2013 MKZ first Lincoln to get massive retractable roof?

[ramford]

This is new and seems awesome. But not ideal if safety is the deal.

[spudz64]

This is new and seems awesome. But not ideal if safety is the deal.

Not so....at the introduction I got to speak to one of the engineers from the development team and he told me how safety was a concern and how they used special safety glass for the huge roof, so even in a rollover it will keep its form and stay together to contain its occupants. He went on to say how the first time they tested it they dropped a huge steel ball (like fist sized) from a few stories on it and the ball bounded clean off and didn't break it!

[LincolnFanFl]

If they offer the power sunshade for the rear window with it at some point in the future (which they don't on the MY13 - a huge an unnecessary let down, IMO), I'll be ordering it. If not, I'll pick the standard moonroof. In Florida, it makes more sense to have the rear window covered than getting a huge sunroof.

[Iiari]

If they offer the power sunshade for the rear window with it at some point in the future (which they don't on the MY13 - a huge an unnecessary let down, IMO), I'll be ordering it.

How do you know they are not offering it? The "Build your own MKZ" site online has it as a selectable option.

[LincolnFanFl]

How do you know they are not offering it? The "Build your own MKZ" site online has it as a selectable option.

You can't configure an MKZ with the Panoramic Roof AND the Rear Sunshade. The Sunshade is only available with the Single Panel Moonroof.

I assume this is a safety-precaution to assure that the driver is still able to look through the rear window when the pano-roof is open. In that case, I think the designers thought that an additional sunshade would be too much.

I, however, don't follow that logic. If they are able to program the sunshade to go down once you put the car into reverse (and that's exactly how it works on the current MKS and the future MKZ), why arent they able to simply program the same when the driver opens the pano-roof? If the roof is open, the sunshade can't be opened - it's as easy as that - or perhaps not..

[TurboS40]

Would it have been better to just develop a classic folding soft top or modern folding hardtop on the Z sedan? The vehicle could get more attention this way. Anyway.......

It sounds like some quirks still need to be worked out. Of course my idea of a "dial-a-tint" window darken/lighten would be more space-age than an old-fashioned sliding shade. With "dial-a-tint" you can tint all or some of the windows/glass roof depending on where the sun is.

[LincolnFanFl]

It sounds like some quirks still need to be worked out. Of course my idea of a "dial-a-tint" window darken/lighten would be more space-age than an old-fashioned sliding shade. With "dial-a-tint" you can tint all or some of the windows/glass roof depending on where the sun is.

That would certainly have a "WOW"-factor..

Now, if the reason for not being able to get the rear-sunshade with the pano is indeed a safety-issue and the engineers believe that even an "auto-retract" wouldn't be safe enough, I'm asking myself where you draw the line (BTW, even a "dial-a-tint" could be considered a risk if the tint got "stuck" when you open the pano-roof..). The new MKZ can even take over the steering-wheel when parking...now imagine that would happen while driving on the Interstate. ANYTHING can fail - so ultimatively, I think they should offer the screen and the pano-roof with a simple "either/or"-mechanism that prevents the usage of both at the same time. Implementing such a feature certainly isn't difficult and who knows - maybe they are already working on it..

[germeezy1]

That would certainly have a "WOW"-factor..

Now, if the reason for not being able to get the rear-sunshade with the pano is indeed a safety-issue and the engineers believe that even an "auto-retract" wouldn't be safe enough, I'm asking myself where you draw the line (BTW, even a "dial-a-tint" could be considered a risk if the tint got "stuck" when you open the pano-roof..). The new MKZ can even take over the steering-wheel when parking...now imagine that would happen while driving on the Interstate. ANYTHING can fail - so ultimatively, I think they should offer the screen and the pano-roof with a simple "either/or"-mechanism that prevents the usage of both at the same time. Implementing such a feature certainly isn't difficult and who knows - maybe they are already working on it..

Auto retract has been built into the rear sunshades of vehicles for years, and if Chrysler has no problem with it's integration than neither should Ford.

[2b2]

Would it have been better to just develop a classic folding soft top or modern folding hardtop on the Z sedan? The vehicle could get more attention this way. Anyway.......

It sounds like some quirks still need to be worked out. Of course my idea of a "dial-a-tint" window darken/lighten would be more space-age than an old-fashioned sliding shade. With "dial-a-tint" you can tint all or some of the windows/glass roof depending on where the sun is.

I also think the panoramic retractable roof could be better - really don't understand the 100SPF (afaik/iirc the Mustang's non-opening glassroof is only 50SPF) with a shade, as it HAS, don't think much tint is even needed
&
think I'd prefer a 2 panel that would FIT over the rearwindow
&but
*Love* your "dial-a-tint" nomenclature, TurboS40

co-incidentally, I posted about the idea just yesterday

...a large part of my love for the StarShip commercials was hoping for some "industrial light & magic" futuristic fX themes (tho NOT the spacepods of the ?80's?...sorry McGovern isn't far enough from that imho)
((my fave fX example is getting rid of wing-mirrors & using cameras on little retractable stubs
having a top-option for electro-opaquing glass in back and the reardoors would be cool too ... who CARES if it a $3k+ option!))

...

[LincolnFanFl]

Auto retract has been built into the rear sunshades of vehicles for years, and if Chrysler has no problem with it's integration than neither should Ford.

That's the thing I don't understand: The new MKZ actually HAS auto retract when putting the gear into reverse - so the reason why they can't do the same for opening the pano-roof is a mystery to me...