limousines

Goodbye Lincoln Town Car Limo. Hello Lincoln MKT Airport Car.

Ford, the long-time leader in the limousine and "black car" business, is planning to offer two versions of its MKT crossover SUV to livery companies as it readies to phase out its ubiquitous Lincoln Town Car.

Ford is scheduled to close its St. Thomas Ontario plant next year where the Town Car and Ford Crown Victoria have been built. The engineering platforms for those cars date back to the 1970s, though they have been improved since then several times. But Ford deemed it not worth the investment to upgrade the vehicle architectures for 21st century safety and emissions standards.

The automaker is touting the Lincoln MKT as having more headroom and more advanced technology, especially modern telematics: Lincoln My Touch.

The MKT, launched in 2009, has been controversial for its styling, which many critics find hearse-like. Lincoln has sold just 5,701 MKTs in 2010 through September. It is built in Chicago alongside the Ford Taurus, Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS. Livery, or "black car" sals for the MKT could add 20,000 a year.

Tags: Ford, limousines, Lincoln, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln Town Car