New Lincoln Aviator
DEARBORN, Mich. — Lincoln's new Aviator SUV, which will arrive next year as a 2007 model, will use a six-speed automatic transmission and Ford's new 245-hp, 3.5-liter V6 engine.
Ford will use the new power plant on several other vehicles, including the Ford Five Hundred (the car's current 203-hp V6 is underpowered) and Mercury Montego sedans, plus two forthcoming Lincoln sedans, code-named D385 and E386. The D385, which will arrive in 2007 on Ford's D3 platform, will replace Lincoln's lame-duck LS sedan; E386 will be the flagship Lincoln, riding on a long-wheelbase version of D3 and arriving in 2008.
Supplier sources say the V6 is also likely to appear on two forthcoming crossovers, known as D471 and D472. The former is a Ford, which is likely to be called "Freestyle" and to take the place of traditional minivans in Ford's lineup; D472 is a Lincoln version of the vehicle.
In several cases — for instance, those of the two new Lincoln sedans and the D471 and 472 crossovers — Ford is likely to pair the 3.5-liter V6 with an optional 4.4-liter V8. A Ford spokesman said this unit is based on the Yamaha engine in Volvo's XC90 SUV rather than Jaguar's similar-sized V8.
Supplier sources say Ford wants to build this engine at its factory in Lima, Ohio. Ford needs V8s for its larger vehicles coming off the D3 platform, and building them in high volumes in America would make them affordable.
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this one is another nasty moon rover
