2004 Detroit Auto Show: Ford to Introduce Lincoln Pickup Truck

DETROIT January 4, 2004; Ford Motor Co. plans to introduce yet another Lincoln pickup truck, called the Mark LT, despite the failure of its earlier upscale pickup attempt.

Darryl Hazel, president of Lincoln Mercury, said the 2006 Lincoln pickup will be introduced at the North American International Auto Show Monday.

The company's first attempt at a Lincoln pickup failed miserably. The $52,000 pickup truck came with a covered and carpeted back bed. The company expected to sell 10,000 Blackwoods when the truck was introduced in 2002, but only around 3, 500 when it killed the idea in November 2002.

This time around, though, Lincoln officials swear they've got the recipe right. In an interview in December, John Fitzpatrick, Lincoln Mercury's general marketing manager, said the company underestimated how much its upscale clients planned to utilize the pickup. Since the Blackwood's demise, dealers have been asking the company to come up with another option, he said.

"Our dealers are extremely confident that if they were given the opportunity, the could sell a Lincoln pickup truck," he said.