LOS ANGELES, Jan 3., 2002 – The 2003 Lincoln Aviator – one of three new Lincoln vehicles that will be available this summer – will be unveiled at the 2002 New York Auto Show.

The other new Lincolns are the 2003 Town Car, which was unveiled in November 2001, and the 2003 Navigator, which was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show today.

The all-new 2003 Lincoln Aviator will be a sport utility vehicle built on a 113.7-inch wheelbase with flexible seating for up to seven adults. It will have an advanced dual overhead cam, four-valve V-8 engine, a sophisticated four-wheel independent suspension and available all-wheel drive. It also will be an ultra-low emissions (ULEV) vehicle.

“Our near-term strategy is set: invest in the Town Car to retain our loyal customers, refine the Navigator and LS to sustain momentum with our new customers and nourish the brand with new products like Aviator in growth segments,” says Richard Beattie, Lincoln Mercury vice president of sales, marketing and service.

Lincoln’s newest products like Navigator and LS, and its traditional offerings like Town Car, are complimentary. Town Car customers are extremely loyal – almost 60 percent are repeat buyers; 65 percent of them say they don’t even consider another vehicle. By contrast, nearly 70 percent of LS customers and 60 percent of Navigator customers are new to the Lincoln brand. The median age for a Navigator 4x4 customer is 50 years. It is 53 years for LS and 70 years for Town Car. Additional information on the 2003 Lincoln Aviator, including photography, features and options and technical specifications, will be released at the New York Auto Show in late March. Pricing for the Aviator, and all 2003 Lincolns, will be released closer to launch.