The naysayers are sharpening their tongues already:  Lincoln is building a pickup truck.  A fifty-thousand dollar pickup truck.  It’s absurd.  It’s foolish.  It’s nothing but an attempt to make more money.

The only problem, really, is that they’re trying to call the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood a pickup truck at all.  Actually, Lincoln is calling it an Ultimate Utility Vehicle, like the Chevrolet Avalanche.  But that’s not what it is.  Yes, it’s got the underpinnings of a Ford F-Series under there, and it’s got a bed instead of a trunk, but the Blackwood is more automotive haute couture like the Chrysler Prowler and Volkswagen New Beetle than it is a pickup truck, or a Ultimate Utility Vehicle.  No, it doesn’t make any sense.  It’s not supposed to.  It’s a fashion statement.  And as a curbside badge of individuality, it’s pretty good.  Lincoln plans to build less than ten thousand of them, so if the big, black beast that the wags are calling the “Town Truck” appeals to you, you’d better act fast.

Like the Prowler and New Beetle, the Blackwood was born from an auto show concept vehicle.  Essentially it’s the mating of a Lincoln Navigator SUV and a crew cab pickup truck.  A black woodgrain applique with chrome accents lines the sides of the short bed, faintly reminiscent of an antique powerboat.  The show-truck styling looks good on the street, too.  It has less visual bulk than the Navigator, with whom it shares front-end sheetmetal and 18″ wheels.  A raised ridge starts where the hood meets the Lincoln logo at the top of the grille, and the line is carried handsomely through to the tonneau cover at the rear.  The chopped-off rear end adds to the Blackwood’s low stance.

The rounded-off bed has a permanently attached rigid tonneau cover, power operated by a switch on the key fob or the console.  Instead of a tailgate, it has side-hinged Dutch doors which allow users to get closer to the cargo area, which is lined in carpet and stainless steel with street-rod style recessed lighting.  Small storage boxes line the sides, and a slide-in luggage carrier is also available.  Think of it as more of a 26.5 cubic-foot trunk than a pickup bed.  It looks gorgeous; the only downside is that fifth-wheel trailer towers won’t be able to take advantage of the 8700-lb towing capacity.  The Blackwood looks best in black, and that’s the only color it’s offered in.

Inside, four passengers ride on tall, comfortable chairs swathed in black Connolly leather and, naturally, black wood.  Similar to that of the Harley-Davidson F-150, the interior features deep, leather-topped consoles for front and rear seat passengers.  It’s loaded to the gills, as befits its luxury nature; heated and coole front seats, adjustable pedals, a comprehensive overhead console, and a seven-speaker Alpine sound system with a subwoofer and six-CD changer help to make the Blackwood less of a truck.  The available navigation system’s five-inch screen is too small and mounted too low to be of much help, though.  Okay, so it’s not tremendously practical (the interior can’t be reconfigured to carry more passengers or cargo) but it’s not supposed to be.

The Blackwood shares the Navigator’s 5.4 liter 32-valve V8.  300 horsepower is plenty for the big truck, which despite its size feels more eager on the road than the portly Navigator does.  There’s just a hint of burble from the exhaust pipes; the Blackwood is subtle about its show-off status.  The four-speed automatic transmission is the only one offered, and the Blackwood features a built-in Class III/IV trailer hitch.

Back-to-back drives show that the Blackwood rides much better than the Navigator.  It’s less ponderous over the road; the pickup truck DNA is buried well with variable-rate shocks and low-profile tires designed specifically for the Blackwood.   A load-leveling rear suspension seems superfluous, considering the unlikeliehood of a Blackwood ever carrying a seriously heavy load, but a combination of leaf and air springs in the back does keep truckish behavior to a minimum.  The Blackwood will serve very well as a four-person road trip truck.  Four-wheel ABS with brake force distribution (a system common on luxury cars, which electronically monitors traction and modulates braking power from the front to the rear)  is standard, as is a limited-slip rear differential.

Naturally, the real earth-shattering kaboom comes with the sticker price.  Although it’s a bit less dear than the average boutique car, $52,500 is nothing to sneeze at.  Of course, everything is standard; the heated/cooled seats, moonroof, leather interior, upgraded sound system, and all the other great stuff you’ve come to expect from a Lincoln.  The only available option is the navigation system, which tacks another two grand onto the baseline.  The good news is that the Blackwood has the spirit and presence to justify its price.  The Lincoln Navigator has a soulless, almost cynical feel to it, as if its existence can be traced to a marketing manager’s decision to make some money off of this “truck thing.”  Somehow, the almost identical Blackwood doesn’t leave that impression.  Useless pickup truck or not, it’s cool.

Specifications:
All specs are for the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood, which we tested.
Length:     220 in.
Width:        78 in.
Height:        72,8 in.
Wheelbase:    138.5 in.
Curb weight:    5580 lb.
Cargo space:    26.5 cu.ft.
Base price:    $52,500
Price as tested: $55,000 (est.)
Engine:     5.4 liter DOHC 32-valve V8
Drivetrain:     four-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Horsepower:     300 @ 5000
Torque:     355 @ 2750
Fuel capacity:    25 gal.