http://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/07/l...-v8-after-all/

 

Thanks Zoran!

In my opinion, with only 315hp why bother with a V8. Seems 350hp would have been the target with a V8.

 

No prob.

I don't think 315 hp is a low number for V8. After all, its more than Mustang GT have.

 

315 sounds like a good starting point to me.

 

First of all, nice avatar Jason

And I like the idea of a 315hp V8 in the MKS. Anyone think it will be related to the new Boss motors? Or do you think it's gonna be a mod motor?

 

I don't see a mod motor in this car. I would say this engine will be a member of this Lima family of engines. It's going to need to be something smooth and silky in this application. I don't exactly view the modular v-8s as marvels of smooth, vibrationless operation. They work well we all know, I just don't see them on duty in a top of the line luxury car like this. The other thing we need to keep in mind (for all those immediately jumping on the "its not enough horsepower" bandwagon) is that I'm very sure this car will be less money than some of the competition that was mentioned in the blog. Some of the cars mentioned there are well north of $50K. This may be a nice alternative to that kind of sticker shock. We'll just have to see. If it comes in north of $50k, then the bandwagoners will be right. If it comes in $42-$46k, it will be a decent alternative.

 

I'm pretty sure the 315hp V8 they've always been talking about for the MKS is the 4.4L Yamaha V8 found in the XC90 and the new S80. That autoblog article has been updated, pointing out that a dealer commented, saying he got that info but it was dated April 2006. Could be a false alarm.

 

It looks like they have now updated the orginal story.

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/07/l...-v8-after-all/

 

315 would be good now...its better then the 303hp that the GM sedans have...and those are front wheel drive...this thing would walk all over those having AWD.

 

It is a sad day when a Lincoln Sedan gets compared to a GM sedan . . . .

 

i was just comparing to another V8 powered sedan...i am not sure what V8 cars.

But Cadillac is GM sedans too. but i think their lowest powered V8 is 320hp but i could be wrong.

 

As someone over on Autoblog said >>

Again, still bringing up the rear. Who is this car competing against? By it's position and content list, it would seem to be the V8 cars mentioned in the quote above. Yet it falls way short in the power department.

 

I guess that depends on the pricing. The cheapest car in that group (A6 4.2) is $55K. If the MKS is priced such that it offers a V8 (and other lux content) at the same price point as the others 6 cylinder offerings, then it's a good deal. If they price at the same level as the A6 4.2 or higher, then I would raise the same question you have concerning the MKS.

Of course it's moot since the statement regarding the V8 has been rescinded.

 

Here we go again.

Update: The information Ford posted this week on its dealer website was outdated. Ford has removed references to a V8 from the marketing material. A V8 MKS will not be offered. Original story continues…

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/11/...r-lincoln-mks/

 

Although we, in this forum, tend to focus alot on power output. I'm not convinced the automakers in this class of sedans are. I recently participated in two paid automotive surveys in the Atlanta area (with another scheduled for sunday). None of the cars in the survey have been released yet. They were all sedans in this class. Any indentifiable logos had been removed. Black cloth was used to further disguise a quarterpanel or frontend on some of the cars. We were asked to sit in the cars, play with the controls, and provide feedback. The questions were detailed and numerous and focused on almost every area of the car. None focused on power. Image was the main concern. Many of the questions were trying to determine if the consumer has a favorable bias towards certain automakers (european brands, and lexus, etc.). If so, would the consumer consider an alternative on appearance alone--kind of like "Could you see yourself driving this car?".

IMO, the majority of consumers are satisified with 260HP and aren't willing to pay for a higher output engine in their sedan.

 

Interesting.

Though I'm not sure if there is such a thing as a "majority of customers," given the sheer number of vehicles, categories and subcategories out there these days. Once you get past a certain price point (beyond the cost of an "appliance"), I think people are quite particular about what they want...power included.

Now whether anyone actually NEEDS more than 200 HP, that's another question.