Jump LinksLincoln's First Luxury Trucks ForayLincoln Blackwood ExteriorLincoln Blackwood InteriorLincoln Blackwood PowertrainWhy Did The Blackwood Fail?A Much Safer ApproachLincoln Mark LT ExteriorLincoln Mark LT InteriorLincoln Mark LT PowertrainWhy Did The Mark LT Fail?General Motors Got It Right, But The Market Wasn't TherePeople Want The Features Without The FlashPickup trucks are a big business, a very big business. They account for over 15% of all vehicles on US roads, and have become the do-it-all solution for people who want utility, size and towing capacity, mixed with the comfortable, high-seated luxury that modern pickups provide. So with a fully optioned F-150 Platinum knocking on the door of $100,000, why isn't it sold under the more prestigious and luxurious Lincoln brand name? It would make so much sense, right? Well, it was, twice and both times were failures.In this article, we will look at the luxury truck trend of the 2000s, focusing on Lincoln's more interesting attempts, but also looking at the other luxury trucks of the time. We will see what made them unique, what they did to distinguish themselves, and then we will answer the question of why none of them seemed to catch on? The Lincoln Blackwood: Great Idea, Flawed Execution Lincoln's First Luxury Trucks Foray LincolnIn the early 2000s, everyone who was anyone drove around in full-size luxury sedans. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the Cadillac DeVille, and BMW 7 Series were but a few of the offerings that people flocked to. Lincoln offered the Town Car: a panther platform, V8, body-on-frame sedan that was soft, reliable and large. Lincoln had also just come out with the Navigator, the first full-size luxury SUV that didn't hide the fact it was made for the road, and not the dirt. The Navigator was a big deal, beating even the CadillacEscalade to market, and proving that you could make luxury versions of a classically mainstream market and find success.Lincoln, which probably felt like it was on a bit of a roll, would try its hand at a new type of luxury vehicle, the luxury full-size pickup.It is important to remember the state of the pickup truck market at the time. Up until the late 1990s, pickups were rattly, square things that you would use to haul around boats and trailers, but they would never be your only family car. There had always been performance trucks, but there was never any attempt to make a luxurious version of what was seen as a utility vehicle. By the late 1990s, pickups were getting to the point that you could justify owning one for a family vehicle, thanks to modern features and crew cabs becoming more and more popular. They were still distinctly mainstream, though, not being turned into the luxury monsters we now know. Lincoln Blackwood Exterior Lincoln Lincoln, having no basis for what the idea of a luxury truck was, attempted to guess what it could be and launched the Lincoln Blackwood in 2002. The modern idea of a luxury truck is one that comes with a mainstream badge, all the capabilities of a truck, with the addition of all the leather and heated seats added on. Lincoln instead went the other way, and tried to make a luxury truck that aimed to be more like a sedan, sacrificing utility in the process.BaT Launched in 2002, the Blackwood was based on the tenth-generation Ford F-150 Crew Cab, but used a very different suspension setup. Unlike the F-150, Lincoln fitted the Blackwood with rear air suspension to put it more in line with the Town Car. Another standout feature of the Blackwood was its bed, which was now carpeted, featured polished aluminum, and was lit with LED lighting. It had used rear barn doors and an electric bed cover. This was a huge departure from any other truck offered at the time, as this was before even the multi-function truck beds and tailgates we are now used to. The sides of the truck were adorned with dark wood trim and pinstriping to give the Blackwood a more luxurious appearance. The trunk and pinstriped wood were the two big factors that distinguished the Blackwood from the outside, and while the bed was much smaller than an equivalent F-150, it was much larger than the Town Car, the vehicle the Blackwood was aiming to copy. Up front, it was similar to the Navigator of its time and did make for a pretty good-looking truck. Lincoln Blackwood Interior LincolnInside, the Blackwood was still ultimately an F-150 that was being gussied up to make a luxury car, but it did feature some weird and wonderful extra features. It got imitation black oak wood, heated and cooled front seats and a 2+2 seating configuration like a Porsche Panamera - maybe the only thing those two cars have in common. The main and unique selling point of the Blackwood was its navigation system. It was the only option available and came with a voice-activated cellular phone device and a low-mounted five-inch front-console screen. It was basic, but most Blackwood buyers bought it, as 62.73% of Blackwoods rolled off the factory line with it installed. The mashup of Navigator and F-150 parts made the Blackwood one of the nicest trucks on the plant at the time, but that was not enough. Lincoln Blackwood Powertrain Cars and BidsPowering the Blackwood was a 5.4L V8, producing 300 hp. It was meant to be a more upmarket engine and was not available in the F-150. It was a dual-overhead camshaft and used 32 valves, a big step-up from the single overhead camshaft and 16 valves in the Ford. It was paired with a four-speed automatic and came exclusively in rear-wheel drive. Why Did The Blackwood Fail? Lincoln The Blackwood has the dubious honor of lasting only 15 months. It sold so poorly that Lincoln scrapped the whole model after selling only 3,383 units. Buyers wanted a truck's capabilities with the nice features of a luxury sedan, not a luxury sedan with all the downside of the truck design. The bed was useless for doing any real work, and the design was complicated and failed constantly, even in period. It couldn't haul well due to its air suspension, managing 1,200 pounds in the bed, but was still more unruly to drive when compared to its Town Car counterpart. There was no four-wheel-drive option, and it couldn't even seat five people. It was a sales failure and was beaten by its rival, the Cadillac Escalade EXT, which we will get to later. A Second Try At A Lincoln Truck: The Lincoln Mark LT A Much Safer Approach Lincoln The Mark LT was an attempt to right the wrong that was the Blackwood, and while a bit more successful, was also ultimately a failure. It was much more of a conventual truck, being a lot closer to the eleventh-generation Ford F-150 on which it was based. By this time, Ford had figured out the formula for a luxury truck, selling the King Ranch and Harley-Davidson F-150s with great success. It had also seen the success of the Escalade EXT, and wanted to capitalize on the market. Launching in model year 2005, the Mark LT was set to be everything the Blackwood wasn't, while making a profit. Lincoln Mark LT Exterior Bring A Trailer The Mark LT was a more traditional design compared to the wildness of the Blackwood. It got more chrome, and a bigger Lincoln grille and taillights. Again, it was only sold in the four-door body style with either a short or long bed, but critically used a normal bed design. No wild bed cover or barn doors here; it was basically an F-150 plus. Lincoln Mark LT Interior Lincoln The Mark LT was very similar to the higher-trim F-150s, with a better choice of interior colors and a bit more chrome. Again, Lincoln made a big deal of its new-for-2007 satellite navigation system. In 2008, an optional backup camera became available and the Mark LT gained more colors inside and out, but other than that, the Mark LT was very similar to the F-150. Lincoln Mark LT Powertrain LincolnPowering the Mark LT was the same powertrain as the F-150 of the day. The 5.4L Triton V8 made 300 hp and was paired to a four-speed automatic. It now came with the choice of either two- or four-wheel drive, making it more capable than the Blackwood. Why Did The Mark LT Fail? Lincoln The Mark LT was a lot more successful than the Blackwood, but that wasn't difficult to do. The Cadillac Escalade EXT was more popular than Lincoln's offering yet again, and the Mark LT was hit with the double whammy of the 2008 financial crisis that would lead to the end of the Lincoln truck for good. There hasn't been one since, with Ford instead creating the F-150 Platinum in 2009, usurping the Mark LT's whole selling point even if it was to continue. The Mark LT did find success in Mexico, where it sold into a second generation until 2014. Lincoln Truck Rivals: The Cadillac Escalade EXT General Motors Got It Right, But The Market Wasn't There Cadillac Lincoln wasn't the only company to create a luxury truck during these times. Cadillac piggybacked on development of the Chevrolet Avalanche to create its own luxury truck. Unlike the Blackwood, it was still a very capable truck, and also used the desirable name of the Escalade. It was a more successful product than the Blackwood, selling over four times the number of Blackwoods in its first full year of sales in 2002. It was also in pop culture, featuring in The Matrix Reloaded and in countless music videos of the time. The "Caddy Truck" wasn't all show and no go. It was a better truck than the Blackwood, with a functional bed that could even be extended into the cabin using "Convert-a-Cab," which allowed a fold-down door into the rear seats.Cadillac The Escalade EXT got a second generation in 2007, and was projected to sell well, but the 2008 financial crisis came knocking and killed sales. It was still a more popular luxury truck than Lincolns attempts, but the EXT was a drop in the bucket in terms of Escalade sales as a whole, and even smaller when compared with most General Motors truck models. It has now got a cult following, especially early models, as they have turned out to be luxurious, reliable, and strong haulers. It was canceled in 2013. What Did We Learn From The Luxury Truck Fad? People Want The Features Without The Flash Cadillac Both Ford and General Motors learned the hard way that while people say they want a luxury truck, they don't want the luxury badge that comes with it. A Cadillac or Lincoln badge is not a very humble or workman-like badge to have at a job site. The buyers who want these trucks want the blue-collar names of the F-150, Ram 1500, or Silverado. All these brands pivoted to making expensive versions of regular models. Ford now has the Platinum, General Motors has the GMC Sierra Denali, and Ram the Tungsten. These are all $80,000 to $90,000 price point trucks that have become big hits. There has been no talk of the big three ever creating another luxury branded truck.Sources: Ford, Lincoln, Cheverlot, Cadilac