#11. Lincoln Blackwood – Lincoln Knows Best!
Source: Flickr
Luxury SUVs and high-end trucks have become a real part of the landscape of today’s cars. But when Lincoln came up with the Blackwood, they didn’t get the reality of it right at all!
What Lincoln Was Thinking
Lincoln wanted to get in on the luxury pickup truck market. Alright, in theory, that’s something a car company might think about. They could take a standard Ford Pickup and trick it out to get people who love pickups but want to flash the Lincoln badge.
Lincoln made the concept car and it was interesting. It was all black, except it had extensive pinstriping. The Pinstriping was meant to invoke images of wall street investment banker suits. Seriously. The back of the pickup only worked in trunk form. The theory was any cargo would be valuable and need to be protected. So the bed had a lift up top and dual opening doors.
Lincoln executives believed they had built a perfect concept car. So when it went into production, that was the only possible way you could buy it.
What the Public Thought
Source: Flickr
The public wasn’t completely averse to the idea. The concept was a little bit conceited, but it had some interesting features at least. The interior was tricked out with gadgets and future trucks would follow that trend.
However here’s the thing. Lincoln didn’t take the concept and turn it into reality. They produced the exact pretentious concept car. Every Blackwood was pinstriping their way along the highway. The Blackwood didn’t have options. It came in one trim color. It came with one layer of options. There was no way to customize it so that it was a useful vehicle for people!
Unsurprisingly, the public didn’t buy many of them. Lincoln sold about 20% of their projections and discounted it only months after releasing it.
