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A Lincoln truck!

They must be strapping on the skates in Hades.

Lincoln has had a truck-like vehicle before, the Lincoln Navigator. The sport-utility vehicle built off the full-size Ford F-Series pickup platform bowed in the 1998 model year.

But it looked like a sport-ute, not a pickup. The 2002 Lincoln Blackwood arriving in showrooms now, is a no-doubt-about-it, card-carrying-member of the pick’emup family–complete with the bed or cargo box hanging from the rear.

Al Kammerer, Lincoln vehicle line director, insists that though the abbreviated 4-foot, 8-inch bed resembles that on a pickup, Blackwood is “a sport-ute with a funky trunk” because the bed is enclosed with a power top. And if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck? Just don’t ask Kammerer whether it’s a duck.

“It’s a vehicle for those who want to stand out from the crowd and who don’t want to be in much of a crowd themselves,” Kammerer adds.

Blackwood, which began as a concept vehicle unveiled to a handful of media behind closed doors in Las Vegas in 1999, is a crossover that combines the front end of the full-size Navigator four-door SUV and the back end of the Ford F-150.

Whatever, the ’02 Blackwood we tested in and around the coastal countryside here is a multipurpose machine for those who need an SUV and a truck, but prefer one vehicle. And, it’s cute.

Blackwood, as the name implies, comes in any color as long as it’s black. But, with apologies to Kammerer and his insistence on calling it a trunk, the bed is ringed with simulated gray wood grain, which is a plastic laminate photo of woodgrain panels. Neat.

The bed comes with a power-operated composite plastic top. Push the button on the key fob or in the overhead console in the cabin, and the top motors up or down.

If left out at night, the power top raises to shed any snow covering in the morning but it can lift only 200 pounds of snow. More than that you have to brush off on your own.

Borrowing an idea that DaimlerChrysler offers in its 2001 minivans, sensors in Blackwood’s power top detect when hand, arm or body are in the way and the top stops and retracts upon contact. Kammerer said the stop-and-retract sensors are planned for other Ford Motor Co. vehicles soon.

Once the top is up, the bed also can be accessed by opening either or both of the swing-out Dutch doors. A stand-up nylon storage box holds such items in place as groceries, jumper cables or sports gear. When not needed, the box folds flat against the floor.

The floor is carpeted and sidewalls are lined with rubber strips to protect cargo. LED strips are imbedded in each sidewall to light the bed up so you don’t have to search for items. Should you need more stowage capacity, small bins are built into the top of each sidewall as well as into the backs of each of those Dutch doors. But unlike the sidewall storage bins in the Chevrolet Avalanche SUV/truck (Transportation, June 3), these aren’t li ned with rubberized plastic so you can fill them with ice and use them as coolers. The spacious cabin could hold six adults, but seats only four in keeping with the vehicle’s “luxury indulgence” theme, Kammerer said.

Massive center consoles front and rear sport holders for cups/tissue, sandwich trays and power plugs. Word of advice: Find a non-skid pad to cover the rear console because the leather surface makes it a slippery armrest. The rear seats slide forward and fold for even more cargo room, but even with headrests removed, the seat backs don’t fold flat. Lincoln considered a midgate like General Motors offers in Avalanche in which the rear cabin wall folds flat to extend the cargo bed into the cabin.

“But that’s not the image we wanted with Blackwood,” Kammerer said. “If the Lincoln owner needs to carry lumber, he or she has another vehicle at home to do it.”

Blackwood is powered by Ford’s 5.4-liter, 300-horsepower V-8 rated at 12 m.p.g. city/17 m.p.g. highway It’s quiet yet responsive. Plenty of power, but not plenty of mileage. It will tow up to 8,700 pounds. The suspension has been tuned, officials boast, so Blackwood “rides like a Lincoln, handles like a sports car.” Navigator has smoother ride than Blackwood, but Blackwood handles better than Navigator with less lean or sway in corners. But a Lincoln sports car? Nope, a Lincoln truck.

Inside, Blackwood is loaded with amenities, such as power adjustable gas/brake pedals that motor to you so you don’t have to power the seat close to the wheel; a climate-controlled driver’s seat that can be heated or cooled (we quickly found the cooled seat works wonders in many hours of driving through the warm California countryside); power moonroof for open-air motoring; and reverse-sensing system with visual/audible warnings when approaching an object while backing up.

Reverse sensing is a must because the enclosed truck bed stands tall, interfering with adequate sight lines when backing up. Cadillac will counter Blackwood with the Escalade EXT in January, basically an Escalade SUV with an enclosed bed. EXT also will have that reverse sensor system, though it won’t have a power bed top. Other standard items included in Blackwood’s $51,785 base price are four-wheel anti-lock brakes; traction control; heated outside power mirrors; memory seats/mirrors; Homelink garage-door opener; trailer hitch; front (reduced deployment speed) and side-impact air bags; and 18-inch, all-season radial tires.

A navigation system is the only option at $1,995. Items under consideration include a heater/cooler in front or rear console to cool soft drinks or warm sandwiches; a video screen that drops down from the roof; and like Avalanche, a beverage cooler in the truck sidewall.

Drawbacks? Absolutely. Kammerer said Blackwood will be offered as a two-wheel-drive model only (Escalade EXT as an all-wheel-drive model only) because it sits 3 inches lower than a Navigator and “isn’t meant for off-roading.” Don’t expect those in the Snow Belt to rush out for a 2WD truck, though Kammerer insists Blackwood will be a second or third vehicle, so Snow-Belt buyers will have a foul-weather machine in their stable. But don’t rule out a 4WD Blackwood, because Lincoln will add a “baby Navigator” version of the Mercury Mountaineer sport-ute in the summer of ’02.

When asked whether the baby Navigator will spawn a baby Blackwood, Kammerer broke into a wide grin before stating: “No comment.”

Blackwood output will be limited to 10,000 units annually, Kammerer said, “because we want it to be an exclusive icon of the Lincoln line.”