[Autohome car series history] As the car of the former president of the United States, the Lincoln automobile brand is naturally famous for its titles such as luxury and atmosphere. When the SUV model appeared in the United States, it immediately won the love of most people, and everyone chose this tall and practical car. As the first SUV model in the Lincoln brand, the Navigator quickly occupied half of the US full-size SUV market with many advantages such as high comfort, large interior space, strong power, and the ability to "work". When competing with another luxury car brand in the United States, Cadillac’s Escalade, the Navigator finally had a slightly better sales result. Now let’s take a look at the development history of the third generation of the Lincoln Navigator.
Lincoln’s relationship with Ford
As early as 1920, Lincoln brand’s first car, Model L, came out. Although this car was very advanced that year, due to the general economic recession in the country after World War I, the minimum price of Lincoln Model L was 16 times that of Ford Model T. Coupled with the long production cycle, the sales of Model L cars were very bad. In addition to monthly losses, Lincoln was also found to be in arrears in taxes. Finally, in 1921, founder Henry Leland declared Lincoln Motor Company bankrupt and auctioned it off. After the news broke, Edsel Ford, the son of Ford Motor founder Henry Ford, persuaded his father to buy Lincoln Motor Company. Later, the acquired Lincoln car was operated by Edsel.
Origin of the Navigator
Although the Navigator is Lincoln’s first SUV model, it is not actually a brand new model. The Lincoln Navigator is based on the Ford Expedition. The Conqueror uses a 5.4L V8 SOHC naturally aspirated gasoline engine with a maximum power of 233 horsepower. The maximum torque is 441 Nm, and it is matched with a 4-speed automatic transmission. Although the two cars are still relatively similar in appearance, the luxury temperament of the Navigator is more obvious than that of the Conqueror.
The first generation of navigators was codenamed UN173 (1997-2002).
The first generation of the Lincoln Navigator began production on May 14, 1997 and went on sale in August of the same year. The Navigator was the first SUV model under the Lincoln Motor brand and Lincoln’s first four-wheel drive vehicle. The first Navigator shared the platform with the Ford Conqueror at that time, but the Navigator interior was more luxurious and the configuration function was more complete. In order to meet the needs of the American people, the Navigator has a certain loading and towing capacity, and can seat up to 8 people. In the first year of sales, although the Navigator cost more than 42,000 US dollars, which was much higher than the highest price of the Ford Conqueror in the same period of time, which was about 34,000 US dollars, it still sold about 44,000 units. The competitors at that time included Cadillac Escalade, GMC’s Yukon Denali, and Lexus LX.
Although the Navigator is based on the Ford Conqueror, there are still obvious differences between the two cars. Compared with the Conqueror, the Navigator has a chrome-plated waterfall front air intake grille, a unique engine cover, different roof racks, and chrome door handles. Only the overall design and layout of the center console are almost the same as the Conqueror. Other details, such as solid wood decoration, interior carpets, sound insulation materials, etc., far exceed the Ford Conqueror.
In the late 1990s, some advanced comfort features such as automatic air conditioning, automatic headlights, and a multi-functional solid wood leather steering wheel were already equipped on the first generation of the Navigator. In addition to being synonymous with luxury and comfort, the Navigator is not just a "vase". The four-wheel drive system of the car is developed with rear drive, using Ford Motor Company’s ControlTrac four-wheel drive system. There are four options: two-wheel drive high speed, four-wheel drive high speed, four-wheel drive low speed and automatic. In order to meet the daily needs of the American people, the Navigator also has a towing capacity of 3,500 kilograms, such as horses, boats, and even RVs.
In terms of safety configuration, there are anti-lock brakes (ABS), front and side airbags. In other aspects, the configuration of the Navigator is still very rich, and the high-end models can also be equipped with 7 speakers and 6 discs of high-end audio, front double side airbags, garage opening function, 17-inch wheels, etc. Unlike the Conqueror, the Navigator is equipped with pneumatic suspension in order to make the Navigator have better ride comfort. However, due to its certain loading and towing capacity, the Navigator adopts the form of front independent suspension and rear non-independent suspension. In addition, some American civilian modification factories also cut the Navigator and rebuilt it to lengthen it. The modified and lengthened models are generally used in casino VIP vehicles.
The 1999 Navigator was equipped with an electric brake pedal and gas pedal, as well as 17-inch wheels. In the 2000 Navigator, the higher-end model added a satellite navigation system, front seat heating and ventilation, as well as reversing radar and side crash airbags. The 2001 model saw a rear entertainment system. Finally, in 2002, Lincoln began planning for the next generation of Navigator.
In 1999, the Navigator was replaced with a 5.4L V8 DOHC naturally aspirated engine, which increased the maximum power to 304 horsepower and the maximum torque to 481 Nm. The 100-kilometer acceleration time was increased from 11.9 seconds to 9.6 seconds, and the towing capacity was increased to 3900 kilograms.
In 1998, the first year that the Navigator began selling, Cadillac, a General Motors brand, deliberately fabricated sales numbers in order to compete for the annual sales championship in 1998. Cadillac advertised that it sold more than Lincoln, but after the problem was later found, Cadillac said that the internal audit showed that the December sales figures were "overestimated" by 4,773 vehicles. Finally, after the real data was revised, the total sales of Lincoln were 187,121, and Cadillac was 182,570.
In addition to the embarrassment of Cadillac publicly admitting its mistakes, its second-place ranking in luxury car sales has also tarnished General Motors’ image, especially when the auto industry’s sales are at an all-time high, but GM’s sales have not reached a peak.
