. The F150 was much better looking in my opinion, without the tacky Lincoln grille and chrome door handles. The interior was rather attractive, based on the well-designed F150 interior. Lincoln added piping to the seats in a contrasting color and also two-toned the dashboard. But the F150 King Ranch arguably had an equally upscale interior for thousands less.

    The 2010, it sold over 10k in the first year, 12k in the second year but by 2008 (final model year) it only sold about 4600 units. The F150 Platinum trim level fills the ‘luxury-truck’ niche now.

    As for the survival of Lincoln, I’m not so optimistic. They’ve always been too conservative and played it safe. When Cadillac was working diligently to turn an entire nation against diesel engines and prematurely-advanced engine technology (see V8-6-4 & HT4100), all Ford did was slap a hump on a Granada and call it the Versailles! =)

    • JMII says:

      Yep this is the problem, you can easily load up an F150 to “Blackwood” levels making this Lincoln one of the stupidest ideas EVER. But you can’t blame them for trying, after all at one point in time the cheapest vehicle you could buy was a truck, now its the most expensive thing on the lot. Sort of makes sense given you have to pretty loose with your money since its all going into gas to drive the darn thing empty and alone on your commute to work.

  7. James Biddle says:

    The Mark LT was killed off in the USA, but still lives on independently in Mexico, made at the same river rouge plant. http://www.lincoln.mx/vehiculos/marklt

  8. Dennis Wingfield says:

    Insiders sarcastically called this the Lincoln “Backward.”

  9. O.H. says:

    I just saw a Blackwood this afternoon, it was in rough shape and just looked wrong.

  10. brightfametexan says:

    The slidey bar between “utility” and “luxury” is slid way too far over.

  11. OldSchool1 says:

    Wow. I always find it interesting how non owners rarely have anything positive to type. Why anyone would spend the time and energy to denounce a machine that they’ve never even driven is beyond me. If it’s not within your taste then hop back into your and have a nice day.

    • Doug DeMuro says:

      All in good fun my friend! I don’t think anyone here hates the Blackwood! But you’ve got to joke about your own car. For example, I have a Range Rover with an inch of standing water in the taillight. Really, it’s great, although yesterday I got in and the hazard lights turned on for no apparent reason. See, you have to keep a sense of humor about these things.

  12. Grant G. says:

    There was a guy in my neighborhood who had – wait for it – TWO of these when they were new.

  13. Brad F. says:

    How could we forget about the ‘toilet seat’ rear center console cribbed from the Navi? And the optional DVD player with CRT (!) display screen?

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