Kansas City Plant to build new Lincoln Blackwood

* Blackwood to join other new KC vehicles - a new

smaller SUV, and the F-Series SuperCrew.

* Blackwood is called, "the ultimate utility vehicle,"

offering luxury, convenience and versatility.

* Production of Blackwood begins in late 2000.

Ford Motor Company's Kansas City Assembly Plant has been selected as the

manufacturing site for the new Lincoln Blackwood luxury sport utility vehicle,

slated for production late next year.

The announcement was made prior to the opening of a plant

supplier conference at the Westin Crown Center Hotel by

David Thursfield, vice president, Ford Vehicle Operations

and Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan.

"Kansas City is the logical place to build the new

Lincoln Blackwood, because of our recent retooling for

four-door pickup truck production, its outstanding

workforce, and its dedication to quality," said

Thursfield. "Adding another vehicle to Kansas City

demonstrates Ford manufacturing flexibility - the ability

to build several vehicles on one assembly line. We are

confident that Kansas City Assembly will meet the high

standard of excellence of Lincoln, and Lincoln

customers."

The Lincoln Blackwood concept vehicle was introduced in

December at the Los Angeles Auto Show, with St. Louis

Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire behind the wheel. In

January, because of strong public reaction in favor of

the vehicle, Ford decided to put Blackwood into

production.

Lincoln Blackwood is the ultimate utility vehicle, with

all the comfort of a luxury sedan and the convenience and

versatility of a sport utility vehicle. The four-door,

four- passenger luxury utility is an extension of the

extremely successful Lincoln Navigator, with one

important difference: an enclosed 4-ft., 8-in. box that

serves as a trunk. The Blackwood, like all Ford SUVs and

pickups, will be a low-emission vehicle (LEV), with most

Ford truck lines cleaner than most cars on the road

today.

"The Missouri workforce is the highest skilled and best

in the world," said Governor Carnahan. "We are again

pleased that Ford Motor Company has decided that the

Kansas City Assembly Plant is the place to build another

exciting new vehicle."

In December of this year, Kansas City Assembly will begin

production of the new four-door F-150 SuperCrew - the

first under 8,500-pound gross vehicle weight (GVW) truck

to offer four full-size doors and a full rear-passenger

compartment. Production of the Lincoln Blackwood - also

with four full-size doors -- will begin approximately one

year later.

Lincoln Blackwoods will come off the assembly line and be

driven to a special area of the plant, where components

such as the box, side cladding, consoles, cell phones and

navigation systems will be installed. This same area will

be used to perform a special Blackwood quality

inspection. Inspectors will scrutinize each vehicle for

fit and finish, wind noise and component functionality.

Every Lincoln Blackwood will be road tested.

Additionally, Kansas City Assembly will begin production

of an all-new sport utility vehicle in mid-year 2000. It

will be smaller than the best-selling Ford Explorer, and

will be built on an entirely new platform, with fuel

economy comparable to many family sedans.

The Kansas City Assembly Plant opened in 1951, covers 4.5

million square feet and has 5,200 employees. Today it

builds the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique sedans, as

well as F-Series trucks. During 1998, Kansas City

produced 404,083 cars and trucks - more than any Ford

assembly plant in the world. On an average day, 1,920

cars and trucks roll off the Kansas City Plant's two

assembly lines.

BlueOvalNews.com