Lincoln Design Team Brings the Luxury of Contemporary Home Design to the Road

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NEW YORK, Feb. 22 -- Lincoln, known for design-conscious luxury vehicles such as the award-winning Lincoln MKZ sedan, Lincoln MKX crossover and Navigator, will showcase its 2009 Lincoln MKS sedan and the Lincoln MKT utility concept at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show on New York's Pier 94 off of 55th Street. The precision-crafted interiors of these vehicles are inspired by the latest home design trends.

  

  Star Designers of the Lincoln Design Studio

Featured at the event are Lincoln Chief Designer Gordon Platto and three gifted up-and-coming female designers who led the development of the popular Lincoln MKT Concept. They will join the artists and interior designers who inspired their work while at the Lincoln Design Studio pushing the value of "auto chick power." The design team of Joann Jung (31), Amy Kim (26) and Jennifer Hewlett (27) are helping define a new breed of Lincoln vehicles.

"We are making great progress in the development of a consistent new Lincoln design language, one that draws on the best of Lincoln's history, but also is influenced by the latest trends in interior design and architecture," said Gordon Platto, Lincoln chief designer. "Like so many of the artists featured at the Architectural Digest show, Lincoln is offering responsible luxury, class-leading features and high-end designs with low environmental impact."

Lincoln features interiors inspired by the latest trends in contemporary home design and founded in the belief that automobiles have become "the fourth space," as people are spending significant amounts of time in their vehicles. First space refers to the home. Second space refers to the workplace. The third space is a leisure location such as a cafe and, in turn, the vehicle has become the fourth space.

"The new Lincoln vehicles clearly blend the best elements of architecture, craftsmanship, interior design and fashion design," said Giulio Capula, vice president and publisher, Architectural Digest.

Lincoln MKT Concept Brings the Beauty of Home into the Automobile

The new Lincoln MKT Concept, unveiled in January at the North American International Auto Show, brings the driver and passengers even closer to home by including many of the same features as the Lincoln MKS. In addition, it offers appointments such as four executive-sized, first-class chairs with rear seat footrests, soothing tone-on-colors, ambient lighting and flexible storage.

Designer Jennifer Hewlett added a plush, hand-knotted rug made from banana silk covering the floor and complementing the contrasting Creamy Pearl chromium-free leather seats, while Amy Kim, in charge of the elegant metalwork, contributed sculpted door handles with sparkling, curved dimples reminiscent of beadwork.

Joann Jung was responsible for the instrument panel and crystal-inspired center consol that runs the entire length of the vehicle to create a feeling of continuity between the upper and lower portion of the cabin, as if all the occupants of the cabin were sitting together in a living room. A patented solid-state lighting technology allows first-ever 3-D projection on a contoured surface and displays information using intuitive shapes and spaces on the center stack.

About the new MKT Concept's innovative interior, Jung said, "It's very personal to me. It's like opening my own room to the public. But I want to share it."

2009 Lincoln MKS Adds Natural Luxury to the "Fourth Space"

The new Lincoln MKS (on sale summer 2008) features an available high-contrast, two-tone color scheme in which dark carpeting anchors the interior, while the seats, lower instrument panel and doors are wrapped in light cashmere. The top of the instrument panel is hand-wrapped in leatherette finished with an intricate deck seam, a technique normally reserved for show and custom cars. The interior is crafted using real metal and woods; the Fine Line Ebony trim, available in Charcoal Black and Olive Ash -- a distinctive grain formed when the roots of two trees grow together -- is manufactured from reclaimed woods delivering premium quality with minimal environmental impact, and 100 percent natural. Recyclable leather seating is tanned using a special organic, chromium-free method to create the softest, most comfortable leather ever to grace a Lincoln. A power rear sunshade and a panoramic, dual-panel moon roof inspired by urban loft windows allow drivers and passengers as much, or as little, view as they like.

Both Vehicles Offer the Best of Home Technology

With the home entertainment center in mind, Lincoln has integrated technological innovations such as SYNC, the company's voice-activated, hands-free, in-car communication and entertainment system. Pressing "push to talk" enables cell phone calling and music selection.

The THX(R) II Audio System delivers true 5.1 surround sound from DVD movies and DVD-audio music, in addition to up-mixing stereo CDs to present a rich experience. A wide range of innovations also are available; the full list can be viewed at http://www.lincoln.com/. A full list of amenities, genuine materials and infotainment technology available in the Lincoln MKS and MKT Concept is available to the media at http://www.media.ford.com/.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit http://www.fordvehicles.com/.