Lincoln Navigator – An Avoidable Abomination
- February 10, 2006
- What Were They Thinking?
- Posted by George Peterson
- 2 Comments
When the wraps came off the heavily facelifted Lincoln Navigator at the Chicago Auto Show I cringed in terror. The elegant, instantly identifiable front end of the Lincoln Navigator was gone replaced by a grille that was kindly described by one journalist as a “teenager with bad braces”. Above the grille on the leading edge of the hood is a heavy chromed applique that had AutoPacific staffers wondering if it was an integral bug guard.
Even having Magic Johnson at Chicago to reveal the Navigator could not hide the travesty that was on the stage. Journalists surveyed after the Navigator reveal seemed destined to rate it as “Worst of Show”.
The other seven-eighths of the Navigator are OK, even well done. Sure there were criticisms of the chrome moldings on the doors that seem to have no purpose except to add more bling to the SUV. The interior is spectacular with Navigator finally getting rid of the flip up door over the audio system controls.
So, Lincoln provided Chicago show-goers with a trifecta of follies. Number one is the abominable grille on the Navigator, number two is the renaming of the almost all-new Lincoln Zephyr as the MKZ, number three is the overall alphanumeric naming strategy of Lincoln’s cars. They have abandoned Continental. They have abandoned Zephyr. They have abandoned who they are.
2 Comments
I am the proud owner of a 2004 Gator and love every time I am in it.
Just went thru a 2 week period of Rain and the moon roof leaked into the interior ceiling , down the side of the DVD screen and the posts on the passanger side.
I have extended premium coverage thru 2010 and only have 35,000 miles on my Gator.
Was charged $700.00 to romve interior roof cover and unclog the drains around the moon roof.
No where in the manual does it mention the way to check or prevent this, so I paid the bill, and will contest the situation with the Lincoln review board.
Just a heads up, to somehow check your drains so you don’t get stuck.
Love my Gator!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As an owner of a 2005 Navigator Ultimate, I have been eagerly awaiting the 2007 Navigator L. However, the new grille, and bling on the side doors has dampened my enthusiam. I currently have the mono-tone black vehicle, which has some of the grille chrome painted black. If I get an ’07, I intend to have the chrome applique over the grille painted black.
Overall, I love my ’05 Navigator. However, as a previous Mercedes S-class and Lexus LS430 owner, I fell sucker to Lincoln’s brochure which claims the Navigator to be “uncompromised luxury.” Is making only the driver’s window one-touch (auto), and not the other windows one-touch a compromise? Yes! Is failure to offer rain-sensing wipers as an option a compromise? Yes!
In ’05 Lincoln removed the red/white lights on the lower part of the inside of the front doors. Was this a compromise (safety)? Yes!
For ’06 Lincoln removed the lock on the glove box. Now it’s unlockable. Is that a compromise? Yes!
I am thankful that for ’07 Lincoln has moved the power window controls from the front center console to the doors.