Take a basic “mainstream” car, slap on a lot of extra chrome, a more prominent grille, some fancier wheels, a more luxurious interior, and (optional) some sort of distinctive signature styling element, and Voila! You’ve cost effectively cheaply created a luxury car. It’s a formula American automakers have been using for many decades, and whether you like it or not, one they still use, though they’ve arguably gotten better at it.
In the late-1990s/early-2000s, SUVs were among the easiest vehicles to “glamify”, taking an already high-profit vehicle and increasing profit margins even more by adding a few upscale touches and a luxury nameplate. Extending this practice to the fullsize pickup truck seemed like the next logical move… or did it?
Enter the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood. Inspired by its name, or possibly the other way around, the exterior of the Blackwood’s bed was trimmed in “yacht paneled” simulated burled blackwood. Following up on the success of the Ford Expedition-based Lincoln Navigator and conceived at a time when gas was cheap and large SUVs were all the rage in the U.S., Ford saw an opportunity in extending the “Lincoln treatment” to the related Ford F-150 pickup.
Indeed, the Blackwood did come generously equipped, and rightfully so, considering its $52,500 price tag (73,400 adjusted in 2018 dollars). Standard features included an all black interior trimmed in Connolly leather, heated and cooled front seats, power moonroof, 7-speaker sound system with in-dash CD, power-adjustable pedals, side-impact airbags, and rear parking sensors.
For $1,995, the only option was an in-dash navigation system, mounted rather poorly deep down in the center console just forward of the cupholders. The sole powertrain was Ford’s 5.4L DOHC Triton V8, making 300 horsepower and 355 lb-ft torque, and mated to a 4-speed automatic. Unfortunately, in this potential opportunity, Ford overlooked a few key factors.
First off, there was space efficiency. Whereas the massive Navigator was a vehicle that undeniably offered far more passenger and cargo space than the average buyer ever truly needed, the Blackwood was an equally large vehicle that lacked much usable passenger and cargo space. Versus the Navigator, which sat up to 8 and over 110 cubic feet of cargo capacity with its rear seats folded down, the Blackwood only sat up to 4 and offered a paltry 27 cubic feet of cargo capacity from its short bed.
Secondly, and related to the issue of space, there was Blackwood’s lack of versatility. While most SUV owners never took their sport utility vehicles off-road, the majority of pickup truck owners actually used their trucks for hauling around items and tools related to their professional trade, weekend runs to Home Depot and such. Yet the Blackwood was only offered with a 56-inch bed, featuring split barn doors, a permanent power operated tonneau cover, and lined with stainless steel sides and a carpeted floor — hardly an effective hauler for bulky and/or messy items.
Furthermore, while most SUV owners (and pickup owners, for that matter) never took their SUVs off-road, four-wheel drive was nonetheless an appreciated feature, as a large percentage of them lived in areas seeing anywhere from mild to severe snow in winter months. Unlike its Navigator and F-150 relatives, the Blackwood was available exclusively in rear-wheel drive form, as if its appeal wasn’t already limited enough.
For a vehicle that seemed like a very good idea, in practice, the Lincoln Blackwood could not overcome its critical shortcomings. Despite projections of 18,000 units annually, Lincoln sold less than 3,400 Blackwoods total and quickly discontinued the model midway through its inaugural 2002 model year. Ford would soon try and market a Lincoln-badged F-150 again, in the form of the 2005-2008 Mark LT (which was sold exclusively in Mexico for 2010-2014). Although it sold slightly better as a result of its better practicality, the Mark LT was still a slow seller, much like its Cadillac Escalade EXT competitor. Perhaps a full-fledged luxury pickup just isn’t a viable segment?
Featured car photographed in Hingham, Massachusetts – June 2018
Supplementary Blackwood photographed in Los Angeles, California – February 2017
As much as I like pickups, a vehicle where many haven’t yet discovered the profound allures, these never made any sense whatsoever. Wasn’t trailer towing even rating at something ridiculously low?
Other than perhaps these were a trial balloon of sorts. F-150 Platinum, anyone?
Brendan, this was a good catch. There has been one of these floating around town for quite a while (as well as at least three Lincoln Mark LT’s given their different colors) and I did catch up with it recently. So it looks like this collective group has pinpointed three of the 3,400.
Tow rating on these was 8700 lbs., similar to many 5.4-equipped F-150s. I was also expecting some stupid small number too, so I was pleasantly surprised.
The Blackwood progressed naturally to the Mark LT and then to the Platinum trim, with Ford learning each time that they had to emphasize optionability more and more and the BRAAAAAAAAND less and less.
I remember somebody saying once – maybe it was on here – that the Blackwood failed and the Mark LT and Escalade EXT sold unexceptionally because of their luxury badges. See, people have no problem spending more and more on luxury-spec pickups with Platinum and Denali badges (and I believe pickup ATPs continue to rise) because there’s that whole “working-class hero” image associated with them. They still look like they mean business and will do hard yakka, whereas a Cadillac or Lincoln badge suggests maybe the owners don’t really need a pickup and they’re merely poseurs.
Curious to hear what people think of that theory.
I think thats exactly right. After the recession, having any type of luxury car, especially a really expensive one like a BMW 5 Series or a Mercedes S Class, had more negative connotations than it ever did. An upscale F-150 allowed the moneyed class to retain all the luxury of their previous vehicles in an unpretentious package. It also helped that the trucks themselves have become more refined over the years.
I think you’re right, and I also think there’s this particular mentality among those who actually need trucks and can afford these luxobarges: “I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay an extra $xx,xxx, and then feel like I can’t scratch it or mess up the carpeting by dumping a load of gravel (or manure, firewood, etc.) in the bed.”
That, and as you stated, the upscale trims of the Ford and Chevy/GMC counterparts aren’t far downscale from the Lincoln and Cadillac versions (if at all), for a bit less coin.
I agree with the ‘Working Class Hero” theory. Compare and contrast a Range Rover with a Jaguar F-Pace SUV. The odds of either one getting muddy are equally low, but the Land Rover allows the pretense that “I could if I wanted to.
The Blackwood doesn’t even have tie-downs for a couple of sets of golf clubs in the bed.
In Australia that comparison doesn’t work because the Range Rover has always been ‘separate’ from LR, and was driven far upmarket early.
The new Mercedes X-class pickups will be a good test though. Even though they have been selling vans for years, and heavy trucks in the past, the X-class is priced from AUD$45k to $75-80k compared with a Hilux that at $34k in dual cab diesel form (Hilux starts with a $21k base model 4-cyl petrol single cab chassis) to $61k.
There have been comments about quotes from tradesman who drive the Mercedes. Why not really, the same thing applies to an extent to the customers who drive a Mercedes!
I totally agree, it’s a matter of a bridge too far. The luxury marques do not add to the equation, they diminish it. It becomes a group-think exercise in what is and what is not socially acceptable. The current standard seems to be that buyers of luxurious pickups feel comfortable buying the mainline brand and going for top trim and still think that folks don’t notice they are driving a luxury truck, not a work vehicle. They drive these trucks instead of a luxury sedan as was the norm 20 years ago. However, this goes back to the fact that many would drive a top of the line Oldsmobile rather than a Cadillac to avoid being considered ostentatious. What is the difference any more in a Yukon Denali and an Escalade, other than sticker price and badge? To some, the Cadillac is gauche, yet to others it is necessary for it to carry that name. I give credit to those in a Mercedes G-Wagon, at least they don’t seem to care if the world knows they paid a fortune for a vehicle that will never be used as a utility vehicle.To me, it is as annoying as humble-bragging, as you have obviously spent a ton on the truck, so why not a luxury badge on it?
Sounds like, and may be, a solid theory. But how does one then explain the relatively unsuccessful Lincoln Aviator? Based on the Explorer/Mountaineer, and figuring the success of the Navigator, the ‘Avi seemed to have all the right tricks up its sleeve to walk in the (bigger) shoes of its big brother, N’avi. Too much smaller and not enough “baller?” I dunno. But I remember thinking what a brilliant idea the Aviator was, and being shocked by its relatively dismal sales. Whatever the reason, if the upcoming Aviator resembles the concept vehicle even remotely, I willingly risk the chance of wrongly predicting the huge success of ‘Avi, round two.
At the time of its release, gas was cheap, so there was no real point to getting the mid-size Aviator over the full-size Navigator. For the price of an Aviator, one could get nicely equipped Expedition. That same reasoning didn’t work for the price of the Navigator approaching that of the Excursion, because the Excursion was such a different beast.
Nowadays, fuel prices, though not terrible, are still an important factor in most buyers’ choices, not to mention the new Aviator CUV promises to be a better driving vehicle than the still-BOF Navigator.
I dont understand why some are saying the Escalade EXT sold poorly, they were all over the place in NY during the time they were made. i would have been interested in the Lincoln were it not for it not having 4 wheel drive for a pick up truck……..thats like leaving home in your underware.
In the flyover states, you rarely saw them outside of upscale suburbs, and you saw hundreds of Silverados, Sierras and even Avalanches for every Escalade EXT you saw.
The only Lincoln Blackwood I ever saw in the metal was owned by a guy I used to do business with named…Blackwood.
The lack of all wheel drive, the short carpeted bed, and the permanent cover would be deal breaker for me. Despite its short bed, the Honda Ridgeline would be more versatile because of all wheel drive and a non carpeted, non permanently covered bed an underbed storage.
The permanent cover that formed a real water tight trunk that is carpeted and nicely lined is exactly what appealed to me about the Blackwood. Fact is the modern 1/2 ton crew cab pickup is more likely to be used as a sedan replacement than as a working vehicle. The lack of permanent AWD or a 2-speed T-case with the auto 4wd setting as offered in other vehicles on this platform is the big mistake they made with this vehicle. Around here more than 90% of the new 1/2 ton crew cabs on dealer’s lots are 4wd.
I do remember seeing Escalade EXTs (and Chevy Avalanches) fairly regularly in my neck of the woods. But I think I only saw the Blackwood on the Lincoln dealer’s lot, and I had forgotten the Mark XT even existed.
I haven’t tried to look up the numbers, but I suspect the Cadillac pickups were far more successful than the Lincoln ones. But I also suspect neither came close to the sales volumes of the F150 King Ranch or Harley Davidson edition.
The EXT’s best year if sales was its first year when it sold 13k and some change, accounting for a little more than 25% of total Escalade sales. It was a downward trend after that with sales sliding between 7K and 2K units annually and in most years accounting for less than 10% of Escalade sales.
Thanks for the stats! Saved me looking them up…
Perhaps the most rare is Neiman Marcus Edition™ Blackwood with just fifty produced for the department store’s 2001 spring catalogue.
Differentiating itself from the plebeian edition, Needless Markup Edition™ included the seats with special stitched logo, leather-covered rear console, 7-inch widescreen LCD monitor, DVD/Video-CD/CD players and wireless headphones, and small refrigerator.
The price is needlessly marked up to $58,800 for this edition…
I’ve been wondering what it would look like if somebody completed the sedanization of these big four-door pickups. Angle the rear window outward, smooth the rear compartment into the body and round it off so it’s symmetrical with the front end, shorten the overhang.
Ford did something like that in Brazil with the F1000. The results are iffy.
“Iffy” is being nice…
I always found it remarkable that if they had *set out to* combine the worst drawbacks of the Town Car with those of an F-150, and the advantages of neither, they could hardly have done worse than the Blackwood. At least development costs had to have been negligible so Ford didn’t lose much money on them and may even have broken even.
My neighbors had a Blackwood for a VERY short time. Went back to F150s and Navigators.
Ironically, modern pickup trucks in their most expensive forms are quite luxurious while offering lots of versatility.
Great post! Indeed, Blackwoods are rare as hens teeth around here. Haven’t seen one in the wild for several years at least.
When these came out Ford was already offering a “Limited” trim level on its F-150, so these seemed to be aimed at a very small market segment of country club member wanna-be pickup owners. Older men, say, who fancied the notion of a truck but without the “red-neck” stigma.
But other than being able to carry a golf bag or two in the covered bed, or the wife and another couple to the club for dinner, these things are worthless as trucks. All hat and no cattle, as they say in Texas.
The current F-150 IS a luxury truck in its high trim levels while retaining all of the capabilities you’d want in a pickup. Same goes for the equivalent GM and Ram pickups. All hat AND all cattle.
High end ‘low price 3’ pickups sell well to the upper class, since driving a Ford, Chevy or Ram truck isn’t “slumming it” anymore. Though, never show up to the Country Club in a Taurus, Impala, or 300; their cars ‘have to be imports’.
Top of the line trim name changes often, with Platinum now top F series, or is there a new one?
Platinum was only the top trim level in 2009, when it replaced the outgoing Lincoln Mark LT. Heck, the 09-14 Platinum was still sold as the Mark LT in Mexico.
Both the Limited and Harley-Davidson trims (which are arguably almost identical in their option setup and intended audience) are technically higher than Platinum, but didn’t exist every year. They were around for 2008, but didn’t return until 2010 (H-D) or 2011 (Limited, called “Lariat Limited” just for that year). And then Limited went away again until 2013, when it finally replaced Harley entirely. Compared to other brands’ top trims (GMC Denali or Ram Limited, for instance), Ford’s Limited is actually a step above on the imaginary ladder.
The thing with the Limited trim is that its name actually has some meaning: the 2008 models really were limited-production, 1 of 5000. It’s unclear whether that has held true for newer models (probably not), but newer Limited and H-D F-150s still have had the serial number stamped on the console lid.
“Limited” can also refer to the options list: Unlike the Platinum, which is more akin to a traditional F-150 with choices in tow packages, bed length, drivetrain, mirrors, etc., H-D and Limited are only available as a SuperCrew/5.5′ bed, with either 6.2 (11, 13) or 3.5 EB (14+) engine, 22″ wheels, and one leather color. Choices are limited to AWD or RWD and 2-3 exterior colors.
Platinum was the highest spec until 2015 or so. From then, Ford revived the Limited trim, which became the top spec. The Harley-Davidson, King Ranch, and others were special editions that were very well equipped, but they were never the top-spec versions.
Back in my Car Biz days, we got a few chuckles when the Lincoln Division reached out for trucks. The real hoot was when the full size Mark LT came out. Ford knew which pickup was the Top-Of-The-Line. It was the F-Series King Ranch, which was actually more expensive (and infinitely more desireable) than the Mark LT.
*Quick story- in ’05 I bought a new Powerstroke F350 King Ranch, and the next-door neighbors bought a new 528i Sedan about a month later. Care to guess which vehicle was more expensive (by lot?).
From what I can find, the base MSRP of a 2006 2WD Mark LT was $38,680, while the King Ranch was $36,305. But the Ford brand was definitely more desirable.
One of the problems with the Blackwood was that it was based on the ugliest Ford truck ever. The Lincoln looked better than the Ford but when you’re an ugly twin, being the better looking ugly twin doesn’t mean much.
I don’t care what y’all say, I want one. A Lincoln 4 door that weighs over 5,000 pounds and has an engine bigger than 4.6 liters and has a really big trunk. Sounds like a winning combination to me. Everyone has an F-150. Nobody has a Blackwood.
I actually kind of like the way the outside of the bed is trimmed out. I could probably learn to live with its other cargo-area limitations too.
I am reminded of the one that passed me in traffic a few years ago. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtakes/getting-passed-on-the-left-by-a-lincoln-blackwood/
I don’t think I have seen one since.
And wow, is this thing *ever* out of its element in Massachusetts! 🙂
Actually, that is one of the few places I could imagine that this would actually (kinda) work. My thoughts go to an older Mainline Boston owner, trying to fit in with his supposed blue collar buddies and failing miserably and never figuring out “why?”.
Yeah to me Mass seems like a place where this would have done well with the type of buyer you suggest.
I agree. Of course the fact is I have pickups that do dirty work and need them for that so I can’t really justify nor would I really like using this as a daily driver that would have to street park in Seattle not to mention the fuel cost.
+1. I love these trucks. It would haul my groceries just fine, and if need to hit Home Depot, that’s what my Ranger is for.
The original Versailles was a better piece of badge-engineering than this hot mess.
It lasted more than 1 year as well 🙂
These seemed like one of those vehicles that got approved by “popular demand” at an auto show, like so many other automotive blunders (usually GM though) of the late 90s-00s. The “bed” is bizarre, I don’t fault the lack of passenger space(no Navigator in history has hauled 9 passengers), and don’t even fault the useless bed(nobody is hauling logs in luxury pickups), it simply just looks bad. Simulated burled blackwood? Obviously I haven’t been up close to one of these in a while, because I always thought those were just plain black paint like the rest of the body, and the major accent piece were those off balanced horizontal aluminum strips(simulated I’m sure). To me it resembles the very classic and rudimentary form of trunk attached to the back of a car, but it is not even effective at that since the drive wheels are in the middle of it, because in reality it is merely a tinseled up traditional bed. Truthfully, the Versailles wasn’t even this bad.
I also recollect there being a tie in to the Blackwood on American Chopper for the Mark LT theme bike, I think they used the Blackwood bed stakes as inspiration for the gas tank. Any company who used that show for promotion just seemed clueless and doomed, and Lincoln indeed started a death spiral from that point.
PS. Ugliest taillights ever.
Funny thing, while I was living in Daytona Beach for a bit I was forcibly immersed in (the outskirts of) biker culture, as it’s truly Biker Heaven over there.
The only person I ever encountered who owned or even knew anyone who owned a Blackwood was a Boomer-aged biker type. A retired engineer, if I remember correctly, who hung with the “I’m a corporate tax attorney, but I’m cool because I own a Harley” crowd.
In that demographic over-the-top bling-for-the-sake-of-bling type stuff is the rule rather than the exception. I remember that in the go-go years of the earlier 00’s there was this big revelation by marketers, who suddenly realized that shocking though it may be there are some very wealthy people out there who aren’t the Jaguar and Lacoste types, but need status symbols appropriate to their lifestyles (or the lifestyles they want to emulate while they plod through their mundane daily lives).
I see the Blackwood as a product of the early days of that acknowledgement. It’s a caricature, very much like that of the Banker/Biker, Urban Cowboy variety. It might very well be “All Hat, No Cattle”, but the mindset is till “My Hat’s Fancier than Yours”.
I have this poster. Several of these bikes were built and made the rounds to Lincoln dealers. Got mine from the Lincoln dealership in Beaverton Oregon next door to my work, the OC guys toured many of the dealerships as well. The poster was a give away.
If the Blackwood had 4WD and a conventional tailgate and bed it would have sold better.
I would say there’s absolutely a market for full-fledged luxury trucks. Ford currently sells them as the F-150 Platinum and F-150 Limited.
The thing is, trucks convey a certain image. Ford actually learned quite a lot from the Blackwood-the truck still has to function as a truck. Ford also learned a lot from the Mark LT-a luxury pickup does not convey a working image, even if the truck is absolutely capable.
The market for a luxurious truck is there, and Ford laughs all the way to the bank now that they’ve figured out the recipe for the secret sauce. I mean, you can’t get an F-150 Limited with a full eight-foot bed, and the interiors are pretty decked out, but Ford’s getting away with selling them for $70,000 all day long.
It reminds me of Dolly Parton’s famous quote, “It costs a lot to look this cheap.”
Let’s not forget the Raptor. No one believed Ford could sell a 1/2T pickup for that kind of money.
The first generation Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ was also little too badge-engineered for my taste. At least when they redesigned it for 2013 they gave it its own unique sheet metal.
I cannot for the life of me understand why these didn’t do better. I read when these first came out that they were targeted at the horsey/boat set, so this vehicle should have been perfect. Honestly, no one is putting really messy stuff in a $50K truck; and if you have the money to buy a $50k truck you have the landscapers bring you your mulch and what not. The covered, carpeted bed was perfect for what people use these trucks for, which is trips to Sam’s and a trunk.
This should have been perfect, but no one bought it. One of those mysteries of the automotive world to me.
A couple of thoughts on why it, like other models that should have been a hit, completely missed the mark.
It failed for the same reason small city cars fail miserably in the USA. Even though they hit all the buttons for what people say they want, those same folks will never, ever put down their hard earned money on one. Ask a lot of people if they want an economical car for commuting, one that is easy to park, and relatively inexpensive and they say “YES”. But then offer them one, and they buy a F-150 instead. People say they love things, but refuse to buy them.
This was just on the other end of the spectrum. At the time, few luxury buyers wanted a truck, and if they did, they wanted the Navigator or Escalade, not a pickup, as those 2 models were understood to be fashionable vehicles, while pickups were not. It is the same for the Sportrac Explorer and the Avalanche. People don’t like chimeras for the most part.
Easy answer- Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet all learned where the market is for unconventionally sized and configured pickups. Simple answer- there isn’t one. The only real mystery is why Honda still pursues this market, with miniscule sales numbers.
The thing is that buyers of $50k+ pickups don’t want people to think they’re not actually putting any messy stuff in their pickup beds – otherwise they wouldn’t need to drive a pickup in the first place and wouldn’t look like “rugged guys who can do rugged stuff themselves”. The pickup market has become increasingly irrational in the last 25 years.
For a horse trailer or boat trailer on a hitch you could just as well use an SUV. There are at least ten models nowadays that tow nearly or roughly as much as the 8,700 lbs rated Blackwood would’ve.
I never saw these as pickups – but as big sedans based upon a pickup. I still think that Lincoln can use a vehicle like this, but make it look more like a sedan. It would be all aluminum and sitting on a frame. It would ride well. It can be done-up like a Rolls or a Bentley.
“I never saw these as pickups – but as big sedans based upon a pickup. I still think that Lincoln can use a vehicle like this, but make it look more like a sedan.”
That reminds me of a particular $263,000 Dodge Ram sedan-truck-SUV-sedan.
Also vehicles don’t need to be body on frame to ride well. It’s not the ’60s anymore.
How about the Mayback version?
If Lincoln or Cadillac did one based on the Navigator/Escalade I wonder if they would look at lower ride height? There must be people who don’t buy those because they are too hard to climb into.
I think it’s worth mentioning here that the big plastic “toilet” rear console and bucket seat setup was also used on the first F-150 Harley-Davidson and King Ranch SuperCrew models in 2001, only with a generic cubbyhole insert instead of the cupholders for some reason. 2003 offered the choice of rear buckets or bench with King Ranch, both in the F-150 and the Super Duty.
This “quad captain’s chair” setup did not return for the new 2004 F-150, but was standard that year on the Super Duty-only Harley trim (bench optional), and AFAICT, for every Super Duty through 2010. It was also an option on all King Ranch Super Dutys from then on, through the end of the 2010 model.
This setup has never been all that popular in full-size trucks. Whenever there’s an option between rear buckets or bench, buyers overwhelmingly choose the latter. It seems we can stomach putting buckets up front, but as soon as you take away the rear middle seating position, nobody wants it.
Those few rare early King Ranch and Harley-Davidson models that were SuperCabs, of course, had only rear benches.
Thank you for calling that console what I’ve thought it’s looked like for years. The Navigator also used on and even the current Navigator still uses a similar, albeit slightly less toilet-y design for its rear center console.
I was going to say the same, I read that description a long time ago and can’t ‘unsee’ it.
Being able to carry an extra person can be handy, it would have been better to have a folding/deployable system that could be a console most of the time but act as an emergency seat if required. I wonder if a third bucket would fit there?
The Escalade EXT was actually the best-selling Cadillac over here when they were in production, but what was the point of these trucks when you could get a fully specced up Chevy/GMC, Ford or Ram that was just as luxurious, just as expensive, and much more practical all around? At least the Nissan Navara in drag Mercedes is now calling the X-Class is a ‘real’ truck, albeit a smaller one.
From the reviews I’ve read, I’m pretty unimpressed with the X-Class. It has a lot of meaningful changes from the Nissan (e.g. interior) but I don’t think it’s worth the premium.
“but what was the point of these trucks when you could get a fully specced up Chevy/GMC, Ford or Ram that was just as luxurious, just as expensive, and much more practical all around?”
The same continues to stand true for Tahoes/Suburbans, but people still buy Yukons or Escalades. Hell, by any rational logic the Sierra shouldn’t exist either, but it does.
Never heard of this one before. Dreadful in every way – deserved fail. Not quite up there with the Edsel as Ford’s all-time worst blunders, but a minor Deadly Sin, to be sure.
The Blackwood was a perfect auto show turntable car. I remember the huge crowds oohing and aahing over it at the Philadelphia Auto Show when it was released. On the turntable, the brushed metal lined bedlet with fluorescent mood lighting looked super cool. Also, back in 2002 there was still some novelty and allure to a truck platform based vehicle that was designed for pure luxury, as opposed to a work truck optioned to within an inch of its life.
Seriously, a Blackwood on a turntable in January 2002 (with obligatory model in slinky black dress) was a total people magnet.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, the Cadillac people were running scared. They had a guy pitching the Escalade EXT (to a much smaller crowd) by frantically comparing it point by point to the Blackwood. There was an obvious tone of desperation in the Cadillac pitchman’s voice. He should have been winning on the facts, but somehow he could not make the sum of the EXT’s more functional parts equal the seductive whole of the Blackwood.
Obviously, the success and sexiness of the show display did not translate into many paying Blackwood customers. But you would not have predicted that by the crowds around the turntable.
What I find strangely amusing is that Ford fixed pretty much everything that was wrong with the awful Blackwood by creating the Mark LT which itself would only have lukewarm success and get discontinued after a few years … -but- immediately afterwards Ford created the F-150 Platinum trim with pretty much the same overall features and appeal as the Mark LT, and in turn the Platinum sold like hotcakes from day one.
Makes me think the issue with the Mark LT wasn’t features or pricing, it was simply the badge. Which is quite unexpected considering the rebadge model has worked for decades on sedans, and was and still is working on SUVs. Kinda puzzling that it just won’t work on pickup trucks. GM never dared to release a Silveradillac either, the Avalanche inspired Escalade EXT notwithstanding.
That’s exactly what it was. At the time, the product planners knew there was a market for luxurious trucks. It took them a couple tries to figure out, though, that they couldn’t put a luxury badge on it because trucks have a working class image. The middle and upper-middle classes buying luxury trucks want to look like they’re one of the folks, and the ones who want to look like they’re better off than they are wouldn’t be caught dead in a pickup regardless of the badge.
I just saw a Blackwood in the wild last week, in small-town, rust-belt America. At a quick glance it looked to be in very good condition. I wonder what their survival rate is? Although produced in small numbers, could their eccentric owners preserve them at a high rate?
I kind of like this idea if you have a boat or other fun toys that need towing. You don’t really need 4wd for towing. If the roads are bad enough to need 4wd, boating is probably a bad idea. Chances are you are going to carry more groceries than appliances in the truck. Have you looked into the bed of a hard working truck? Do you want your food rolling around in there? For the times you do need to haul messy and heavy bulky items borrow a utility trailer. If there was a sedan that could tow 8700 pounds that would also be an excellent and practical choice. I do not know of any that can do that. The Blackwood is basically a sedan that can tow a 25 foot Bayliner.
What’s wrong with SUVs then? I find it particularly clownish when people buy pickup trucks and then use utility trailers for any and all mentionworthy hauling because the bed is too small or too inaccessible or you don’t wanna get it dirty and scratched up. In that case, you sir, have bought the wrong vehicle.
The point of modern pickup trucks is just as much towing (a trailer) as it is hauling (in the bed). Historically, pickups were intended for hauling with their dead-reliable-but-gutless I6s, and large sedans and wagons were for towing with their big V8s. Nowadays, pickups can do both. And you don’t need a big bed to tow.
You want a laugh? When it was still available the pickup box assembly ran $43,801.11 list. WTF indeed.
You laugh, but I still see these and Mark LTs (and regular Fords dressed up with ‘gator grilles) fairly regularly here in “daily-commuter truck as lifestyle statement” Texas. Shockingly common considering how low the volume was.
The consumers Ford sold these to new didn’t care in the slightest that they couldn’t tow or haul much – they also own an F350 for the heavy lifting.
Lincoln’s only error was anticipating that sort of madness extended nationwide.
I’ve seen a fair number of LT’s and a few more EXt’s but only a handful of Blackwoods. A few days ago I met an old acquaintance for lunch, whom I hadn’t seen for a few years. The last time I saw him he had a BMW M5, before that a 645 and a 540 (6 speed),a Ferrari 348 and a 911, plus a few Range Rovers. Before I met him, back in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s he drove Saabs, Alfa’s, and he had told me that when he met his wife she had a Jensen Healey. So imagine my surprise when he drove up to the restaurant in a brand new F150. A Tremor, not a Platinum or King Ranch but still very nicely equipped. So far he loves it.
Did he “pick up” the check? Pun intended.
The Blackwood was a curiosity, and too restricted in function. The Navigator does it all, except carry dirty loads in the cargo area. I do like the Lincoln LT, I’d buy one if I needed another pick up. My solution is to keep a base long bed F150 for dirty work, and a Navigator for carrying passengers and clean cargo. If I found a cheap Blackwood, I’d be tempted, but the LTs have a much nicer interior.
Hmm more expensive than my car new fewer features half the durability and less utility. Fail
I think it’s more accurate to say a Lincoln badged luxury pickup was a bad idea and one with a trunk instead of a box was a worse idea.. The King Ranch and Platinum trim levels of the Ford F-series sell really well and with full leather and power everything are every bit as luxurious as a Blackwood apart from the carpeted box. For that matter the underlying F150 Super Crew sold like hot cakes and is frequently seen in Limited or King Ranch trim.
No 4WD? Seriously? Anyone looking at the Blackwood would have expected 4WD. That alone is what did it in. AWD (or at least 4WD) should have been standard. Lots of people want AWD just for rain. Especially with that kind of power under the hood. The added sense of security is part of the luxury.
The worst part is if this was F150 based, then the 4WD design was already available. Mechanically, the Blackwood was a downgrade.
Everything else about the Blackwood, while not for me, I can see a niche of folks who would love it. There were lots of other reduced bed trucks running around. But more than likely, the kind of folks who could afford and would drive this, won’t be hauling their own building materials or manure. (And if they did, they’d use a different vehicle.) The bed on this would most likely be used as a super clean trunk for groceries, golf clubs, luggage, or expensive merchandise.
As I mentioned above, the top trim levels of F150 Super Crew sold very well compared to both the Blackwood and later Mark LT. FWIW these were available with 4WD, tow packages etc. and the take rate for the King Ranch trim shows there is a luxury truck market, but they want a non-luxury badge on it.
The text says that it was only offered with an in-dash CD player and the picture shows only a tape deck.
It could have been a no cost down grade. Oddly my 2002 F150 XLT has leather seats and came with a CD player, of course I don’t have power seats but I do have an 8′ bed