2006 Lincoln Zephyr Road Test

It looks very good from all angles, and very distinctive considering the number of cars that share its general chassis architecture and

It looks very good from all angles, and very distinctive considering the number of cars that share its general chassis architecture and many of its components.  (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

many of its components. With this in mind, parent Ford has found a good thing and it's going to make the most of it. At least that's what it seems like when looking from the outside in, at an automaker optimizing its resources to create the best possible line of products for the most affordable price range. It's doing so with the new Ford Fusion, which borrows heavily from Mazda6, a car that has long pulled many drivetrain components from Ford, and is now continuing the process with the new Lincoln Zephyr.

This component and platform sharing is hardly new, and hardly exclusive to Ford

From the outside, very few visual links can be made from Fusion to Zephyr.  (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

or any other domestic automakers, for that matter. Lexus creates its ES 330 from the general architecture of a Toyota Camry, Acura's TL is derived from Honda Accord roots, and the list goes on. Even Lincoln's previous Continental sat on the backbone of the old Taurus, yet was a very different car on a very different mission.

The same can be said of the new Zephyr, but possibly the ties between platform-mates are even less obvious. From the outside, very few visual links can be made from Fusion to Zephyr. Instead, the Zephyr sports styling reminiscent of Lincolns of days gone by. While not retro by any sense of the imagination, there are cues, especially the horizontal shape of its traditional waterfall grille, and the rectangular taillights sandwiching a classic crease in the trunk lid, which frames the Lincoln badge, that stir up memories of the '61 Continental, for one.