I’ve long been a huge fan of the Lincoln brand. Lincoln’s heritage is the quintessential American luxury brand. This heritage goes all the way back to Henry Leland who also founded Cadillac.
Lincoln and Ford have also been dear to me. I’ve also owned other Ford family products. My ownership spans from several vehicles. I have owned; Topaz, Bronco, Sable, Taurus’s even a Lincoln Continental. Of course my fabled Ford Expedition. Getting an opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Lincoln Navigator, Black Label was such a delight. The last time I drove a Lincoln Navigator, I had an opportunity to hang out with uber hip-hop venture capitalists and investor, Chamillionaire. This was right before the dawn of the release of his Grammy-winning hit single Ridin.
The other time I got a chance to drive a Lincoln was six years ago. I and my son were in Silicon Valley as part of the Thiel Foundation’s network of tech startups and entrepreneurs. I actually had an excellent opportunity to drive a Lincoln MKZ Hybrid from Silicon Valley all the way to LA. Writing about Lincoln’s for me is nothing new, in 2004 my first exclusive automotive executive interview was with then Ford Motor Company Global Design Chief J Mays.
He spoke about his work designing great vehicles like the Lincoln Mark LT. Magic Johnson will also serve as a spoke person for the Mark LT and we did a feature on executive Jeanine White.
I digress with our storied history with Lincoln and tell you my experience with the Navigator Black Label. For starters, it did not disappoint.
Getting behind the Lincoln Navigator Black label, you feel the decadence and appreciate the opulence.
The incredible fit and finish for me took the cake. I loved the walnut wood treatment, the panoramic roof, the 360 camera, and the 12 inch LCD.
I especially loved the Revel sound system. I was able to test the quality of the sound with my song Paradise which I wrote with the Carnegie Mellon music department.
The Revel ultimate 20 speaker sound system has quite the power and was rich in fidelity. I was able to hear the rich textures of the melody. I also love the new digital clusters and the push button for reverse, park, neutral, and drive. It also comes with Android audio and Apple CarPlay integration.
The Black Label seats seven adults in luxury. This vehicle also has mobile startup capability, so you could start it using your mobile phone as a key. The heads up display has great visual clarity. There is also a 4G modem for Wi-Fi available in the car. It also has a hands-free liftgate.
Power comes from a 3.5 liter V6 that makes 450 HP and 510 lb-ft of torque. It comes with a 10-speed automatic transmission that gets 21 miles per gallon on the highway. It also has a towing capacity of 8700 lbs. I had a chance to drive the Lincoln Navigator from Western Maryland around Hagerstown all the way to Eastern Maryland around Cambridge.
It was a rich trip spiritually especially with so much chaos going on in the country at the time. Driving the navigator helped me clear my mind and find some semblance of balance. I was able to repurpose myself to things I’m doing in the community. In particular, I am helping train future employees. Maybe some might work for companies like Ford Motor Company. Who knows they might design and engineer the Navigator of the future. The base price on the Navigator Black Label is $95,770.
With few options like wireless charging, the delivered price was $98,485. For more information visit lincoln.com.